The Steel Guitar Forum

I am buying a used early Fender Pro Junior, 15 watt tube amp, which was built in the USA, circa mid 90's. I have read many reviews and many say put a quality speaker in it. It has a 10" 8 ohm speaker and that's why I went for it, for the larger speaker in a tiny amp. Anyway, what is the cleanest sounding 10" 8 ohm high quality speaker? I have read Celestion is a good one but Jensen also gets good reviews. Any experienced lap steel players that have an opinion on this? Thanks

I would recommend the Jensen Neo 10. I put one in a SF Princeton and the amp was born again.The treble control is actually usable now. Rates 100 watts , loud and efficient.

Olli,

Thank you for this information. I'll search on line to see what is for sale.

Gary ;
You may want to check the amount of limited room available in the cabinet for a better speaker with different dimensions . It's pretty tight in the Pro Jr. before the back of the driver butts up against the tubes and rear panel.

I just got a brand new Jensen 10" Neo off Ebay for $37 ! ! !
I really like the 12", so I went for this to use in an ultra small/light rig I'll be putting together with a
100 watt (3 lb.) Stewart power amp. It was also snatched from Ebay....for $38.

All the current Fender line of amps seem to require speaker replacement to get the best sound out of them, except for their really high end models.

I have had good luck with the Jensen reissues. I think a Jensen P10R would be a good choice, especially if you want to brighten your amp. Haven't tried the Neo's yet but from what I hear they are very clean.

I also like Webers. I recently put a Weber Signature Alnico 10 in my blackface Princeton and it sounds great. Not quite as bright as the Jensen, but with more warmth in the mids. There is a lot of great info at www.tedweber.com. Weber offers a wide variety of speakers for all kinds of applications and the website gives detailed descriptions of the different speakers and their sound character.

I put a P10R in my Pro Jr for lap steel, and it (along with a complete tube swap) made a world of difference. Took away all of the muddy-ness. Based on others' reviews, I'm sure there are probably better alnico speakers (Weber, etc), and it's not a high power speaker, but it was a big improvement over stock for me. It sounds quite sweet at low/mid volume levels, really giving a nice vintage sound with chimey highs with my lap steel. Doesn't sound too great at higher volumes, in my opinion. It fits, with just a little bit of room to spare.

I'm now getting ready to put my Pro Jr in a larger pine cabinet I built, with a Weber Signature 12S alnico, so we'll see how that turns out.

oops.

Weber makes the largest number of 10" speakers (over 20 different models of 'em), and he has ratings on his website for selecting one according to what characteristics you're looking for ((bass, mid, treble, texture, & breakup).

http://www.webervst.com/crossref.htm

It sure takes the guesswork out of finding what you're looking for!

oh good grief!

Donny, that link is to the old Webervst website. Some of the info there is outdated. The new website is www.tedweber.com. It has current models, pricing and photos of all his speakers, amp kits, cabinets, whatnot, etc.

You're right though - it sure makes picking a speaker easier and more cost effective. A fella could go broke trying out all the different speakers to find what he's looking for. I find I definitely prefer alnico magnet speakers over the ceramic magnets. Sweet, warm and nicely balanced!

If you want the loudest, cleanest 10" speaker you could try an EVM 10L, but I doubt it would fit in the Pro Jr.

I like those Fender/Eminence speakers. If you put a different speaker in your amp and want to sell the stock one let me know.