Original Speaker in Twin Reverb

[Chemo64]

What speaker(s) came installed in the early Blackface Twins? I've seen several sources listing different brands. Does anyone know the specifics (brand, model, specs)?

[Structo]

Probably depends mainly on the year of the amp as Fender was known for using what was available at the time and what they had on hand.
These were used from 68 to 82:
Oxford 12T6, Utah 12" plus some others.

63 to 67 used these:
Jensen C12N or Oxford 12T6

[Picker]

I have a 1970 and I think it has the Oxfords.

[jaysg]

Weren't they always available from the factory with JBL D120's as an upgrade?

[titanicslim]

Weren't they always available from the factory with JBL D120's as an upgrade?

Yes, Jay, I believe they were, as I can recall from early in the '60s. That black box with the black control panel and the little silver disc floating inside there. It made an impression. Sitting there in the music store window. As I walked past on my way to and from school. Every day.

I believe they were available in pretty much the whole line, as I've got a friend who has a JBL-equipped Deluxe from that era. Uses it for keyboard.

[Chemo64]

Thanks fellas,
As I'm building the AB763 circuit, looks like the Jensen C12N would be the correct speaker. I see that these are still being made by Jensen.

Anyone care to offer their opinion about how close these are to the ones made back in the 60's?

[Andy Le Blanc]

most fender combos that I've had across my bench
had replacements or blown spk...
I've heard purist arguments for oxfords and utahs
to the exclusion of everything else
check out weber speakers before you commit
my ears favor jensens in an open back in general...
but webers are the one speaker that I havent heard
anything negative about

[CaseyJones]

Weren't they always available from the factory with JBL D120's as an upgrade?

There are pros and cons to the D120s. On the plus side they sound great.

On the minus side they weigh a ton and a Twin is already a heavy amplifier. On the minus side they have a tight voice coil gap and paper voice coils formers so a lot of them "rub". If your Twin wasn't fitted with D120s to begin with the speaker studs may be too short to mount them. They're expensive.

Thanks fellas,
As I'm building the AB763 circuit, looks like the Jensen C12N would be the correct speaker. I see that these are still being made by Jensen.

Anyone care to offer their opinion about how close these are to the ones made back in the 60's?

Yeah, the '60s Jensens are the real deal, the reissues aren't. The originals were made in Chicago on "inch" tooling. The reissues are made in Italy on metric tooling.

For utility use stick a brand new set of Eminence Legends in there. They're U.S. made in Eminence, Kentucky. The Eminence speakers sound great and you'll never blow them.

I've heard purist arguments for oxfords and utahs
to the exclusion of everything else

They must be deaf purists 'cuz to my ears Utahs and Ox Farts sound crummy compared to Jensens.

Purists will swear by a dull sounding combination if that was the way it was built originally. Fender stuck "budget" speakers like Oxfords in smaller amps like the Princeton. The point is moot, wind up the wick on a Twin with either vintage Oxfords or Utahs in it and they'll be BLOWN Oxfords and Utahs pretty quick! Same with the original Jensens for that matter.

[Chemo64]

CaseyJones wrote:

For utility use stick a brand new set of Eminence Legends in there. They're U.S. made in Eminence, Kentucky. The Eminence speakers sound great and you'll never blow them.


Thanks, I'll check them out. I've been sort of wrapped around the axel about trying to build this chassis as close as possible to original specs and components. I've waffled from boutique style audiophile foil-in-oil caps back to less expensive ones, and can't seem to decide between composite resistors or not. EVERYTHING will change the end results, so this is not nearly as simple of a task as I origanlly thought. This probably makes some of you veterans chuckle, I'm sure!