What speakers did Ken have in mind when building the Express

[gnugear]

Greenbacks, G12Hs, Alnicos?

[BluzMike]

From what I have read, Ken wanted to make the best rock lead amp ever to use with a basket weave 1982 ( 4 x G12-30H). Seems he performed a very convincing job

Michael

[Plexified]

Kenny loves the origional celestion blue as his favorite speaker . That being said he built with the 4x12 in mind . He would use an open back vox 2x12 with blues and a 20 foot cord with lamp wire at times . Keep in mind he was involved with the engineering of the reissue blues . The Rocket was voiced with these . The g-12M with 003 and 014 cones from the pre pulsonic years were prefered as weel as the g-12H with the same cones . The 25's were creamier and more balanced and more fore lead and the 30's were best described as more . More bass and treble AND volume . This was the mindset for the express . Flat out balls to the wall rock and roll tone . The liverpool was more of a 2x12 vox vibe as the strat was the intended pinpoint . That being said the sensitivity and ability of the circuits to exploit the subtle nuances of the guitar and cab or effects is quite extreme . you will have variances form cab to cab like no other . His favorite set up for the express was an ampeg v4 loaded with greenbacks . I own several and yes they are slightly better than a basketweave marshall cabinet . The early basketweaves with the caster cup sockets and heavy duty soundposts . The frontloaded v4 has a bit more dispertion and shimmer in the highs . Its a straight only cab and isn't quite as laser beam focused as the marshall . They can be had on the cheap and the stealth factor is priceless . David Scott

[Mark]

I think there is something in one of the Kendrick books about Ken Fischers thoughts on Celestion speakers.

I'm under the impression KF liked the 55hz bass speakers with the Express. In my mind, this would make sense as the treble of the amp would be rolled off by the speakers, but perhaps those who have tried them out could give us all the benefit of their experience. I think there is a recording on this site with Dave Funk playing an Express through two Weber Blue dog speakers, one ceramic, one alnico. He liked the set up.

Does anyone know what a V4 cab looks like?

I've owned a VT-40, but I can't say that I've seen a V-4.

[martins3325]

Does anyone know what a V4 cab looks like?

I had a V4 cab. Pretty non-descript looking. Built like a tank, front loading cab. Nice tight sounding cab If memory serves me. Pretty rare to find anymore, but not terribly expensive when you do. Below is a pic of an old one missing its logo