Ibanez TSA30 Speaker Upgrade

funkadelic

Hi...Anyone have an Ibanez TSA30 combo and upgraded the speaker (semi-open cab)? I ran some tests on mine...
1. Stock Celestion 70/80 speaker sounded "boomy" with the cab closed; sounded much better with the cab open
2. Replaced it with a Vintage 30 speaker and closed the cab. The overdrive/distortion sounded much better to me but my bandmates complains about lack of clarity. They want me to put the 70/80 back.

Options:
3. No test yet but I'm thinking a Creamback G12H-75 would be a good compromise? Clarity plus sound good when using overdrive/distortion.

Any advice or comments? Keeping in mind that I do need quite a bit of headroom.

Thanks in advance...

JGP

Hi, The Seventy 80 is a "general purpose" speaker designed as a jack of all trades, it does everything "OK" but nothing well. The Vintage 30 is Celestion's most detailed loudspeaker and should give great results. Just a thought, is the amp lifted off the floor or not? Standing on the floor or stage the amp will give exactly the results you are describing as the bass will boom off the floor and the tops are doing a great job of playing to your (and other band members) kneecaps.

G12H75 Creamback will give a tone closer to the original Greenbacks. You could also look at the V Type or if you specifically want lead definition the Classic Lead or a G12H Anniversery are worth a look.

funkadelic

Oops when I tested the speakers it was standing on the floor basically. When I played at the hall it was on an amp stand. I am definitely looking for definition for lead guitar. Will do some better tests with the speakers I have and read up, plus youtube the other speakers.

MoJo-JoJoe

I have tried some speakers in the smaller model - TSA15 combo. Seventy/80 can be boomy yes (put it into a Marshall DSL601 where it excelled). First up was the Celestion Blue. What a speaker! Detail in bags but you would need a Gold for your power. So if you can justify the very high price that is what I'd recommend. Next up was the Vintage 30. Well if anything sounds like classic rock in this combo, it's this speaker. Surprised you're not happy! Perhaps try someone else's rig through your amp and see if the problem could possibly be elsewhere in your chain and the Seventy/80 was just compensating for it all along. I also tried Marshall/Celestion Heritage and Marshall Wolverine speakers in my combo but I didn't dog them. Beamy and bright with loads of detail is how I would describe the Wolverine.
Just one more though for you .... take note that some of these speakers need a long break-in time to start to mellow and sound their best.
If you decide to ditch the Vintage 30, please PM me - I'd be interested to buy it.

Edit: I forgot to mention that I way prefer my combo with the back panel removed. Even though it is semi-open from factory, I feel it breathes much much better with the back panel removed.

funkadelic

Next up was the Vintage 30. Well if anything sounds like classic rock in this combo, it's this speaker. Surprised you're not happy!

I'm actually happy with the Vintage 30...it's the sound guy who complained. I have a Marshall 1936 cab with a Vintage 30 and G12T75. If I take the V30 out I'm fitting it in the Marshall cab to turn it into a 1936v cab...well sort of...

I forgot to mention that I way prefer my combo with the back panel removed. Even though it is semi-open from factory, I feel it breathes much better with the back panel removed.

I'll open up the cab and see what happens...without telling them of course. ?

I'm also going to test the combo with the G12T-75 speaker just to see how it sounds...maybe I'll like it. However I must say that the amp sounded good with the Seventy 80s and the cab open.

funkadelic

I forgot to add I use humbuckers. Emg. Maybe that's a contributing factor?

MoJo-JoJoe

I think EMGs are quite tight in the bottom end so probably it's not them going woof.
The Seventy/80 is a tad bottom heavy which is why I think it worked so well in a Marshall.
Would be interested to hear your feedback in the end.

funkadelic

Update: decided on the Celestion G12T75 in the Ibanez TSA30. From what I read the speaker is mid-scooped or do not empasis the mids. Works in my favour as I'm getting nice funky rythmn tones. Plus all my drive/distortion pedals are mid-heavy, which compliments the speaker well. Really fattens the drive tone once I engaged either the built-in tubescreamer or my pedals (Vox Ice 9, MI Audio Crunchbox).

I'm still undecided about the Marshall 212 cab with 2x vintage 30s. Doesn't sound as good ss the vintage 30 + G12T75 combination. Will run some more
tests to confirm.

JGP

G12T75 is a very particular sounding speaker, not liked by all but loved by some, enjoy.

The Vintage 30 these days is way more popular than the T75 but seems not to be your cup of tea. You would have no problem selling the cab with the 2 V30's or selling them loose, the Seventy80 is not such an easy sell.

Another speaker which may interest you is the Classic Lead, this is often used in combination with V30s and also with T75s.

funkadelic

Ibanez TSA30 + Celestion G12T75 = Happy bandmates and happy me. I used a Vox Ice 9 on the TS-808 setting. Worked really well. Nice clean tone and lekker fat lead tone that still cut thru like butter.

Now for the Marshall 1936 cab + JVM410. Hmmm. Still don't like the dual V30 tone. Will definitely mix the V30 + Classic Lead 80 or G12T75.

funkadelic

Great week of speaker testing. I'm past the Ibanez speaker issue. Settled on the Celestion G12T75.

Then installed 2xVintage 30s in the Marshall 1936 cab:
- The Marshall JVM sounded really harsh and thin...dialed up the bass to almost max and added some resonance :-\
- But the BIG surprise was the Laney Lionheart ?..jeez it sounds like that cab with Vintage 30s was build for it!!! It sounded creamy, full, big! And the crunch sound is wonderful beyond description! Now I just need to figure out how to use the Laney due to the low headroom...

Lesson - get more than one cab and mix as needed...it's not the speakers...it's the cab/speaker/amp match that makes the magic happen... ?

PS: These things are probably newbie stuff to most forumites...but I would never have even steered in this direction if it wasn't for GFSA! This forum rocks!!!

JGP

Something ain't right here. 2 x Vintage 30 will never sound thin if all is as it should be almost no matter what amp, different but not thin. I suspect the 2 speakers are wired out of phase or 1 is faulty. Try disconnecting one speaker in the cab and if all is good reconnect and disconnect the other 1. If the cab as is sounds right with the Lionheart amp but wrong when used with the Ibanez and it's own speaker then the speaker in the Ibanez is wired wrong if that makes sense.

funkadelic

Eish...gonna make a trip to gearjunkie soon and have all my gear tested. I have very limited technical skills as far as these things are concerned. But it's fun...I'm THAT close to having a gig ready setup