Well, this will be my first Ampeg. I just bought a 1960 Rocket R-12 from a Reverb seller. It was advertised as a 1959 but the serial number starts with 001. It has a re-coned Jensen P12R. From what I could find, that's the original speaker but maybe not the best choice for this amp. I have a perfectly good box for storing this speaker, lol. I'd like to hear from you folks about your choice for a better replacement.
The tube complement is two 6SL7, two 6V6 and a 5Y3. I like raw crunchy overdriven plug-straight-into-the-amp-with-no-pedals sound and I like sparkling cleans, too.
What say you? Thanks!
Torren61,
Jensen P12R is not my favorite speaker, that being said I also don't mind them in the right amp.
Ive replaced p12rs or C12Rs with Jensen EM1202s in old ampegs with good results. the EM1202 doesn't have the same harshness in the highs that I tend to associate with the c12Rs and has balanced and rounded lows. they are also not particularly sought after.
These early ampegs were designed as jazz amps. Ampeg was not a rock and roll amp company until the later 1960s. Ampeg was still owned by the founder that believed that Rock "doesn't swing" and was a childish fad. so their amps were designed to be clean and clear. of course its still possible to overdrive them, especially with high output pickups, but I wouldn't say that is where they shine. Just my opinion of course.
-Steve
(06-02-2021, 09:52 PM)Hangman Wrote: [ -> ]Torren61,
Jensen P12R is not my favorite speaker, that being said I also don't mind them in the right amp.
Ive replaced p12rs or C12Rs with Jensen EM1202s in old ampegs with good results. the EM1202 doesn't have the same harshness in the highs that I tend to associate with the c12Rs and has balanced and rounded lows. they are also not particularly sought after.
These early ampegs were designed as jazz amps. Ampeg was not a rock and roll amp company until the later 1960s. Ampeg was still owned by the founder that believed that Rock "doesn't swing" and was a childish fad. so their amps were designed to be clean and clear. of course its still possible to overdrive them, especially with high output pickups, but I wouldn't say that is where they shine. Just my opinion of course.
-Steve
I appreciate your input. I have a few speakers I can try with it depending on the Ohm load it needs to see. Celestions: Alnico Gold, Alnico Blue, Creamback, G12H, G12S, an EVM, Fane A90, Scumback J75-LD and some unknown Fender Eminence. I just thought I'd ask if there were others that were better suited. I don't have a jazz amp other than a SS Evans, if that counts.
no problem.
I used a pair of english G12Ms in a 1960 Ampeg 435-SN. They sound a little out of place but they sound better than the original c12s that came in the amp.
Thats quite a selection of speakers to choose from! The alnico Blue is only 15W, so might be a little borderline in terms of power. Never fun to blow one of those.
Creamback is a 65W speaker so you wouldn't be driving it very hard, I haven't really tried those before... do they do well in an underpowered situation?
I had a customer use a V30 (also 65W) in an old ampeg like this, but i just really didn't like that pairing. I feel like the V30 doesn't sound its best until you push it, and v30s definitely adds a color that is very not ampeg. (at least the ampeg of 1960. if you threw some v30s in a 70s V4 cabinet that can work really well.)
anyway, I would recommend picking 2-3 speakers that would give you a broad spectrum of sound. maybe the alnico gold, G12H and the unknown eminence? I feel like that will help you hone in on what the essence of the amp is and what kind of speakers mate well with it.
I've been collecting guitars, amps and speakers for quite awhile, lol. The Celestion Gold is rated at 50 watts. The G12H is one of a pair in a 2X12 cab but it's rated at 30 watts. I blew out the Alnico blue once already from a 20 watt amp so I'm not too comfortable pushing it at 18 to 20m watts. I'm going to just give a listen to the Jensen that's in there now. It may sound just fine. Jensen sells a reissued P12R and the description sounds just like what I want and it's rated for 25 watts. I don't know what the original P12R is rated for but I don't want to blow out a vintage speaker even one that has been re-coned.
Thanks for the input.
Hi there! I'm new here but I thought I'd add my 2 cents.
I picked up a Warehouse WGS G12Q new, and a G12C/S used, and they both sounded great so far in my Reverberocket R12-R-T. American made and supposedly pretty true to the vintage American speaker sound. My Mercury M12 6V6 has its original Ceramic Jensen (reconed) in it and I think it sounds great too.
Here's the Warehouse guy's 2 cents for a specific user's needs:
https://wgsusa.com/which-12-speaker-60s-ampeg-mercury
No shortage of great speakers available these days. For my M12 Mercury, I gad the original C12R reconed and it was OK, but was lacking just a bit in the low eend. I went with a reissue Jensen C12Q and love it. It has all the qualities of the original speaker, but stays clean a little longer and has a fuller low end.