Hi everybody!
I'm in that particular period of our guitarist - life where you are obsessed by the speakers I have two ODS style heads and a 2x12 cabinet loaded with a pair of '80s (i guess) celestion g12-80. Now i want to try the EVM speakers, but im tryin to understand some things about them, in particular about 12L.
Is there someone who can help me and teach me how to read the serial code (the one in this pic, for example), from and to which year we generally speak about ''vintage'', how many series exist and difference between them......well, as you can easily understand im tryin to find an EVM expert who can help me in this jungle
Thank you so much!
Dumblegriffin wrote: ↑Sun Feb 27, 2022 10:00 am
Thank you so much guys! In you opinion, late 80/early 90 are good speakers?
I've been on this same journey, but I've been looking at EVM12S's instead. There is a great post on TGP by user "edgewound" which explains everything you could possibly ever want to know about these speakers and why some are 200w and some are 300w. I can try to find the post but I have 150 tabs open right now...
The main number you want to focus on in identifying what model woofer you are looking at is the 4 numbers after the 812. In your case 9460. You have an 812 9460 and of course this one is also labeled a 12L at the bottom so you don't have to wonder but if it wasn't, well that's how you'd tell if you have a 12L 12S or some other woofer (they do exist).
The other number is the cone code. That's one way to tell if the speaker has been reconed with non OEM parts.
Okay so here I am about 45 minutes later after having searched for edgewound's post and finally found it:
That's some excellent information. Thanks for (re) posting it. I learned a few things. What I'm not yet clear on is whether or not the bumped out back plate always indicates a 300 watt version EV. I had a Classic with bump back and that did sound different from the flat backed EVM-12Ls I had.
I've found that EVs more than any other guitar speaker benefit from a good amount of break-in. A new one can be a bit harsh, but run it hard for several hours and it mellows out and becomes more musical. The only problem is that running one hard for several hours can result in permanent ear damage!
All things considered, the EVM-12L (in any variant) is my single favorite guitar speaker among high power handling speakers. I still love Celestion G12M25 Greenbacks (all Greenbacks, really) and the newer G12M65 Creamback as well.
Dumblegriffin wrote: ↑Sun Feb 27, 2022 10:00 am
Thank you so much guys! In you opinion, late 80/early 90 are good speakers?
I've been on this same journey, but I've been looking at EVM12S's instead. There is a great post on TGP by user "edgewound" which explains everything you could possibly ever want to know about these speakers and why some are 200w and some are 300w. I can try to find the post but I have 150 tabs open right now...
The main number you want to focus on in identifying what model woofer you are looking at is the 4 numbers after the 812. In your case 9460. You have an 812 9460 and of course this one is also labeled a 12L at the bottom so you don't have to wonder but if it wasn't, well that's how you'd tell if you have a 12L 12S or some other woofer (they do exist).
The other number is the cone code. That's one way to tell if the speaker has been reconed with non OEM parts.
Okay so here I am about 45 minutes later after having searched for edgewound's post and finally found it:
Matthews Guitars wrote: ↑Fri Mar 04, 2022 2:46 am
That's some excellent information. Thanks for (re) posting it. I learned a few things. What I'm not yet clear on is whether or not the bumped out back plate always indicates a 300 watt version EV. I had a Classic with bump back and that did sound different from the flat backed EVM-12Ls I had.
I've found that EVs more than any other guitar speaker benefit from a good amount of break-in. A new one can be a bit harsh, but run it hard for several hours and it mellows out and becomes more musical. The only problem is that running one hard for several hours can result in permanent ear damage!
All things considered, the EVM-12L (in any variant) is my single favorite guitar speaker among high power handling speakers. I still love Celestion G12M25 Greenbacks (all Greenbacks, really) and the newer G12M65 Creamback as well.
From my understanding the bumped backplate models are the reissue classics only but I am not an authority on the subject, I'm just guessing from what I've seen. All the originals I've seen have a flat backplate with 3 mounting holes for the various fins they had applied to them for visual/cooling. The bumped backplates I've seen have only been on the reissue classics that you can currently purchase.
From what I've read the EVM12L/S surround doesn't need to be broken in because it's cloth, however the spider is a bit stiff and according to Paul Rivera they don't sound good at low volumes. Sterile, cold etc. But if you play loud enough that you're overcoming the spider's pull on the cone they come alive. Of course this is all the opinion of Paul Rivera. YMMV
neskor wrote: ↑Fri Mar 04, 2022 12:19 pm
Is there any visual difference between standard EV12L 200W vs 300W?
From the front? I don't think so unless the 200w one has been damaged (you will see the cone having creases and buckling marks). The 300w one was reinforced to prevent this according to the post from edgewound. I've seen other speakers that have buckled around the center of the cone in my searches on ebay and it looks awful.
From the back you will be able to tell because it will be labeled Proline if i'm not mistaken. Again this is just my limited knowledge. Why do you ask?
pottedplant wrote: ↑Fri Mar 04, 2022 5:00 pm
From the back you will be able to tell because it will be labeled Proline if i'm not mistaken. Again this is just my limited knowledge. Why do you ask?
I have one old EV 12L but I'm not sure if its 200W or 300W version
pottedplant wrote: ↑Fri Mar 04, 2022 5:00 pm
From the back you will be able to tell because it will be labeled Proline if i'm not mistaken. Again this is just my limited knowledge. Why do you ask?
I have one old EV 12L but I'm not sure if its 200W or 300W version
Honestly I don't think I can help, but you could try to look at the apex of the cone to see if there's more lacquer in the area, that may be an indication that it's a 300w version.
Matthews Guitars wrote: ↑Fri Mar 04, 2022 2:46 am
That's some excellent information. Thanks for (re) posting it. I learned a few things. What I'm not yet clear on is whether or not the bumped out back plate always indicates a 300 watt version EV. I had a Classic with bump back and that did sound different from the flat backed EVM-12Ls I had.
Hey just an update, I've been digging into EV's a lot last night and today and discovered a few non reissues with bumped backplates so they do exist!
I have two ODS style heads and a 2x12 cabinet loaded with a pair of '80s (i guess) celestion g12-80. Now i want to try the EVM speakers, but im tryin to understand some things about them, in particular about 12L. 
