Give your rig new life and personality with a speaker makeover.
If you’re after a sound refresh, don’t give up on your amp right away. Swapping in a replacement speaker(s) might be exactly what you need to achieve the sound in your head. Here are just 10 of the numerous medium-power 12" alnico options out there
P12Q
This 40-watt speaker was designed to offer a warm, mid-focused bite with clear and bright highs, and remain well balanced when presented with overdrive.
Gold
Intended to recreate the sonic signature of a well-played-in original speaker, the 50-watt Gold is reported to offer a rounded low-end, bell-like highs, and a laid-back attack.
Alnico Red
Favored by several notable players, this 50-watt speaker was designed to provide ample headroom, solid bottom end, and silky rolled-off highs.
EJ-1240
Designed with help from guitarist Eric Johnson, these 40-watt speakers boast a reformulated paper cone and optimized basket design to aid in delivering vintage-sounding alnico tone.
12A125S
These wallet-friendly, 30-watt replacement speakers are designed to deliver warm tone that’s not too bass-y, a mellow top end, and a less immediate attack than other speakers.
BlackHawk Alnico
Designed to offer pristine top end, tight mids, and ample warmth and bottom end, this 50-watt speaker is geared to be a solid option for upgrading a Vox AC30.
Scumnico
Featuring a specially treated 75 Hz cone and 40-ounce magnet, this 30-watt speaker was designed to recreate the ’60s British tone of the Vox Silver Alnico.
Ascension A60
Built to reveal the subtle nuances of a finely crafted tube amp by enhancing its signature voice, this 60-watt speaker boasts a shimmering top end and clear, distinct low end.
A50
This 50-watt speaker features a quality Nomex voice-coil former and full-size 34-ounce magnet for vintage tone and bell-like chime.
Black Beauty
Reported to deliver an untypically warm quality mostly associated with a ceramic magnet, this 30-watt speaker still provides shimmering highs for clean voicings that handle breakup well.
Premium-quality hempcone speakers for electric and acoustic amps.
Haight Ashbury, California (January 7, 2016) --Tone Tubby, licensed distributor of premium-quality hempcone speakers for acoustic and electric instrument amplification, announced, today, the introduction and distribution of their new Winterland 12-inch, 30-watt-rated ceramic magnet guitar and acoustic instrument amplifier speaker.
Named after the legendary San Francisco concert hall, the Tone Tubby Winterland delivers the clean, dynamically uncompressed and articulate tone of the classic ceramic-magnet, high-power-handling speakers of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, with modern refinements like its hemp driver cone and soft dome that provide a smoothness and harmonic richness unavailable from conventional paper cone material.
The Winterland sounds articulate, clear and nuanced when played clean and delivers a cutting yet full-bodied tone when played hard or used with overdriven tube amps or overdrive, distortion or fuzz pedals. It’s available in 8-ohm and 16-ohm models.
"Our new Winterland is the perfect speaker for players who want to maintain the distinct sonic personality of their guitar, amp, or rig with the touch sensitivity only a custom-designed hemp cone and ceramic magnet can produce," said Charlie Shapiro, Tone Tubby Technical Marketing Specialist. "The speaker has a rich low end and a midrange peak and a touch of upper-midrange emphasis that add presence."
"When driven hard, the Winterland speaker does not compress with magnet dynamics. Instead, it generates cone overdrive," Shapiro noted. "The custom-designed hemp cone remains stable, which virtually eliminates cone cry, thus making the Winterland ideal for guitarists who use a dynamic picking attack to move notes from semi-clean to overdriven."
The Winterland has a high 101.3dB sensitivity, adding to its dynamic responsiveness and making it a great choice for both low-powered amps that can benefit from greater volume and headroom to large stacks that crank out arena-volume SPL.
"In particular this is a great speaker for playing with overdrive," said Shapiro. "The Winterland really lets the personality of an overdriven amp or overdrive pedal to be heard with amazing distinctiveness and pleasing harmonic texture. The Winterland has the ability to cut through a dense band mix and declare its space perfectly in the mix."
Price: $215
For more information:
Tone Tubby
The speaker features a new, proprietary-tuned hemp cone and a 32 oz. alnico magnet.
Haight Ashbury, CA (May 19, 2015) -- Lately things, they don't sound the same in San Francisco! Tone Tubby, licensed distributor of premium-quality hempcone speakers for acoustic and electric instrument amplification, announced, today, the introduction and distribution of their new Purple Haze 12-inch, 40-watt-rated alnico magnet guitar and acoustic instrument amplifier speaker.
Available in 8-ohm and 16-ohm models, the Purple Haze adds a new sonic color that further expands Tone Tubby's hempcone line. It features a new, proprietary tuned hemp cone and a 32 oz. alnico magnet. The speaker has a full, articulate, detailed clear midrange texture. These qualities bring out every nuance of a player's touch and picking expression when played. The speaker when played clean is clear and sweet, and, when played pushed with overdrive/distortion pedals or an amplifier has a beautiful singing voice.
"The Purple Haze is an ideal speaker for players who want every aspect of their playing style and technique to come through the speaker, from the most subtle variations of pick and finger attack to full bore singing sustain," said Charlie Shapiro, Tone Tubby Technical Marketing Specialist. "It combines the clarity and definition of the classic guitar and instrument speakers with the sweetness of an alnico magnet design, without a trace of harshness that is present with metal-dome speakers."
"You can easily and immediately hear every variation in how the strings are fingered and picked," Shapiro continued. "The differences between overdrive/distortion pedals you previously thought sounded similar are now highlighted. The harmonic complexity of reverb, delay, and modulation effects are revealed through the character of the decay tails and the sonic characteristic of the speaker's fade-to-black quality."
"The Purple Haze gives back whatever you put into it. It is a speaker that will reward the most demanding player. And you can muck it up beautifully with effects."
Brad Sarno of Sarno Music Solutions states, "Playing through the Purple Haze may be one of the best guitar tones I've ever gotten, ever. It has the general feel and clarity of the K120, with a similar and familiar low end, midrange, and top end that is clear and detailed. There is nothing else like this speaker out there." "Kudos to the design team at Tone Tubby, Wow, seriously, wow."
Early adopters of the Purple Haze speaker technology include Trey Anastasio of Phish.
The Tone Tubby Purple Haze guitar amp speaker is currently available at a suggested retail price of $375.
For more information:
Tone Tubby