Tone Tubbies are on their way
Picking speakers was one of the most daunting decisions surrounding my Ceriatone DC30 build. Players and amp builders with more experience know the sounds they like, or want to achieve with an amp, an can pick speakers accordingly. But for those without much experience, the decision can be daunting. Forums are rife with differing opinions about speakers, and each make and model seems to have their own adherents and nay-sayers, so relying on these opinions doesn’t guaranty a smooth path to sonic nirvana.
The original Matchless DC30 had a mixed combination of speakers—early Mark Sampson-era amps had a mix of Celestion G12H-30s and Vintage 30s, while newer production amps sport a combination of G12H-30 and G12M-30s. As I mentioned before, I wanted to stick with a mix of speakers, trying to blend them and get the best sonic combination. But I wanted to try something a bit different from the originals, I wanted to mix an alnico and ceramic speaker. But the choices are many and, without a clear-cut consensus on which is “best” for any given application, it become a matter of picking a set and trying them out to see if they suit my needs. Here are some of the combinations I considered:
- Celestion Gold alnico + Heritage G12H-30. The original Celestion Blue alnico is a high-water mark of speakers, but I wasn’t sure it would stand up to the DC30’s 30 watt output. The Gold is reported to sound similar, but with higher power handling. Match this with a British-made G12H-30 and you should have match made in heaven, at least for vintage rock and blues or blues-rock players.
- Weber Blue Dog alnico + Silver Bell ceramic. Many players report excellent results with Weber speakers, and a few even prefer the Blue Dogs over the original Celestion Blue. The Blue Dog/Silver Bell combination is reported to work very well together. I might well have gone this route if there weren’t lingering questions about Weber’s falling-out with 18watt.com.
- Eminence Red Fang alnico + Cannabis Rex “hempcone” ceramic. Eminence is a long-time OEM speaker manufacturer and they have introduced a number of new speakers for the retail market, many of which have received very favorable reviews in print publications and online forums. I think the combination of a Red Fang alnico and Cannabis Rex hempcone would be killer. This was my first runner-up, and from a cost-conscious perspective they were hard to overlook.
Ultimately, I chose to go with Tone Tubby (why do I always want to say—and type—“Tubby Tone”) hempcones from South Valley Vintage Amps. Tone Tubby calls the H1E alnico and H1E ceramic combination the “H-Bomb.” Supposedly, the brighter, more direct-sounding H1E ceramic pairs very well with the somewhat darker alnico to give great results. The combination was more than the Eminence speakers, but this build is turning out to be a bit more expensive all-around than I initially though.
I should also mention that I’ve decided to build the amp as a 2x12 combo, sticking with the original Matchless dimensions of 27” wide x 21” high x 10.5” deep. I wrestled with the idea of building a separate head and 2x12 cabinet, but ultimately decided to stick with a combo made out of Zebrawood for the top, sides and back, and Ziricote for the front panel. I think this will be a great looking—and sounding!—amp, even if it taking more time, effort and money than I had anticipated at the outset of the project.