Fillmore 50 combo speaker swap

[Billy Hiwatt]

I recently swapped out the C90 for a Mesa Fillmore FM-75. No special reason, I like doing stuff like that. Also, I was wondering why wouldn't Mesa put the Fillmore speaker in the Fillmore amps?? My opinion later on that. So far, I have only used in the bedroom with my Grosh NOS Retro (strat). The low end sounds firmer, the high end smoother. Mids are great too. It is a very well balanced speaker. It is louder than the C90, due to higher sensitivity, 102 vs 99. That is the good news. The bad news? It weighs 2.4 lbs more than the C90. Now the 50 combo weighs in at 47.4 lbs. "Will Haul For Tone" comes to mind...lol. As lighter amps seems to be the popular direction lately, I believe Mesa didn't want to make the Fillmore combos any heavier than they had to be. Plus the FM-75s may cost more, who knows. I will take it to practice this week and will chime in afterwards.

 

[Don]

I've wondered how the Fillmore speaker might sound in my Fillmore 25. I didn't know the speaker was that efficient and heavy.

 

[Billy Hiwatt]

I also have a Rectoverb 25 combo, and the Fillmore 75 came stock in that. It also is a bit on the heavy side, due to the speaker weight.
I would think the FM-75 would sound great in the Fillmore 25. I am happy with it in my 50 combo. Sometimes I plug in my 2x12 extension cab, using the 4 ohm speaker outs, it really sounds huge with even more clean headroom.

 

[Don]

Thanks for the info!

 

[Brian Rowland]

Sorry to jump in late … just wanted to say I replaced the speaker in my Fillmore 25 combo (not an easy swap out … requires near complete disassembly of the amp) … I wanted a more “Fendery” tone so I put in a ceramic Jensen C12K … it sounds GREAT. It sounds so good, I also put a C12K in a Mesa Thiele cab to combine with the combo … very happy with the result.

 

[KoskineN]

I put an Alnico Creamback in my Fillmore 50 combo, and it sounds great. More depth and width overall. Nothing bad to say about the C90, I still use one in the Fillmore extension cab, and they work great together.

 

[Billy Hiwatt]

Seems there are a lot of options with speakers that work well with the Fillmore. I put in an Emi Tonkerlite neo, and saved about 6 lbs. It sounds great to my ears. I really wanted to lighten the amp.
Glad the Jensen is a winner too.

 

[Inthenoise]

I've got the following: MKIIC+ (modded), MKVII, MKV25, LSS combo, Fillmore 50 combo, Electra-Dyne (and a 20/20 and Rosette). The Fillmore is in some ways my favorite Mesa. Easy to dial in, always sounds great and fantastic clean and crunch tones. I get more compliments on that amp than any other. I'm still using the C90 but if it ain't broke...