Princeton Reverb II owners: speaker ideas?

[Hairpin Turns]

I recently acquired a 1983 PRii, it has a stock speaker I'm looking to upgrade. I've seen some threads on this site related to this topic, though those are several years old so I'm looking for fresh opinions:)

Amp is used at home for recording and basically just for my own entertainment, and I have to play at low volumes due to my living situation (I typically have the amp's volume at 6-8 and the master pretty low, 3 or 4 max).
So I'm looking for a speaker that isn't real loud and that can sound good at lower volume.

I only use the clean channel on this amp, never the lead channel. I use pedals for dirt, and not usually anything beyond medium gain for the most part.

What are you PRII owners liking in these amps these days, and what are the tonal characteristics of the speaker you like?

[Creamy]

Check out thi site:
http://www.stratopastor.org.uk/strato/amps/prii/PRII_hub.html
I've been using Weber's Legacy speaker, with 30oz magnet and like it at low and high volumes.

[carnivore]

I have the same amp and go for a clean sound to to just edge of breakup. I can tell you what speaker... I didn't like.

I put eminence cannabis rex in the amp after reading so many great reviews about that speaker. The old stock speaker actually sounds better. The CR just made the amp sound sterile and lifeless. Finding the right speaker is not an easy task. What sounds great to one person could sound awful to your ears.

I'm looking to pull the CR out and go with a speaker with a lower power rating. My amp puts out about 22 watts so I want to try 25 -30 watt Jensen or a Speaker Warehouse celestion greenback copy. To tell you the truth the stock fender (emi) speaker is close to being perfect for the amp. That being said I'm not going after max headroom or speaker sensitivity/volume.

I have a celestion vintage 30 in a one 12 cabinet. I plug some of my other fender's into it. It 's a really good overall speaker... middy and a bit dark but otherwise it kicks. I'm going to run the PRII into it this week and let you know how it sounds.

[Hairpin Turns]

Hi thanks for the replies...I have seen the stratopastor site, a great resource for this amp. I sent the guy who runs it my serial number recently as he has a database for these (turns out mine was already in his database)

carnivore, thanks for the info on the c-rex. I was considering that speaker at one point too. and i agree what sounds good is subjective. I'm finding the stock speaker to be just OK, the low end isn't too inspiring. I'll be curious to hear your thoughts on the Vintage 30 in this amp.

[Crowder]

A V30 is a good choice. It really depends on what kind of tone you are going for. A Greenback will make it lean toward the classic Marshall sound, or a Celestion Blue will add some chime and punch. One thing is for sure, the stock speaker is not up to what the amp can do. It's very weak and flabby.

[Hairpin Turns]

A V30 is a good choice. It really depends on what kind of tone you are going for. A Greenback will make it lean toward the classic Marshall sound, or a Celestion Blue will add some chime and punch. One thing is for sure, the stock speaker is not up to what the amp can do. It's very weak and flabby.

Agreed about the stock speaker.
Only problem with the Celestion Blue is the wattage, otherwise I'd go for one of those. Was thinking about a Weber or similar alnico in the same vein as the blue , like 30-50 watts.

I'm after chimey highs and solid lows, I may want to de-emphasize the mids as one of my main guitars (a Rev. flatroc) has mid emphasis already.

[Rob s]

The WGS G12a will sound great in there for a classicceramic jensen type flavor

[teleman1]

Celestion Gold.

[Hairpin Turns]

My amp takes a 12" speaker.

Golds are so pricey, they sell for half what I paid for the amp:eeks Could be worth it, but are there lower priced options in the same vein as the Gold from other manufacturers?

[Hairpin Turns]

The WGS G12a will sound great in there for a classicceramic jensen type flavor

thanks for the tip, I'll research this one

[champster]

The optional EV Force is a great speaker in these amps. When I bought one new it had this speaker in it. A few years ago when I sold the amp the buyer didn't want the EV speaker. It now sits unused.

I tried a Jensen C12N and that sounded really nice too and much lighter in weight compared to the EV.

[fenderpro]

i've got an Eminence Red White & Blue in mine. i had tried several others before that. i like it's balanced sound and the fact that it's fairly efficient. that said, speaker recommendations are tough because of all the other variables in the way someone plays and hears.

[Zeon45]

I have the stock speaker in my PR II and it still sounds good; however I would like to try the Jensen C12N just for grins.

[edward]

I had a PRII ...loved that amp. The stock speaker (with due respect to others) was a farty, horrid, flaccid mess. No, it wasn't shot; just sounded horrible, devoid of fender chime and loose ugly bottom, IMHO. I tried an Emi Swamp thang and RedWhiteBlues, preferred the RWB. Also had an EVM12L in another cab so loaded it as an experiment. Dug it, but frankly I prefer the EVM as a supplementary speaker and am not a fan of it as a lone guitar speaker. I ended up sticking with the RWB and decided it really was the best speaker to showcase the big, round bottom of the amp, but also its smooth, crisp highs. And yes, the Fender chime and glassiness was all there :)

Edward

[Hairpin Turns]

I had a PRII ...loved that amp. The stock speaker (with due respect to others) was a farty, horrid, flaccid mess. No, it wasn't shot; just sounded horrible, devoid of fender chime and loose ugly bottom, IMHO. I tried an Emi Swamp thang and RedWhiteBlues, preferred the RWB. Also had an EVM12L in another cab so loaded it as an experiment. Dug it, but frankly I prefer the EVM as a supplementary speaker and am not a fan of it as a lone guitar speaker. I ended up sticking with the RWB and decided it really was the best speaker to showcase the big, round bottom of the amp, but also its smooth, crisp highs. And yes, the Fender chime and glassiness was all there :)

Edward

Sounds like I may need to check that out too.

Isn't the redwhiteblues higher wattage, something like 150? Wonder about whether this would work well at bedroom volumes?

I confess to being completely ignorant in many respects when it comes to speakers, and particularly whether it's better or worse (or makes no difference either way) whether I should go for higher or lower wattage given my intentions to play it at primarily at low volume

[edward]

Don't worry about the power capability of a speaker ...so long as it's rating is roughly double the wattage of your amp (important in tube amps, particularly), anything beyond double is a moot point. But a higher capacity (like the RWB, or the EVM12L) will not in any way be hampered by playing at bedroom levels. Any (or should I saye every) speaker will certainly sound different at different volumes, but that is a function of the speaker's inherent characteristics, and not directly related to its power handling capacity. So with your PRII, a speaker that can handle what, 60 watts, is plenty good.

[Hairpin Turns]

Don't worry about the power capability of a speaker ...so long as it's rating is roughly double the wattage of your amp (important in tube amps, particularly), anything beyond double is a moot point. But a higher capacity (like the RWB, or the EVM12L) will not in any way be hampered by playing at bedroom levels. Any (or should I saye every) speaker will certainly sound different at different volumes, but that is a function of the speaker's inherent characteristics, and not directly related to its power handling capacity. So with your PRII, a speaker that can handle what, 60 watts, is plenty good.

Cool, thanks for that info. I knew the rating should be double the wattage but wasnt sure about using something rated for far higher than the amp's output and what that would do to the sound.