Eminence in an AD30VT

[marnold]

Does anyone have any input on putting an Eminence speaker in an AD30VT? Someone on either Patchtronix or Valvetronix.net really liked the Ramrod, although Harmony Central doesn't give it the best reviews. There's also the Ragin Cajun which seems to be for American styles (their Patriot line) vs the Ramrod which is more British (their Red Coat line). A quick Intarweb search turned up a few people who have been happy with the Cajun in their AD30VT. My guess would be that just about any decent replacement speaker would be an improvement.

My big "issue" is with tightening up the bass so that palm muting gets that nice percussive feel to it. A little extra brightness/non-boominess wouldn't hurt either. The Celestion G10 Vintage seems to be the popular choice but the Eminence are about $20/25% cheaper than the Celestion--at least from MF.

 

[Robert]

It would sure help, but I think a good external cab makes much more difference in good tone. I'll soon put up a brand new demo of my Vox with my 2x12 so you can hear it.

 

[marnold]

It would sure help, but I think a good external cab makes much more difference in good tone. I'll soon put up a brand new demo of my Vox with my 2x12 so you can hear it.

I don't doubt it. For my purposes, though, that would be overkill. If I were a woodworker, I'd think about it. Plus then I'd have to mod the amp to add a speaker-out, etc., which is more than I really care to get into.

 

[duhvoodooman]

Have you checked out the Tone Guide and the sound clips available at the Eminence site, Matt?

 

[Robert]

Okay, but I have to mention I think the cabinet in the Vox amps is quite bad, and even a very good speaker will not make a huge difference (although some improvement is definitely possible). Just my personal view - others may think differently.

 

[marnold]

Have you checked out the Tone Guide and the sound clips available at the Eminence site, Matt?

Yeah. The clips pretty much removed the Delta one from consideration for me. The tone chart and frequency responses of the Ramrod and Cajun seem very similar, except the mid-range shape is defined as "crisp" for the Cajun and "warm" for the Ramrod. I guess I'd lean towards crisp, although I'm not entirely sure what that means practically. Plus the Cajun is American so that has to make it better, right?

Robert, I've heard the same comments about the ADxxVT's cabinet. I'm sure there is more than a little truth to it. The nice thing about getting another speaker is that I anticipate there will be (and many have reported) immediate tonal benefits. If I'd want to build an external cab later (or, more likely, have my wife build it--she's the handy one), then I could just drop the speaker in there.

If my AD30VT would ever croak, I'd probably look at one of those Blackheart 3/5 watt jobbies with the 1x12 cab. I've heard that the cab construction on those is surprisingly nice.

 

[tot_Ou_tard]

Robert, there is no speaker out on the AD30VT. Perhaps the mod isn't too difficult, but one would still need to mod it to use an external cab.

 

[Robert]

I know, Tot. Solution? Trade it in for a head version and get a separate cab!