Tube Amp Archive

Hello All!

I have a Hot Rod Deville 4x10 on the bench. The customer (a good friend) wanted the Fromel Supreme Mod Kit installed as well as all new pots. Done and done. Normally, I would play the amp before repairs begin, but since this is a friend’s amp, I didn’t think there would be any gotchas. There’s a gotcha; three of the speakers have stressed voice coils, two of them are pretty bad while the third one might be passable. It has the Fender V 1030 speakers. I did some googling and learned these are made by Eminence, but that is all I was able to uncover. My friend is low-income, and I am sure he wont be happy to hear he’s going to have to dump more money into the amp.

I found a source for the original speakers for $60 apiece, but I am concerned he will wind up in the same position down the road. These speakers are allegedly rated for 30W. There are four in the amp with a pair of 6L6GC finals. So this obviously doesn’t add up, but that’s where we seem to be at the moment. I did a lot of research on the CE Distribution web site, and I’ve found two possible candidates that look interesting:

Jensen Jets Falcon: 40W, 95dB sensitivity, $162 for four including tax and shipping.
Eminence Patriot Copperhead: 75W, 99dB sensitivity, $231 for four including tax and shipping.
Fender Special Design V 1030: 30W, ?dB sensitivity, $224 for three including tax and shipping.

Questions
- Any idea which Eminence off-the-shelf speaker comes the closest, sonically?
- Are there any other 10, inexpensive speakers I should be considering?

Many thanks,
Lou

JazzGuitarGimp wrote: ↑Tue Jul 07, 2020 1:28 pm Jensen Jets Falcon: 40W, 95dB sensitivity, $162 for four including tax and shipping.

Right there: I've used Jensen Falcons to good effect several times. Have a pair in my brown '62 Super and it sounds - super! At only $162 inclusive, for a set of 4, heck that's an unbeatable deal.

Other "bargain price" speakers I've used as subs in similar combos with excellent results, Jensen MOD35 & MOD50.

Were the original speakers those blue or black frame Alnico Eminence from the late 80's - early 90's? I find they don't stand up to punishment & have an annoying "clacky" high frequency response as well.

I also have used a few 10" Jensen Jet Falcons, the ones with the greenish cones. I like them a lot, but they are mid-forward speakers, FYI. I see no reason not to choose them, however.

My favorite cheapo 10 inch speakers are: Celestion Ten 30s. You can find them for $35 each sometimes less.
However, speakers being such a big imprint on the sound - you gotta kind of know what sound he is after. Those Celestions have a nice rock grind when pushed.
Jupiter 10 inch speakers are very reasonable if he is after an old school tone.
Happy hunting

Thanks for the onput, guys! Leo, the originals have a brown and brown-mustard-yellow label: https://www.angela.com/fenderspeaker108 ... 10002.aspx

Any other thoughts?

Thanks!

Hello --
Stepping carefully into this as my experience is limited and budget fairly flexible. The '64 Super Reverb in my music room has two of it's original alnico Fender 10" (CTS??) plus a pair of '70s era Celestion G10S-50. Came that way without me properly noticing. Once noticed that was attributed as a key virtue. On to that in more detail below, but know this my benchmark in making suggestions. Special fondness here for 10" speakers and have singles of several. Eminence Lil' Buddy is a favourite and same price as Copperhead. Copperhead is cool too. Their Legend 1058/10516 are a fine speaker. A pair of 16Ω live here in a tweed Fender styled amp ~20W providing full justice. Skipping for sake of brevity and actual availability of several favoured alternative speakers. View is that 4x10 has the unique opportunity to usefully mix two speaker types as well presented by that Super. If it was an amp for me on tight budget I'd try a pair of 1028K and a pair of Lil' Buddy, or perhaps a pair of 1058.

It's really key to know what sound your friend has in their mind's ear. Spending a bit extra even when cash is limited can sometimes make the difference.

Best .. Ian

didit wrote: ↑Tue Jul 07, 2020 9:05 pm Their Legend 1058/10516 are a fine speaker.

Agreed. Forgot about these - have 2 in a RedPlate 2 x 10 combo.

After discussing options with the owner, he decided to go with the Eminence Patriot Copperhead. Due to arrive tomorrow. It will be interesting to hear how they sound in this amp... thanks to all who chimed in; I appreciate your help and support.

Ciao,
Lou