Eminence Red White & Blue Speakers

[mcalldp]

I'm just not seeing enough reviews out there of these yet so I thought I would dig in some more and see if any others have any more to say about these yet?

I put a set in a TopHat 2X12 open back cab, powered by a TopHat Ambassador 50 head. For reference; I'm running either an EJ strat with Dimarzio Area 58/58/61 pickups or a 52 Tele reissue with Bill Lawrence pickups (and now trying the Tele with Dimarzio Area T's.)

I can compare these to my other cab with a Vintage30/G12h combo.
As I expected these are very different speakers. Where the Celestians are warm and woody giving a lot of EQ effect to the sound, the RW&B's seem to be huge clear round notes with a very flat EQ response. These will never give you speaker breakup (at 140 watts EACH!) in a regular setup so if you like that, look elsewhere.

I like both sets of speakers but the RW&B's are my mains at this time. My reason is, I like to have a wonderful clean sound from my amp and speakers and THEN add in fuzz or whatever with my stomp-boxes. These speakers don't break up, they have a very BIG round tone and the less intrusive EQ curve allows me to control things from my guitar and amp better.

The celestions have their own sound and I like them but the RW&B's seem more versatile in my setup. Where the Celestions are woody the RW&B"s are glassy. The big round note factor reminds me of a JBLK or something.....it's very 3D. With my setup, all pedals are taken very well.

So, for those that like the approach of keeping a great clean tone to which you then add your effects and dirt (Think David Gilmour type of setup) then you'll like these. They will never get pushed hard enough to break in enough to change the sound at all....they'll last forever. NOT for everyone, but if you're looking for something very different than the celestion sound so many of us have already then these are a really cool option.

For recording purposes I really like having these and the celestions available. Anyone else had more time to spend with these yet?

[edward]

Yup. I have limited experience with other speakers, but I ended up with the RWB for exactly the reasons you mention: smooth, big/round, lovely top end that's perfect for my Fender PRII.

FWIW, I tried a Boogie-Celestion MC90, EVM12L, and Emi Swamp Thang. The first was ok in the Fender, but too much of a mid-voice coloration and not enough of a bottom.

The EVM was very nice with serious "authority" to the bottom end. Sounded very nice, and was my second choice to the RWB.

The Swamp Thang was great, too, but almost too much "in your face" with bottom and top end too aggressive ...at least for this amp. I suspect the ST would sound amazing in a larger combo or an extension cab. But in my Fender, almost sounded artificially big.

The overall smoothness of the RWB is what won me over. The bottom was tight and controlled; the mids smooth, rich, and defined w/o being overly pronounced; and the highs are glassy and clean w/o a hint of harshness. I like it so much that I have no desire to try others out.

Edward

[revgsmall]

Believe it or not I have a RWB in my Vox AC-15, it sounds absolutely wonderful. The Vox chime comes out, but a deeper, rich bottom is the plus result.

[opus]

just received one in the mail for my prII! i'll post a report when i get it installed.

[picnic]

I pulled a Emi Private Jack (G12M clone) out of a el84 amp that was voiced too Marshally for me. I put in a RWB to clean it up and bring some Fenderness to the amp.
I am happy with the results. The RWB cleaned up the sound and increased the headroom. I still have the chime without the raspiness. There is still some grittiness of the el84's present but not as much.

[karmadave]

I have one in my Allen Sweet Spot and really dig it! I'd say this is a very full-range speaker and depending on the type of amp, it may or may not be a good fit. It is an especially good fit in Fender Blackface-type amps IMHO...

-KD

[Dave_C]

I haven't tried the RWBs in person, but every clip I've heard made with them has sounded wonderful...regardless of amp. The adjectives used so far in this thread are right on. I have a pair of Celestion Heritage G12-65s in a Port City Wave 2x12 that I use with my Badger and Maz 18 (with pedals) and my Fuchs TDS (w/o pedals). I love what the G12-65s do with all of these amps, but have been haunted by the RWBs for quite a while myself. I may need to give 'em a try someday soon.

[RockStarNick]

Would a RW&B be a good tone improvement to the stock eminence in a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, or Reissue Blues Deluxe?

I put a Vintage 30 in my Reissue BD, but don't like it... I think the amp needs an american flavored speaker...

[hudpucker]

I have a RWB in my '68 PR (with a new baffle, of course).

It's breaking in quite nicely and, for my uses, is an improvement over a Weber 10F150T (which was great for a 10" though).

YMMV.

[edward]

Originally Posted by RockStarNick

Would a RW&B be a good tone improvement to the stock eminence in a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, or Reissue Blues Deluxe?...

IMHO, yes. Personally, I don't particularly care for the Fender-Emi that's loaded in the Blues Deluxe RI. The RWB is such a nice, well-balanced speaker that adds less tonal color (which could be bad for some amps ) and lets the amp really come through nicely, with very smooth mid highs and a glassy top end that's never brittle. Worth a try IMHO.

Edward

[bosstone]

I listened to all the clips on the Eminence site and the R W & Blues was the one that stood out for me. I like a big, warm sound.

[cerebralpaul]

Originally Posted by edward

Yup. I have limited experience with other speakers, but I ended up with the RWB for exactly the reasons you mention: smooth, big/round, lovely top end that's perfect for my Fender PRII.

FWIW, I tried a Boogie-Celestion MC90, EVM12L, and Emi Swamp Thang. The first was ok in the Fender, but too much of a mid-voice coloration and not enough of a bottom.

The EVM was very nice with serious "authority" to the bottom end. Sounded very nice, and was my second choice to the RWB.

The Swamp Thang was great, too, but almost too much "in your face" with bottom and top end too aggressive ...at least for this amp. I suspect the ST would sound amazing in a larger combo or an extension cab. But in my Fender, almost sounded artificially big.

The overall smoothness of the RWB is what won me over. The bottom was tight and controlled; the mids smooth, rich, and defined w/o being overly pronounced; and the highs are glassy and clean w/o a hint of harshness. I like it so much that I have no desire to try others out.

Edward

I'd love to hear more about the difference(or similarities) between the EV 12l and the RW&B... I have an amp that I really like with an EV 12l cab but the EV's wont fit in that amp without mods so I'm looking for an alternative.

[edward]

Originally Posted by cerebralpaul

I'd love to hear more about the difference(or similarities) between the EV 12l and the RW&B... I have an amp that I really like with an EV 12l cab but the EV's wont fit in that amp without mods so I'm looking for an alternative.

The RWB, to my ear in that particular cab (Mesa Thiele 1x12) was similar in voice. What it lacked was the complete "authority" and "punch" that the EVM excels in. Don't get me wrong, the RWB has a superb, tight bottom ...just not as "big" and tight as the EVM. The RWB also has just a bit less mid-highs and presence than the EVM ...which makes it a bit more subtle a speaker. If you like the EMV in a cab, you may very well like the RWB in the same cab ...kind of like the EVM, but just a "little less" if that makes any sense

Edward

[CitizenCain]

This sounds like just the thing for my reworked Sundown. It has a very Ampeg-like flavor with a big round sound that I'd like to keep/accentuate. I love the big warm clean sound this has. It seems like the R,W&B would be the ticket in a 2x12 setup. How about a 1x12 extension cab?