The Steel Guitar Forum

looking for a good 12" speaker for my amp project
which one would you use

1Eminence EPS series,

2Travis Toy 12


3Peavey Blue Marvel


4Black Widow 1203-4

p.w

Paul. I tried both an Eminence EM12, and a Black Widow in the amp that you bought the 130 chassis from. Both were bright!
I picked up a Music Man 112 cab recently, and want to try my RD One Hundred chassis in it with a Travis Troy neo.

I like the Travis Toy.

Paul, what is the wattage of the amp you will be using?

I recently put a Eminence "PF-300" (Paul Franklin helped design this one) into a cube shaped cabinet, about 17" on all sides, and a large rear port.... kind of heavy... but I just love the tone... real full sound. I use it with my 50 watt Milkman "The Amp", and sometimes my Boss Katana 100 watt head... both sound great.


I've also heard nice things about the TT 12", and it's much lighter.... but generally I personally find neo speakers need a good amount of wattage to bring out the sweet spot, and sound to me kind of thin at lower volumes....


I tried for years to get a good tone out of a Blue Marvel, and finally gave it away, and built a 1-15" cab that I put a Weber Michigan (ceramic) speaker in... that was a nice amp/cabinet for small to mid sized venues.

I second the PF-350. I am now using the TT-12 but thinking about going back to the PF as I thought it sounded better. Its heavy tho, the TT-12 is much lighter

I have had the PF-350 and the TT-12. The 350 was just too heavy for me. The TT-12, was very lightweight and I couldn't tell much difference in sound between the two. After getting Stereo Steel cabinets with JBL D-130's, I think they have a really smooth sound unmatched by any speaker I have ever used. If I were going to a 12" speaker, I would go with a JBL D-120.

david,

the amp i am using will be a peavey special 130
4-ohm sounds like the T.T speaker will be the choice
thanks to all for the input....

p.w

Is Eminence making a 4 Ohm Double-T 12 now? I'm pretty sure they initially only made an 8 Ohm version. They make a 4 Ohm Double-T 15. I've only been able to find 8 Ohm TT-12s on Eminence's and several resellers websites.

I really like my TT-12 in my Deluxe Reverb, though I haven't played it in a solid state amp yet.

As to them making a 4Ohm, check with Eminence. They typically will wind a custom speaker of any impedance based on their stock offerings, though with the TT-12 being a signature model - just check with the customer service team there.

I think a lot has to do with the amp as well, the voicings, the EQ profiles. I use the exact same 50 watt Fender branded Gold Label Eminence speaker in each of my amps now. It leans bright with a mild MID range EQ curve. I have one in my Nashville 112 as well, it eliminated the harsh mid range of that amp.

Paul, I just put a TT in a Special 130 and I'm still working on the tone. Not bad but not yet what I hoped for. I do feel that this speaker will get the nod once dialed in to my taste.

I have a Special 130 that had a very heavy EV which I replaced with a Telonics because it is 4 Ohm. Very satisfied with the change. I didn't know the TT is available as 4 Ohm.

I paired a Nashville 400 chassis with the Eminence EM12N and it was the right combination for me. No appreciable volume decrease with using an 8ohm speaker.

There was a comparison a while back with the TT-12 speaker, and the Eminence Basslite S2012.....The Eminence to me did not have the same sound as the TT, but to my ears sounded more present..... I bought 2 of the Eminence Basslite speakers for just over $100 each...They are light weight neo’s that handle 150 watts RMS each...I’m really enjoying these speakers...A nice full tone and present sounding.....Jim

I’m using a 1203-4 in a cabinet with a Quilter Steelaire rackmount, and I’m liking it a lot.