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Here's a question for the membership:
I may be replacing speakers in a 2 (10) cabinet and would like suggestions on which of the speakers are best for clear, clean, crisp output. A b eta Eminence as used in the Hendriksen amps or Celest ion Speakers as used in many of Raezers Edge cabinets. I recently sold my JBL's so I don't think I will find anything as good as those but maybe I'm wrong. Please reply with any suggestions. Thanks ED
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06-17-2026 11:53 AM
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Lots of great speakers out there!
I've been using Fat Jimmy speakers (made by WGS) and have the 10" alnicos in a combo and extension cab - love them!
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What would be the power handling rating that you require? If you're using a 25W amp versus 1000W amp, it makes a difference.
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The 10" caliber doesn't offer nearly as many options as 12". Yet, I think it's better for jazz. Unless your amp exceeds 100W (to 4 ohm), I'd look at Jensen's Blackbird AlNiCo 40. Weighs under 4 lbs. The 50W Jensen Silverbird with ferrite magnet also sounds great, costs less and weighs only a pound more.
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I don't think I played an AlNiCo speaker yet but based on the description of each, I think I prefer Ceramic. What is the actual difference IRL between the 2, when or why would you choose one type over the other?
Originally Posted by Gitterbug
Ty
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Jupiter midnight 10” are fantastic and have the sparkle of JBLs. Another one that is good is the celestion gold ten. I love the Jensen blackbirds but they are more of a small mag American alnico sound, which is bright but not sparkly clean if that’s what you’re looking for.
Jupiter and Fat Jimmy are both made by WGS, I haven’t tried all three brands for 10” ceramics but they are probably similar.
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Also would be helpful if you define what you mean by clear and crisp as people may interpret it differently. Part of what I think makes henriksens sounds so “crisp” is the ported closed back cabinet design, same as the raezers edge cabinets. The speakers they use aren’t particularly sparkly (which is how I interpreted “clean”). In an open back nothing beats the midnights with my 1964 vibrolux reverb.
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For the SeQuel Vermont, a Johnny Smith tribute amp, SeQuel / Raezer's Edge chose a 12" Jensen Tornado. It's an ideal choice for an amp built as a first-order priority for fantastic clean tones. I'm equally impressed by the Celestion Gold 10" Alnico in my Wavelength cab, used with the Wavelength Twenty Four head, which has wonderful clean tones.
The other best cleans I've gotten from speakers was when I put Electro-Voice EVM12L drivers in my prior Mesa Blue Angel and Mesa Mark V amps. I got turned on to the EVM-12L when I bought a new Mesa Mark IV with that speaker stock, 35 years ago. Its little brother, the EVM10L was equally desirable, though those things are nearly ghosts now. People who still have them in amps just don't want to give them up. The EVMs add noticeable weight though, if you are sensitive to that.
PhilLast edited by 213Cobra; 06-18-2026 at 06:25 AM.
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I've found that some of the cleanest sounding speakers are PA speakers.
But, when you use "Clean" PA speakers as a guitar speaker, you will probably won't like the sound.
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I agree. EVM speakers are very clean and very stable.
I have a 10" purple Fane speaker in my Hiwatt, which has never reached the edge of breakup.
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Why'd you go and do that?!?! Originally Posted by Ed Monkiewicz
Someone somewhere has gotta be selling their old D- or E-series drivers; I'd exhaust all those possibilities before buying new speakers Originally Posted by Ed Monkiewicz
...but then I'd probably wind up buying new from Celestion or Eminence.
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Thanks Marc:
I've heard a lot about the Fat Jimmy speakers and the fact that they are Alnico is a plus since that where the sound I'm looking for is most likely to be found. Let me check with a local supplier of speakers to see if he has any I can test. I'll let you know what I think once I find o ut. ED
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I find the ceramic's to be better for contemporary genres whether blues, r&B etc whereas Alnico capture the clean, pure sounds needed for jazz. Or so I believe and experienced.
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Good question Bob
I'm not actively playing but still have the cabinet they came out of and have it listed for sale. I own a 1961 16 ohm.D131 (12" JBL) in super good condition that I put in a solid Mahogany cabinet so I didn't see the need to hold onto the two 10" JBL's . Maybe I'm come to regret it, maybe I won't ! That remains to be seen. Thanks for your suggestions however. I know Hendriksen uses Beta Eminence speakers in his cabinets so I'm looking into those as an option.
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Is there a particular Celestion or Eminence model you would recommend. I'm thinking the Celestion are ceramic, no? I know Raezers Edge uses them and they are a possibility but not as good as the JBL's I had, I don't think???
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Completely agreed. Originally Posted by GuyBoden
With all the respect, completely disagreed. This kind of speakers just don't add their own color to the final result, thus letting the sound of the amplified guitar be what it truly is. Originally Posted by GuyBoden
They are by far my choice for some time now.
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The best I've found for use in my Vibrolux Reverb (2x10") are Cannabis Rex. The Eminence Beta sounded sort of muffled and boxy in it, to my ears. I seldom fire up the VR, but I do use it as a cabinet with my Quilter SBUS, which sounds better to me and doesn't heat the house.
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I just took out the Jensen Tornado Stealth 65 from my Mesa "Blue Angel", and replace it with a WGS ET65. What a nice speaker for jazz... Someone mentioned the EVM speakers, and everyone is familiar with the EV12L, but the EV12S is even better, the short coil tightens up the boomy bass, and produces an upper creamy midrange...
Cheers,
Arnie..Last edited by arnie65; 06-18-2026 at 10:41 PM.
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Yes, in recent years, I only use PA and FRFR speakers, but they don't sound like conventional guitar speakers. But, many guitarists might not like the sound. Obviously I use IR's. Originally Posted by Pierrot
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After many years of racking my brains trying to find MY sound, I came to the conclusion that the speaker is the most important part of the equation. Almost more so than the guitar (many great guitarists use solid-body and archtop guitars interchangeably, and there’s hardly any difference) or the musician themselves and their personal touch. Speakers that are supposedly ‘jazzy’ all sound to me as if they’re excessively overloaded in the mid-range, and they end up overpowering instruments and amplifiers that are already very comfortable in the mid-range of the frequency spectrum (the guitar is, after all, an instrument with a mid-range register), to the point of becoming utterly nasal.
For me, at least, the search is over. PA speaker forever.
What’s more, with a continuous power rating of 300W and a peak of 600W, mine give impressive headroom.
It’s impossible to distort the speaker itself due to volume levels.
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Eminence Deltalite Ii 2510 for a PA style recommendation. But.... I am a multi instrumentalist, amps and speakers have to work with everything with minimum coloring of the sound. The light neo weight is the other benefit. For guitarists using drive they also work well but don't change the sound going in so it has to be right up front.
I do have a couple old D and E series JBLs I won't be getting rid of. I use a E120 in my Ampeg Gemini, loud without turning up, of course picking up anything with a JBL is a workout.
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I have an EVM-12L for sale locally. Super clean, loud, and powerful. I'm worried that it's too heavy to ship.
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That's a good one, for sure. Originally Posted by Woody Sound
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I sold all my D series because I blew them up many times and my local recone man who did good work for very reasonable money passed away in 2019. Between $hipping, the increased cost of recone kits, and my penchant for abusing them it just got to be too much $ to gig them. If I wasn't an abuser of speakers I would not sell any JBL's now as they are becoming very valuable, and highly collectible.
I did however, keep my single K series that was well broken in. It finally took a dump on me last year. Plan on grabbing another one and reconing the one I have because they are very close in tone to the D series except handle a lot more abuse.
I've been using EV Force 12's, which are a 150 watt handling poor man's EVM12. Very clean, neutral, and clear. They are available for a little over a hundred bucks in good shape but I find they sound their best when they are being pushed a little bit. The EV Force 10's are considered legendary and are very hard to come by and $$$ if you can find them....
Aside the fact that JBL no longer makes monster alnicos this is a great time to go speaker shopping since there are so many great choices. Another option to look into might be the Weber Michigan 10's. They are considered Weber's EV styled speakers. I have a 15" ceramic michigan in an old Gibson combo and it's been fantastic. Weber also makes them in alnico.
Sorry for the long post, I get excited with the thought of great speakers!
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