Mesa Black shadow speaker ?

Joe E · Post by **Joe E** » 1 Jun 2004 6:29 pm

I just picked up a boogie DC-2 for small guitar gigs. This amp is excellent. It has the black shadow "classic" speaker in it.

Any thoughts on this speaker? I am going to build a second speaker cab to match and was going to load it with a EVM-L. Would a EVM-L loaded in the amp itself improve the clean headroom? Will it add more bottom end?

Should I leave the black shadow in the combo and use a the EVM only in the extention cab?

THoughts anyone?

I play mostly modern blues in this band.

Joe.

Jack Francis · Post by **Jack Francis** » 1 Jun 2004 7:19 pm

i replaced my JBL's in my twin years ago with a coupla Mesa Boogie Black Shadows and thought that it sounded great. I put one of the JBL's in a Theil designed cab and used it when I needed a straight ahead country sound.
For classic rock and blues, I love the Boogies.

Joe E · Post by **Joe E** » 2 Jun 2004 12:54 pm

Thanks for the reply.

I actually like the sound of the 50 watt speaker that is in my boogie. But like this small (20 watt)boogie so much that I would like to use it on larger gigs too.

If I change out the speaker for a EVM-L would the more efficient speaker give me a slight percieved volume boost. At least enought to out weight the added weight?

Or is adding the second cabinet the answer?

Joe

Jack Francis · Post by **Jack Francis** » 2 Jun 2004 2:08 pm

b0b should wheigh in on this one.
I'm sure that while he was working at Mesa Boogie he must have listened to various amps with different speakers.
I only know the difference between JBL's with my Twin and other speakers...as far as one speaker being louder between the Boogie or Celestions and JBL's it didn't seem to matter that much.
I would think that the EV wouldn't break up much with a smaller amp.

Bobby Lee · Post by **Bobby Lee** » 2 Jun 2004 3:45 pm

I never liked the Black Shadow speakers. They always sounded sort of dull to me. The EVM-12L brings out the tone of the amp better and boosts the clean volume, too.

JBLs are too bright in a tube amp for my taste, but I know that a lot of steel players like them. I like the K-130 in my Webb a lot, but a tube amp can be downright painful in the dog's hearing range if you have a really bright speaker.

Nowadays I'm using Tone Tubbies. They have a very smooth high end and a rich bottom, and they weigh a lot less than the EVs. I course, they can't handle as much power, so I still use the EVs for loud gigs.

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<font size="1"><img align=right src="http://b0b.com/Hotb0b.gif" width="96 height="96">Bobby Lee - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs, Open Hearts
Sierra Session 12 (E9), Williams 400X (Emaj9, D6), Sierra Olympic 12 (C6add9),
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Joe E · Post by **Joe E** » 2 Jun 2004 5:25 pm

Thanks everyone. I really love this little amp and want to use it as much as possible. Obviously it is for 6 string guitar. It is a ton louder than my Fender Vibrolux and about equal to the 40 watts super. Just not as full. Hoping that a speaker swap will help.

I have a pair of the EVM-L at home and will try them.

Bob do you think I should use the EV's in both the amp and the ext cab?

Joe

Jack Francis · Post by **Jack Francis** » 2 Jun 2004 7:34 pm

See if you can find a Theil designed cab for an extension speaker GREAT bottom and plenty of highs.

bob's right on about JBL's for a tube amp too bright!

James Quackenbush · Post by **James Quackenbush** » 5 Jun 2004 10:39 am

Boogie put the "Black Shadow:" name on more than one speaker ....The 90 watt Black Shadow's were made by Celestion for Boogie, and the 200 watt Black Shadow was an EV speaker ....So I guess it all depends on which Black Shadow you are talking about ....The EV's are darker than the JBL's and are very efficient , but the Tone Tubbie's that b0b speak's of are even darker sounding ...All a matter of taste .....Jim

Bobby Lee · Post by **Bobby Lee** » 5 Jun 2004 5:03 pm

At first I thought that the Tone Tubbies were really dark, but now that I've dialed them in better they seem plenty bright. The difference is that the highs are smoother, if that makes any sense. They wouldn't cut it for the Bakersfield sound, but they're plenty bright enough for everything I've been doing lately.

Two EVM's should sound really good with your Boogie, using the 4 ohm tap. Be prepared for a substantial boost in headroom!

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<font size="1"><img align=right src="http://b0b.com/Hotb0b.gif" width="96 height="96">Bobby Lee - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs, Open Hearts
Sierra Session 12 (E9), Williams 400X (Emaj9, D6), Sierra Olympic 12 (C6add9),
Sierra Laptop 8 (E6add9), Fender Stringmaster (E13, A6),
Roland Handsonic, Line 6 Variax</font>

David Spangler · Post by **David Spangler** » 7 Jun 2004 2:09 pm

I believe the 50W Black Shadow may be made by Eminence. Back in the '80s there was a 150W Black Shadow made by Eminence. Speaker efficiency is rated at deciBels at 1 watt at 1 meter. Most Eminence and Celestion guitar speakers rate somewhere between 97 and 102 dB at 1W at 1M. The EV is rated at 100dB. What is NOT published is what happens when you start adding more watts. The EV stays clean up to 200W while other brands' voice coils saturate at lower levels and the cones breakup producing a form of distortion. The EV sounds good open-back or in the Thiele-aligned cabinet. The latter has a much "rounder" tone with more lower mids.

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David Spangler

Jack Francis · Post by **Jack Francis** » 7 Jun 2004 3:02 pm

Does anybody know how I can get plans for a Theile cabinet for a 15" spkr.
I have a 12" and love it.