2 channel H combo with Creamback speaker? Anyone?

[Deleted member 5962]

Please do, as I'm getting closer and closer to swapping speakers in my PRS cab. Was originally going M and H, but now you've gotten me interested in the J. (I almost bought a Celestion V Type from Musicians Friend after hearing the Pete Thorn review, but they didn't have any 16 ohm. It's supposed to also be a cross between an M, H and V30.)

 

[BlueSky]

So the J75 arrived and I had it installed today. I’ve only had little time to play through it but long enough to say it’s certainly an improvement. It is a more responsive speaker with better harmonics. Surprisingly, it has a slightly darker tone than I had expected and I’m still trying to find the right EQ on the amp, especially on the gain channel. I guess the 100w version of the J75 is darker than the 65w. So in my case the J75 was certainly the better choice than an M75. Jim had it broken in a bit but I guess it still takes a couple of hours of playing to open up more. Still sounds a bit muffled (which might come across as dark) but maybe it’s the amp’s EQ (I had to have the MV pretty low).

 

[BlueSky]

Short update on the J75 speaker: For the past week I've pounded the speaker with some riffs I looped and let that run for 2-3 hours at fairly loud volume, while I went shopping or going down to the pub. A total of about 25 hours. Today I played the amp again and I simply can't believe the difference. The slightly dark muffled tone I heard in the beginning is completely gone. Not only that, but the speaker opened up and the amp now literally sings with harmonics. If anyone ever thought speaker break-in is a myth, I can assure you it's not. I'll give it another 20-30 hours of looped riffs (as it's a 100w speaker) and then it should be perfect (although it's pretty perfect as it is now).
The Scumback J75 is the perfect speaker for this amp. The stock Lead80 (not a V30 as I thought) does not even come close. Like Ferrari and Nissan. There's no comparison.

 

[Tahlee]

Thanks for the update. Running a loop to break it in was a very clever idea!

 

[Deleted member 5962]

I guess the only discouraging thing about this is that if I pay for a breakin (which I was going to do when I ordered the scumbacks) I didn't want to have to pound it for 25 more hours before it sounds good. Since I'd be putting two speakers in, that would go up quite a bit in time to break in. Might be the 100 watt speaker is part of that. I was going to order M65/H combo. I did think about putting one H in first, as a V/H combo is highly recommended by many people, but it is the V30 spike I'm trying to get away from, and it's the mids of the M I love so...

IMO, the V just makes EVERYTHING sound more modern. I want my Custom to sound more like a Marshall gain channel. It does that surprisingly well with the Private Jack. But it sounds much more "modern" with the PRS cab, or even with the other Avatar with the Governor. I really think I like Mesa V30s with Mesa amps, and other than that, I don't want V30s with any of my others.

That said, glad it worked out so well. I plugged my 2 Channel Custom into my 1x12 with Eminence Private Jack a week ago and have just absolutely LOVED the tones. Plugged it back into the PRS cab with V30s last night, tweaked the EQ and it sounds really good. But not nearly as good on the gain channel, as when played through the PJ. So now I don't know what the heck I'm going to do. LOL For now, I've got this expensive, beautiful cab sitting there and the humble Avatar sounds better because the speaker is a much better match for the tones I'm going for. Maybe Santa will bring me some speakers for Christmas! I've been a good boy this year, I promise.

 

[László]

I guess the only discouraging thing about this is that if I pay for a breakin (which I was going to do when I ordered the scumbacks) I didn't want to have to pound it for 25 more hours before it sounds good. Since I'd be putting two speakers in, that would go up quite a bit in time to break in. Might be the 100 watt speaker is part of that. I was going to order M65/H combo. I did think about putting one H in first, as a V/H combo is highly recommended by many people, but it is the V30 spike I'm trying to get away from, and it's the mids of the M I love so...

IMO, the V just makes EVERYTHING sound more modern. I want my Custom to sound more like a Marshall gain channel. It does that surprisingly well with the Private Jack. But it sounds much more "modern" with the PRS cab, or even with the other Avatar with the Governor. I really think I like Mesa V30s with Mesa amps, and other than that, I don't want V30s with any of my others.

That said, glad it worked out so well. I plugged my 2 Channel Custom into my 1x12 with Eminence Private Jack a week ago and have just absolutely LOVED the tones. Plugged it back into the PRS cab with V30s last night, tweaked the EQ and it sounds really good. But not nearly as good on the gain channel, as when played through the PJ. So now I don't know what the heck I'm going to do. LOL For now, I've got this expensive, beautiful cab sitting there and the humble Avatar sounds better because the speaker is a much better match for the tones I'm going for. Maybe Santa will bring me some speakers for Christmas! I've been a good boy this year, I promise.

What if you took the Private Jack out of the Avatar, and put it in the PRS cab, blending the two speakers (if they're the same impedance, of course)? It might be closer to what you like, and serve you well in the meantime. Or get another Private Jack and save a few bucks instead of buying two speakers, since you know you like the PJ?

Might be worth thinking about anyway.

 

[BlueSky]

I guess the only discouraging thing about this is that if I pay for a breakin (which I was going to do when I ordered the scumbacks) I didn't want to have to pound it for 25 more hours before it sounds good. Since I'd be putting two speakers in, that would go up quite a bit in time to break in. Might be the 100 watt speaker is part of that.

Yes, 100w speakers take up to 60 hours break-in time. I guess that is why it took 25 hrs of extra break-in time for my speaker to really open up. I highly recommend the Scumback J75. Just played it again today. Awesome.

 

[László]

Yes, 100w speakers take up to 60 hours break-in time. I guess that is why it took 25 hrs of extra break-in time for my speaker to really open up. I highly recommend the Scumback J75. Just played it again today. Awesome.

Sounds like it's worth the effort, then!

I found that the Mesa 90 Watt Black Shadow Celestions I had in a couple of cabs also took a while to break in. And it was worth the wait, I like those speakers quite a lot. At first, they seem dark, but they open up nicely.

 

[Deleted member 5962]

Les, I thought about that but would like to keep the PRS cab at 8 ohm. All of my other speakers are 8 ohm and in 1x12s, and I did that on purpose so I could daisy chain any two of them at 4 ohms at the amp, to try different combos. My problem is, I sold my Wizard (Emi H style) over a year ago, so I can't try a V/H combo with the Custom 50. I can try a V/M combo in identical 1x12 cabs with Emi Private Jack and Governor. I have and like that better than the two V30s in the PRS cab, but the V is "rated" at 3dB hotter, and with the upper mids spike it seems more than that, so it's dominant. I discussed this with Jim and he said his H is only 2 dB more efficient than his M and he wanted it that way so they could blend better.

Like anything, the answer seems to be to just throw money at it. LOL Buy an M and H and a J then see which two pair best for the tones I'm after. Or... two J's... I was ready to try to Celestion V types from Musicians Friend, but they didn't have any 16 ohm versions. That should be similar to the J. It never ends.

 

[László]

Like anything, the answer seems to be to just throw money at it. LOL

That seems to be my solution to most music-stuff related things, too!