decay-o-caster
07-03-2008, 12:02 AM
For a variety of reasons I set up several speaker demos a couple of weeks ago with the intention of eliminating as many variables as possible. So.....
I recorded a lame-ass backing track (apologies for the length... and the clams...) and played essentially the same parts over each, but with 5 different speakers in similar cabs with one exception - the Jensen ceramic 15" is in a fairly small cab, while the 12" speakers are in oversized semi-open cabs. I did use an Alessandro Muzzle down (3?) clicks - I have neighbors and my house is not soundproofed.
I played the "clean" first half of each clip with the normal channel, then the "dirty" second half of each with both channels (normal and OD) combined using an A/B/Y pedal on "Y". But again, everything's at noon. No effort made to optimize the tone for any speaker - I set the controls and forgot them even before plugging in the guitar.
The guitar is a Chapin TBird with a bucker in the neck (the Keef-o-Caster), played in the "both" position, all controls cranked.
A Sennheiser e609 dynamic on the grill halfway between the center and edge of each speaker, a Cascade FatheadII ribbon at the player's ear position (about 6 feet from the cabs) for ambiance. Mixed for equal levels.
No sweetening, but some compression and limiting applied in the software to prevent digital distortion artifacts. But you'll hear that some speakers are louder than others - there's no effort to bring them to the same volume level.
I didn't EQ the amp or the recording for tone - I played everything as straight as can be. So the purpose of this isn't to see which speaker clip you like best, it's to show how the speakers vary one to the next. If you know one of the speakers, you can see how the others differ from it.
As a reference, I love the Cele Gold - it's my favorite speaker right now. But I like the Fane Alnico 12" clips best. So the final outcome doesn't reflect the speaker, but it does reflect how each speaker responded to the same stimuli.
I hope this helps someone/lots of someones - if not, no harm no foul! :)
- d.o.c.
Cele 1265 (http://tempusfugitives.articulateimages.com/GearClips/SpeakerTestClips/Cele1265_20080605.mp3)
Cele Alnico Gold (http://tempusfugitives.articulateimages.com/GearClips/SpeakerTestClips/CeleGold20080605.mp3)
Fane Alnico 12" (http://tempusfugitives.articulateimages.com/GearClips/SpeakerTestClips/Fane12Alnico20080605.mp3)
Jensen Blackbird Alnico (http://tempusfugitives.articulateimages.com/GearClips/SpeakerTestClips/JensenBBird20080605.mp3)
And the Jensen Ceramic 15" (http://tempusfugitives.articulateimages.com/GearClips/SpeakerTestClips/Jensen120wCeramic20080605.mp3)
I recorded a lame-ass backing track (apologies for the length... and the clams...) and played essentially the same parts over each, but with 5 different speakers in similar cabs with one exception - the Jensen ceramic 15" is in a fairly small cab, while the 12" speakers are in oversized semi-open cabs. I did use an Alessandro Muzzle down (3?) clicks - I have neighbors and my house is not soundproofed.
I played the "clean" first half of each clip with the normal channel, then the "dirty" second half of each with both channels (normal and OD) combined using an A/B/Y pedal on "Y". But again, everything's at noon. No effort made to optimize the tone for any speaker - I set the controls and forgot them even before plugging in the guitar.
The guitar is a Chapin TBird with a bucker in the neck (the Keef-o-Caster), played in the "both" position, all controls cranked.
A Sennheiser e609 dynamic on the grill halfway between the center and edge of each speaker, a Cascade FatheadII ribbon at the player's ear position (about 6 feet from the cabs) for ambiance. Mixed for equal levels.
No sweetening, but some compression and limiting applied in the software to prevent digital distortion artifacts. But you'll hear that some speakers are louder than others - there's no effort to bring them to the same volume level.
I didn't EQ the amp or the recording for tone - I played everything as straight as can be. So the purpose of this isn't to see which speaker clip you like best, it's to show how the speakers vary one to the next. If you know one of the speakers, you can see how the others differ from it.
As a reference, I love the Cele Gold - it's my favorite speaker right now. But I like the Fane Alnico 12" clips best. So the final outcome doesn't reflect the speaker, but it does reflect how each speaker responded to the same stimuli.
I hope this helps someone/lots of someones - if not, no harm no foul! :)
- d.o.c.
Cele 1265 (http://tempusfugitives.articulateimages.com/GearClips/SpeakerTestClips/Cele1265_20080605.mp3)
Cele Alnico Gold (http://tempusfugitives.articulateimages.com/GearClips/SpeakerTestClips/CeleGold20080605.mp3)
Fane Alnico 12" (http://tempusfugitives.articulateimages.com/GearClips/SpeakerTestClips/Fane12Alnico20080605.mp3)
Jensen Blackbird Alnico (http://tempusfugitives.articulateimages.com/GearClips/SpeakerTestClips/JensenBBird20080605.mp3)
And the Jensen Ceramic 15" (http://tempusfugitives.articulateimages.com/GearClips/SpeakerTestClips/Jensen120wCeramic20080605.mp3)