Great fun this holiday weekend. Time for some further experiments with this tattered old tone monster. Had it running JJ 6v6s, with a Weber Cali paperdome ceramic speaker. And sounding very good too. But I kept reading about NOS tubes, and got curious about speakers. So picked up a set of NOS RCA 6v6s from the early 80s I guess, and a JBL D123 alnico speaker. The JBL was alleged to be a "holy grail" for low wattage amps, with "3D" clean.
First tried the tubes. As good as the JJs are, these RCAs are on another level. Definitely the right move. Then had to take the amp apart, pulled the baffle and replaced the speaker studs to fit the thicker framed JBL. All that trouble, and it didn't move me. Sounded good, but lost volume and bass. I could go for lower volume if the tone is right, but less bass is not good (IMHO 6v6s don't deliver the most solid bass to begin with..) With everything in pieces, I decided to see how the Cali would do in my Twilighter 260, which has two Cannabis Rex speakers. Loud, clear, smooth, but I keep looking for more mids and richness in that amp. Turns out that's exactly what the Cali delivers. (It's a rather warm tone I find.) Then, to complete the musical speakers game, put the CRex into the GA40.
BINGO. Game over. It's all the good stuff already in the amp, only louder, more clear. The Cali sounded good, but this CRex is way better. Especially with humbuckers, which can mush out in amps like this. I was getting these fat, gainy tones, early BB King maybe, every note right on the edge of feedback but still clear. The bass is tight, a huge improvement. What a cool amp!
First tried the tubes. As good as the JJs are, these RCAs are on another level. Definitely the right move. Then had to take the amp apart, pulled the baffle and replaced the speaker studs to fit the thicker framed JBL. All that trouble, and it didn't move me. Sounded good, but lost volume and bass. I could go for lower volume if the tone is right, but less bass is not good (IMHO 6v6s don't deliver the most solid bass to begin with..) With everything in pieces, I decided to see how the Cali would do in my Twilighter 260, which has two Cannabis Rex speakers. Loud, clear, smooth, but I keep looking for more mids and richness in that amp. Turns out that's exactly what the Cali delivers. (It's a rather warm tone I find.) Then, to complete the musical speakers game, put the CRex into the GA40.
BINGO. Game over. It's all the good stuff already in the amp, only louder, more clear. The Cali sounded good, but this CRex is way better. Especially with humbuckers, which can mush out in amps like this. I was getting these fat, gainy tones, early BB King maybe, every note right on the edge of feedback but still clear. The bass is tight, a huge improvement. What a cool amp!