Grateful Dead Music Forum

Here's a question I haven't seen on this forum before: So I have an old 12w solid state Peavey Rage practice amp w/the stock Peavey speaker. About the best thing I can say about it is that it's been reliable for the last ~25 years. It's nothing special, but it's very portable and doesn't sound bad. It also doesn't sound particularly good. Since I do use it from time to time I'd like to try putting a different speaker in it and could use some recommendations. Ideally, I'd like something that will give me that classic clear, warm tone. I suppose I want something similar to a JBL D208, but more affordable given that this amp only sees very casual use (e.g., "jamming with a friend at bedroom levels.")

I looked over the Weber site and saw some promising options, but I'd appreciate some recommendations from people who know more about 8" speakers than I do.

Thanks!

interested to hear how this works out. I have one from the 80's that never gets used.

Good luck getting the speaker out without destroying the cab

Tennessee Jedi wrote:Good luck getting the speaker out without destroying the cab

Well, sure, that's obviously a concern. The speaker mounts from the rear and appears to be held in by four nuts, though it isn't clear of those nuts are attached to studs or bolts. I should be OK if they're studs, but I'm probably SOL if they're bolts.

redeyedjim wrote:

Tennessee Jedi wrote:Good luck getting the speaker out without destroying the cab

Well, sure, that's obviously a concern. The speaker mounts from the rear and appears to be held in by four nuts, though it isn't clear of those nuts are attached to studs or bolts. I should be OK if they're studs, but I'm probably SOL if they're bolts.

I love PV's ... have 5 different ones (no Rage though) ...some arent built to switch out the speakers.
I had to take my fav Bandit apart ...... going to put it in a lil head ..... sometime.
Good luck

I've seen both studs and bolts on Peavey amps and cabinets(bolts usually means captive nuts and front loaded). More to the point, I've swapped out speakers in Peavey amps and cabs, and I've never had a problem before. But I don't own a Rage, I have it's big brother Studio Pro112. Worst case scenario you might need a different(better) baffle depending on what speaker you choose. I've read about about guys doing this with the Rage 258, which is 8 ohms, but the 158 is 4 ohms(or so I've been told). Which is yours?

Mr.Burns wrote:I've seen both studs and bolts on Peavey amps and cabinets(bolts usually means captive nuts and front loaded). More to the point, I've swapped out speakers in Peavey amps and cabs, and I've never had a problem before. But I don't own a Rage, I have it's big brother Studio Pro112. Worst case scenario you might need a different(better) baffle depending on what speaker you choose. I've read about about guys doing this with the Rage 258, which is 8 ohms, but the 158 is 4 ohms(or so I've been told). Which is yours?

It's 4 ohms, but I wouldn't mind putting in a better sounding 8 ohm speaker and just being less efficient; this amp rarely gets turned up above 3 as it is, and even though the existing speaker can play louder it doesn't actually sound better at greater volume.

Good to know there are others on here with similar Peavey amps. Does anyone have any 8" speakers they can recommend?

I have a Blackface Fender Champ that had a blown speaker when I got it.

My amp guy replaced it with a Celestion (sp) 4 ohm 8" speaker that is great for that amp.

Works killer and the original speaker looked like a transistor radio speaker.

Weber High Power Series Alnico 10? But it's like $180, maybe too much for your application? I found my JBL K 10" recone for less than that on the Bay.

TI4-1009 wrote:Weber High Power Series Alnico 10? But it's like $180, maybe too much for your application? I found my JBL K 10" recone for less than that on the Bay.

Well, for one thing I need an 8" speaker, and the High Power Series is 10" and larger. But yeah, I think $180 is more than I want to spend for this application...or, if I'm going to spend that much, I'd rather save and get a JBL D208. But mostly, I'd like to find something in the $50 to $150 price range. The amp seems to go for $80 to $100+ on ebay, and it seems silly to put too much money into this.

FWIW, it's a slightly dirtier version this amp:

Bumping with a Friday afternoon update of sorts:

After mulling things over, I've decided not to molest the poor little Peavey -- it's fine for what it is, and changing speakers doesn't make a whole lot of sense given it's other tonal limitations. It's going to remain stock.

At the same time I still want a small, better sounding combo amp I can take to friends' houses and jam with -- something I can carry with one hand while I tote my guitar with the other; the mythical "one trip from the car" setup. To that end, I'm going to look at a sweet little '66 BF Vibro Champ in a few hours. It's is super clean and has a few updates (3 prong cord, removal of the "death cap," 8" Weber Vintage ceramic, some mix of JJ and original tubes). I wasn't looking for an amp this sweet, but having found it, it's such a beauty I don't think I can pass on it. If I get it I'll probably start a new thread and ask a few questions about getting the most from it.

On a side note, I really have to thin my gear herd! I'm warehousing far more than I need or can even remotely justify. I'm crossing that line between "hobby" and "hoarding".

Excellent! Talk about "sow's ear into a silk purse".

One thing I do with my Danelectro Nifty Fifty is, unplug the stock 8 inch speaker, and use a different cabinet.
I have a single 12 cab with a K120. I sometimes put the Dano on top and use a set of alligator clips to hook it up.
it actuall sounds really good.
I'm a long term user of Peavey amps and have removed the speakers from all of them and use a separate cab, to keep the weight down, and I like the keep the knobs at arms reach and the speaker wherever it needs to be, typically farther away from where I am playing.

TI4-1009 wrote:Excellent! Talk about "sow's ear into a silk purse".

Yeah, I think I just used up my yearly allotment of being in the right place at the right time. This little stunner is sitting across from me right now as I'm writing this.

1966 BF Vibro Champ:



I posted a NAD thread in TGP, so apologies if a) this is a cross post for some of you, and b) I'm blowing my own horn too much, but I'm stoked on this little guy! I just can't get over how good this amp sounds - you almost can't get a bad tone from it. It's base tone is warm and clear with a nice bottom to it that I wasn't expecting with an 8" speaker. Takes pedals extremely well, too. Price was very fair -- not cheap, but fair. This exactly what I wanted, and much better than I hoped to find.

Not going to dump the Peavey, but hell, for the time being even my main rig is going to take a back seat.

I have the same problem (though it looks like you've made your choice).

My '69 SF Champ has a ceramic 8" Peavey Blue Marvel, which is actually not a bad speaker (Eminence-made). Still, maybe there's something better out there.

I tried the Weber Alnico Signature and then the Signature 8S. Both threw a wool blanket over the sparkle.

There's the JBL D208, like you said, but it's very expensive. There's the Vox Blue Bulldog, supposedly a smaller version of the Celestion Blue, and the Weber Blue Pup. Can't seem to find the first one for sale anywhere, and the other two 8" Webers I've tried put me off trying a third.

My latest thinking is that the 8" alnico Tone Tubby is the way to go. It's rated 100-9,000 MhZ, which should be plenty. A 12" Weber California -- best speaker Weber makes, IMO -- is rated to 6,000 and the Champ sounds like, well, a champ through it.

That said, I've never actually tried the 8" TT. Maybe I'll take the plunge and post the results.