Favorite 12" Neo Speakers for PSG

[Dave Grafe]

I'm rebuilding a thoroughly trashed Twin Reverb amp and will need a pair of 8 ohm 12" speakers once the benchwirk is complete.

Curious what is out there other than the TT12 which I have tried out. In particular has anyone had superior results with any of the Celestion neo line? Has anyone had any experience with their "Cream Back" or "Green Back" twelves and if so what say you?

Weber and Telonics used to sell products "voiced after JBL" but I don't believe those are available still. I'm looking for smooth response roughly 80Hz to 5kHz, with a neo magnet. Unforgettable most guitar speakers roll off around 3kHz and I like my sparkles.

Talk to me, what floats your boat that might please this old JBL addict.

[Nathan Pocock]

Are you married to Neo speakers? I have Telonics 15” neos and Black Widow 15” neos and they are both supposedly JBL ‘style’. But if you look at the charts I don’t think either one has the high extension of a real JBL.

Anyway my favorite 12” speaker so far for Steel is the Jupiter 12LC. These have that classic American sound, kinda scooped with big bass and extended highs. I bought one and liked it so much I bought a second one for my Ampeg Gemini. I had the TT12 and I didn’t like it. It is very rolled off in the highs.
Anyway an LC12 weighs 9lbs and a TT12 weighs 7.1, to me the tone trade off is easily worth it even in a twin where the weight difference would be doubled.

[Dave Grafe]

Cool, Nathan, thanks for the feedback

[Tim Whitlock]

I too am a JBL and Altec junkie. I recently bought a Weber 12" NeoMag for one of my amps. They're still listed on the Weber site. It's close to a JBL, but perhaps a little warmer. If I still played a Twin I would strongly consider a pair. I also really liked the Celestion Creamback Neo in my '68 Custom Pro Reverb. Generally not a Celestion fan, but this one sounded very nice. I don't think you can go wrong either way.

[David Higginbotham]

Another vote for Jupiter 12LC. Great lightweight speakers in a twin or extension cabinet. When I sold my twin the Jupiters stayed and the Celestians went back in. Tim Marcus recommended them and used Jupiters in some of his amps. That alone speaks volumes!

[Dennis Detweiler]

Eminence BP122 bass speaker. Similar in tone to Peavey 1502, but 12 inch

[Dave Grafe]

I too am a JBL and Altec junkie. I recently bought a Weber 12" NeoMag for one of my amps. They're still listed on the Weber site. It's close to a JBL, but perhaps a little warmer. If I still played a Twin I would strongly consider a pair. I also really liked the Celestion Creamback Neo in my '68 Custom Pro Reverb. Generally not a Celestion fan, but this one sounded very nice. I don't think you can go wrong either way.

Thanks Tim, that's exactly the sort of information I am looking for

[Dave Grafe]

Another vote for Jupiter 12LC. Great lightweight speakers in a twin or extension cabinet. When I sold my twin the Jupiters stayed and the Celestians went back in. Tim Marcus recommended them and used Jupiters in some of his amps. That alone speaks volumes!

Excellent, I will look into that one also

[Steve Lipsey]

I have two original equipment Milkman speakers...one is a Jupiter 12LC and the other is a Missing Link D120 Hybrid (D120 recone kit on a Black widow frame).

I like them both - it seems to me that the Missing Link has somewhat tighter bass (can't beat that monster magnet) and a bit more crystalline highs, from extensive A/B testing. Play them a few minutes apart, though, and you are hard pressed to hear a difference....I know I can't. The Jupiter was the standard Milkman speaker for many years, but Tim became a real fan of the Missing Link, and now he has his own Milkman D130...JBL guys seem to have a hard time switching.....

But I now gig the Jupiter because the D120 is so much heavier...

[Dave Grafe]

Righto Steve, good to know

[Dave Grafe]

Eminence BP122 bass speaker. Similar in tone to Peavey 1502, but 12 inch

There is a lot to be said for using bass speakers in a PSG rig. Unfortunately for me none of the Eminence speakers does much above 3kHz, an octave less on top than the Altec or JBL speakers, and that matters. I used a TT12 for a while but when I replaced it with a JBL there was no going back.

[Tim Marcus]

Without logrolling myself too hard… you should try my Milkman 12” Neo speaker. It’s lighter than the TT12 and if you AB it with a K120 you’ll be hard pressed to hear a big difference. Mine are made by Eminence as well.

If you shoot me an email I’ll quote you for a pair. The nice thing mine are 8ohm so a pair in a twin is a perfect match for the 4ohm output.

[Dave Grafe]

Without logrolling myself too hard… you should try my Milkman 12” Neo speaker. It’s lighter than the TT12 and if you AB it with a K120 you’ll be hard pressed to hear a big difference. Mine are made by Eminence as well.

If you shoot me an email I’ll quote you for a pair. The nice thing mine are 8ohm so a pair in a twin is a perfect match for the 4ohm output.

Can you post a response curve Tim? If your Eminence-built speaker has any significant content above 3kHz that would be exceptional for them, as every other product they make, including the TT series, rolls off fast above 3kHz due to the design of their voice coils. That's an octave lower than JBL, Altec, or BW and it matters to me.

[Tim Marcus]

This is the response curve. Plenty of top end - it looks similar to what you posted, but I have compared it to the TT and Telonics and you have to take my word for it - this speaker sounds the most like a K120 out of the bunch

I sent one to Bob Hoffnar about a year ago to try, and he did some side by side comparisons. This is a random snippet of him noodling around:

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0977/ ... 1771262439

he said "its comparable to a K120"

[Dave Grafe]

Righto Tim, that's more like it! Thanks for sharing

[David Wren]

Hi Dave. Last Thursday I picked up my new "Half and Half" from Tim, which included a 15" neo. So far I have not played it on a full stage with a live band.. but here in my studio, oh my!'

BTW, the entire combo, amp and speaker, comes in at 30 lbs.! Oh baby

Let us know which way you finally go with this amp rebuild. Whatever you select for speakers, I bet the end result will be fantastic!