Vintage Rola 12 Inch AlNiCo speakers for guitar?

[Michael Smith]

There is an online company selling the speakers in the title for around $40. They say they are getting them out of junked Hammond organs. They also offer Heppner, Jensen and Magnavox speakers. Supposedly the speakers are rated at 20 to 25 watts, and are available in 8 or 16 ohms.

I am looking at a Vintage Rola 12 inch AlNiCo speaker (AS12-14) 8 ohms, to install in a silverface Deluxe Reverb. I don't know what speaker the Deluxe Reverb came with originally. Mine has a Vintage 30 that I installed after taking out the Jensen C12Q ceramic magnet, 35 watt speaker the previous owner had installed.

Does anyone have any thoughts on trying one of these old Rola speakers in a lower power amp such as the Deluxe Reverb? They say they have the ribbed cones, which smooth out the guitar's frequency spectrum as opposed to the smooth cones.

[phantomman]

Most Deluxe Reverbs left Fullerton with a ceramic Oxford 12K6 or (starting in late '65) a Utah equivalent. Jensen's C12Q was periodically seen in a few pre-CBS examples but they are rare. The Jensen is a good match for the DR as are several different Weber models. For added punch and articulation I'd recommend JBL's D120F (my personal choice).

[Michael Smith]

The Jensen C12Q that I removed has a date code of 2012, and the previous owner told me she installed it around then. I may take a gamble on one of the $40 Rola's (free shipping in the US). If it isn't up to the 1977 Deluxe Reverb's 22ish Watts, I could try it in my Carvin Vintage 16 (16 Watts in Pentode mode/5 watts in triode mode).

[phantomman]

For the record, whenever I refer to a Jensen loudspeaker I'm thinking of the vintage drivers made in Chicago.

Sorry for any confusion.

[Michael Smith]

I think I am going to order two 16 ohm of the Rola 12" vintage speakers and make a 2 x 12 8 ohm cabinet for them. I could use them with my Deluxe Reverb, Carvin Vintage 16 or Sovtek Tube Midget 50H. If I install a second "out" speaker jack and wire it in series, I believe I could connect a second 8 ohm 1 x 12 cabinet to the new one and play them together like a 3 x 12 4 ohm cabinet. Is it OK to use speakers with different impedances in a series-parallel configuration?

[phantomman]

Should pose no problem so long as all of the speakers are correctly phased.

[Michael Smith]

Should pose no problem so long as all of the speakers are correctly phased.

That's what I thought, but have seen some conflicting information on the internet (imagine that, lol), saying that all speakers in a series-parallel configuration must be of the same impedance. Didn't sound right to me. I think as long as the math works, you will be OK, giving consideration to the phase, as you say.

[phantomman]

The two 8Ω systems will each share half of the applied output power. Thus ,assuming a 50-watt amp, I think the two speakers in the parallel-wired enclosure will see 12.5 watts apiece, while the single speaker in series with them will see 25 watts.

[Michael Smith]

The two 8Ω systems will each share half of the applied output power. Thus ,assuming a 50-watt amp, I think the two speakers in the parallel-wired enclosure will see 12.5 watts apiece, while the single speaker in series with them will see 25 watts.

That should be perfect for my application, as the highest powered amp I would use would be 50 Watts, and I don't come close to full volume. I guess I am just a fan of vintage stuff, and would like to see how the 50 plus year old AlNiCo Rola speakers work out. The 50 year old CTS AlNiCo's in my Super Reverb are very nice. (One was recently re-coned professionally).

[phantomman]

I love the 10-inch CTS alnico's. I have one in my '65 Princeton Reverb and another pair in a Bandmaster combo. All three were matched pulls from a 1971 Fender PA column. Originally 32 ohms, all were re-coned as 8 ohms with 30-watt coils and ribbed diaphragms (ie: to Super Reverb specs). Very meaty, very tasty.

[Michael Smith]

Well, that's disappointing. When I clicked on the "buy now" button, I get "This store is not yet accepting payments, please check back later".