Thinking of switching out the AlNiCo speaker in my Vintage47. David Barnes suggested that one way to maximize brightness and headroom would be to replace it with a ceramic speaker with a ribbed cone. Anyone have an opinion? Is there a different option you prefer? Is there a similar speaker that is a better value?

i have a weber 12F150B which has the Celestion style cone. in theory it should be bright but i actually find it rather warm and bassy. I've paired it with a G12M greenback for a bit more top end attack

Tone-wise it's a matter of taste of course, but with Weber speakers you're getting a made-to-order one-a-time speaker and their resale value is unmatched if you end up not wanting it. (They tend to sell for practically their new price used; I've found that cheap alternatives are comparatively worthless second-hand.)

I have a 12F150 in an extension cab (50w option, light doping) and it's a great speaker, very present with good headroom (I don't generally go for speaker distortion anyway). The descriptions on their website are pretty spot-on as to how the different models/options compare, so I would start there or call them directly for advice on your application.

Weber makes great speakers, but so do a lot of companies. Webers tend to be a little darker than a lot of them.

If you want the most volume and headroom out of your amp, you obviously want something very efficient - this is the dB rating you can see on a lot of manufacterers spec sheets. (though it quickly becomes obvious different companies have different ways of measuring efficiency when you compare the actual speakers..)

And you don't really need to get a ceramic magnet speaker for an efficient bright speaker, but it sure is the cheaper way of getting there - a very efficient speaker usually has a very large magnet, and that really drives up the price with Alnicos.

If you're not extremely crazy picky, and you want a nice, loud 12 that's not too expensive, get a Jensen C12N, or something similar from Eminence.

A 12f150 is basically a weber take on the venerable Jensen C12N - my favorite speaker and the lynchpin of BF Fender tone.

I find my 12F150 to be bright - but balanced. It is efficient, I can get it loud and clean with a 6 watt VJ head; it is noticeably louder than a Mojotone BV-30 at the same settings. It sounds good with any of my dirt pedals or with a cranked amp. I do not believe I have ever driven the speaker itself into distortion...blah blah blah, I really like them.

A 12f150 is basically a weber take on the venerable Jensen C12N - my favorite speaker and the lynchpin of BF Fender tone.

Spike is right about the 12F150. I have a reissue Jensen C12N in my 4 Watt Gries champ style circuit with a 6L6 and GZ34 plenty bright. The C12N can be had used very reasonable. The brightness you seek may not be the speaker it may be the nature of the 47 itself. I also have a C12N in my 30 watt modified Princeton Reverb. Great speaker for not alot of $$$. Of course you can't say "My speaker cost a bunch of bucks and has a way cool name like Scumback, Tone Tubby etc."

Thanks Raye, and to Spike as well, for the Jensen tip.

The V47 is indeed a smokier juke joint voiced amp. That's its virtue and I wouldn't want to be fighting it. But there are ways of tweaking it, some recommended to me by David himself, that make it a bit more versatile. And even though he stresses his commitment to historical preservation/recreation, in part I think to discourage people from asking him to build them amps that he's simply not so interested in building (he's got a plug for Zinky's supros for those looking for Jimmy Page right on his site) it's get significant versatility stock. With these changes, the amp won't be the purest expression of David's historical focus, for which I've got immense respect, but much of that character remains. In fact, it was David who suggested that I might like putting in a ceramic speaker (this one comes with AlNiCo) with a ribbed cone. But now that I've got the T-Armonds in, brightness isn't an issue, especially as I've got a blender pot on the pups and a bass contour control as well. I doubt I'll switch the speaker any time soon. But the ceramic ribbed cone speaker idea is also supposed to add a bit more headroom and even overall volume as long as it's a high quality efficient speaker.

I cant comment of Weber, but i did run my Champ with a Jensen C12Q. It was a little dark to me, then a P12?, it brightened the whole thing up.

I run the C12 and P12 together now in my de Lisle, they sound reallt really good together.

The C12N will get you more headroom than the Alnico and it will be louder you can find them for $50.00 or so used easily. I have chased speakers in the past and my two favorites for clean and loud is the Jensen C12N and in the Neo line the Eminence Lil Texas I have two of those in my 66 pro reverb.

Of course, I wouldn't be me if I didn't point out that I've never used one of the Italian reissues - only the vintage ones, which are sorta pricey these days ($100 and up, and you gotta be careful about cones and such).

But I've heard nothing but praise for the Weber 12F and 10F sreies - if it's the right price grab it.

I've had several amps over the years with the Jensen re-issue and have liked them. I on the other hand have never had Weber 12F series. Both these modern newer speakers can be had pretty cheap used.

I had a 2x12" extension cabinet with reissue P12s that were much more wonderful than i expected them to be, and have a reissue C8 in my Two Tube Wonder that's a delightful little speaker. I can't speak to their durability if you're caning them on the road, but in my limited usage they've been excellent. i really miss running the Two Tube Wonder through the P12s, which made for a much larger and nastier sound than one 12AX7, one 6V6, and two 12s ought to allow.

I have a Weber 12F150, 50 watts and light doping. I find it lacks decent bottom end, however I really like the Weber ceramic California speakers, I have a 15" California in my Executive and two 10" California"s in a Avatar cab, awesome speakers!

RCBOALS is spot on with his anaysis although I like the WEBER better than the re-issue Jensen. More of a real 60's Twin Reverb open tone.

Li'l Texas is a great speaker with a more "modern" up front tone.