Replacement speaker or recone for 1966 Princeton

[dehughes]

Hello all,

I have a '66 Princeton and I'm wondering if something is up with the speaker. It looks to be original. It starts off sounding like there is perhaps a voice coil rub, but as I play longer that sound starts to fade. I usually play with the volume at 4 (with the Treble at 7 and the bass at 6), and there is a fairly noticeable buzz at first. I thought it might be the cabinet or cables or something else in the room, but when I put my ear down to the cone I definitely hear it as the speaker. The speaker mounting screws are tight. The noise most noticeably presents itself when I palm mute notes on the low E string....anything from 5th position A down to an open E.

Going from 4 to 6 on the volume for a bit with my SG increases the buzz at first, but then after 10 minutes or so, once I decrease the volume back to 4, the buzz is greatly reduced. This seems odd to me, for I'd think that a speaker issue would not diminish with more strenuous use....but rather the opposite. After about 20 minutes of playing the initial noise stays at a much less noticeable level. Hmm.

I've installed new, good tubes all around, so I know it's not that. The cabinet seems solid.

My question is really two-fold, if indeed the speaker is the issue:

1) Is there a re-coner you'd all recommend for my speaker, or

2) What modern speaker would be the closest replacement?

Thanks.

[dehughes]

Attached are pics of the speaker in question. Nothing is obviously wrong....but I know that doesn't mean there's nothing wrong on the inside...

[David Root]

Sounds like it could be a voice coil rub issue that improves as the voice coil warms up, which is not what one would expect. Just a guess, I'm not a speaker issues expert.

If you turn the cabinet upside down and play it for 20 minutes, does it do the same thing? Or does it get better or worse? If so, try all five 90 degree cabinet orientations, including it lying on its back. I had an old Altec 417B that I thought had a little bit of coil rub, so I rotated it 180 degrees and that fixed it.

So, for example, if it goes away when the cabinet is upside down, rotate the speaker 180 degrees and that should take care of it..

If nothing works, I would ask Chris Merren in San Diego about it. www.merrenaudio.com. Check the speakers section. He fixes vintage speakers often without reconing, which has obvious advantages, especially if you have to think about the cost of replacing a '66 Jensen with the same with a good original cone--if you can find one!

[dehughes]

Very smart, David. I'll give it the "rotating" test. I did try tilting the cabinet, but not actually rotating it. Great idea.

I'll check out Merren for sure. I've heard good things.

As for replacement speakers...I've also heard good things about Jim Campilongo and the Norah Jones crew doing neat things with replacement speakers in Princetons (albeit reverb variants), and I'm curious what a bigger, heftier 10" would sound like in my '66. I mention that because a recone via Weber is $95 plus shipping, and a new speaker would be about that much.

[Firestorm]

I don't know what Norah's crew is doing these days, but the Princeton Reverb used on "Feels Like Home" had a C10N in it and sounded fantastic. You might try to snag one of those. I think it was stock in some of the Vibrolux Reverbs so there are quite a few out there.

[selloutrr]

quick answer -

both options suck... one you buy a speaker it's no longer oem. you have to break in the speaker.. etc.

two. you recone the speaker is never the same. no matter how great they do.

you should be able to go to the manufactures website and cross reference the replacement for your model. try jensen for the closest replacement.

[dehughes]

I don't know what Norah's crew is doing these days, but the Princeton Reverb used on "Feels Like Home" had a C10N in it and sounded fantastic. You might try to snag one of those. I think it was stock in some of the Vibrolux Reverbs so there are quite a few out there.

That's what I'm talking about...thanks! I knew it was something non-standard.

Seloutrr, you're right, both options suck. I'm inclined to wait for the speaker to really be off before I do something rash. However, I'm going to try David's "rotating" idea first.

[David Root]

I would try everything before I'd recone that old Jensen! It would never be the same.

OTOH, if it only needs a new voice coil, that's where Chris Merren can bail you out.

[dehughes]

I would try everything before I'd recone that old Jensen! It would never be the same.

OTOH, if it only needs a new voice coil, that's where Chris Merren can bail you out.

Will do!

[butwhatif]

Buy a Jensen Mod speaker for it, forget the vintage

[dehughes]

Buy a Jensen Mod speaker for it, forget the vintage

Those aren't the "re-issue" Jensens, right?

[Richie]

I'd first make sure it was the speaker. Sometimes these amps can have some weird problems and sound like a bad or buzzing speaker. Try the speaker with a different amp. And try the amp with another speaker to rule out what is the actual fault.

Then no big deal on a speaker. Their are plenty of speakers out there. You can remove the orignal,and have it reconed,or buy one that is the same. I'm sure there are some out there that match if you want to keep it that way. but no matter what,you can remove it,put it in a box and save it. Get a new speaker if thats what you decide. As long as you keep the old one, you can always decide on what you want to do.