Fender 68 Reissue Amplifiers Stock Speakers = Bad

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JCH519
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Fender 68 Reissue Amplifiers Stock Speakers = Bad

Post by JCH519 » Thu Aug 25, 2016 8:22 am

Anyone else use these amps? and replaced the speakers? My Vibrolux Reverb sounded great at low volumes but the stock Celestion Ten 30 speakers sounded horrible anywhere past 5. I don't mind a driven sound from a speaker but the speaker distortion coming out of the amp was impossible to EQ with my Jaguar, especially when there's no MID control on the Vibrolux, only TREBLE & BASS. After playing the Vibrolux with my band I regretted not trying out the Twin Reverb version. I was surprised at how dark and also tiny the amp sounded in my band and I needed it to be much louder.

A little while ago I had some spare cash so I decided I would look into replacing the stock speakers. I love the old JBL D130F speakers in my Dual Showman cabinet so I originally wanted to get WEBER Neo Mag 10s with aluminum dust caps. The Webers were going to cost quite a bit when you add shipping to Canada & taxes so I researched some alternatives before I pulled the trigger. I also had a show coming up sooner than the speakers would arrive from Weber..

I checked out Q Components & decided to look into what they had. The only speaker that sounded like it would give me more clean headroom, warmth & clarity while still sounding Fendery was the Celestion Gold. I think buying two of them was going to cost a little more than the Webers, but I had a show a few days later so I decided try one Gold. I thought if I don't like it I could resell/trade it. The one Gold in the Vibrolux improved the sound of the amp A LOT. It made the amp much louder & warmer, but I could still hear some harshness coming from the one stock Celestion Ten 30 when cranked.

The other day I went and got a 2nd Celestion Gold and now the amp is sounding fantastic and LOUD! Even though it's much louder, it sounds amazing at low volumes as well. I always use my TS808 for some overdrive at low volumes anyway.

I'm surprised at Fender's choice for the stock speakers for these amps... I know a lot of people swap the stock speakers in many different amps but I never thought I would have to replace them because of how bad the original speakers sounded!

JCH519
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Re: Fender 68 Reissue Amplifiers Stock Speakers = Bad

Post by JCH519 » Thu Aug 25, 2016 11:04 am

I've done a few other things to this amp besides the speaker change; I removed the metal cage that covers the power tubes, swapped the power tubes with a different set of Groove Tubes (RCA blackplate design) & swapped some preamp tubes for some old RCA's (first gain stage & reverb drive, if I recall correctly). With vintage Fender amps I've owned I have removed the preamp tube in V1 and it changes the tone a little, I tried it with this amp and it did not like it (hiss..noise.).. Must be to do with the way the circuit is in these amps or something.

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Re: Fender 68 Reissue Amplifiers Stock Speakers = Bad

Post by slopoke » Thu Aug 25, 2016 11:17 am

I put a pair of JBL K110s in mine. It sounds great for surf. I wouldn't mind trying a pair of Golds sometime.
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Re: Fender 68 Reissue Amplifiers Stock Speakers = Bad

Post by JCH519 » Thu Aug 25, 2016 11:27 am

Oh man, nice! Thanks for sharing. I was curious about what the amp would look like with the aluminum dustcaps showing through the grill cloth.

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Re: Fender 68 Reissue Amplifiers Stock Speakers = Bad

Post by slopoke » Thu Aug 25, 2016 11:56 am

Yes, it looks very old school. I also have a K110 in my PRRI. In that amp it sounds pretty harsh if I turn the amp treble up past 4, but I don't hear that harshness with the Vibrolux.

The only problem is the amp now weighs a ton.

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Re: Fender 68 Reissue Amplifiers Stock Speakers = Bad

Post by Arthon » Thu Aug 25, 2016 12:12 pm

I had the same problem with my new 68 Vibrolux Reverb (1 month old). The speakers didn't sound very good in the vintage channel. The Custom channel was great with my JM, but the breakup happened too soon.

I changed the speakers for Eminence (1 Ragin Cajun and 1 Cooperhead). The Ragin Cajun sound very good in my Princeton Reverb. Now, the vintage channel sound very good, but the Custom Channel seems too muddy. Maybe the Custom Channel is more suit to british style speakers... Anyway, I am not totally satisfied with the speakers I put in my amp, but I decided to give them a chance for a while. I also read that a Ramrod/Ragin Cajun combo could also be great.

I wish I could try two celestion golds, but they are so expensive!

I also bought two Tung-Sol 7581A (35 watts tube instead of 30 watts 6l6) to increased headroom and a 5751 pre-amp tube to decreased overdrive. Have you tried a 5751 in the pre-amp section?
The Blues Cartographer
(sorry for the spelling, I speak french)

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Re: Fender 68 Reissue Amplifiers Stock Speakers = Bad

Post by JCH519 » Thu Aug 25, 2016 5:06 pm

I looked into the Eminence speakers also but just couldn't decide on the right ones for me.. What I read online about the Golds helped persuade me into spending more.

So far I am very happy with the sound but haven't had the chance to turn it up yet since putting in the second Celestion Gold. The amp sounds very chimey now. It's hard to believe it's the same amp as before.

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Re: Fender 68 Reissue Amplifiers Stock Speakers = Bad

Post by Arthon » Fri Aug 26, 2016 7:05 am

Maybe I should stop experimenting and just go with the golds. They seems the way to go with the 68' Vibrolux Reverb.

Is anybody have other seakers idea?
The Blues Cartographer
(sorry for the spelling, I speak french)

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Re: Fender 68 Reissue Amplifiers Stock Speakers = Bad

Post by JCH519 » Fri Aug 26, 2016 10:52 am

I researched a ton before I pulled the trigger on them. I say go for it!! You most likely won't look back. I really really want to try the Weber speakers still. If I happen to get a decent tax return next year I will probably try the WEBER Neo Mag 10 speakers. Some people say the Neo Mag speakers sound better than the original JBL D110F, D120F & D130F.

Here's my Showman with JBL D130F speakers

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Re: Fender 68 Reissue Amplifiers Stock Speakers = Bad

Post by eggwheat » Fri Aug 26, 2016 11:39 am

Interesting I haven't had that problem with mine, love the sound of it at recording volume... Admittedly I haven't gigged it at loud volumes, but I have gigged a 1979 Vibrolux with stock speakers on a large stage and it sounded amazing..So I'd be tempted to find whatever was stock in '79 if I had problem..I mean the golds are almost as much as the amp cost me..

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Re: Fender 68 Reissue Amplifiers Stock Speakers = Bad

Post by OffYourFace » Fri Aug 26, 2016 11:55 am

eggwheat wrote:Interesting I haven't had that problem with mine, love the sound of it at recording volume... Admittedly I haven't gigged it at loud volumes, but I have gigged a 1979 Vibrolux with stock speakers on a large stage and it sounded amazing..So I'd be tempted to find whatever was stock in '79 if I had problem..I mean the golds are almost as much as the amp cost me..
They were probably CTS or Utah speakers but they're all based on the Jensen style. I really love the Jupiter Speaker I put in my '76 Deluxe Reverb. Fender gave me a '68 Princeton Reverb RI and I think I'm going to put a Jupiter 10" in there. The stock celestion isn't bad but it's there for the crunch. They voiced that amp to be cranked up for distortion. The celestion doesn't get flubby when cranked but I want to use it for a nicer clean tone. I may even mod the cabinet to use a 12" speaker... who knows.

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Re: Fender 68 Reissue Amplifiers Stock Speakers = Bad

Post by slopoke » Fri Aug 26, 2016 11:59 am

JCH519 wrote:I researched a ton before I pulled the trigger on them. I say go for it!! You most likely won't look back. I really really want to try the Weber speakers still. If I happen to get a decent tax return next year I will probably try the WEBER Neo Mag 10 speakers. Some people say the Neo Mag speakers sound better than the original JBL D110F, D120F & D130F.

Here's my Showman with JBL D130F speakers

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Wow! That's awesome!!

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Re: Fender 68 Reissue Amplifiers Stock Speakers = Bad

Post by Arthon » Fri Aug 26, 2016 12:35 pm

JCH519 wrote: WEBER Neo Mag 10 speakers. Some people say the Neo Mag speakers sound better than the original JBL D110F, D120F & D130F.
Maybe I should look at the neo mag too. I really like the fact that they are lightweight magnet and they wont increased the weight of the amp.

I dont hate the sound of the Ten 30 in this amp. They just dont have enough headroom for me and crunch too easily. I bought the amp to have a cleaner deluxe reverb, but since the '68 are made to overdrive sooner then the '65, I have maybe made a bad choice.

But the amp sound so good at low level...
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Re: Fender 68 Reissue Amplifiers Stock Speakers = Bad

Post by eggwheat » Sat Aug 27, 2016 2:17 am

OffYourFace wrote:
eggwheat wrote:Interesting I haven't had that problem with mine, love the sound of it at recording volume... Admittedly I haven't gigged it at loud volumes, but I have gigged a 1979 Vibrolux with stock speakers on a large stage and it sounded amazing..So I'd be tempted to find whatever was stock in '79 if I had problem..I mean the golds are almost as much as the amp cost me..
They were probably CTS or Utah speakers but they're all based on the Jensen style. I really love the Jupiter Speaker I put in my '76 Deluxe Reverb. Fender gave me a '68 Princeton Reverb RI and I think I'm going to put a Jupiter 10" in there. The stock celestion isn't bad but it's there for the crunch. They voiced that amp to be cranked up for distortion. The celestion doesn't get flubby when cranked but I want to use it for a nicer clean tone. I may even mod the cabinet to use a 12" speaker... who knows.

Thanks...yeh the sound of the original speakers in the '79 is what I would go for...do you think they were alnico or ceramic in a '79? Because the price difference is huge..I'm sure they were round magnets without the square bit on the back. I actually have a pair of EVM 10M's here but it would probably make the amp insanely heavy..

Still till I find a problem I'll stick with stock.

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Re: Fender 68 Reissue Amplifiers Stock Speakers = Bad

Post by andy » Sat Aug 27, 2016 8:40 am

Arthon wrote:
JCH519 wrote: WEBER Neo Mag 10 speakers. Some people say the Neo Mag speakers sound better than the original JBL D110F, D120F & D130F.
Maybe I should look at the neo mag too. I really like the fact that they are lightweight magnet and they wont increased the weight of the amp.
I have a Weber neomag 10 in my PRRI and I love it. I play clean 99% of the time and it is so present and clear and it gives you exactly what you give it. One thing to keep in mind is that although it is a neo, these speakers are still heavy. The stock RI jensen I pulled out of the Princeton weighed maaaaybe 2 pounds. The neomag is about ten pounds heavier than the jensen. Still, they are lighter than the original JBLs.

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Obligatory pic because aluminum dustcaps are tight. Image
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