Vibrolux Reverb Speaker(s) Suggestions?
Hey Jim and other VR owners -
Any recommendations a good sounding *new* replacement speakers or speaker combinations for a Vibrolux Reverb? Looking for speakers that can be easily bought (old gold label Jensen C10Ns are just too few and far between and expensive these days). Do the recs for the Princeton Reverbs apply here as well, or are there other options for the 2 x 10 situation? I talked to Keith Reinegger (The Amp Lab) some time ago and he said the Jensen Neos were good sounding in this amp. Any input is appreciated - thanks in advance.
-Bernie
Any recommendations a good sounding *new* replacement speakers or speaker combinations for a Vibrolux Reverb? Looking for speakers that can be easily bought (old gold label Jensen C10Ns are just too few and far between and expensive these days). Do the recs for the Princeton Reverbs apply here as well, or are there other options for the 2 x 10 situation? I talked to Keith Reinegger (The Amp Lab) some time ago and he said the Jensen Neos were good sounding in this amp. Any input is appreciated - thanks in advance.
-Bernie
Comments
That said, I did a little digging around and asked a lot of people for their opinions, not just Jim. Got a LOT of recommendations for the WGS G10C, and ended up buying a pair (actually, I went with a G10C and a G10C/S which is the smooth cone version). They sound great - really efficient - but they're kind of heavy compared to many others. The Neos seemed tempting until I realized that they're probably not a great choice for that amp. If you read Jensen's description ("The NEO 10-100 has a smooth bass heavy tone. When presented with overdrive distortion, it has a smooth fuzz voice."), that doesn't sound like the best choice for a Vibrolux at all. The weight savings normally associated with a Neo are pretty negligible when you're only saving a pound (if even) per speaker. Normally I'm a pretty big proponent of the Jensen Neos - have them in two other amps and love them, but I don't think a 10 is in my future.
I haven't really figured out what I'd like best. I think I am going to pull the WGS speakers simply due to the weight - if I wanted really heavy speakers, I'd suck it up and get a pair of JBL D110s. But alas, I am 28 with the back of a 80-year old, so that option is out. I do most of my gigging with my Vibrolux these days and it sounds really good, but even that's a bit of a stretch to lift when it's included with the rest of my rig, which involves a Vibroverb, a pedal steel, pedals, cables, stands, a seat, and my trusty J45.
I'm definitely curious to hear what other people suggest.
Each of these songs were done with the VR with the G10Cs (and a Tele very similar to Jim's actually, through a Carbon Copy that kind of overdrives weirdly at times and has since been put to pasture):
On this one I'm playing the second solo and I go second in the trading 4s section at the end. Probably have a Klon on here too, and this is a Tele, but with a humbucker in the bridge. So admittedly it's not REALLY a Tele, eh?
After a few really problematic gigs, I've decided I'm definitely pulling out the WGS speakers very soon. Too loud, too much bass. Really hard when I have to keep stage volume low because even at 3 on the volume knob (and 2 on the bass knob) we've been having issues with it clipping the board, and since I'm mostly relying on my monitor mix now (yuck) that's no good.
Anyway, I think I'll be trying something completely different. Most likely a combination of 2 Celestions, although which 2 I haven't quite figured out yet. Definitely one of them will be a Gold. The other will either be a 10" Greenback or the G10 Vintage. If anyone's got thoughts on this, feel free to share them. Once I've got it all figured out and new speakers in the amp, I'll spend some time breaking them in and re-post thoughts and perhaps a clip or two... although that may take a while as I just accidentally bought a Tone King Imperial, which has more or less relegated the Vibrolux to being my #1 closet amp.
By the way - Bernie, did you ever end up replacing yours yet? What did you go with, or are you still doing research?