I bought a used Marshall Slanted Cabinet and replaced the speakers. Here is my choice! Would you do anything different? Swamp Thang 12" Guitar Speaker, 150 Watts at 8 Ohms A 12" American guitar speaker with big bottom end Very powerful, thick and chunky tone with good sustain Ideal for: Blues, Rock, and Jazz Magnet 59 oz Texas Heat 12" Guitar Speaker, 150 Watts at 8 Ohms A warm and smooth 12" American guitar speaker packing a little Texas-style heat Nice clear, fat tone with a little top end bite and a hint of British flavor Ideal for: American Rock, Blues, and Southern Rock Magnet 38 oz The Tonker 12" Guitar Speaker, 150 Watts at 8 Ohms A hard-hitting 12" speaker with British flavor and harmonic balance A very fat, clean and warm tone through the mid-range and a smooth top end Ideal for: English Rock, Southern Rock, Country (Great with a Telecaster) Magnet 59 oz Red White & Blues 12 Inch Guitar Speaker 120 Watts Nice tight low-end, smooth midrange and top end sparkle American cousin to "The Governor" Magnet 38 oz. I placed the Tonker and the Swamp Thing across from each other due to magnet size. I also considered this speaker instead of Red White & Blues. Man O War 12" Guitar Speaker, 120 Watts at 8 Ohms work horse of tone. A proven and revered sound, very loud and responsive/articulate in every register. Chunky and solid sound with a little top end sparkle. Magnet Weight; 38 oz.
It really depends on the application. When, which is rarely, I replace stock speakers: For 4x12 guitar - Clestion alnico For 4x12 bass - Eminence neodymium
I prefer both the brand and magnet because I have a pretty good understanding of Celestion voicings, and alnicos really shine. If I were to order Celestions, I know what to expect - not so much with Eminence. I do know that the 12" Legend series is an OK speaker, but nothing special while the original Delta12, no longer in production and hard to find sounds incredible in a 1960 cabinet. I installed four Eminence Basslite S2012s in my Ampeg V4 cab. Originally designed as a full range cabinet for guitar, bass, or keyboard, my V4 is now the best sounding 4x12 bass cab I have ever played through - punchy yet very smooth and clear.
I have used swamp thangs paired with texas heats before 8ohm in a Randall cabinet. It was very tight and had a lot of low end punch. I really like both of those speakers. I've got 16ohm manowars right now paired with Celestion K100s in a Marshall a cab. and it is a beast as well. I like them but don't love them. The k100s I flat love! I've only ever had pairs or full quads before, never mixed 4 different speakers. I suppose for a studio setting it may be cool to be able to mic 4 different speakers given the same source. I choose celestions over eminence most all of the time. But I've been happy with the eminence I have used.
I have mainly Celestions but also Jensens and some 15" Eminences, right now. And, I have an old Quincy 12" Alninco that I've been saving for a project. I've never really tried the newer Eminences or Scumbacks or WGS...so no real help there.
