Less sensitive Celestion Alnico alternatives

[woody]

Hello everyone,
I've got an gabriel 2x12 with a G12-H and a Celestion Gold.
The Gold/G12-H have 100db sensitivity, respectively.
It's so dang loud.

I'm looking at alternative speakers with lower sensitivity.
If I put in a G12-M Heritage for the G12-H that would bring the sensitivity of that cone down to 96 db.
is there a comparably low sensitive Alnico Speaker that could replace the Gold?

 

[bikescene]

I am a fan of the Weber speakers that I’ve come across. I only have the ceramic version of Weber’s Blue Dog, but it’s scratched my Celestion Blue itch. I have read that it’s not as loud as the Alnico Blue, although the technical specs aren’t published. Perhaps Alnico Blue Dog is indeed quieter than the Blue.

 

[gearJunkie]

The Jensen Blackbird 40 have a 96 db sensitivity. I have a 2x12 loaded with them.

They sound great with my Mark VII, Fillmore 50, King Kong 50, and my Two-Rock CRS. They pair well with my 2x12 V30 cab and also with my creamback loaded Park 2x12.

Mesa installs them in all of their California Tweed combos & cabs.

They are worth checking out

 

[laxu]

IMO a lower sensitivity speaker would not make enough of a difference. No guitar speakers are actually particularly low sensitivity.

 

[woody]

IMO a lower sensitivity speaker would not make enough of a difference. No guitar speakers are actually particularly low sensitivity.

Two times 4db less sensitivity should end up 6db quieter in the room.
That's something.

 

[laxu]

Two times 4db less sensitivity should end up 6db quieter in the room.
That's something.

So from dang loud to still loud.

I used to have one of the Eminence Maverick speakers with a knob in the back that let me dial it between 91-100 dB sensitivity by moving the magnet away from the cone. The perceived volume change with say 25-50% sensitivity reduction wasn't huge.

Looking through the products Celestion, Eminence and WGS offer, all Alnicos they make are 100 dB sensitivity.

Jupiter has one 97 dB sensitivity speaker: https://jupiter-speakers.com/collec...t-12-50w-american-large-alnico-guitar-speaker
But it probably sounds very different from Alnico Blues or Golds.

You've got a cab with some great speakers in it, and anything else is likely to sound at least different. So I'd look for the solution from whatever amp(s) you use instead.

 

[woody]

You've got a cab with some great speakers in it, and anything else is likely to sound at least different. So I'd look for the solution from whatever amp(s) you use instead.

Yeah, I guess the idea is flawed.
Thanks for the reminder.

The cab sounds glorious, it's just SO. DANG. LOUD.
I've got 1x12's with a Neo Creamback or a G12-65.
They sound great, too, are more portable and bring down the level quite a bit.

Wishing a piece of equipment was something that it's not rarely works out well.
I might have a look into the Blackbird 40, it looks like an interesting speaker.
Now, how many cabs does one need...

 

[laxu]

Yeah, I guess the idea is flawed.
Thanks for the reminder.

The cab sounds glorious, it's just SO. DANG. LOUD.
I've got 1x12's with a Neo Creamback or a G12-65.
They sound great, too, are more portable and bring down the level quite a bit.

Wishing a piece of equipment was something that it's not rarely works out well.
I might have a look into the Blackbird 40, it looks like an interesting speaker.
Now, how many cabs does one need...

You could also try adding e.g beam blockers to the cab in case diffusing the highs would help with the perceived volume. I think Weber sells a retrofit option but you could build one yourself easily.

What amp(s) are you using with the cab?

 

[woody]

You could also try adding e.g beam blockers to the cab in case diffusing the highs would help with the perceived volume. I think Weber sells a retrofit option but you could build one yourself easily.

What amp(s) are you using with the cab?

Even beyond the beam the volume is immense.
It sounds great with anything, really.
It came with a Gabriel 18W, it's a two channel head with a 1974 kinda thing and an AC15 EF86 channel.
It sounds great with a 1959 (with PPIMV), the Jet City 22 Soldano-ish affair, Laney GH50L, with an AB763 based amp...
All big and bold and 3d and LOUD!

 

[Cirrus]

My experience is kinda the opposite of what Laxu's putting across.

4dB can be the difference between too loud and not too loud, it's a significant difference. I've found while gigging AC30s that 2 blues is almost always too loud, and 97dB speakers aren't. Sometimes they're still too loud, it's all stage/room/soundman's opinion, but they're too loud less often, and in all circumstances you can get the volume one more notch towards the amp's sweet spot, which is a win for me.

These days for gigging I have one of the older 1x12 AC30s Korg made, with two valves pulled and one Celestion Blue. I've measured that as 5dB quieter than the same edge of breakup settings on my 2x12 30 watt, and sound people *love* it.

The closest speaker I can think of to a quieter celestion gold would be an older weber silver bell - if you get a 30 watt+ version, the one I had was barely as loud as a heritage greenback, like barely 96dB. But if you think you could get away with one speaker in the cab and just block the other hole off with a piece of wood, whatever you choose you'll have knocked about 3dB off your stage volume by dint of having lost a speaker.