Grateful Dead Music Forum

So here's the situation. I recently (after looking for a couple of years) purchased a SSP 1x12 cab and am deciding what speaker to load it with. I'll be trying a K120 and an old EVM12L that I already have. But I'm thinking it might be nice to shave off some of the weight. Are there any lighweight speakers, likely Neo, that offer similarities in tone and clarity of these old heavy speakers? Thoughts, experiences, suggestions all welcome.

Bill, tgo

I purchased a new 4ohm Weber Michigan with the aluminum dust cap a couple years back. I used it as a 1x12 with a twin reverb. It’s a take on the evm12l and does a good job as a clean, loud and articulate speaker…In my experience and I’m sure you know, there’s nothing replacing a JBL. Beyma Liberty was the closest IMO and possibly the Weber California. No experience with Neo speakers. Good luck

Not using the Michigan any longer
Still in pretty much new condition.

Celestion Neo Copperback. People argue, based on the tone plot, whether it’s more EV than JBL. I just know I dig mine and sold my boat anchor E120 after using it.

BTW, Weber’s finally selling their NeoMag again. But it’s 8 lbs. or so. The Copperhead is 5 lbs. Also, the Weber is D voiced. The Copperback sounds more in the K/E zone.

I remember Brad Sarno recently taking up the old Peavey Black Widows. I think specifically the ones with the spider wed on the back. I know - but it's from Brad!!!
I think 12 lb or so if you can find one?

found this on another thread from Xteven of the Playa

Brad Sarno shared a link.
'JBL alternative alert. In case people don't know the history, the Peavey Black Widow is the original JBL clone. Back in the 70's Peavey was using real JBL's in some of their high power amps, namely the Session 400 and LTD400 (mini version of same amp). They offered a 2-12" version and a 1-15" version, mostly for clean country or pedal steel use. Players kept blowing the K120's and K130's Peavey would use, so Hartley Peavey decided to have his company make a virtual clone of the two, better power handling, same exact 4" voice coil and same cone curve, which to ME is the very heart of why our JBL's have that particular mid/treble character. The original BW 1201-8 is essentially a ceramic magnet clone of a K120.
Then we look at Paul Franklin, the #1 Nashville studio session pedal steel player from the early 80's up till recent years, a monster player. For a very long time Paul's standard rig consisted of something quite similar to a Garcia rig; the clean channel of a Mesa studio tube preamp (basically a Fender style clean tube preamp) into a Mosvalve 500 amp into a 12" Black Widow that sounded a lot like a JBL.
Now step way forward a few decades, and now we have Eminence releasing the PF-350 speaker, basically their clone of the Black Widow 12" which is a clone of a 12" JBL. (thanks Jim Shank for the reminder of the Eminence Commonwealth of which this is likely a derivative and hell, maybe it's kinda the same thing). They are offering it with a paper dust cap, but I'd love it if we could barrage Eminence to offer it with the metal dust cap alternative for the killer modern JBL alternative. They are heavy, like a E120 because of the big ceramic magnet. But to have a truly viable JBL alternative made today, that's a cool thing!!
https://buyeminence.com/img/product/des ... PF_350.pdf '



so maybe not that light.....

All of the suggestions in this thread sound good. Not all meet the OP’s goals of neo and lightweight.

Yea, weight is a critical factor. I'm thinking about pairing the SSP with my Quilter Superblock US for a small, convenient rig. Otherwise, I think I'd be in fat city choosing between my JBL K120 and my old EVM12L.

I found some older posts, Jon, where you talk about the Jensen Neo-100 and the Tornado Neo. Any further thoughts on these? There is a Jensen Neo-100 for sale locally. Is it worth getting?

Bill

I've used (and continue to own, though they're boxed up now) both the Jensen Neo-100 and the Jensen Neo Tornado. Both are fantastic speakers that I really love. They both sound great. But they differ significantly in tone.

The Tornado is what I'd call a wonderful all around American-sounding guitar loudspeaker. I don't think you can wrong with this one in any Fender-type amp, especially BF and SF amps, if you're looking for classic tones. And though I never used mine in an amp with a tweed circuit, I think it could work there, too.

The Neo-100 also is voiced more American than British but it's got a unique sound. It's very clean. I suppose you could push it into distortion but I never got loud enough for that to happen. It's a clean, if not pristine, sound, with a tight controlled bass, even mids (the Tornado's mids are more pronounced), and sharp but not icepicky, clear highs. I've read of others comparing the speaker's response and tone to an EV. I'm not sure I'd go that far but I understand, based on its characteristics, why one could make the comparison.

Jensen discontinued the Neo-100 years ago. I never could find a convincing explanation why as everyone I know with the speaker, including me, loved it. The two leading hypotheses were that it didn't sell well enough or it was too difficult or expensive for Jensen to continue to produce profitably.

Either way, to my ears, the Neo-100 was a brilliantly designed, wonderfully sounding, unique speaker. Jazzers love it. I think Deadheads could, too.

lbpesq wrote: ↑Tue Jul 12, 2022 4:45 pm Yea, weight is a critical factor. I'm thinking about pairing the SSP with my Quilter Superblock US for a small, convenient rig. Otherwise, I think I'd be in fat city choosing between my JBL K120 and my old EVM12L.

Thought I'd add, I myself own a pair of SSP 1X12s (great cab and Tracy Lowe is an absolutely pleasure to order from).

For many years, I loaded one with an E, the other with a K.

I reached the point of finding the E-loaded cab too heavy to be fun to take anywhere. So, I replaced the E with a Celestion Copperback, and sold the E.

The swap shaved 16 lbs. off of the cab. Indeed, the first time I picked it up, I almost hurt myself because I yanked it up so high due to it becoming so lightweight! (Ok, the latter is an exaggeration but it makes my point!)

A-B'ing the Copperback with the remaining K in the other cab, they're not identical. The K is the superior speaker to my ears, with more punch and character. But the Copperback is close enough for me to satisfy what I need from the cab.

I think for your scenario, Bill, either a Copperback or Jensen Neo-100 could work.

Love my Weber Neomags with aluminum dust caps. Half the weight of JBLs and in the tonal arena.

It's hard to say "how close" cuz everything matters. Having owned a Twin with a pair of D120Fs I'm saying damn close.

YMMV and you may need more weight shaved off.

HT style cabs are overbuilt to be road worthy.. With a lighter cab you can shave more weight.

I found a Jensen Neo-100 on Craigslist for $80. Nice guy selling it. We started talking, He told me his brother Tom went to high school with Bob Weir and played banjo in Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions. He said his brother left for a few months traveling or something and, when he returned, they had changed their name to The Warlocks. He was told he should get an electric guitar and join the new band. He saw them play electric and decided he preferred acoustic music.

I'll be doing some testing this weekend amongst the Jensen, a JBL K120, an EVM12L, and a Celestion Classic Lead 80.

Bill, tgo

Holy crap, Bill, that’s a great price! You should have no trouble flipping it for a profit should you decide not to keep it.

I look forward to reading your speaker reviews.

May I add I’m a CL80 fan. It’s the speaker for those of us who don’t get along with V30s.

I had a chance to mess around with some different speakers in my new-to-me SSP 1x12 today. I used my Quilter Superblock US. I tried a Jensen Neo-100, a Mesa Black Shadow EVM12L, and a Celestion Classic Lead 80. Not surprisingly, the EVM12L sounded the best, but the Jensen was damn good too. And the difference in tone wasn’t nearly enough to overlook the 16 lb. difference in weight! The Celestion seemed to add a little dirt, even at lower volumes. I far preferred the clarity of the other two. The cab is very convenient with the Jensen, but a real boat anchor with the EVM12L.

Bill, tgo