alnico v.s. ceramic

[kirksflooring]

I,ve heard it said that alnico speakers give the mids and highs a warmth and fullness that ceramic cannot. Do those of you that have heard both types of speakers agree? Also, is it important that alnicos be in an open cab? I've checked alnicos from eminence, jensen, and celestion. Are there other companies I'm missing, and what are your opinions of the three I mentioned?

 

[Schmoog]

EV.

basically the same characteristics that apply to alnico vs ceramic pickups apply to alnico vs ceramic speakers

 

[RR]

...Are there other companies I'm missing, and what are your opinions of the three I mentioned?

Yes, Weber and Tone Tubby.

What you stated in general is somewhat true. But I did encountered some smooth sounding ceramic speakers.

Alnico speakers are more associated toward vintage amplification. For versatility, I would recommend ceramic. But if you are playing through say a tweed Fender replicate then I would recommend alnico.

So it really depends on your application. I would say 80% of the members here would prefer ceramic especially EVs.

And I would say those prefer Alnico, 90% of them are using Tubby Tones.

But this is all a hypothetical guess. :roll:

 

[kirksflooring]

i already have two ceramic celestion g12hs in my 4x12 for the low end. I was thinking either two alnicos of some kind for the top spots, or maybe one alnico and one vintage thirty.

 

[Guitarzan]

I'll admit I'm alnico fan!

 

[alejandro]

Has anyone ever mixed 2 ceramics and 2 alnicos in a 4x12 cabinet?

I'm looking to replace my two Celestion V30s that came with my Mesa Standard/Oversized cabinet with speakers that are creamier. I'm looking for a sexy sound to compliment my V30-like ceramic Governors, and I want something that will make people curl up next to my tone. I'm going to call it The White Sound.

 

[sricabla]

For what you are talking about I would check these out.
http://www.svvintageamps.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=25&products_id=143

 

[phyrexia]

altec lansing made some alnico and some ceramic speakers, but they no longer produce guitar loudspeakers.

 

[MrMarkIII]

Be mindful of power handling capabilities. Generally, Alnico speakers are rated lower than ceramic.

 

[Mastervolume]

I would also look at the SPL on each speaker. a 96db green back and a 103db Blue are going to sound a bit different together.

 

[alejandro]

Thanks guys. I'm going to mix it up at some point, in terms of magnet type. I never thought about looking at SPL and matching them as close as possible in a cab to get consistent behaviour -- I've only noticed tone-style and wattage, and SPL ratings should be an additional consideration in my future purchases.

http://www.colomar.com/Shavano/spl.html

 

[Ken j]

JBL used Alnico V magnets exclusively in the '60s and '70s. At some point they started changing over to ceramic. Their ads used to claim that an Alnico had 250% more flux density than a ceramic magnet. In other words a 10 lbs. Alnico was equivalant to a 25 lbs. ceramic magnet. Now some of the newer magnet technoligy is make stronger magnets even lighter in weight as in the Neodymium magnets. Eminence is now selling spakers with Neodymium magnets. It would be interseting to be able to compare a speaker built with all of the same components with the exception of different magnet structures each utilizing the different type of magnets.

 

[phyrexia]

I would like to see somebody make an EV-type speaker with a neo magnet.

 

[MJ Slaughter]

I would like to see somebody make an EV-type speaker with a neo magnet.

I'd be one of the first in line if EV made a neo magnet. The weight is the only thing keeping me from putting them in my DC-5 combo.

 

[alejandro]

E-mail Ted Weber regarding this. You know he does custom stuff, and he's got a killer inventory of designs and everybody gives him rave reviews. He might have an EV-like cone that can be Neodymium fitted. Never tried a Weber myself, but try it.

 

[Juancito12]

Prices of Colbalt have gone up so you would likely be paying more for Alnico's. Like Guitarzan I like Alnicos but agree with others that ceramic speakers can be made to sound just as good. Ted Weber recommends ceramics unless you play at max wattage on your amp and want a compressed sound out of your speakers. You can only get speaker compression like that from an Alnico. For the money ceramics might be the best value.

 

[phyrexia]

E-mail Ted Weber regarding this. You know he does custom stuff, and he's got a killer inventory of designs and everybody gives him rave reviews. He might have an EV-like cone that can be Neodymium fitted. Never tried a Weber myself, but try it.

The Weber "Michigan 12" was such a laughably crappy speaker I don't really want to deal with Weber speakers again, although everybody talks about the Blue clones all the time.

 

[phyrexia]

ok so guys I am really about to pop a a peavey PR 12" woofer in my III and see how it sounds. I'll let you all know tomorrow or friday.

on paper they sound like an EV. Cone looks pretty similar. (I actually plugged a whole mains speaker into a couple amps the other night just to check it out - stuffed a shirt into the horn but it's not quite the same. enough to pique my interest though.)