What's your fave speaker?

[rarebitusa]

My absolute favorite speaker is also the MS-12. I use it with all my Mesa Mark's and with my Fuchs ODS. I literally almost sold my IIb when I was playing it through an EVM 12L. I know some love that speaker, but paired with my IIb, it seemed to either add or bring out this gross/nasty compression in the upper mids. It vanished with the MS-12, and sounded as smooth, creamy, and lyrical as my IIc+

I hear that the current production Eminence Delta Pro 12A is almost the same as the MS-12. I've played through both (played through a Delta when testing my Fuchs), but never A/B'd them. Curious if anyone has.

n.b. - I picked up an Eminence Deltalite II 2512, hoping it would be close to a Delta/MS-12. It actually sounds much closer to an EVM 12L, to my ear.

Many say the EVM 12L and the MS-12/Delta Pro 12a are similar. Maybe it's because they're the only 2 types of speaker I used in the last 10+years, but I find them incredibly different. I always hear top-end fizziness in the EVM's, and no juicy mids (a la the Eminence). Some say you really have to push the EVM's to get them to sing—that could be it.

I also have a peaked interest in the MS-12 but they obviously are hard to find... really looking for something comparable. Any update on this?

 

[mark1406]

Altec 417-8C being a very close second.
View attachment 148

I hear about these speakers and yet there is no repro version of them. It’s really quite strange as they seem relatively popular.

Regards

Mark

 

[Boogieloo]

My Mk3 green stripe combo came loaded with an EV Force 12 speaker, not sure if original to the amp, but I kept it for about a minute. After trying a bunch of speakers I had around I quickly settled for a Celestion V30, which to my ears complements the amp perfectly and actually makes the small cab sound big and not boxy at all.
I used my SOB head with a 2x12 loaded with late ‘70s Celestion G12-80’s for a while, beautiful cleans, crisp and deep, but a bit strident and too edgy with gain. Much better with a pair of V30’s as well.
Greenbacks sound great with the 2 amps, in 4x12 and 4x12 cabs, but are a bit soft, especially with cleans.
I use those amps “on the edge”clean, with pedals for various levels of gain, so I do not use the channel switching on the Mk3 at all, although the rhythm and lead channels sounds great as well, it’s not my cup of tea.
What speakers do you guys use with your Marks?

EVM 12L 3x

 

[LaurentB]

Hello.
Celestion 1988 Sidewinder S12-150 w 4x12 with paper surrounds T3771
& a 2nd 4x12 with S12 -150w with cloth surrounds T3865.
Basically Impossible to find, but I Did.
Good Luck to your Journey!!
Cheers.

I actually have two of those in a self-built cabinet. I still must test them on my Studio .22.

 

[LaurentB]

I actually have two of those in a self-built cabinet. I still must test them on my Studio .22.

Just tested it; wow, that sounds MUCH better! (just using one of the speakers). But I can't tell how much of it is the bigger (closed) cabinet or how much the speaker. It sounds much less "boxy" and much warmer. The current speaker in the Studio .22 doesn't have any brand mentioned on it, wonder what it is...

 

[bandit2013]

I used to have a favorite speaker: Mesa Black Shadow EVM12L. However, that is not effective with all amps. Worked for the Mark III combo DRG format. However, this did not hold true for the Mark IVB and may as well include the Mark V90. Those amps were tuned differently.

I will have to check out the Weber CV124F as recommended by Mesa Tone on September 8, 2021.

As for a general-purpose speaker that works quite well with the RA100, TC100, TC50, Badlander 100, JP2C, Mark VII, MWDR is the 60W V30 speaker set in a closed back format. Vertical 212 up to the standard 412 cabs. I did try the MWDR though one of the traditional sized 412 cabs while I was in CA at the Hollywood store, they had both cabinets. I much preferred the Standard sized cab over the traditional. I did not like the V30 (70W) speaker from my first experience with the Oversized 412 cab I bought in 2000. It was muddy and got into self-resonance on certain notes. The EV speaker worked well in that cabinet.

You cannot just limit to a specific speaker as the enclosure is also responsible for the tone and response. Open back, ported or closed back. I have tried the EV speakers in a vertical 212, was not impressed as I was with the same in an oversized 412 cab. The Vertical 212 cab was tuned for the V30 (assumed). Widebody open back 112 cab sounded great with the MC90, I opted to replace it with the EVM12L Classic and that works well with the JP2C and the Mark VII on all channels. Not the best choice for the Badlander, TC100 or similar.