power scaling w/ speaker distortion

[Violin Player 75]

So, is anyone using smaller speakers with their power scaling Eg amps to get that speaker breakup at the lower volumes when attenuated? I mean we all have at least one cab that can take the amp dimed... so what about the other end?

down the road I am considering finding a really nice 10-15 watt cab to run my amp scaled back.. but still pushing the speaker. I love my 212x but have not even gotten it near the break up volume to hear what that will add to the tone. That day will come soon


If I can figure some fancy footwork around the differing speaker loads+ efficencies.. it would be nice to hook up+ mic 2 cabs at differing wattages off the same head- one playing clean and another breaking up... then have more options on tape, or play around with panning.

 

[RockStarNick]

Do they even make 12" guitar speakers that are only 15 watts?

 

[aeroic]

Do they even make 12" guitar speakers that are only 15 watts?

yep they sure do. Celestion Alnico Blues are 15 watts, Warehouse Speakers Black and blues are 15 watts.

Eric

 

[RockStarNick]

Wow, whattya know... never knew they went THAT low.

cool.

 

[bruce egnater]

You will be walking the line between speaker breakup and speaker burn out. The 15 watt speaker will be very easy to blow with a fairly low power amp. There are different types of speaker distortion. One is a sort of compression that occurs when the cone can't move as fast or as far as you are demanding and it start to "squish". More of a feel thing. Overdriving a speaker to the point where the magnet looses control of the cone movement (too much power and low end) is not a nice distortion. Choosing the right speaker for a given cabinet is the key to all this. A Vintage 30 or Greenback in a small 1x12 cab has a nice tone up to a certain volume. Then they will begin to "break up" and eventually burn out. The highly technical term for this is "farting out". I think we all know the sound. We find, for example, a Classic Lead 80 does not "fart out" when used in single or dual configurations and works very well in smaller open or closed back boxes. Makes it a good choice for 1x12 or 2x12 combos. On the other hand, a Vintage 30 will fart like your Grandpa in a small, open back cab. This is not a reflection on th quality of a speaker. Just the correct (or incorrect) application. Conversely, a Classic Lead 80 does not sound very good in a 4x12.

 

[nikki-k]

2x12, G12M-25's.
Want to grab a matching 2x12 and maybe try doing a slightly different (but similar) speaker.. maybe mix n match.
With the Rebel, I have found that Greenbacks are great. With higher watt amps, I still prefer my EVM-12L's. Could just be voicing tho..