Speaker swapping to increase volume

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iknowjohnny
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Speaker swapping to increase volume

Post by iknowjohnny »

I had my first go with the peavey classic 30 in a band setting last nite and i had t peg the volumes to keep up ! No headroom left and i coudnt boost my volume even in the loop because the output was already maxed. However, the speaker is a celestion thats 96 dB which is about as low as i have seen. The question is, if i threw a eminence man o war (102 dB) in it, do you think i'd be able to be as loud as i was dimed at say 70% of the master pot's rotation? I just need less OD and enough headroom to boost the volume for loud passages via the effects loop or the post drive stage boost.
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martin manning
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Re: Speaker swapping to increase volume

Post by martin manning »

In theory, the 102 dB speaker would be noticeably louder. A 6 dB increase represents a doubling of sound pressure and four times the power.
Stevem
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Re: Speaker swapping to increase volume

Post by Stevem »

My experience with over 5 decades of using 22watt to 35 watt amps playing live is that you need two 12” drivers to have the reserve power / head room needed for clean sounds .

Vox knew this back in 61 when the AC30 first came out with its 2-12s in one cabinet.

If you only want to tote around a amp with one 12” driver then the amp needs to 80 watts rms.

If you can’t get Mic’ed up then your far better having to attenuate a amp down to trim back to the SPL level you need.
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iknowjohnny
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Re: Speaker swapping to increase volume

Post by iknowjohnny »

Stevem wrote: ↑Mon May 25, 2026 10:11 am If you only want to tote around a amp with one 12” driver then the amp needs to 80 watts rms.
Well, now thats just not even remotely true in my experience. I've had a boatload of 50w marshalls and they were all so loud i never got one of them past 4 on the master and that was loud as hell. All were 1x12 combos, as thats all i ever use. Others like 60w boogies and other assorted 50-60 watters i've had were always cranking loud with tons of headroom with a single 12 and made this C30 sound like a toy as volume and headroom goes.
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Re: Speaker swapping to increase volume

Post by pdf64 »

iknowjohnny wrote: ↑Mon May 25, 2026 12:59 am I had my first go with the peavey classic 30 in a band setting last nite and i had t peg the volumes to keep up ! No headroom left ..,
Have you verified that the amp is working properly, achieving the expected power output at the onset of clipping?
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iknowjohnny
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Re: Speaker swapping to increase volume

Post by iknowjohnny »

pdf64 wrote: ↑Mon May 25, 2026 6:15 pm
iknowjohnny wrote: ↑Mon May 25, 2026 12:59 am I had my first go with the peavey classic 30 in a band setting last nite and i had t peg the volumes to keep up ! No headroom left ..,
Have you verified that the amp is working properly, achieving the expected power output at the onset of clipping?
Nope.
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GAStan
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Re: Speaker swapping to increase volume

Post by GAStan »

My experience:

I have a Crate Stealth GT50 1x12 combo amp (4x6V6). My son was using it a few years ago (before I built him a Dumble style 100watt). He complained he couldn't hear it over the drummer in his garage band at the time. I replaced the stock speaker (no idea what it was) with a WGS G12C/S, 99.54 dB SPL speaker. He no longer had trouble keeping up with the drummer. Nothing else was changed.

IMHO it's worth a try. Question is:will you like the tone?
Glenn

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