Grateful Dead Music Forum

I know this topic has come up before here and there in the context of threads more broadly about speaker choices but I don't see one dedicated to the question of what are the best available neodynium speakers for copping Jerry's tone? I know none of them will be perfect but I'm not after perfection not to mention, I'm one of those nuts who really believes that 90% of your tone is in your hands anyway! What I'm after is a relatively lightweight 2X12 that won't break my back! As long as the outcome is no chiropracter visits (which truly are expensive!), price is no object. I just want to know what my best options are. Thanks!

P.S. I have Jensen Neo 12-100s in two amps now. Like 'em a lot but haven't tried others.

The Weber NeoMags sound like JBL D120Fs. I've A/B'd them against a Twin with real JBLs and found them to be as similar as any 2 different speaker sets can be. That said I know Jerry only used the D's for a few years then went onto Es and Ks so your desires may be slightly different. I find the Jensen Neos to sound very much like the "good old Jensens" and have 2 on order for another amp that I want that sound!

Hope this helps!

strumminsix wrote:The Weber NeoMags sound like JBL D120Fs. I've A/B'd them against a Twin with real JBLs and found them to be as similar as any 2 different speaker sets can be. That said I know Jerry only used the D's for a few years then went onto Es and Ks so your desires may be slightly different.

That's the hook. Jerry moved away from d120s because the power handling wasn't enough. And I doubt it was Jerry who made the decision, the crew was probably tired as hell of replacing the D's. Speculation, i know.
Anyway, unless you're using the same kind of power and playing to enormous crowds E's and really, k's are not needed. Great speakers to be sure, just total overkill.
Weber isn't making Neomag 12's right now. Which kind of sux. They are re-doing their neo circuit for easier builds or some such shit. I like the Webers. I like the practicality.

Your replies always help.

Say I were to go with 2 12" speakers in parallel in a new 2X12 cab and one of them was a Jensen Neo 12-100. Do you think the Weber neo or any other type would make for a good, "complimentary" match with the Jensen Neo?

Jon S. wrote:Your replies always help.

Say I were to go with 2 12" speakers in parallel in a new 2X12 cab and one of them was a Jensen Neo 12-100. Do you think the Weber neo or any other type would make for a good, "complimentary" match with the Jensen Neo?

Thank you! I have tried running my 2x12 with my Weber Neos and 1x15 Jensen from my 64 Vibroverb. It sounded just fine but each speaker alone had more mojo/magic.

Ill chime in and say that all of my JBLs sound different on their own. The best they sound are 2x12 that are near the same age. The real vintage ones that I use sound bad with the new ones. But the vintage ones sound great when matched. The 3x12 cab honestly sounds the worst of all combos. I have also run some of them on their own but I dont have a 1x12 cab so I can only a/b them in a 2x12 cab by themselves with the other hole exposed. This is NOT recommended to test how it will sound in the end because once the other speaker is their its tonally different even if the one speaker is not connected. I will add that I do not have the proper power amp to test the 3x12 cab with the proper impedence load. That may be why its sounds the worst of all of the above examples. Also I do not have 3 matched JBLs. So what I hope to do is buy a pair of Webers and a/b them as well. The Weber Neos will ultimately be in my 3x12.

FWIW, at present, I'm leaning towards pairing a Jensen 12-100 and Eminence Tonkerlite in an open back "Jerry style" 2X12.

The Webers look interesting but one of them weighs as much or more than both of the above speakers together (weight is a concern given my back, sorry, I'm doing what I can about it!). Also, on another forum (TGP), it was reported that Weber is not currently shipping their Neos, apparently, they're making "adjustments" (don't know for certain whether this is accurate and, if so, what the adjustments are).

Jon S. wrote:FWIW, at present, I'm leaning towards pairing a Jensen 12-100 and Eminence Tonkerlite in an open back "Jerry style" 2X12.

The Webers look interesting but one of them weighs as much or more than both of the above speakers together (weight is a concern given my back, sorry, I'm doing what I can about it!). Also, on another forum (TGP), it was reported that Weber is not currently shipping their Neos, apparently, they're making "adjustments" (don't know for certain whether this is accurate and, if so, what the adjustments are).

My weber 2x12 weighs about half of what my 2x12 Eminence Cannabis rex cab weighs. The weber Neos weigh in heavier than the Jensen neos since they try to emulate the Alnico sound differemtly.