Weber Speakers

Dave Zirbel · Post by **Dave Zirbel** » 29 Jul 2003 8:46 am

Hi folks. Has any one tried these for pedal steel? They have a California Series that looks like it would be their choice for steelers. Just looking at other options.

Thanks, Dave Z[This message was edited by Dave Zirbel on 29 July 2003 at 09:46 AM.]

Grant Johnson · Post by **Grant Johnson** » 29 Jul 2003 8:55 am

I love, Weber's! I have two Weber Cal 10's in my Fender Super Reverb. Great Speakers!
Clean, lot's of tight low end... They added more headroom in my super...

Karlis Abolins · Post by **Karlis Abolins** » 29 Jul 2003 8:58 am

Dave, I recently built a "detuned" cab which I put the california 15 in. It sounds great across the whole spectrum. I got the aluminum dust cap so I don't know what the paper dust cap sounds like.

Karlis

Dave Zirbel · Post by **Dave Zirbel** » 29 Jul 2003 9:02 am

That's the input I'm looking for. Thanks. I'm hoping they work for steel and guitar.

Did you guys get the Alnicos or the ceramic ones?

DZ[This message was edited by Dave Zirbel on 29 July 2003 at 10:06 AM.]

Dave Van Allen · Post by **Dave Van Allen** » 29 Jul 2003 10:12 am

I have a weber Cali 15" alum cap, whatever the cheaper magnet is, i think it's ceramic.

I put it in my '68 SF Twin to give the JBL D130f a rest.

Soundwise, I liked it a lot, but put the JBL back in 'cause I love it.

I am gonna give the Cali another chance when I get the energy to swap it out again... my problem is the frame on the Cali doesn't clear the output tranny the way the JBL does- whoever did the 15" baffle for the twin didn't offset the hole. The Cali rubs up again it.[This message was edited by Dave Van Allen on 30 July 2003 at 05:05 AM.]

Dave Zirbel · Post by **Dave Zirbel** » 29 Jul 2003 10:49 am

DVA,
If you liked the ceramic one a lot, maybe you would love the Alnico. Do they come in 4 ohm and 8 ohm?

Thanks, Dave

Jon Light (deceased) · Post by **Jon Light (deceased)** » 29 Jul 2003 10:53 am

I have a Duane Marrs cab with a Cali 15", ceramic, paper cap I also have a home made open back box with a 12" Cali, same details.

I like them both a lot. Been using the 15" in my weekly gig for a bunch of months now. Just for the hell of it I used the 12 this week. It was a good reminder of what a nice punch a 12" speaker can give you.
I have no experience with a Weber alnico so I can't make any kind of comparison.

Dave Van Allen · Post by **Dave Van Allen** » 30 Jul 2003 4:10 am

Do they come in 4 ohm and 8 ohm?

yes- My JBL is an 8 ohm and the Twin wants to see 4. So I got the Cali in a 4ohm. it made a volume difference fer sure.

I intend to give it another chance. Perhaps put it in a modded bassman cabinet I have layin around (currently empty with a 2x12 baffle- may change the baffle out for a single 15 hole or enlarge one of the existing holes and have a 12" "port" )

Dave Zirbel · Post by **Dave Zirbel** » 30 Jul 2003 1:18 pm

Well, I ordered a 15" California with the ceramic magnet and aluminum dust cap today for my Vibrasonic Custom. I hope it sounds better than the Eminance that's in there. If their speakers are as good as their barbeque's I should be OK. Right?

DZ

Jon Light (deceased) · Post by **Jon Light (deceased)** » 30 Jul 2003 1:29 pm

FWIW---I liked my Webers right out of the box but the conventional wisdom is that they require a few hours of breaking in to loosen them up. There's a body of testimonial comments to the effect that some folks weren't sure how they felt about their new speakers but after a couple of gigs they came to life for them. Just curious---did you ever try a Black Widow in the Vibrasonic?
Good luck.

----don't forget to empty the ashes after every use.[This message was edited by Jon Light on 30 July 2003 at 02:30 PM.]

Dave Zirbel · Post by **Dave Zirbel** » 30 Jul 2003 2:02 pm

Never a BW but a JBL E-130 that was already broken in by my Webb. The JBL soundd good in the Fender. I want to use the Vibrasonic for steel and guitar combo gigs so I don't have to haul two amps.

DZ

Larry Bell · Post by **Larry Bell** » 30 Jul 2003 2:47 pm

Has anybody tried the California AlNiCo 15? I have an old Standel with an E-130 in it that just doesn't do it for me. My Fender amp fanatic buddy tells me the ceramic magnet just doesn't have the response. I was thinking about investing in a D-130 (or maybe a K), but the Weber may be less fragile and more serviceable. I'm pretty sure I want to go with the AlNiCo magnet but $200 for a speaker is a bit rich for my blood. Any comments?

------------------
Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2003 Fessenden S/D-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S-12 6x6, 1971 Dobro, Standel and Peavey Amps

Ron Whitworth · Post by **Ron Whitworth** » 4 Aug 2003 4:12 pm

Let me add my .02$ here also..I have owned about 5 Weber speakers( i still have 3 of them) & all were the California series.We all have different opinions & we ALL hear the sounds a little different(IMHO).I feel the Weber speakers are good speakers & probably the "best bang for your buck" speaker made today.The Peavey Black Widow series speakers are very well made & also reasonably priced.As i said above we all hear it a little different so my favorite speaker to my ears are the JBL's.The Peaveys & Webers are good speakers But my preference is JBL's.Probably not what you wanted to hear but just my opinion.Ron

Larry Bell · Post by **Larry Bell** » 4 Aug 2003 7:42 pm

Ron,
Did any of the Webers you've owned have the AlNiCo magnet? If so, any comparison vs ceramic?

------------------
Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2003 Fessenden S/D-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S-12 6x6, 1971 Dobro, Standel and Peavey Amps

Ron Whitworth · Post by **Ron Whitworth** » 5 Aug 2003 2:44 am

Hi Larry;
I did get 1 w/the AlNiCo magnet.Everyone told me to get it with the paper dustcap so i ordered it that way.A week later i sent it back to have the dustcap changed to aluminum which they did for more $$ + S&H.Not their fault because that was what i ordered.
By then i had a lot of $$$ in a speaker that was closer to the JBL than the ceramic was but still not quite there.I had a chance to sell the speaker for a little $$$ loss so i did.
I took the money & found a blown JBL & had it reconed to 4 ohms.I ended up with around the same money invested but have the sound i wanted.
Some guys say the speaker has very little to do with the sound but i am not one of them.I feel it has a lot to do with the end result.When you do a side by side comparison you can really hear the differences.To my ears the JBL's have a "midrange bloom" like NO other speakers i have heard (IMHO).The Weber California's & Peavey Black Widow's are closer than any other speakers i have heard & they are tough.To get up to the AlNiCo magnet Weber's you will spend some $$$ so make sure it is what you want would be my advice.Remember also,as i said above,"everyone hears it different too..