Grateful Dead Music Forum

Hi all,
Long time lurker and finally deciding to post and hopefully contribute . I have learned a lot from this site and and appreciate all the knowledgable posters and info. I am currently on a big Jerry kick with my playing and need some advice. I play a Warmoth Strat (ash body/maple vintage neck) with CS '69 pickups. Due to not gigging and noise restrictions in my Condo, I've downsized to a Fender Super Champ XD Red Wine edition with the Celestion Greenback 10" speaker. The amp is surprisingly good and for it's size/price, I've been pleased. My question is, will throwing a JBL E/K110 in there make a noticeable difference or would that money be better spent elsewhere? Anyone familiar with this amp have any suggestions the best voicing/knob combos to dial in a solid Jerry tone? Will installing a different middle pickup make a huge difference compared to the CS69? Thanks for any info and feel free to add random suggestions. My goal is to get a close-ish sound and just have some fun with it.

Welcome! We saw you out there---- lurking. 'Bout time you got your ass in here.

Usually the biggest bang for the buck is speakers, and there is a quantum leap going to the JBLs. Celestion Greenbacks are very good speakers (I had one in my Vox AC15), but they don't really get you into Jerry territory. I'd say do the JBL first.

TI4-1009 wrote:Welcome! We saw you out there---- lurking. 'Bout time you got your ass in here.

Usually the biggest bang for the buck is speakers, and there is a quantum leap going to the JBLs. Celestion Greenbacks are very good speakers (I had one in my Vox AC15), but they don't really get you into Jerry territory. I'd say do the JBL first.

Thanks for the info. And you probably did see me lurking. I have been on and off for years I've been looking at the K110's on eBay. This is more of a technical question but I see these JBLs have the old school red/black wire connectors (where you push down on the button and insert the bare wire) whereas my amp has the solderless connectors. What's the easiest was to connect?

This is more of a technical question but I see these JBLs have the old school red/black wire connectors (where you push down on the button and insert the bare wire) whereas my amp has the solderless connectors. What's the easiest was to connect?

The spade quick connects should just be crimped on to the wire. Carefully remove the spades and strip back a little bit more on the wire. Sometimes it helps to tin the wire end so the strands stay together.

I've traveled a similar path on my early 70s Jerry-tone quest. I started with a American Standard Strat and a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. Installing a JBL K-120 was the single most effective improvement to my sound. Not sure what your speaker is like tonally. I installed David Allen 69s which was a huge improvement as well over the stock pickups. Soon there after I purchased a stratoblaster pedal on Ebay which further fattened up my tone. I have continued the quest by putting together an SMS, Carvin DCML 200, JBL D-120 (reconed) combo rig which I am very pleased with.

Well I threw a JBL k110 into the amp and it sounds amazing. Not terribly great at bedroom levels but still sounds great. I wouldn't call it an improvement in quality (because as mentioned above, the celestion is a great sounding speaker) but it got me in a better direction. I did notice that the kids sounds super good and loud whereas the highs (top two strings) are much quieter and less defined. I think that might have something to do with how the pickups are setup, but I'll work that out somehow. Thanks for all the advise thus far!