EL 34 amp....suitable 15" speaker?

Pete Knapton · Post by **Pete Knapton** » 10 Nov 2004 6:56 am

I have a 50W all valve (with valve tremolo) guitar amp. It originally came with 2x12" speakers, but its currently speaker less. I have a good JBL 15" D130 and considering changing the speaker baffle to suit.
I plan to use this amp primarily for steel guitar.
Am I barking up the right tree putting a JBL with a Britishing sounding amp? I don't want to create a Frankenstein!
Thanks, Pete

Jay Fagerlie · Post by **Jay Fagerlie** » 10 Nov 2004 7:39 am

DO IT!!!!

You will probably not have alot of headroom, but I bet it will sound good.
What kind of amp is it? Sound City?

Jay

Jack Francis · Post by **Jack Francis** » 10 Nov 2004 8:15 am

I have a Seymour Duncan 84-50 amp.
It is 50 watts using 4 EL84's.
I use a closed cab loaded with a 15" Celestion....I use it for guitar and it's VERY cool....I haven't tried it with my steel cuz I don't think it would have enough headroom, but at most volumes it sound as good as my old Twin.

David Doggett · Post by **David Doggett** » 10 Nov 2004 10:12 am

Pete, most 2x12 amps have 4 ohm speaker jacks. If that is the case with yours, then the 8 ohm JBL D130 will have less volume than the original two 12s. IF you want a 15" speaker, look for one with 4 ohms, or you could run two 8 ohm speakers in parallel for a total of 4 ohms.

Bobby Lee · Post by **Bobby Lee** » 10 Nov 2004 4:24 pm

I think it would sound sort of harsh. Somehow I'm having a hard time imagining the scoop of a D130 with the bright overtones of EL34's. Funny, I have both in my music room and I've never thought of hooking them up together. I've always tried to push my tube amps in a mellower direction.

I'd at least try it with the D130 in another cabinet before cutting a new baffle for the amp.

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Pete Knapton · Post by **Pete Knapton** » 10 Nov 2004 5:42 pm

The amp is a 1960-70s New Zealand made Holden 50. Back then, this country had extremely high import duties, so local techs got into manufacturing. There were some very good, well engineered clones of British and US amps, including Messa Boogie (which I understand had law suit problems)
This particular amp has 2x12ax7 gain tubes, one pre-tone and the other post-tone, and a really nice valve tremelo. Bass, treble and treble boost controls. No master vol, only channel. It has 3 speaker output jacks, 16, 8 or 4 ohm.
I'm playing it through an EV 100S PA bin. Having played through a Fender PA100 and Pro Junior for years now, this is an interesting amp with that British 'chime' tone. I'll keep playing with it until i sort out a configuration and use. Its certainly kind to a blues tone.
Pete

Sam Marshall · Post by **Sam Marshall** » 10 Nov 2004 5:50 pm

An Eminence Legend 15 may be cool. That's what's in the Vibroverb that Fender currently offers.

Also, Weber offers some good choices.

Regards,
Sam

Pete Knapton · Post by **Pete Knapton** » 10 Nov 2004 9:41 pm

Bobby, Yeah I have trouble conceptualising the JBL D130 with this amp. I feel a speaker like Celestion would be more compatible to get those 'earthy' tones. I'll connect up the JBL via another box first and try it, before i get the circular saw out, he he he!
Sam, my Fender Pro Junior originally had an Eminence and it was nothing short of horrible. I replaced it with a Weber 150F10. I like the Weber, lots of mids and bottoms and provides a good rounded sound for lap steel...simply wind up the treble where needed (its also a very good speaker/amp combination for harmonica). But i guess the style of music you play ultimately determins whats best.
My instints tell me that the Holden amp is cut out for electric guitar with 2x12", which is what it was originally desigined for. But we'll see.
Pete

Dan Tyack · Post by **Dan Tyack** » 10 Nov 2004 10:00 pm

Here's my oft repeated gospel of speaker choice. With this amp I would recomend using two very dissimilar 12" speakers: a JBL type speaker (Black Widow, e120, d120, whatever) with a darker speaker, more typically used with rock or blues (Celestians are nice, Jensens, try a few). You will have that steel guitar sparkle from the JBL with more earthy tones from the non-JBL. And you will have *way* more bass response than with a single 15" (of any make).

Also note that EL34s are not created equal. I have played some EL34s that don't have the typical nasal honk associated with Marshalls, but are more similar to 6L6s.

FWI, I typically use an EL34 as one of the tubes I run in my BiValve, usually mated with either an old NOS 6L6 or a new KT88.
Have Fun!

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