To Milkman The Amp Combo owners

Fred Rogan · From: Birmingham, AL USA

I've had my Milkman The Amp Combo for several years now and I love the light weight, the connectivity, the build quality and most everything except the speaker. I replaced the original neo (can't remember what it was now) with an Eminence EM12N, another neo. It was better and I had it in there for over a year but did not love it. One of the limiting factors in selecting a speaker is that the depth cannot be much over 5".
I was looking through the Eminence line and ran across the Texas Heat - ferrite magnet. 150 watts and 5.1" in depth.
Got one and put it in and voila! It is now the sound that I always wanted to get out of this great little amp. It did add some weight but only a 3 lb increase. The Texas Heat was close in terms of depth and there is only about 1/16' clearance so measure your amp carefully if you try this.
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Tucker Jackson · From: Portland, Oregon, USA

Hi, Fred. Can you describe the difference in tone between the Texas Heat and the EM12N?

I have the same rig as you, but broken into a separate head and cab: a Milkman "The Amp 100," paired with an external cab with the Eminence EM12N. That speaker was the amp-builder Tim Marcus' recommendation (he formerly branded it as the "Milkman 12 Neo" or something like that and told me it was "the best sounding neo he had ever heard."). That pairing sounds just great to my ears, but we all have different tastes. So, I'm curious what that Texas Heat is doing with your tone? I realize it's really hard to translate sound into a word description...

Fred Rogan · From: Birmingham, AL USA

Tucker, Tim is correct, the EM12N is the best sounding 12" neo out there, I just don't like them.
Neo speakers to me sound "honky" (not honky tonky, just honky) whick I think is an emphasis on mid-range to my ears. I've had at least 3 kinds of 12" neo speakers and about 3 kinds of 15" neo speakers and did not like any.
It's certainly a matter of personal taste but I think ceramic magnet speakers just sound more balanced.
I have one of those hand wired Deluxe Reverb amps and it came with a Jensen speaker that I didn't like. I took that out and bought one of the Eminence speakers that Dr. Z puts in his version of the Deluxe Reverb amp (it is a 50 watt speaker). That is kinda my reference sound.
The Texas Heat in my The Amp Combo now sounds more like my Deluxe Reverb and I love the way my steels sound thru the Deluxe, the Deluxe just doesn't have the features or power that The Amp combo does.
Hope that helps!
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Steve Lipsey · From: Portland, Oregon, USA

FYI, Tim uses - and recommends - the Jupiter speakers for his amps...yes, he offers a NEO, but for times when weight is the key factor.
I've got a Jupiter 12" in a cab for my The Amp, and for my Pedal Steel Mini...can't compare because it is all I used with those amps...but I'm quite happy with the balance, sparkle, and low end...
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Tucker Jackson · From: Portland, Oregon, USA

OK, thanks guys. Yes, a ceramic is probably going to sound better than a neo and I know that's Tim's first choice too... if weight is not an issue.

I wanted to get the absolute lightest weight tube amp rig possible so went for the neo speaker. Super happy with the sound, but know it could possibly be better if I was willing to go heavier.

Dave Stagner · From: Minnesota, USA

My rig now is an Amp 100 into a JBL K120 in a Jerry-style cab. I kinda want to try a neo speaker in a lighter cabinet, but… I’m nearly certain that nothing else I can do will be better than this speaker/cab combo.
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Fred Rogan · From: Birmingham, AL USA

with the Texas Heat speaker in my the Amp Combo, it weighs 24.6 lbs (without electric cord).
It's just part of the fun of the hunt for the evasive perfect tone from the perfectly featured amp.
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Tucker Jackson · From: Portland, Oregon, USA

Steve Lipsey · From: Portland, Oregon, USA

the Jupiter ceramic is 9 lbs...the Telonics NEO is 7.2 lbs...not really any different...the Telonics handles 300 watts...the Jupiter 50...I always try to get a speaker that isn't way over-rated, assuming, perhaps incorrectly, that the physics sweet spit is near the max rating and that a speaker way over-rated would be non-linear at a power much lower than the rating...
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Tucker Jackson · From: Portland, Oregon, USA

For comparison, the Eminence EM12N is 6.6 lbs.

I'm wondering how risky it is to use the 100 watt version of The Amp with a 50-watt Jupiter?

Steve Lipsey · From: Portland, Oregon, USA

Tucker-
Time for a 2x12!! They sound much better anyway...so, what's another dozen pounds or so (haha)? ...Or You can just ask Tim about the safety of the speaker on the 100...I'd bet he's turned it up as some point...or measured the actual power output...

I actually have two cabs, one 1x12 and one 1x10...I can get away with the 1x10 for a lot of things, and it is really light, use the 1x12 for gigs, and use both if I want the richer sound (which makes the amp go to 100 watts@4ohms)...but my The Amp is the 50 watt version...I like the tremolo now and then, and the simpler reverb is fine...
...and Tim says that the 100 watt version is virtually imperceptibly louder than the 50...
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Ben Bonham Resos, 1954 Oahu Diana, 1936 Oahu Parlor

Fred Rogan · From: Birmingham, AL USA

I've played out now 3 times since I installed the Texas Heat in my The Amp Combo (and after a lot of breaking in at home) and I am detecting a nice increase in high end shimmer with a good warm sound. I think the speaker is showing the best of my Show Pro as well as the Combo.
As far as the power rating, I doubt it has anything to do with physics but the old wives tale I've always gone by is that the speaker should be rated at 2-3 times the rating of the amp. Living by that I have never had any problems.
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