Polytone Mini Brute/Teeny Brute Speaker

[Agwood75]

I’m not a jazz player, but came across a Polytone mini brute the other day for a good price and I’d always heard good things about them. I know they are loved by jazz players, so I thought this would be a good place to get some advice.

This is the 90 watt version with a 12” speaker. Not sure of the year but it has a felt tolex and definitely looks very mid to late 70s.

When i got it home it home, I noticed that there was a hole in the speaker that I didn’t see when I picked it up. I got it at a great price and was able to confirm that it turned on, so if I had to sell it for parts I could definitely get my money back. However I would like to keep it if i heard the sound and fell in love with it.

My question is, is it worth trying to get the original speaker reconed? I’ve read info both ways on the original speaker making the Polytone what it is and others on how it sounds better if you replace the speaker. If the best path is to replace the speaker, what are some suggestions on a replacement speaker? I’ve read on here that the Eminence Beta series is a good replacement, is that the consensus on the best replacement? I also dont want to go down a rabbit hole of replacing the speaker with a $300 speaker and then finding other issues, because if I dont like it I would like to sell it move on. However the Beta is reasonably priced.

Also a side question, I play country and some southern rock, what’s the consensus on this amp for those styles?

[vintagelove]

I’m not a jazz player, but came across a Polytone mini brute the other day for a good price and I’d always heard good things about them. I know they are loved by jazz players, so I thought this would be a good place to get some advice.

This is the 90 watt version with a 12” speaker. Not sure of the year but it has a felt tolex and definitely looks very mid to late 70s.

When i got it home it home, I noticed that there was a hole in the speaker that I didn’t see when I picked it up. I got it at a great price and was able to confirm that it turned on, so if I had to sell it for parts I could definitely get my money back. However I would like to keep it if i heard the sound and fell in love with it.

My question is, is it worth trying to get the original speaker reconed? I’ve read info both ways on the original speaker making the Polytone what it is and others on how it sounds better if you replace the speaker. If the best path is to replace the speaker, what are some suggestions on a replacement speaker? I’ve read on here that the Eminence Beta series is a good replacement, is that the consensus on the best replacement? I also dont want to go down a rabbit hole of replacing the speaker with a $300 speaker and then finding other issues, because if I dont like it I would like to sell it move on. However the Beta is reasonably priced.

Also a side question, I play country and some southern rock, what’s the consensus on this amp for those styles?

I've tried them with a bunch of speakers, they all sounded good. Given that you're not a jazz player, you might even prefer it (more than likely honestly). I would look for a deal on a lightly used speaker locally. Be sure to try it with an eq pedal, you can get a very familiar fender'y sound with a little mid scoop and top band boost.

Enjoy!!!

[Herbie]

Congrats for Your Polytone!

Polytones work fine with every genre. My pal plays jazz, rock and soul thru his Mini Brute II.

Emi Beta is a popular speaker in them but as vintagelove said anything goes. I have read a testimony that Jensen Tornado would be a best aftermarket speaker in Polytone. It would save some kgs too!

Good luck for the swap! Be careful with the glass fiber, it makes You itchy!

[Franz 1997]

70s Minibrutes came with a special speaker that had either a 4 or 3.2 ohm impedance, rather than the usual 8 ohm speakers readily available.
For full power output, you need that 4 or 3.2 ohm speaker impedance, although many players find that an 8 ohm speaker sounds just fine, provided it's an efficient model. Into 8 ohms, the power would be approximately halved, altho' due to the nature of the power/loudness ratio, it wouldn't be much less loud..

As your original speaker is concerned, has it got a tear in it, or just a small hole? It's possible to repair a speaker with just a small hole, in many cases. If it's torn, of course it would need a re-cone, or a replacement.

[Agwood75]

Thanks for all of the responses. I ended up doing a DIY repair on the speaker, it ended up having about a 1-1/2” tear in it once I got it all apart and really looked at it. I figured I couldn’t hurt it anymore and repaired the tear with a little watered down wood glue and a paint brush. Let it dry for about 24 hours and plugged it in and it sounded great. The repair seemed to hold really well and I’m pretty impressed with how clear it sounded. I may just let the damaged speaker ride for as long as it will let me.

I think with an eq pedal, a compression pedal and a delay this thing could be a country beast. Had a lot of twang with my telecaster on the medium bright and bright settings, all most too much on bright, but with an eq I think I can mellow that out some. Thanks again.

[vintagelove]

Thanks for all of the responses. I ended up doing a DIY repair on the speaker, it ended up having about a 1-1/2” tear in it once I got it all apart and really looked at it. I figured I couldn’t hurt it anymore and repaired the tear with a little watered down wood glue and a paint brush. Let it dry for about 24 hours and plugged it in and it sounded great. The repair seemed to hold really well and I’m pretty impressed with how clear it sounded. I may just let the damaged speaker ride for as long as it will let me.

I think with an eq pedal, a compression pedal and a delay this thing could be a country beast. Had a lot of twang with my telecaster on the medium bright and bright settings, all most too much on bright, but with an eq I think I can mellow that out some. Thanks again.

You have to remember a polytone has a different tone stack than the typical fender/TMB eq we're all familiar with. The Poly has WAY MORE mids. I would suggest cutting out some middle, that will get you to that familiar Fender curve. Then just boost the top band for sparkle.

Hope that helps.