10" Speaker Recommendation

[PDC]

I recently grabbed a used Marshall Mini Stack Cabinet with the stock Celestion G10D Speaker. It lives behind the sofa and I use it solely for practice with my Bogner Mini Head. The cab sounds equal parts sterile, boxy and flat. (FWIW - the little Bogner sounds surprisingly good driving either of my 4x12s)

I am considering swapping out the G10D with either a G10 Vintage or a G10 Creamback and I wonder if anyone has any first-hand experience with either speaker. I know this practice rig / single 10 will never rival 12" variants, but I am convinced it can sound better than it does with the G10D.

I appreciate any thoughts!

 

[VonBonfire]

I appreciate any thoughts!

With that in mind I thought it might be good mention that a nice pair of suede Carlos loafers can improve the tone of even the most doggy practice rigs. Also might consider the Marshall mini fridge since having the cold beer of your choice within easy reach also makes any amp sound better. Happy saturday.

 

[ChurchHill]

Maybe the G10 Greenback? If not, I'd go with the Vintage. Any of them will be a major improvement over the G10D.

 

[DanTravis62]

It depends on the type of tone you're going for

... if you're wanting this to do high gain? Anything that could remotely be defined as enough gain for 80s metal, classic metal, power metal, thrash metal, modern metal?

Then you're in luck because the answer is super easy!

...Replace it with a 12 inch. Seriously. The 10 inch speaker will literally never sound good for high gain tones, and trying to make it sound good just leads to wasted money and sadness. I tried almost a dozen different 10" speakers before admitting defeat and giving up.

If you want to do blues and rock? Yeah get a 10" vintage or creamback, that will sound great for that.

Mind what I said though, because I've gone down this road before and know from painful, money-wasting experience. You are never and I mean ever, going to get the 10 inch speaker to sound "right" for anything high gain. It can sound fantastic for blues, classic rock, roots, americana, garage rock, and anything else that doesn't require it to be tight and heavy. It will never sound right for heavy metal. People are going to say "try the _____ 10" and "Try the ____ 10", it sounds almost like a 12 inch".

They won't. They don't. You're asking it to do something it wasn't made to do.

 

[ChurchHill]

I'll second this. The only thing I've ever liked about 10" is old Fenders and even then I don't like most of them. Anything higher gain than classic rock just doesn't work as well as a 12".

 

[rsm]

get a 12"

 

[DanTravis62]

I'll second this. The only thing I've ever liked about 10" is old Fenders and even then I don't like most of them. Anything higher gain than classic rock just doesn't work as well as a 12".

Yep this. 10"s sound great in old fenders for playing classic rock style stuff or clean tones, but they never sound "right" playing anything gainy

And I absolutely love me a vintage bassman or bassman LTD, those amps can sound freaking amazing

Just not for anything gainy. They sound like farty shit for gain, because no matter how much you massage it, EQ it, swap tubes/speakers/pedals/cables literally anything - they sound like 10 inch speakers. Which sound freakin' glorious for clean, blues, classic rock, etc, but not for high gain sounds.

I've done everything imaginable to try and get around this and something about the physics just doesn't work.

 

[Rottweiler]

I recently grabbed a used Marshall Mini Stack Cabinet with the stock Celestion G10D Speaker. It lives behind the sofa and I use it solely for practice with my Bogner Mini Head. The cab sounds equal parts sterile, boxy and flat. (FWIW - the little Bogner sounds surprisingly good driving either of my 4x12s)

I am considering swapping out the G10D with either a G10 Vintage or a G10 Creamback and I wonder if anyone has any first-hand experience with either speaker. I know this practice rig / single 10 will never rival 12" variants, but I am convinced it can sound better than it does with the G10D.

I appreciate any thoughts!

4:26 is where the 10" samples are. The link should take you right to that spot. Might be a few before that but the Greenback 10" is at 4:26 and a few seconds