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Topic: Speaker For Gibson Skylark Amp? |
Chris Bauer
From:
Nashville, TN USA
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Posted 22 Nov 2014 2:07 pm |
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I just scored a Gibson Skylark amp and the speaker is torn. It actually sounds great when cranked but the current speaker wants nothing to do with any kind of clean sound.
I'm pretty clueless about speakers so help me out here... I need an 8 inch speaker for a 10 watt amp. I'd like something that's able to be sweet at lower volumes but get a great growl with some power behind it.
Suggestions? |
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Stephen Cowell
From:
Round Rock, Texas, USA
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Posted 22 Nov 2014 5:15 pm
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We need to know the ohms... that's important, you need to match what's in there.
Some of those small amps used 4ohm speakers... Fender's Champ being one. I got a 4ohm Weber for my BF Champ and it works great. If you need an 8ohm you might just do good with the 8" Jensen. Pretty sure you can't get a new Jensen in 4ohms.
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Chris Bauer
From:
Nashville, TN USA
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Posted 22 Nov 2014 5:42 pm
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| No luck finding out 4 vs 8 ohm so far but I'm working on it... Thanks, Stephen. |
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Tim Marcus
From:
San Francisco, CA
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Chris Bauer
From:
Nashville, TN USA
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Posted 22 Nov 2014 6:14 pm
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| Thanks, Tim! |
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Blake Hawkins
From:
Florida
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Posted 22 Nov 2014 6:43 pm
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Chris: Here is a schematic for a Gibson GA 5
Skylark, It shows an 8 ohm speaker.
Check to see if this is the amp you have.
http://schems.com/manu/gibson/ga5.pdf |
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Chris Bauer
From:
Nashville, TN USA
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Posted 22 Nov 2014 8:52 pm
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| Thanks, Blake. Looks like that's another iteration of the Skylark. The tubes in mine are: 2-6EU7, 2-6AQ5, 6X. I've found two schematics on line so far but neither specify the speaker. |
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Dave Mudgett
From:
Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee
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Posted 22 Nov 2014 10:22 pm
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That circuit with 2-6EU7 (preamp/phase-inverter), 2-6AQ5 (power), 6X4 is the Crestline series GA-5T Skylark, not the GA-5. Every one I've owned or seen (don't have one right now, but I've had several over the years) had an original, and not to my liking, bright 8 Ohm speaker. If the speaker is original and the voice coil isn't hosed, just measure the DC resistance with an ohmmeter - an 8 Ohm speaker should read somewhere in the 6-7 Ohm vicinity, a 4 Ohm speaker should measure in the 3-3.5 Ohm vicinity.
These are cool amps, but sometimes a bit bright. I like a heavier-duty speaker. I've had a couple of Weber Ferromax 8-Ohm, 8" speakers in amps like this, works pretty well. I'm using one right now in a little Champ-like thing, it has significantly more oomph than the usual suspects like the Jensen reissue stuff. There are actually a lot of choices if it turns out to be 8 Ohm. Whenever I see heavier-duty 8 Ohm speakers cheap, I grab them - these types of amps are killer for slide guitar. I love 6AQ5 amps for this kind of thing.
One thing I often do with those early-mid 60s Gibson amps is to mess around with the values of the coupling capacitors. Gibson was changing circuits pretty often, and sometimes used (to my tastes) too-small values which choked the low end out too much, again to my tastes. |
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Bill Creller
From:
Saginaw, Michigan, USA (deceased)
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Posted 23 Nov 2014 1:13 am
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| I went through a couple of those Gibsons to take the edge off,....too bright & trebly. And some different value coupling caps and cathode caps seemed to soften the tone some. |
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Don McGregor
From:
Memphis, Tennessee
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Posted 23 Nov 2014 6:52 am
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I would get the original speaker reconed, and keep it in case I ever wanted to go back to stock. A blonde Skylark was my first guitar amp, and I've owned a couple more over the years. They are great sounding little amps.
You might actually like the original speaker once it's repaired. |
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Lee Baucum
From:
McAllen, Texas (Extreme South) The Final Frontier
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Posted 23 Nov 2014 11:40 am
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I've still got my little blonde Skylark amp my parents bought for me (used) back in the early/mid 1960's.
Great little amps.
Lee, from South Texas |
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David L. Donald
From:
Koh Samui Island, Thailand
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Posted 24 Nov 2014 6:56 am
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For that old school sound try a Weber remake of the old Jensens.
These are less bright as the old speakers were and so fit to the circuit better than a new one would
Weber 10A125 speakers, which are Weber's version of the P10Q
Would be a good choice. I have 4 15w 10A100T Webers in my '59 Bassman clone and it sounds great. I've used it for lapsteel , Charlie Musslewhites harpo, and Gerry Bird's guitar.
Vintage Series
10A100T
$93.00
For tweed amps with AlNiCo 10's. To replace late 50's Chicago Jensen P10R and Oxford AlNiCo 10's
10", 7oz AlNiCo plug magnet, 15 watt, 1" voice coil, seamed, ribbed cone.
Bright, articulate, airy, later breakup, aggressive, compressed at high volume.
_________________
DLD, Chili farmer. Plus bananas and papaya too.
Real happiness has no strings attached.
But pedal steels have many! |
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