What 12" speaker for my empty cabinet

Tom Dillon · Post by **Tom Dillon** » 14 May 2017 10:26 pm

I have an empty 12" open back cabinet that I'd like to start using in my band's practice space, or maybe in my music room and leave my 15" in the garage between gigs. I have an idea what speaker to use, but I'd like to know what the forum members recommend these days and why. Thanks!

Roy McKinney · Post by **Roy McKinney** » 15 May 2017 7:38 am

I have and original out of a NV112 I would sale.

Dan Robinson · Post by **Dan Robinson** » 15 May 2017 8:49 pm

Eminence Double-T (Travis Toy) 12.

Seems like a lot of steel players are moving from 15" to 12" speakers. And why not? The good ones are smaller, lighter and give up nothing in the tone department.

There, now that's right.

Jay Ganz · Post by **Jay Ganz** » 16 May 2017 5:07 am

Of course, some are only available in either 4 or 8 ohm. Depends on what you need.

Mark Hershey · Post by **Mark Hershey** » 16 May 2017 7:40 am

I'm picking up a Weber California 12" with the paper cap. It's supposed to be in the ball park of a JBL.

The Weber 12f150's are supposed to be Jensen copies.

Travis Toy · Post by **Travis Toy** » 16 May 2017 8:07 am

Dan Robinson wrote:Celestion Double-T (Travis Toy) 12.

Seems like a lot of steel players are moving from 15" to 12" speakers. And why not? The good ones are smaller, lighter and give up nothing in the tone department.

I would also highly recommend my speaker. It is from the fine folks at Eminence though, not Celestion.

http://www.eminence.com/speakers/speake ... ouble_T_12

-t

George Macdonald · Post by **George Macdonald** » 16 May 2017 9:55 am

I Have a Double T 12" speaker in my Nash.112 and love it.

Greg Cutshaw · Post by **Greg Cutshaw** » 16 May 2017 9:58 am

Eminence PF-350?

"Offering complete tonal balance from top to bottom, this attack-sensitive and powerful 12â€ model was co-developed with veteran session and touring pro Paul Franklin. With headroom to spare, the PF-350â€™s tone transfers from low volume to very loud with warmth and clarity, making it ideal for pedal steelers and 6-stringers alike.

â€œI finally have a speaker with complete balance, from highs to lows, where one frequency never dominates another. It gives me the flexibility to use my amp to dial in any type of sound while faithfully delivering beautiful tone at any volume.â€ â€“ Paul Franklin"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sFVbgU3TqE

http://www.eminence.com/speakers/speake ... del=PF_350

Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 16 May 2017 11:44 am

I have one of the Travis Toy Eminence speakers. I would recommend it over the Eminence EPS-12C. The TT model tames some of the "too much" highs in the EPS-12C.

I just finished my TT12 cabinet last Friday. I used it Sunday evening at Cowboy Church. It needs some break in to make it even better.

I listened to the PF demo and the TT12, broken in, will come very close to the PF model and is much lighter.

Bob Lawrence · Post by **Bob Lawrence** » 16 May 2017 12:01 pm

The Paul Franklin Signature PF-350 Guitar Speaker by Eminence

Demo Video - Published on 15 May 2017
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sFVbgU ... e=youtu.be

Tom Dillon · Post by **Tom Dillon** » 16 May 2017 8:37 pm

Travis Toy wrote:
Dan Robinson wrote:Celestion Double-T (Travis Toy) 12.

Seems like a lot of steel players are moving from 15" to 12" speakers. And why not? The good ones are smaller, lighter and give up nothing in the tone department.
I would also highly recommend my speaker. It is from the fine folks at Eminence though, not Celestion.

http://www.eminence.com/speakers/speake ... ouble_T_12

-t

Travis, I talked to you about your speaker after your workshop at the SWSGA show in Mesa. It sounded great and It's on my short list for sure.

Tom Wolverton · Post by **Tom Wolverton** » 17 May 2017 5:36 am

I have a Telonics 12" neo and I really like it.

Pete Burak · Post by **Pete Burak** » 17 May 2017 9:20 am

I have a JBL-K120 in my 1x12 Cab.
Sometimessage I switch in JBL-E120.

Hamilton Barnard · Post by **Hamilton Barnard** » 18 May 2017 7:00 am

Jensen C12N for classic vintage Fender tone.

Dan Robinson · Post by **Dan Robinson** » 18 May 2017 6:59 pm

Travis Toy wrote:
Dan Robinson wrote:Celestion Double-T (Travis Toy) 12.

Seems like a lot of steel players are moving from 15" to 12" speakers. And why not? The good ones are smaller, lighter and give up nothing in the tone department.
I would also highly recommend my speaker. It is from the fine folks at Eminence though, not Celestion.

http://www.eminence.com/speakers/speake ... ouble_T_12

-t

Duh! Brain fade. Of course it is. Sorry about that, Travis.

But same opinion about your signature speaker. It's a good one.

Mike Brown · Post by **Mike Brown** » 19 May 2017 6:54 am

Nashville 112 speakers(4 ohm) are available as well through your Peavey dealer. The part number is 30777234.

This speaker has surely proven to be a great performing speaker.

Mike Brown
Peavey USA

George Seymour · Post by **George Seymour** » 19 May 2017 1:21 pm

Greg Cutshaw wrote:Eminence PF-350?

"Offering complete tonal balance from top to bottom, this attack-sensitive and powerful 12â€ model was co-developed with veteran session and touring pro Paul Franklin. With headroom to spare, the PF-350â€™s tone transfers from low volume to very loud with warmth and clarity, making it ideal for pedal steelers and 6-stringers alike.

â€œI finally have a speaker with complete balance, from highs to lows, where one frequency never dominates another. It gives me the flexibility to use my amp to dial in any type of sound while faithfully delivering beautiful tone at any volume.â€ â€“ Paul Franklin"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sFVbgU3TqE

Just got it Greg
Amazing!!
http://www.eminence.com/speakers/speake ... del=PF_350

Travis Toy · Post by **Travis Toy** » 21 May 2017 3:30 pm

Jack Stoner wrote:I have one of the Travis Toy Eminence speakers. I would recommend it over the Eminence EPS-12C. The TT model tames some of the "too much" highs in the EPS-12C.

I just finished my TT12 cabinet last Friday. I used it Sunday evening at Cowboy Church. It needs some break in to make it even better.

I listened to the PF demo and the TT12, broken in, will come very close to the PF model and is much lighter.

Thanks Jack. I'm glad you like the speaker.

I just wanna point out a few things concerning the major differences between our signature speakers. Below I'm attaching the graphs for my speaker and Paul's speaker, along with a link to the details page for both. You will notice that the response is VERY similar between both. That's because we have both been using the same speakers for years...the Peavey 1201-8. That was the speaker that we were both looking to improve on. They are actually so similar that I would bet a lot of players wouldn't be able to tell the difference. The obvious difference is that my speaker is a NEO, and Paul's is a traditional ferrite magnet. For those that don't know, weight is the huge factor in the difference between them. My speaker is 7.1 lbs, and Paul's is 21.5 lbs. My speaker actually has a larger usable frequency range as well (both higher and lower).

They're both great speakers, and at the end of the day, are extremely similar sounding despite having some major differences in construction. We are both very happy with our offerings. You be the judge.

-t

http://www.eminence.com/pdf/Double_T_12.pdf

http://www.eminence.com/pdf/PF_350.pdf

George Seymour · Post by **George Seymour** » 21 May 2017 3:52 pm

Well Travis, I just ordered another PF-350, I know you spent a lot of time with the build of your speaker with Eminence, I never liked the 12 inch speaker, even got a pair of the 1201-8's, didn't care for them...that's why I didn't buy into the speaker you offered a year ago. I am totally convinced now of the range and ability of the PF-350 for both E and C necks. Maybe sometime I'll try one of your designs because now I'm a believer that a 12 can do it all and the PF-350 pushes all my buttons, and I sold my PF Steel Dream...

Travis Toy · Post by **Travis Toy** » 21 May 2017 4:07 pm

George Seymour wrote:Well Travis, I just ordered another PF-350, I know you spent a lot of time with the build of your speaker with Eminence, I never liked the 12 inch speaker, even got a pair of the 1201-8's, didn't care for them...that's why I didn't buy into the speaker you offered a year ago. I am totally convinced now of the range and ability of the PF-350 for both E and C necks. Maybe sometime I'll try one of your designs because now I'm a believer that a 12 can do it all and the PF-350 pushes all my buttons, and I sold my PF Steel Dream...

You didn't make a bad choice.

I believe both of our speakers are superior to the 1201-8s. We were both looking for something better, and I think we both arrived there on different paths. I hope you enjoy them.

-t

Jay Ganz · Post by **Jay Ganz** » 21 May 2017 4:16 pm

I've been using various NEO speakers since they first came on the market years ago.
Some I liked better than others, but I could never justify going back to a 20 lb. speaker.

Just ain't gonna happen.

George Seymour · Post by **George Seymour** » 21 May 2017 4:30 pm

Hey Travis, certainly not to stir anything up but why did you decide to go the neo mag route? Did you try your basket design with the ferrite mag?
Just curious! This probably has been re hashed a lot when you were developing the speaker a year or so ago. I'm entirely of the mind it is mainly the Indian and not arrow that makes the main difference, and you sir are certainly a tremendous player. I've been at it quite a while and am very keenly focused on the tone that I want to hear. Got some GOOD stuff for us pickers for sure.
Thanks for you feedback to the Forum Travis, your experience carries tremendous weight in my book!

Travis Toy · Post by **Travis Toy** » 21 May 2017 4:48 pm

George Seymour wrote:Hey Travis, certainly not to stir anything up but why did you decide to go the neo mag route? Did you try your basket design with the ferrite mag?
Just curious! This probably has been re hashed a lot when you were developing the speaker a year or so ago. I'm entirely of the mind it is mainly the Indian and not arrow that makes the main difference, and you sir are certainly a tremendous player. I've been at it quite a while and am very keenly focused on the tone that I want to hear. Got some GOOD stuff for us pickers for sure.
Thanks for you feedback to the Forum Travis, your experience carries tremendous weight in my book!

Hey George. You're not stirring up anything at all. I was approached by Eminence initially to just help them design a modern sounding 12" NEO speaker. They were aware that a lot of pros in Nashville, including myself, were not too keen on the EPS 12. It was not originally meant to be a signature product for me. I made them aware that I had never played a NEO that I liked, and had high doubts that it was even possible to get one to where I wanted it to be. Ha. Fast forward 6 months, and a LOT of prototypes later, and we finally arrived at what I think is the best sounding modern speaker I've ever used. I had invested so much time into it's creation at that point, that it only felt right to make it a signature product for me. I did quite a lot of blind testing with peers of mine in Nashville, and literally everyone picked my speaker as their preferred sound. I've been very humbled to have several heroes of mine try the speaker, and put it into service in their touring and recording rigs. Anyway, there ya go. The whole story.

-t

John Davis · Post by **John Davis** » 22 May 2017 2:25 am

A JBL E120, ok, I know its heavy but one in a cab is easy enough, it will give all you need and it won't break the bank.......

Bill Terry · Post by **Bill Terry** » 22 May 2017 5:27 am

+1 on a Neo for a lower cost alternative. I've got one of these in a 12" open back cab and it seems to be pretty smooth, great low end. That said, I think these new lightweight speakers with the neodymium construction are a little different sounding than the conventional 'big magnet' speakers.

https://www.tubesandmore.com/products/s ... w-aluminum