10" Speaker opinions thread.

[earthmud]

So I've spent the last few weeks combing the site for reviews and opinions on 10" speakers. While I have found some useful info, most reviews tend to lean towards what speaker they like, but not why they like it or what type of music they play. I need two 10's for my 71 SFVR and play mostly rock and blues. I was hoping that people could give their opinions on.........

1) What 10" speakers they like.

2) What amp or cab the use the speakers in.

3) What type of music they use the speakers for.

4) How the speakers sound Clean.

5) How the speakers sound when overdriven.


This should make it easier for people to decide on what 10" speaker might fit their needs the best. Looking forward to hearing your responses.

Thanks, Jason

 

[GuitarsFromMars]

Get a pair of SA10M's from Scumback.Scumback speakers are a division of Southbay Ampworks.He shows up hear occasionally and plays guitar.These are replicas of the M series pre-Rolas so prized by most musicians.They are built for Southbay by Ted Weber exclusively.When broken in,the best sounding 10 I have ever heard.No brittle high end.

 

[mprvise]

1) What 10" speakers they like/own:
A - Rajin Cajuns
B - Copperheads
C - Dr Z proprietary

2) What amp or cab the use the speakers in.
A - Port City 2X10 cab - various amps
B - Allen Encore Combo
C - Dr Z 4X10 cab - various amps, mostly D13 JRT 9/15

3) What type of music they use the speakers for.
All used for a mixture of rock, jazz, blues, and jam

4) How the speakers sound Clean.
A - excellent
B - okay
C - very good

5) How the speakers sound when overdriven.
A - excellent
C - good
D - great

The Copperheads were the first 10's I owned and I used to think they sounded great. Then got the Dr Z - better speakers IMO, and a really great sounding cab. Recently got the Port City with the Cajuns - oh yeah!

 

[GearHeadFred]

I'm running 4 WGS 10's and really like the tones.
They are in an Avatar 4x10 cab, open-back, head is a Super Reverb
Music style is blues, classic rock, and funk
Clean sounds sparkly - chimey - ringy - classic Fender, no ice-pick
I only use mild overdrive - the speakers respond well.. Focused, not flabby, cuts through well.

I do not use a lot of heavy drive or distortion.. only clean and starting to break-up. I tried Ragin Cajun's but they don't break up when there are 4 of them (75 watts each - would take nearly 300 Watts!!)

 

[earthmud]

1) What 10" speakers they like/own:
A - Rajin Cajuns
B - Copperheads
C - Dr Z proprietary

2) What amp or cab the use the speakers in.
A - Port City 2X10 cab - various amps
B - Allen Encore Combo
C - Dr Z 4X10 cab - various amps, mostly D13 JRT 9/15

3) What type of music they use the speakers for.
All used for a mixture of rock, jazz, blues, and jam

4) How the speakers sound Clean.
A - excellent
B - okay
C - very good

5) How the speakers sound when overdriven.
A - excellent
C - good
D - great

The Copperheads were the first 10's I owned and I used to think they sounded great. Then got the Dr Z - better speakers IMO, and a really great sounding cab. Recently got the Port City with the Cajuns - oh yeah!

Have you tried the copperhead with the cajun? I've seen mixed reviews of that set up.

 

[mprvise]

Have you tried the copperhead with the cajun? I've seen mixed reviews of that set up.

No, haven't tried that but I've seen folks use that combo as well. This thread has me wanting to try the Scumbacks mentioned above in my Encore though. :AOK

 

[cestlamort]

slight hijack:
opinions on older jensen c10r for a 410 fender concert II? Would it be a significant upgrade over the stock ones?

 

[GTRJohnny]

I'm hoping to be able to try an Eminence 1028 at some point...

 

[2x6L6]

I went and put this table together when I had the same quest:
http://www.alaska.net/~jimbeck/guitars/Eminence_Speaker_Comparisons_and_Info_TGP_10_inch.htm

I also have a Freda Live 2x10 cab with a Ramrod/Copperhead combination which I really like a lot now that they're broken in. Heritage Colonial amp, rock and blues, they sound great clean and overdriven.

In my SF Vibrolux Reverb I have a Ragin' Cajun/Legend 105 combination which is simply grand, clean or overdrive. The Legend keeps the Vibrolux more in Fender territory. The Cajun is loud and big.

Tomo's clips on the Eminence site are some of the best speaker comparison clips I've ever heard. I find them a very useful reference.

 

[trumpus]

I'm using a Ragin Cajun/Delta Demon combo right now in my '78 VR. I've tried the RC/Copperhead combo as well and I think they both sound great. I'm still on the fence, and the CH may end up back in there at some point.

I've also seen the recommendation for a pair of Emi Legend 105's

Brian

 

[BroomH]

I've built a 4x10 using second hand G10L-35 Celestions. Very well defined bass and very tactile tone. The speakers were well broken in. Amazing speakers. This speakers are on the bass side.

I've tried a 1x10 with a Jensen P10R, pretty nice clean tone, but the overdrive wasn't very focused.

 

[bosstone]

I've built a 4x10 using second hand G10L-35 Celestions. Very well defined bass and very tactile tone. The speakers were well broken in. Amazing speakers. This speakers are on the bass side.

I've tried a 1x10 with a Jensen P10R, pretty nice clean tone, but the overdrive wasn't very focused.

Celestion G10L-35's are great. They come in Marshall 1965A & B cabs, all for about $350.00. G10S-50's are great too. They have tighter bass and have later break up. I am also a big fan of Weber Blue Pup ceramics, which are available in different wattages and speaker doping. There is also an AlNiCo version that I have had but I like the ceramic better.

 

[earthmud]

I went and put this table together when I had the same quest:
http://www.alaska.net/~jimbeck/guitars/Eminence_Speaker_Comparisons_and_Info_TGP_10_inch.htm

I also have a Freda Live 2x10 cab with a Ramrod/Copperhead combination which I really like a lot now that they're broken in. Heritage Colonial amp, rock and blues, they sound great clean and overdriven.

In my SF Vibrolux Reverb I have a Ragin' Cajun/Legend 105 combination which is simply grand, clean or overdrive. The Legend keeps the Vibrolux more in Fender territory. The Cajun is loud and big.

Tomo's clips on the Eminence site are some of the best speaker comparison clips I've ever heard. I find them a very useful reference.

Just wondering If you had to make a choice between RC/L or the RR/C which would you choose?

 

[Bikedude]

I have a Goodsell 17 loaded with 2X10 in. eminence speakers. One is a Rajun Cajun, the other a Copperhead. Both produce a nice full and tight bottom end, more than my 1X12 combos. The top end is rich and glassy, never brittle or ice picky. With and overdriven sound by the amp or pedals, this combination produces a very smooth distortion, never grainy or frizzy. I play some classic rock, motown, and some 50's and 60's stuff and this combination of speakers suits my style perfectly. I love the sound of the 2X10's over a 1X12 combo. This amp blows away my modded DRRI, and is on equal footing with my 73SFTR, and my HRD 4X10, although def. not as loud, but I mic anyway so who needs huge amounts of volume these days.

 

[Bikedude]

BTW I forgot to mention that with the 2X10's, sound dispertion is a lot more "3D" and projection is way better than with a 12.

 

[guitarcrazy2004]

....Scumbacks..all the way !!!

 

[2x6L6]

Just wondering If you had to make a choice between RC/L or the RR/C which would you choose?

That's a really tough call. I have the RC/L in my Vibrolux, which is to your original post, so I guess I'd have to say for that amp, the RC/L. I decided not to go with a Ramrod in my VR, simply to maintain the American flavor of the amp. I also felt the breakup characteristics of the Cajun might be better suited to the Fender amp - in my experience, Vibroluxes aren't very "clean" amps - they're sweet 'n crunchy! (Of course, the Ramrod or any other "British" flavored speaker might exploit that in a very cool way...) The addition of the Legend to the mix adds in more of the classic/vintage flavor to the Cajun's big, loud rock tone.

As to the RR/CH combo - it actually would probably sound really cool in the VR. In my limited experience, I think the CH is a harder speaker to get along with. In my Freda cab, I felt it was adding a sizzle to the high-mids that I had to eq out - but, once it was broken in (~20 hours), that's not been a problem. It's definitely got more spank and whiz on the high end but added to the harmonic complexity of the Ramrod, it's a pretty dynamic combination. When I tried the Legend with the Ramrod in that cab, it sounded good, but less exciting than the RR/CH combo. BTW, I also tried the RC with the RR - sounded OK, but nowhere near as dynamically cool as the other combinations. When you look at the graphs on the Eminence site and compare the various speakers, it's easy to see why. Some complement each other better than others.

The other combo I tried was the RC/CH, which was very good. I suspect that would make an excellent Fender amp set-up. That's what Hermida recommends in his cabs.

If I were to make any changes to my Freda, it would be to swap out the CH with a Legend 105, or maybe one of the new Emi Red Fang 10". Or scrap it all and go with Scumback! If I were to make any changes to my VR - well, I wouldn't.

All that being said (sorry for the length) I like the RC/L combo in my VR enough that I have no desire to mess with it. The Vibrolux is a great amp, and only gets better with better speakers - any of these would be a good choice, just different flavors.

 

[earthmud]

Any more opinions?

 

[mikelaw]

1) What 10" speakers they like.
Celestion Vintage 10's 60 watters
Fender Eminence 35 watters
Jensen reissue P10R
Eminence Legend blue frames

2) What amp or cab the use the speakers in.
'63 Fender Concert
Homemade 4-10 cab
Kalamazoo Model One

3) What type of music they use the speakers for.
Blues, Garage, Rock

4) How the speakers sound Clean.
Celestion Vintage 10's excel at clean

5) How the speakers sound when overdriven.
Jensen and low watt 10's are great driven hard, Celestion is great overall too

 

[silver surfer]

Isn't all this moot as we stand at the dawn of the release of the Celestion gold alnico 10?