zoooombiex
12-16-2006, 11:44 PM
This has become an ongoing repository for my speaker experiences - hope they help someone with a decision.
Two-Rock 65: in a two rock 2x12 & two rock 1x12. a great all purpose tone - lots of low end and pretty good highs. it seemed to fall into the middle of the spectrum compared to the other speakers i was trying. full bass, but not boomy, medium-clear highs but not bright. thick low-mids. no cone cry.
Tone Tubby Alnico H1: in a TR 1x12. no cone cry. slightly fuller bass and rounder mids than the TR65. much less high end - the darkest of all the speakers i tried - but it did open up the more you turned it up. at gig levels it sounds perfect. for contrast, i threw one in my reverend hellhound - a brighter amp - and it sounds great. it tamed the harshness and thickened up the mids. Pairs extremely well with a TT Ceramic & TT Alnico H1E.
Tone Tubby Alnico H1EDD: in a TR 1x12. the low end is much tighter than the H1 or TR-65. not weak, but a/b-ing them it was quite noticeable. it's also much brighter than the other two, though not overly bright. Still pretty thick in the upper-mids, and no cone cry. Switching between the H1E and H1EDD - the H1E has a much rounder and fuller low end; the H1EDD might have a little more happening in the very high registers, but not major.
Tone Tubby Alnico H1E: in a TR 1x12. this falls right between the H1 and H1EDD. has the big low end of the H1, and full clear highs (not quite as much as the H1EDD, but more than the H1 or TR-65). No cone cry, and very rich mids. The high end is similar to the Scumback H75, maybe not quite as sweet. But the lows and low-mids are rounder and thicker than the Scumback.
Tone Tubby Ceramic H1E: in a fargen 1x12 (which tends to be a little brighter and less thick than the TR cabs). very tight low end, but powerful and punchy. very bright by my standards - similar to a Vintage 30, but with more girth and not as scooped. But it seemed to have lots of headroom and was a little louder than the other speakers.
"The Bomb" - H1 alnico/H1E ceramic. in a tone tubby 2x12. a great combination. The low end is very full and yet extremely tight. Lots of punch. The low end is probably about as big as the H1E, bigger than the scumback, and tighter than both. The high end isn't as rich as the scumback, and probably also a little less so than the H1E. But still very clear & punchy, which makes it cut through. EDIT: this has increasingly become one of my favorite mixes - perhaps as the speakers break in. It's very balanced from the lows to highs, no big gaps or bumps. And without being bright it maintains great clarity. EDIT: More headroom and wider frequency response than the Blue/H-30 mix.
"The Bomb" - H1E alnico/H1E ceramic. Similar to above, but the H1E makes it a bit brighter - though not a huge difference.
Scumback H75-8HP: in a TR 1x12. tighter lows and lower-mids than the the H1E, though not as tight as the H1EDD or the TT Ceramic. It has an extremely sweet high end - more so than the H1E, and no cone cry. I later threw this in a 2x12 with a TR-65 and they complemented each other nicely. the TR-65 had the thick low end that the scumback lacked, and the scumback had a much warmer high end.
Fane AXA12 (i think): in a TR 2x12 cab. Full but tighter low end, thick mids, clear highs. It sometimes feels a little "dry" to me if that makes sense - something doesn't seem as rich as the H1E or the Scumback, but overall this is a great speaker. Tighter low end than the TR-65 but equally full mids - slightly clearer high end. I threw this in a Bob Burt 1x12 and I like it better. I've heard these speakers really like to be worked, so maybe it's happier in a 1x12 rather than a 2x12 when not at stage volumes. It seems a bit richer and not as dry, though it's still not as juicy through the mids compared to the TT and Scholz.
Scumback H75-8HP-LDHC: in a TR 1x12. virtually identical to the standard H75, but with a softer high end. It's probably perfect for brighter amps, as it rolls off the ice pick zone. But on less bright amps I felt like I was losing some of the H75 magic. As this has broken in, the differences between it and the H75 have decreased. (The LHDC might come across as a bit "creamier" for whatever that's worth). But overall very similar and have a similar upper mid focus.
EV 12L: Damn heavy, damn loud, but what a sound! amazingly clear and full, bright but not harsh, tight bass. not as fat in the low mids as the TT, but not really lacking there either. It has a nice shimmer to it on the upper end which makes it excel at big clean tones. overdrive can get a bit boxy compared to the TT & scumbacks. But it's really hard to beat for big, bold cleans. EDIT: Charlie @ Tone Tubby reconed one of these with a hemp cone for me - that one is very thick with overdrive tones - not boxy at all, though it's not quite as shimmery for cleans.
Eminence RW&B: very similar to the TR-65. I a/b it with the H75, and the RW&B had a tighter bass and maybe a little more clarity in the mids/upper mids. But the H75 had a richness in the high end the RW&B was lacking.
TT H1 & H1E: in a TR 2x12. amazingly fat lows and mids. plenty of highs coming from the H1E, but not a bit of harshness. not as punchy as the ceramic/alnico mix, but rounder and fatter mids. Extremely thick and juicy. one of my favorites. EDIT: this has a softer feel than the Blue/H-30 mix, with a more open, clear sound and a little more compression. Seems to have a bit more headroom than the Blue/30, which always has a grindy feel.
TT H1 & H1EDD: in a TR-2x12. not quite as fat as the H1/H1E mix. a bit more highs, a bit less mids. not as punchy as the ceramic/alnico mix which has an amazingly crisp low end. I preferred the other TT mixes, but that might just be because of my preference for strong mids.
Eminence Tonker: in a TR 1x12. a very focused-sounding speaker. It's not as tight in the lows as the scumback H75, and not as full as the TTH1/H1E (or the scholz). It's probably comparable in the bass to the EVM 12L. But it doesn't have the extended range of the EVM or quite the upper-range sweetness of the H75. I've heard others say this is a "nasal" speaker - I'm not sure what that means, but especially with some other music in the background, it comes across as very focused in a particular range of mids & upper mids. That allows it to cut through well, but other speakers sound more balanced.
Scholz: in a TR 1x12. reminds me a lot of the TT H1/H1E. It has a very big low end, though not mushy. Just very full through the lows & low-mids. It's pretty even through the mids and highs - definitely not harsh. If anything perhaps a bit on the darker side, but really it's pretty neutral (in a good way). Compared to the EV, I thought this had a much fuller bass, a bid more mid-presence, but not the extreme clarity and range of the EV. Volume-wise, both are pretty efficient. Compared to a scumback H75, it again had a fuller bass and mids. Not quite the creamy high end of the H75, but not dull at all. Compared to a Fane alnico, it was again a bit bigger in the lows and mids, similar high end (not bright, not dull...). Comparing the Scholz to the Tonker, the Scholz sounded very full-spectrum compared to the more focused Tonker. No big upper-mid focus on the Scholz, and it had a fuller bass and clearer highs. EDIT: the low end keeps getting bigger as this breaks in. It's probably the biggest low end of all these speakers, but not flubby, and the high end is still very clear.
TT H1E/H1E mix: in a TR 2x12. very similar to the H1/H1E mix, though that might have a little more girth and less sparkle.
TT H1/Scumback H75 mix: in a TR 2x12. this mix surprised me as I thought they would complement each other better. the H75 isn't very big on bass, which the H1 is, and the H1 doesn't have the upper-mid thing that the H75 does. But together they come off a bit dark. very rich and creamy, but not a lot of high-end presence. then again, it works very well to thicken up a bright amp.
Scumback H55: overall, similar to the H75, but some notable differences - it has a bigger low end and doesn't have quite the same vocal, chimey quality of the H75. Would probably work well on its own with a brighter amp, but I prefer it in a mix with the H75.
Scumback H55/H75 mix: this has a great classic rock feel to it. it doesn't have the huge low end fatness of the TT or the scholz, and it doesn't seem to have a huge peak anywhere across the spectrum (lower/upper mids, etc). Instead, it has a balanced tone that works well in many applications, and has a great grind that I associate with classic rock (not hi-fi, not soft and jazzy...).
Celestion Blue/G12H-30w Mix: I can see why this is such a classic combo. I've been using it in a TR 2x12 with a Bruno Underground 30, 65 Amps London, and a D/13 FTR37. It has a very organic quality to it - not dark, but the opposite of hi-fi. Extremely chewy and chimey at the same time. The low end is full, but not as punchy as the Bomb mix - closer to the TT Alnico mix (maybe somewhere inbetween the two). High end is also somewhere between the TT Alnico mix and TT Bomb - very sweet but not bright. Not a lot of headroom (not as much as the TT Alnico or Bomb), so probably not the best for big clean tones. EDIT: i originally had these wired in series and then wired up another cab with them in parallel. the series seemed to accentuate everything - more vocal, chewy sounding compared to the parallel which came off a little softer and more balanced.
Celestion Gold/G12H-30 (Heritage): in a TR 2x12. very similar to the blue/H-30 mix (not surprising). pretty much identical except for the added power handling, which lets me use it with some bigger amps. Not a ton of clean headroom -- not as much as the TT Alnico 2x12, and nowhere near the H-Bomb. Very chewy sounding - sounds amazing with an Emerald Pro, which I would not say is a headroom-oriented amp. Makes the clean/overdrive transition very smooth. If you want a big clean sound I wouldn't recommend this, but for more grindy tones it's great. (Since speaker breakup seems to be a big part of this sound (as with the Blue/H-30 mix) I'd say get the blue/30 if it can handle your wattage).
Celestion Gold: in a TR 1x12. Spec-wise, the TT Alnico is close, but they sound quite different. The Gold doesn't have the juicy mids or the upper-end clarity of the TT. But it does have a great raw, english kind of tone if that makes sense. Low end is tighter than the TT, and mids seem to peak a bit higher.
Tone Tubby 2x10: in a tone tubby 2x10 cab. Quite a little package - the same size as a TR 1x12. pretty big sound, with the signature TT tone. These are the only 10"s i've tried, so I don't have anything to compare them to. But I will say they sound quite similar to the TT 12", but with less low end and a bit punchier overall.
Scumback M55/M75: in a TR 2x12. similar to the H55/H75, but still quite different. The H55/75 mix sounds more full spectrum (more balanced from lows to highs) and is considerably louder. In contrast, the M55/75 mix is more mid-focused, with less high end, and is quieter and seems to break up earlier (or at least sounds like it).
Celestion G12M Heritage: in a TT 2x12. a great rock speaker. crisp, punchy bass - not thuddy at all. very clear highs, yet smooth and sweet - not harsh or fizzy. pretty balanced mids - not scooped, not humped. obviously, at 20w, not a lot of headroom, but the ample speaker breakup is a big part of the sound. also, pretty quiet given the low efficiency.
Scumback M75: in a TT 2x12. compared to the G12M Heritages - similar classic rock kind of tone, but not identical. mids a little thicker, bass not quite as tight or crisp, and highs a little softer.
Two-Rock 65: in a two rock 2x12 & two rock 1x12. a great all purpose tone - lots of low end and pretty good highs. it seemed to fall into the middle of the spectrum compared to the other speakers i was trying. full bass, but not boomy, medium-clear highs but not bright. thick low-mids. no cone cry.
Tone Tubby Alnico H1: in a TR 1x12. no cone cry. slightly fuller bass and rounder mids than the TR65. much less high end - the darkest of all the speakers i tried - but it did open up the more you turned it up. at gig levels it sounds perfect. for contrast, i threw one in my reverend hellhound - a brighter amp - and it sounds great. it tamed the harshness and thickened up the mids. Pairs extremely well with a TT Ceramic & TT Alnico H1E.
Tone Tubby Alnico H1EDD: in a TR 1x12. the low end is much tighter than the H1 or TR-65. not weak, but a/b-ing them it was quite noticeable. it's also much brighter than the other two, though not overly bright. Still pretty thick in the upper-mids, and no cone cry. Switching between the H1E and H1EDD - the H1E has a much rounder and fuller low end; the H1EDD might have a little more happening in the very high registers, but not major.
Tone Tubby Alnico H1E: in a TR 1x12. this falls right between the H1 and H1EDD. has the big low end of the H1, and full clear highs (not quite as much as the H1EDD, but more than the H1 or TR-65). No cone cry, and very rich mids. The high end is similar to the Scumback H75, maybe not quite as sweet. But the lows and low-mids are rounder and thicker than the Scumback.
Tone Tubby Ceramic H1E: in a fargen 1x12 (which tends to be a little brighter and less thick than the TR cabs). very tight low end, but powerful and punchy. very bright by my standards - similar to a Vintage 30, but with more girth and not as scooped. But it seemed to have lots of headroom and was a little louder than the other speakers.
"The Bomb" - H1 alnico/H1E ceramic. in a tone tubby 2x12. a great combination. The low end is very full and yet extremely tight. Lots of punch. The low end is probably about as big as the H1E, bigger than the scumback, and tighter than both. The high end isn't as rich as the scumback, and probably also a little less so than the H1E. But still very clear & punchy, which makes it cut through. EDIT: this has increasingly become one of my favorite mixes - perhaps as the speakers break in. It's very balanced from the lows to highs, no big gaps or bumps. And without being bright it maintains great clarity. EDIT: More headroom and wider frequency response than the Blue/H-30 mix.
"The Bomb" - H1E alnico/H1E ceramic. Similar to above, but the H1E makes it a bit brighter - though not a huge difference.
Scumback H75-8HP: in a TR 1x12. tighter lows and lower-mids than the the H1E, though not as tight as the H1EDD or the TT Ceramic. It has an extremely sweet high end - more so than the H1E, and no cone cry. I later threw this in a 2x12 with a TR-65 and they complemented each other nicely. the TR-65 had the thick low end that the scumback lacked, and the scumback had a much warmer high end.
Fane AXA12 (i think): in a TR 2x12 cab. Full but tighter low end, thick mids, clear highs. It sometimes feels a little "dry" to me if that makes sense - something doesn't seem as rich as the H1E or the Scumback, but overall this is a great speaker. Tighter low end than the TR-65 but equally full mids - slightly clearer high end. I threw this in a Bob Burt 1x12 and I like it better. I've heard these speakers really like to be worked, so maybe it's happier in a 1x12 rather than a 2x12 when not at stage volumes. It seems a bit richer and not as dry, though it's still not as juicy through the mids compared to the TT and Scholz.
Scumback H75-8HP-LDHC: in a TR 1x12. virtually identical to the standard H75, but with a softer high end. It's probably perfect for brighter amps, as it rolls off the ice pick zone. But on less bright amps I felt like I was losing some of the H75 magic. As this has broken in, the differences between it and the H75 have decreased. (The LHDC might come across as a bit "creamier" for whatever that's worth). But overall very similar and have a similar upper mid focus.
EV 12L: Damn heavy, damn loud, but what a sound! amazingly clear and full, bright but not harsh, tight bass. not as fat in the low mids as the TT, but not really lacking there either. It has a nice shimmer to it on the upper end which makes it excel at big clean tones. overdrive can get a bit boxy compared to the TT & scumbacks. But it's really hard to beat for big, bold cleans. EDIT: Charlie @ Tone Tubby reconed one of these with a hemp cone for me - that one is very thick with overdrive tones - not boxy at all, though it's not quite as shimmery for cleans.
Eminence RW&B: very similar to the TR-65. I a/b it with the H75, and the RW&B had a tighter bass and maybe a little more clarity in the mids/upper mids. But the H75 had a richness in the high end the RW&B was lacking.
TT H1 & H1E: in a TR 2x12. amazingly fat lows and mids. plenty of highs coming from the H1E, but not a bit of harshness. not as punchy as the ceramic/alnico mix, but rounder and fatter mids. Extremely thick and juicy. one of my favorites. EDIT: this has a softer feel than the Blue/H-30 mix, with a more open, clear sound and a little more compression. Seems to have a bit more headroom than the Blue/30, which always has a grindy feel.
TT H1 & H1EDD: in a TR-2x12. not quite as fat as the H1/H1E mix. a bit more highs, a bit less mids. not as punchy as the ceramic/alnico mix which has an amazingly crisp low end. I preferred the other TT mixes, but that might just be because of my preference for strong mids.
Eminence Tonker: in a TR 1x12. a very focused-sounding speaker. It's not as tight in the lows as the scumback H75, and not as full as the TTH1/H1E (or the scholz). It's probably comparable in the bass to the EVM 12L. But it doesn't have the extended range of the EVM or quite the upper-range sweetness of the H75. I've heard others say this is a "nasal" speaker - I'm not sure what that means, but especially with some other music in the background, it comes across as very focused in a particular range of mids & upper mids. That allows it to cut through well, but other speakers sound more balanced.
Scholz: in a TR 1x12. reminds me a lot of the TT H1/H1E. It has a very big low end, though not mushy. Just very full through the lows & low-mids. It's pretty even through the mids and highs - definitely not harsh. If anything perhaps a bit on the darker side, but really it's pretty neutral (in a good way). Compared to the EV, I thought this had a much fuller bass, a bid more mid-presence, but not the extreme clarity and range of the EV. Volume-wise, both are pretty efficient. Compared to a scumback H75, it again had a fuller bass and mids. Not quite the creamy high end of the H75, but not dull at all. Compared to a Fane alnico, it was again a bit bigger in the lows and mids, similar high end (not bright, not dull...). Comparing the Scholz to the Tonker, the Scholz sounded very full-spectrum compared to the more focused Tonker. No big upper-mid focus on the Scholz, and it had a fuller bass and clearer highs. EDIT: the low end keeps getting bigger as this breaks in. It's probably the biggest low end of all these speakers, but not flubby, and the high end is still very clear.
TT H1E/H1E mix: in a TR 2x12. very similar to the H1/H1E mix, though that might have a little more girth and less sparkle.
TT H1/Scumback H75 mix: in a TR 2x12. this mix surprised me as I thought they would complement each other better. the H75 isn't very big on bass, which the H1 is, and the H1 doesn't have the upper-mid thing that the H75 does. But together they come off a bit dark. very rich and creamy, but not a lot of high-end presence. then again, it works very well to thicken up a bright amp.
Scumback H55: overall, similar to the H75, but some notable differences - it has a bigger low end and doesn't have quite the same vocal, chimey quality of the H75. Would probably work well on its own with a brighter amp, but I prefer it in a mix with the H75.
Scumback H55/H75 mix: this has a great classic rock feel to it. it doesn't have the huge low end fatness of the TT or the scholz, and it doesn't seem to have a huge peak anywhere across the spectrum (lower/upper mids, etc). Instead, it has a balanced tone that works well in many applications, and has a great grind that I associate with classic rock (not hi-fi, not soft and jazzy...).
Celestion Blue/G12H-30w Mix: I can see why this is such a classic combo. I've been using it in a TR 2x12 with a Bruno Underground 30, 65 Amps London, and a D/13 FTR37. It has a very organic quality to it - not dark, but the opposite of hi-fi. Extremely chewy and chimey at the same time. The low end is full, but not as punchy as the Bomb mix - closer to the TT Alnico mix (maybe somewhere inbetween the two). High end is also somewhere between the TT Alnico mix and TT Bomb - very sweet but not bright. Not a lot of headroom (not as much as the TT Alnico or Bomb), so probably not the best for big clean tones. EDIT: i originally had these wired in series and then wired up another cab with them in parallel. the series seemed to accentuate everything - more vocal, chewy sounding compared to the parallel which came off a little softer and more balanced.
Celestion Gold/G12H-30 (Heritage): in a TR 2x12. very similar to the blue/H-30 mix (not surprising). pretty much identical except for the added power handling, which lets me use it with some bigger amps. Not a ton of clean headroom -- not as much as the TT Alnico 2x12, and nowhere near the H-Bomb. Very chewy sounding - sounds amazing with an Emerald Pro, which I would not say is a headroom-oriented amp. Makes the clean/overdrive transition very smooth. If you want a big clean sound I wouldn't recommend this, but for more grindy tones it's great. (Since speaker breakup seems to be a big part of this sound (as with the Blue/H-30 mix) I'd say get the blue/30 if it can handle your wattage).
Celestion Gold: in a TR 1x12. Spec-wise, the TT Alnico is close, but they sound quite different. The Gold doesn't have the juicy mids or the upper-end clarity of the TT. But it does have a great raw, english kind of tone if that makes sense. Low end is tighter than the TT, and mids seem to peak a bit higher.
Tone Tubby 2x10: in a tone tubby 2x10 cab. Quite a little package - the same size as a TR 1x12. pretty big sound, with the signature TT tone. These are the only 10"s i've tried, so I don't have anything to compare them to. But I will say they sound quite similar to the TT 12", but with less low end and a bit punchier overall.
Scumback M55/M75: in a TR 2x12. similar to the H55/H75, but still quite different. The H55/75 mix sounds more full spectrum (more balanced from lows to highs) and is considerably louder. In contrast, the M55/75 mix is more mid-focused, with less high end, and is quieter and seems to break up earlier (or at least sounds like it).
Celestion G12M Heritage: in a TT 2x12. a great rock speaker. crisp, punchy bass - not thuddy at all. very clear highs, yet smooth and sweet - not harsh or fizzy. pretty balanced mids - not scooped, not humped. obviously, at 20w, not a lot of headroom, but the ample speaker breakup is a big part of the sound. also, pretty quiet given the low efficiency.
Scumback M75: in a TT 2x12. compared to the G12M Heritages - similar classic rock kind of tone, but not identical. mids a little thicker, bass not quite as tight or crisp, and highs a little softer.