PRS Cabinet Speaker Swap

[WeFixFlats]

Having three(3) cabinets all loaded with Celestion Vintage 30's was bugging me. So I decided to upgrade the older of the three so the great and powerful Mesa 100 watt(4x6L6) Lonestar(always run it in 100 watt mode) head would have something different(American Tone) to drive. And after researching for price, performance and company we choose a pair of the WGS 12" G12C/S. Wow. Now it's like I have a 'Super Bandmaster' cabinet. Loud, clean and California.

Here's 'the trick' to make it super easy on the installation. I ordered, in advance, a new cabinet speaker wiring harness from Mojotone. So you simply lift out the original pair, and install the new pair(wired up), screw them in, attach the jack to the backpanel and test. Done. We'll spot solder the speaker harness tabs/leads later.

 

[László]

Nice! Bet it sounds great!

 

[WeFixFlats]

Some may ask, 'How did I 'break-in' the new speakers?. Even though these aren't made by them, Celestion are still the most worldwide recognized brand of guitar speakers, so why not ask them?

http://celestion.com/speakerworld/guitartech/4/104/How_to_break-in_a_guitar_speaker/

I've skipped all the home brew recommendations posted, if they(Celestion) say 95% after their method, then that's close enough for me.

 

[László]

Excellent tip!

How do the speakers sound in the cab?

 

[WeFixFlats]

How do the speakers sound in the cab?

First of all, my ears were originally tuned to Jensen/Eminence speakers. So using the Petaluma amp's clean channel(100 watt setting/Tweed switch), with gain and master at Noon(fairly loud btw), this pair of speakers sound like those classic makes. We played the usual 'cowboy chords' and barre chords up the neck too. Then, as comparison, we plugged in my other PRS cabinet loaded with Celestion Vintage 30's. Those speakers seem, to my untrained ear, to have a little or slight more 'hair'(if that's a thing) around the chords. The WGS speakers seem to be a little 'cleaner'. I suppose if you had a recording studio with high end mikes, etc, the differences would be more audible and having a 2nd set of ears wouldn't hurt either. No regrets swapping the original V30's out for this new pair, especially for the $$$ and the very little time it took to get the swap done.

 

[László]

Seems like it's pretty cool to have both kinds of speakers...fun stuff!

 

[HANGAR18]

I really want to try some Warehouse Guitar Speakers in my cabinets but since the stock Vintage 30's are (presumably) so expensive, I am hesitant to have them sitting on a shelf somewhere collecting dust. The idea of selling the original (Mesa) Vintage 30's has also occurred to me but I have no idea if anyone would be interested in buying them for a fair price.

 

[WeFixFlats]

I really want to try some Warehouse Guitar Speakers in my cabinets but since the stock Vintage 30's are (presumably) so expensive, I am hesitant to have them sitting on a shelf somewhere collecting dust. The idea of selling the original (Mesa) Vintage 30's has also occurred to me but I have no idea if anyone would be interested in buying them for a fair price.

I sold the pair of Vintage 30's from this cabinet on that "R" site within 10 days. It's really a matter of what value you assign to the pair you have, compared to brand new with warranty and I did a comparison of the 'used' speakers alone and per pair(that were for sale) and bargain priced mine and shipped them to the buyer in the boxes the WGS came in, easy.

 

[Deleted member 5962]

One of the biggest problem with selling speakers is the high cost of shipping them, relative to the value of the speakers. I always list them cheap locally first.

 

[László]

Install them in an old cab and smash the pointy end of your guitar through the grille cloth and then destroy your guitar at the end of your show, a la The Who.

It'd be an expensive but unforgettable experience.

"Have you ever done that, Les?"

Why, no, come to think of it.

"So you're all talk, then?"

Townsend used a Rickenbacker for that, and I play PRS. It'd be inappropriate.

"Oh right, the truth is you're a sissy fussbudget who just doesn't want to wreck his PRS."

Fine. I'm a sissy fussbudget who doesn't want to wreck his PRS.

 

[WeFixFlats]

One of the biggest problem with selling speakers is the high cost of shipping them, relative to the value of the speakers. I always list them cheap locally first.

I did that but they sold on the for profit website first. Both together, in packing, weigh 20 lbs. So I would have preferred not to ship, and gotten local cash money but oh well, no worries.

 

[WeFixFlats]

Never one to leave things alone, and since I have a 2nd PRS 2x12, deep cabinet loaded with original Made in China Celestion Vintage 30s that is being used with the HXDA 50 watt head, I thought, well why not upgrade to 'New British'?...Well, well, well. As soon as I started playing thru this 'new' configuration, the first thing I thought was: Now THIS is the way the HXDA amp is supposed to sound. And it maybe heresy to state this, but I'm thinking that the Celestion V30's were not the best sounding/matching speakers for this amp, at least to my ears. I went with the recommended complementary pair from WGS.

 

[László]

In the Celestion world, I've always thought the V30 and the G1265 was a solid choice; in fact, I had that combination at one point in my old Tremoverb combo, and it sounded nice.

Interesting!

 

[Boogie]

I have that same pair in an old Boogie cab. WGS doesn't get enough love for their great product.

 

[WeFixFlats]

In the Celestion world, I've always thought the V30 and the G1265 was a solid choice; in fact, I had that combination at one point in my old Tremoverb combo, and it sounded nice.

I can tell you from what I hear, these American made re-engineered speakers of those models are exactly what HXDA 50 watter was needing. And from 10 feet in front of the cabinet, with the amp at the 'usual' settings they blend perfectly and with great fidelity as advertised by WGS.

 

[Deleted member 5962]

Never one to leave things alone, and since I have a 2nd PRS 2x12, deep cabinet loaded with original Made in China Celestion Vintage 30s that is being used with the HXDA 50 watt head, I thought, well why not upgrade to 'New British'?...Well, well, well. As soon as I started playing thru this 'new' configuration, the first thing I thought was: Now THIS is the way the HXDA amp is supposed to sound. And it maybe heresy to state this, but I'm thinking that the Celestion V30's were not the best sounding/matching speakers for this amp, at least to my ears. I went with the recommended complementary pair from WGS.

NO heresy. Back when the plexis were made, none of those dream tones we heard from them were V30s! Mostly greenbacks type speakers. This IMHO, without hearing it, would be better for my tastes than two V30s, and I'm sure of that! Congrats!

 

[László]

I still want to try a set of the Celestion Alnico Cream 90s with all of my amps. I love the alnico tone.

But I have no idea whether they'd match up well. I guess there's only one way to find out!

 

[Deleted member 5962]

I bet you'd love it! From what I've heard of your tones and likes, it might be perfect for you.

 

[WeFixFlats]

Update: I discovered(a while back) while testing the original pairs of Celestion V30's in the PRS cabinets an unusual, and to me, a disturbing audio artifact. If you play, together, an E on the 3rd string, 9th fret, and C on the 4th string, 10th fret as an 'interval' at a medium loud volume with neutral tone controls, there's a 'tone wobble'. It's like 'what the heck?'. So for now on, instead of just playing single notes, barre or cowboy chords, I play intervals/double stops up and down the fretboard. With the upgraded WGS pairs in the same cabinets, there's a lot, lot less of that now.

 

[Deleted member 5962]

Perhaps a bad speaker doing the ghost notes thing?