12" speaker recommendation needed.

[hamerhead]

I have a Motion Sound Sidewinder AR-112  http://www.in2guitar.com/sidewinder.html, which is a 100W combo with a rotating baffle that does a nice job of simulating a Leslie. The issue I've always had with it is that the mids are really honky, which is probably a product of bouncing sound off a hunk of plastic (and done intentionally for better projection).

What I'm looking for is more of a hifi-sounding guitar speaker, something with extended highs and lows. I always run the thing under a 1x12 combo and that covers the mids. Having the top and bottom move is the goal. I've trimmed the baffle (which didn't do a lot), and used a Sonic Stomp (Maximizer) with limited success.

Ideas?

[django49]

The AR-112 is a kick to use with a 1 x 12 combo. I long ago used one under a Mesa Nomad with nice results when playing live. I have NOT experimented with different speakers.

For a while, my favorite speaker has been the Alnico Cream (90 watt) for a nice "warm and vintage" tone. Also pretty pricey. But when you say "Hi-fi" I think of such as the EVM-12. That is also pricey and almost certainly heavier than ideal for this use. You might try looking at one of the various speakers that aim for the "lighter EVM equivalent". I think there are a few with the "neo" magnet. I have NOT tried them, but there should be plenty of reviews on line.

[Dutchman]

The EV mentioned or a JBL D130 might ger you there... or how bout a eq pedal b4 the input on the whirly amp?

[bubs_42]

Want an EV without the weight? Contact Jeff Bober at East and buy one of his 12" Reference Speakers. Way lighter and a clear speaker the projects what you throw at it. 

OR https://wgsusa.com/g12cs

[tbonesullivan]

Any idea what is in it stock? Eminence makes some nice speakers, but they are also pretty big frame wise. Make sure you get measurements on the stock speaker to make sure that it'll fit.

[hamerhead]

Good point - it has the stock Eminence Legend 12" speaker. There's not a lot of room in there:

I may have to rethink this anyways. As an experiment I put a 6 band EQ in front of it and exaggerated the highs and lows. The high end turned into raspy crap. Even with the gain at zero, the amp in this thing has some grit, kinda like you'd get from a Hammond pushing a Leslie. It's not necessarily a bad thing - in its place - but everything comes out like that. The preamp has a 12AXYEH tube. Is there a cleaner tube I could swap in?

 

[tbonesullivan]

Maybe try a 12AX7 or 12AT7?

It does mention "  To give the unit some musical growl, the preamp is built around a 12AXYEH tube. To allow control of the distortion created by the tube, the preamp offers pre- and post-gain EQ. A pre-gain “contour” control (an EQ centered around 800 Hz) is included to allow you to choose which frequencies will drive the tube. After the tube, standard, but very musical, Bass and Treble controls are included to allow you to shape the overtones put out by the tube. "

So, it sounds like that's how they designed it. The 12AY7 has lower signal gain than the 12AX7, but pretty much everything else is different too. Maybe email them and ask how to get less dirt? Though, it sounds like that's what they intended from the beginning: that dirty hammond/ leslie sound.

[Dutchman]

You could try anything from a 12au7 to a 5751... the 12au7’s are really low gain but musical.. 

[tomteriffic]

On 2/16/2019 at 6:27 PM, tbonesullivan said:

 

It does mention "  To give the unit some musical growl, the preamp is built around a 12AXYEH tube. To allow control of the distortion created by the tube, the preamp offers pre- and post-gain EQ. A pre-gain “contour” control (an EQ centered around 800 Hz) is included to allow you to choose which frequencies will drive the tube. After the tube, standard, but very musical, Bass and Treble controls are included to allow you to shape the overtones put out by the tube. "

800 Hz. = Honk.  Fiddle with that contour control.

[hamerhead]

Went one better, Tom. I took the amp out of the equation and replaced it with my backup Super Champ head. Now I can run totally clean if needed. Sounds pretty sweet.

New question: The Motion Sound amplifier is solid state with a tube in the preamp. I haven't found a way of totally bypassing the amp and using just the spinning part, so the amp part is on while in use. Is there any risk of damaging the amp by having it on with the speaker unhooked?