SMS w/ JG mod speaker choice?

[wolftigerrosebud]

Alright, I posted here a few days ago talking about getting a combo amp, and I got a lot of great feedback. The feedback helped me determine that I don't really want a combo and that I should just buy what I do want, even if it's slightly more than I'd like to spend right now. What I want is an SMS into a power amp into a 1x12.

So my question is to all of you SMS users out there, or to people who know something about speakers, is what 12 inch speaker do you like coupled with the SMS and a power amp (the amp I'll be going with is probably a Crown XLS1000)? I've read through the forum and I've seen many people writing about liking the Weber Neomag and Cali models, the Tone Tubbys, the Eminence Commonwealth, the Beyma Liberty, and the old Peaveys with aluminum dustcaps. I want a bright, musical sound, preferably with the ringing highs that an aluminum dust cap can provide. I don't play with a lot of lows in my eq, but I can't stand speakers that only give brittle, ice-picky highs. What speaker do you like with your SMS?

[czyfingers]

Ithink the obvious answer would be an E or K120, considering your interest in the aluminum dust cap.E120 is my choice. But there are suitable substitutes if you want new and not vintage or reconed.I don't really have any experience with then, but I'm sure others will chime in.

[wolftigerrosebud]

What I want is affordable sound, so a desirable vintage speaker in good condition is probably going to be too much for me. I'm operating on a budget, and don't have enough money to go with a $300 speaker. That's why the Eminence Commonwealth looked so appealing.

[playingdead]

Make sure you audition that power amp, I used a Crown XLS briefly with E120s and did not like it at all, it was brittle and harsh compared to some of the other options out there. I just posted a couple clips of that rig in action, actually:

viewtopic.php?f=419&t=9996

I settled on using the power section of an Acoustic Image Focus 2R head, which had the advantage of being 800 watts and 7 pounds, as well as being a two-channel preamp that was useful for other things. Not sure how much you budgeted for the power amp, but I traded mine to Scott Walker toward my new guitar, and he was going to sell it recently.

viewtopic.php?f=334&t=9698&p=91236

You can probably find a good E-120 for $150 or so if you look around. Just make sure it doesn't need a recone, because that can run almost $200. I have a pair of JBL K-110s in a Hard Trucker custom 2X10 Jerry style cabinet that I'm not using anymore, and thinking about selling, but it's probably a budget buster.

[JonnyBoy]

Since you are going for the JG mods and tone, I would read this particular thread:

http://www.rukind.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=424&t=9051&hilit=Search+this+forum%E2%80%A6+speakers&start=15#p85123

There is a lot of info about speakers here, although pretty focused on JBL's and their closest clones Webbers, Commonwealths and Beymas. Also some of the vintage Black Widdows by Peavey with the aluminum dustcap.

[willmusic]

Was very pleasantly surprised by the Commonwealth 12. One guy I'd spoken with about them told me they were being discontinued this year and that they were not gonna make more after selling off the existing stock. He may have just been trying hard to sell em to me tho.

[JonnyBoy]

Was very pleasantly surprised by the Commonwealth 12. One guy I'd spoken with about them told me they were being discontinued this year and that they were not gonna make more after selling off the existing stock. He may have just been trying hard to sell em to me tho.

I really like them too. I dunno about the discontinue, but sounds like something they would do. Everyone wants breakup and distortion these days.

Oh and here is a nice cab:

http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?icep_ff3=2&toolid=10005&campid=5335901301&customid=hardtrucker&icep_item=220742105696&ipn=psmain&icep_vectorid=238401&kwid=902099&mtid=824&kw=rss

[Jon S.]

I'm using an SMS Classic Preamp/wJG mods into a Rocktron Velocity 300 power amp into a Sound Scaper Productions 2X12 loaded with a Weber NeoMag on top and a Jensen Neo 12-100 on the bottom. Each speaker is independently powered by 1/2 of the Rocktron. Couldn't be happier with the rig as a whole. My tone search ended with this rig.

[wolftigerrosebud]

I just thought of something--I have a high quality bass amp head that's 1200 watts of solid state power. Your post about the Acoustic Image rig made me think that I might be able to use the power section on that instead of buying a new one. Could I do that without pulling the thing apart?

[Jon S.]

I want a bright, musical sound, preferably with the ringing highs that an aluminum dust cap can provide. I don't play with a lot of lows in my eq, but I can't stand speakers that only give brittle, ice-picky highs. What speaker do you like with your SMS?

Reread your OP. Thought I'd add, I began with aluminum cap speakers. They had the ringing highs - almost a piezo-ish acoustic guitar sounding quality to them, in fact. The problem was, to avoid any brittle top, I had to drive them HARD. Then they smoothed out and sounded great. But at lower volumes, I didn't care for them. Problem was, last year as an example, I played 3 loud outdoor gigs all year. All my other playing was at volumes well below where the aluminum cones sounded their best to me. Perhaps I'm alone in this. It would be cool if others who are using, or used to use, aluminum cone speakers chimed in also. But this was another example for me that what worked for Jerry on-stage at high volumes ain't necessarily what'll work best for us in small settings.

I also decided, about a year ago, to change anything in my rig that caused any given component to exceed 50 lbs. My back is doing fine these days - knock on void-free birch ply - but I want to keep it that way. So after a bunch of experimentation, I combined a Weber NeoMag paper cap with a Jensen Neo 12-100. The paper NeoMag still gives me plenty of those bright, musical, acoustical qualities but it sounds great at all volumes, even quite low. And where the NeoMag is mid-scooped and less prominent on the lows, the Jensen Neo fills in perfectly. And both together in the SSP 2X12 in a compact HT-style package at well under 50 lbs.

You've already heard me say why I don't prefer the aluminum cones and I don't for this reason recommend them to others unless they play out regularly at realistic volumes. Again, I know I'm probably the minority on this particular board on that score but if we didn't express different views now and then, the discussions would be way more boring! But, if decide you want aluminum cones and want to try some Weber NeoMags, if a pair of 16 ohmers wil work for you, PM me, I'll make you a cheap offer of sale for my pair whose only use was when amp tech Pete Cage (Cage amplifiers) installed and removed once for me within a month. This being said, you know why I'm not using them still myself.

Re: being cost-conscious. That's among the reasons why I like my Rocktron so much. $360 for a musical-sounding, designed-specifically-for-guitar 300Ws bridged into 8 ohms or 150W/channel into 4 ohms is a pretty darn good deal in my book.

[jdsmodulus]

Nice rig Jon! can you post a pic of your pedal setup? Im liking the Rocktron more and more!

[Jon S.]

There ain't much more to show! Other than my Godfrey Daniels Hub Bub, all I use now for effects is my Line 6 M13. I have a scene configured for Dead, another for U2 and indie, a third for blues and I'm set. When I play put, I throw the Hub Bub, M13, and it's power supply into a padded bag and I'm good to go.

[jdsmodulus]

cool!

[Chuckles]

I can attest to the nice tone Jon gets from his radical non-aluminum domed approach, lol.

I personally like driving a single K120 with the SMS on about 6-7 and the Mosvalve cranked according to the room's needs. I put the speaker up front by one of the mains and still have plenty of stage volume without totally drowning out the other guys.

For lower-volume applications, I'm considering the Tone Tubby Hemp Cones.

[redbeard]

I've been on the same quest as yourself for the past couple months, after deciding to stop messing around and finally move toward buying the gear I really want and will own forever. Coming from the low end financially, I am revamping the rig in a process, right now I'm in what I consider the middle phase. I liquidated all of my amps but the bass amp, sold all effects without true bypass, and anything I could get rid of that is less than the best. Any moment now I'm finally getting to order my SMS Tube Pre with Jerry Mod, and I'm going to build (or acquire, if I get impatient) a cabinet with final speaker choice to be determined at a later date. Of course the dream is the JBL 120s, but in approaching it in steps I picked up a Tubeworks Combo amp with an Effects loop to patch the SMS into, which will hold me over until the time is right, and then get the right Power Amp, then the speakers. Essentially I've laid the groundwork for being able to utilize the SMS through my existing setup and then can build up from there as finance or the right ebay situation dictates. In an effort to preserve my ears as best I can anymore I kinda put the JBL as the last step if for no other reason than to keep myself from losing more of the top end out of my ears, at least for a while. The temptation of the sweetness of that rig at high volume with JBLs is too much for me at this point. I have a bad habit of liking it loud, and it's been an interesting recovery process to turn it down. Fortunately theres loads of fine speakers available which can do the job, and I really dont imagine I need to push 300w+ through anything ever. But it would be nice to be able to......someday...

I also had the same realization about the bass amp with a PWR IN. Going to give that a try with the SMS as well, and will be curious to see how my Peavey TNT 150 stacks up against the Tubeworks. Kind of a sad way to initiate the SMS, but all good things in all good time, it's still sound killer, it will just get more killerer down the line

I've asked a lot of different questions on this board about different aspects of making the SMS work with different things throughout the last six months or so, a lot of good information in the replies I got, good stuff to check out if you haven't, started most of the threads with SMS, happy trails,

aa