Best Jensen for 5E3 Tweed Deluxe

[paddy]

Hi everyone,

I'm about to build a 5E3 for a friend and would like to know if there
are any recommendations for the current range of jensen speakers.
I was going to buy a vintage P12Q or P12N on Ebay but I read somwhere
that it's risky to buy a speaker that is around 50 years old as there could
be many problems due to age.
Does anyone have any experience with the new Jensens and should I go
with ceramic or alnico.
My friend plays mainly blues,country and rockabilly.

any help is greatly appreciated.

cheers
paddy

[jelle]

Paddy,

I would not buy an old Jensen for a players amp that will be cranked. Please look for the original power handling specs of the N and Q series and consider that these speakers will move a lot in an open back cab... and the fact that the old paper cone, voice coil and doping have aged a lot....

IMHO the new jensen from italy lack everything the original jensens have.
I have very good results with Eminence 10 inch alnico in my superreverb.
For a tweed type of amp I would suggest alnico but not ceramic coz alnico is what the originals used. Plus they sound cool!

The Eminence Legend 122 is not expensive . I have heard some Weber speakers and they sound very nice too.

Have fun!
Jelle

[David Root]

I agree with all the solid advice given above.

Another thought: if you're willing to cough up $250 or so for a real vintage Jensen, why not check out the Tone Tubby Alnico 12? I have one in a (sort of) brown Vibrolux I built, and it is a superb speaker. I got the inspiration from a Tonequest article where they put one in a REAL brown Vibrolux and really liked it. I also have the ceramic Tone Tubby in my own '62 Deluxe, but I think Alnico is right for your application.

[jelle]

David,
Thanks for the kind words

Great suggestion! I am very curious about these speakers but I haven't heard them yet. They get rave reports all over....

How would you compare the ceramic tonetubby to like ceramic jensen and celestion?

What would be the best/cheapest way to buy Tonetubbies?

Jelle

[RB]

Hello Paddy

I have built a good number of 5E3 amps and 3 speakers consistently get picked depending on budget and the perceived tone of the end user.

Jensen P12Q reissue. Least expensive. Takes a long time to break in but when it does it sounds good. Victoria uses this speaker in their 5E3s. You can do a lot worse.

Weber 12A125 20 watt light dope. Real deal tone wise but more expensive than Jensen. The only issue I have with Weber speakers is that occasionally I get one that just sucks. Moderate break-in period. This speaker definitely gets better over time.

Weber Alnico Blue Dog 30 watt light dope. My favorite – tonally not genre correct for this amp but just adds sooo much to the little tweeds tonal palette. Most expensive of the three. Moderate break-in period. This speaker also gets better over time.


There are other speakers I have used but all have issues.

Eminence Red Fang. Size/cleanance can be issue depending on cabinet and 6V6’s used. Sounds good similar to Weber blue - tonally not genre correct for this amp. Don’t try to remove the magnet dust cover on this speaker you will trash it.

Celestion Blue. Great speaker BIG BUCKS - tonally not genre correct for this amp.

I have used various Eminence 12” Alnico speakers but felt the bottom end was to flabby when pushed and just about everybody that has a 5E3 loves to push it.

Tried early Tonetubby but was to dark sounding. Their new speakers have gotten brighter. I just can’t justify the expense of the Tonetubby or the Celsetion blue for this amp. My hang-up.

I have never found a ceramic I like with this amp.

Any way some more info/opinions to make your choice more fun.

Randy

[rfgordon]

I like the Tone Tubbies, too, but they can be pricey. Charlie at TT offered me a dealership, but the buy-in was 2 Grand! Geez, if I had 2 large to sink into this business tomorrow, I certainly wouldn't buy 20 speakers with it!

Anyway, I generally use Eminence Cannabis Rex, which has the hempcone licensed by Tone Tubby. The best price I've found is www.bltsound.com, and if you order two or more speakers--mix & match--you get $2 off each.

The Texas Heat is also a really great speaker, one of Tonequest's faves.

[Sven]

Greetings,

New Jensens resemble old Jensens only in name, and in nothing else.

You should consider several good speakers, one of them being Celestion G10 Vintage. That is a 10¨ ceramic magnet speaker with excellent perofrmance, particularly with your amp. Rating is about 60W RMS, which should be fine for your amp, if you have 2x6V6GT output, but in case you have more powerful output, than 2x10¨ is right. That is a very good 10¨ speaker, but Eminence has some good ones, as well, for example their AlNiCo models, which are used in fenders. Those units should be used in pairs.

For people who wish to spend a bit more money, there are other options out there, of course.

One could also try some good 12¨ units. That choice is wide; it really all depends on personal tastes. I would like to try out the newer model, Celestion Gold 12¨.

All the best,

Sven

[jelle]

The gold is cool but it needs to be broken in first....I hear most people toss em out before that..

I liked it at the amp show but my gf did not like it.....I'd say try one!

Jelle

[paddy]

Hi guys

Thanks for all the great suggestions.
I would dearly love to try some of the speakers suggested but
I am stuck with the new Jensens as they are readily available
here in Australia and postage on other brands from the U.S. is
cost prohibitive for my friend.
It looks like we will go with the P12Q.If Victoria use them they shouldn't
be too bad.
My friend doesn't like to play loud but wants a bluesy sound,would i be
better off using the P12R or does the P12Q sound better?
Thanks for any help.

cheers
paddy

[dehughes]

One of the best speakers I've ever heard in a Tweed Deluxe-ish amp was Weber P12Q-30, lightly doped..... WOW.

[Johnhenry]

If your on a budget, the Jensen Mod is the best buy out there, Cheap and they sound very warm and open, i just put 4 of these in a Super Reverb for a friend and i think they sound great for the money spent !
John

[s2]

My thoughts...

My 5E3 has a Weber 12A125 (P12Q) 30W light dope and I really like it. It sounds pretty close to my friend's original in his '51 Deluxe. It almost sounds like the real thing--strengths and weaknesses.

Next in line is the Celestion Blue. Lots of chime and kerrang and enough bottom to stay fairly clean without bottoming out. This little guy sounds better than the Weber to me (but it is my favorite speaker of all time), but doesn't exactly capture the vintage Jensen vibe.

The Jensen P12N sounds really good in this amp. I don't like to drive this speaker very hard because it tends to have cone cry and can get beamy, but in a 12-15W amp it sounds really good. Not so much like a vintage Jensen, but it delivers the vibe and sounds nice.

I don't like the Tone Tubby in this amp. The AlNiCo sounds like a cross between a Celestion Blue and a Jensen P12N to me, which starts out OK until you realize the larger voice coil means the 5E3 can't push it at all. IMHO TTs need to be pushed (and broken in for a VERY long time) to sound their best.

Lately I'm really liking the Jensen Neo line...