Win a FREE "Custom-Shop" WGS Speaker!
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***NOTE: THIS CONTEST HAS ENDED! SEE WINNERS HERE ***
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Hi-diddly-ho fair neighbors! I pen this blog from my back porch on a perfect 70-degree spring day; the sun is shining, the birds are singing like mad, and my dog Sasha is asleep at my feet without a care in the world. What could be better? How about a free WGS speaker ... and not just any WGS speaker, but one that is custom designed by YOU to your exact specs? Okay, go ahead, pinch yourself. Did you feel it? You’re not dreaming; this is real! It’s all the brain-child of WGS production manager, Dean Birdsong. Truth be told, Dean’s the real speaker guru at WGS; he’s been making speakers his entire adult life. In all those years, Dean has never happened upon a speaker cone that has inspired him like the cone currently being used in the Liberator. As Dean puts it "that darn cone sounds great in every configuration we try it in". And so it is that the concept for the worlds first fully customized hand-made in America guitar speaker was envisioned, built around the Liberator cone. Dean is so into this idea that when I asked for a pic of him building a speaker, he actually said yes.
Here, the man himself is shown assembling three "H-motor" Liberator prototypes. READ ON for the full scoop on how to win your own dream life ... okay, I got overly excited there ... what I intended to say was dream SPEAKER (same thing, right?),READ ON!
So, as a way of unveiling the new built-to-order "Custom Shop" speakers, we’d like to give you, the faithful readers of this blog a chance at getting your dream design for free! Gratis, on-the-house, complementary, we are talking totally LIBERATED of all costs, even shipping! Sure, go ahead ... pinch yourself again. Awake? Okay then, let’s get to the details of this here lil ol’ contest.
To enter, all you need to do is give a little thought to just exactly what you would like in a speaker; then, post back here on this blog with your individual choices, and give your reasoning. The person who most impresses DEAN with his sound reasoning for a particular design will get his speaker made and signed by Dean himself and shipped to you with a certificate of authenticity stating it to be the first in the Custom Shop series. And again the cost: exactly zero dollars & zero cents!
Okay, now listen closely! Here are the choices:
Magnet: either medium (M) or Heavy (H).
Power-handling (voice-coil): 30, 65, or 90-watt. (For an explanation of how magnet size and voice-coil size affect tone, read last week’s blog).
Dope: Heavy, Medium, or None (read my blog from 2-weeks back); AND: you can choose "American" dope that, according to Dean "soaks into the cone more, with more of a dampening effect", or "British" type that "lays on top of the cone and doesn’t affect the tone as much".
And, the cherry on the top: Dust Cap type/size! Choose from: the large ET65 style, which subdues highs just a little bit; the small dust-cap of the Vet 30, which adds just a slight touch of brightness; or the more acoustically neutral mesh style of the Reaper.
***The not-so fine print: by entering the contest you agree to send us a pic of you with the new speaker if you win, and you agree that WGS can use your name and picture. Only one entry per person or household, WGS employees & family are not eligible. Now, let’s get going!
Here is the "official" entry form, please cut-n-paste this in your reply/entry.
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Name:
Style of music I play:
Magnet (Heavy or Medium):
Power (30, 65, 90 watt):
Dope (heavy, med, none):
Dope type (Britt or American):
Dust Cap: (ET, Vet, Reaper):
Reasoning behind my choices:
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That’s it! We will announce the winner on theWGS facebook page on Thursday, March 15th. Best of luck to ya! Oh, and do me a favor: hit that little flame-thingie that rates this blog ... nobody has been doing that lately, and my lil ol feelings are gettin hurt...
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Insasne, over-the-top uber-cool update:
Chris Hayes, WGS's resident graphic-artist guy (responsible for the new logos) has just said that he will provide a once-in-a-lifetime custom label for this speaker - taking into account the winner's style & preference!
Man, it just keeps getting better!
Oh, and concerning "comments" (your entry):
- You must sign-in to post
- Your comments will not post untill "approved" (because of spam issues)
- VAUGHN SKOW's blog
- Log in or register to post comments
Name:
Style of music I play: Classic Rock, Hard Rock, Metal, hell ANY kind of rock!
Magnet (Heavy or Medium): Heavy
Power (30, 65, 90 watt): 65
Dope (heavy, med, none): Medium
Dope type (Britt or American): British
Dust Cap: (ET, Vet, Reaper): Vet
Reasoning behind my choices: I've been looking for a killer speaker for a long time, but have always lacked the funds to afford anything. If I could design something, it would have a heavy magnet, to help keep the lows tight and track better. I feel a 65 watter would do the trick, providing enough versatility to fit well in medium - high wattage amps. As far as doping, I would prefer less, and a British type as not to affect the tone and dynamics too much, but give the speaker a little protection from cracking, and help a tad with the higher wattage amps. I love rock, and the classic Vet dust caps suits me well, allowing the highs to shine through, and the lows to be defined and present. I think the Vet dust cap will work well with the heavy magnet, and help brighten my amp.
Overall, I feel this is the type of speaker that will work best for me. This should help bring out the rock tones I've had in my head for the past 15 years, that I've just been unable to pull out quite right. To me, this speaker should allow me to go from some heavy chugging to Hendrix land, and a little SRV to put the icing on the cake.
Name: Gothgibson71@aol.com (Michael Glass)
Style of music I play: Death Metal, Doom metal,Hardcore, Classic Rock.
Magnet: Heavy
Power: 90 Watt
Dope: Medium
Dope Type: British
DustCap: ET
Reason for choices: I am picky about tone and am always searching for subtle things to make me sound different and most speakers that handle high power are bland to my ears and have a weak or harsh top end. Not to mention a harsh mid range. The higher power will support us players that have utilize lower tunings and provide powerful low end. The ET syle dust cap will give the sound a very nice spread and punch through a mix while the medium doping will give the speaker a tighter feel but not to tight to where it feels sterile.
The design I have in my head could mix well with a Vet 30 and could hold it's own for vintage flavor or chugging out some real grind. A speaker like this is needed because me and other players sample tons of speakers and usually wind up at the conclusion that higher wattage speakers for the most part are generally to dark. You could even put the basket in that cool orange color just for fun!
Style of music I play: Country and Classic Rock
Magnet (Heavy or Medium): Heavy
Power (30, 65, 90 watt): 90 Watt
Dope (heavy, med, none): None
Dope type (Britt or American):
Dust Cap: (ET, Vet, Reaper): Vet
Reasoning behind my choices: I own a Fender Silverface Music Master Bass Amp that is a 12 watt tube amp with 6v6 power tubes. It makes a great guitar am, but the Stock speaker is a poor choice and could use improving, but I lack the funds to buy a really efficient speaker that this amp really needs to shine. Most of the really efficient speakers made now for guitar are just beyond my budget so I would love to win a dream speaker. The speaker outlined above would be a great speaker for this amp and the type of music I play. Classic Rock and Country.
Style of music I play:
Magnet (Heavy or Medium):heavy
Power (30, 65, 90 watt):90 watt
Dope (heavy, med, none):heavy?
Dope type (Britt or American):Britt
Dust Cap: (ET, Vet, Reaper):ET
Reasoning behind my choices: Ineed a heavy duty 8ohm speaker for a 1X12 cab to be used with my 100watt D-style amp. I feel that this WGS speaker would be a more "musical" sounding one than the 80's EVM-12L that I have in a small Mesa Boogie cab (same vintage). I plan to load this in a closed back Avatar cab. I'm a huge WGS fan, owning two 16ohm ET 65's loaded in an Avatar cab as well as a Vet 30 in a hand-built Twedd Deluxe by Davies Audio.
Well I thought I did this already,but when I went to formatting it all went away. So if you get 2 of these from me I'm sorry. The style of music I play is everything from 50's and The Beatles up to now. So I need a speaker thats versatile. Magnet-medium/Power-30Watts/Dope-medium?/Dope type-American/Dust cap-Reaper. I used to have an old 1983 Mesa Boogie,but the EVM12L sounded harsh. A friend told me the amp wasn't voiced to the speaker.He let me plug in his WGS and wow what a difference. I ended up selling that amp because it was too heavy for me to haul around. Now I just got an Egnater Rebel 30 with some sort of 12" 8ohm celestion. Its ok,but I want it to sound killer. I need something fairly light,but great overdrive at any volume and be able to handle the tube power. And be 12" 8ohm. Thanks.
Hey Dean,
Thanks for the opportunity to think about this important link in the tone chain and focus on what I’ve found to be important to me, in terms of speaker characteristics….
Name: Geno Dunn
Style of music I play: I’ve been playing for several decades and lived through quite a few music trends over the years. Started off playing moderately powered solid state amps, moved to big tube amp heads with beefy speaker cabinets, then got into a whole rack-mounted processing rig in the 90’s, then came full circle back to 4x10 tube combo amps, then moved thru the recent trend of small-wattage toneful tube amp rigs, now back to 50-60 watt tube heads with various extension cabinets. Thru it all, I’ve experimented with all manner of speaker sizes and types, open and closed back cabinets. Since I like to use a variety of outboard processing gear & pedals, and my guitars use a combination of humbuckers, single coil and P-90 pickups, my rig has to be big, punchy and clean to be compatible with all those tone shapers. Right now, I’m primarily using an Allen Old Flame head, which puts a modern vibe on the blackface Super Reverb… I’ve tweaked it out to run KT66 power tubes and I run a 12AY7 in V1 for glassy cleans. I’ve used this head to play rootsy Americana & Blues, and now I’ve been running it phat and clean to play Brazilian jazz and standards.
Magnet: So with that background, my favorite speaker would be something like a 15-inch driver with high power handling capability. A heavy magnet assembly (H) would be required in order to provide the power to move air for clean volume. I think another key is the choice of Alnico or ceramic magnets….. I especially think in a larger high-power handling speaker, the Alnico magnet provides warmer and smoother reproduction. That would be my preference, if it were available.
Power: I’d prefer a high power handling voice-coil assembly (90-watt) because I drive my super clean tube amp at high volumes. If I kick-in crazy distortion or modulation effects, I’d want the confidence that I wouldn’t be overtaxing the driver.
Dope & Dope Type: I think that a medium American doping would be a good option in order to provide a bit of damping, especially when distortion is kicked-in at high volumes…and since my amp is so touch sensitive, I depend on the speaker to be quick & punchy when playing clean…I prefer control and the resistance to farting-out.
Dust Cap: I don’t know if a smaller Vet 30 type of dust cap is an option on a WGS 15-inch driver, but I prefer brightness to compensate for the bigger cone and driver dimensions. If you look at how an Altec-Lansing 418B is constructed, it has a smaller dust cap dimension…probably because of the included whizzer cone, but nonetheless, you can’t deny the high frequency goodness of that speaker.
Reasoning behind my choices: I tried to give reasons along with my choices, but I’ve found that my favorite all-time speakers are either multiple 10-inch or a single 15-inch. I think one of the “holy grails” of clean warm speakers with quickness and punch is the 10-inch Jensen ceramic C10N from the 60’s. They have big magnet and relatively robust voice coils, small dustcap, relatively high-power handling capability of 50-watts. They’re great in pairs or quads. On the other hand, I’ve found single 15-inch drivers to be awesome alternatives because of how they reproduce the top end, yet provide a better clear bass response: The JBL D130F is a bright and articulate driver, almost too bright with it’s aluminum dustcap…so I prefer the D140, which I feel is warmer and has a higher power rating of about 100 watts. I also think the Altec 418B is fantastic with it’s widest frequency response. I’ve also had a great relationship with the Electrovoice 15L…. super clear and high power handling…one of the best when you just want to project a chimey clean tone…yet can take a beating when you engage pedals.
So I apologize for mentioning all these other speakers, but they’re iconic points of sonic reference…and here’s the kicker, THEY AREN'T IN PRODUCTION ANYMORE!!! THAT'S WHERE WAREHOUSE GUITAR SPEAKERS EXCEL IN FILLING THAT VOID!
Thanks for hearing me out! Hopefully my earlier experiences set the stage for why I prefer a larger high-power handling speaker with brightness, yet clear bass response. Warm regards from Geno!
Can't believe I forgot to write in my name!
- Justin Winch
I have a pair of old Cerwin vega,if you could duplicate that,It would be my dream speakers!
Name: Joe Hammer
Style of music I play: Rock N Rock, very little roll
Magnet (Heavy or Medium): Medium
Power (30, 65, 90 watt): 90 watt
Dope (heavy, med, none): Med
Dope type (Britt or American): American
Dust Cap: (ET, Vet, Reaper): Vet
Reasoning behind my choices: Need power, but vintage toned
Name: David Cragin
Style of music I play: Folk to Techno
Magnet (Heavy or Medium): Medium
Power (30, 65, 90 watt): 65
Dope (heavy, med, none): Med
Dope type (Britt or American): Britt
Dust Cap: (ET, Vet, Reaper): Vet
Reasoning behind my choices: I like something with SOME warmth from speaker distortion, and chime as well. I imagine the 30 power would sound great with med dope, but I'd hate to pop it...
Name: Damon Wood
Style of music I play: R&B, Classic Rock
Magnet (Heavy or Medium): M
Power (30, 65, 90 watt): 90
Dope (heavy, med, none): M
Dope type (Britt or American): Brit
Dust Cap: (ET, Vet, Reaper): ET
Reasoning behind my choices: I love the ET65, but want something a little more powerful to match with my BlackHawk HP.
Name:Jon York
Style of music I play: (classic) Indie rock - Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr etc....
Magnet (Heavy or Medium): medium
Power (30, 65, 90 watt):30 watts min
Dope (heavy, med, none): light please
Dope type (Britt or American):Britt
Dust Cap: (ET, Vet, Reaper):nt sure - possible Green beret
Reasoning behind my choices:I'm looking to build a 1 X 12 cab for smaller gigs (run a 2X 12 with wizards) right now. I want a speaker somwhere between the warm and syrupy tone of a green beret and the presence of a veteran 30. Something clear, strong, thick, smooth, but able to compete with a full band without being harsh. So far, no speaker I've seen really can "do it all" - it would be interesting to see if you guys could create a compromise speaker - a "best of both worlds" option for my Phaez JTM25.
Name: David Cragin
Style of music I play: Folk to Techno
Magnet (Heavy or Medium): Medium
Power (30, 65, 90 watt): 65
Dope (heavy, med, none): Med
Dope type (Britt or American): Britt
Dust Cap: (ET, Vet, Reaper): Vet
Reasoning behind my choices: I like something with SOME warmth from speaker distortion, and chime as well. I imagine the 30 power would sound great with med dope, but I'd hate to pop it...
Notice the fan blowing the 'dope' fumes in his face. How many years has he been doing this?
Name: David
Style of music I play: Rock, Country, Classic Rock
Magnet (Heavy or Medium): Heavy
Power (30, 65, 90 watt): 65 watts
Dope (heavy, med, none): Heavy
Dope type (Britt or American): Britt
Dust Cap: (ET, Vet, Reaper): Reaper
Reasoning behind my choices: If I win, this speaker goes in a silverface Deluxe that needs new life!! I use modified Fender Telecasters most of the time.
Name: Trevis Overocker
Style of music I play: Rock, mainly modern worship music
Magnet (Heavy or Medium): Medium
Power (30, 65, 90 watt): 30 watt
Dope (heavy, med, none): Medium
Dope type (Britt or American): Brit
Dust Cap: (ET, Vet, Reaper): Large ET style. No ice-pick!
Reasoning behind my choices: As stated above, I don't like ice-pick tones. Of course, who does? Anyway, I primarily play rhythm guitar. I currently play a nice old Marshall 410 cabinet, and these old Brit speakers are very well broken in, and don't seem to exhibit any peaky behavior. I tend to like that. I like to be able to play a strat and not have to bury the treble control. I like to be able to switch to my Les Paul and still have notes sing and cut through a mix.
This speaker would go in my sealed back 112, and I want it to have a creamier speaker than the Carvin VL12 that's currently in it. Closing the back helped bring the bass up a bit, which makes it's brightness not so noticeable. When I play my current main rig, the 112 and a Vox Night Train (hey, it's super portable!), I can tilt the cab back, point it at my head, and if I line up just right, that beam of brightness grabs your ear and yanks it off...
That's a long-winded way of saying, I like big dust caps, because they don't beam quite as much. As far as the magnet, and power rating, I still like to have a little compression, so, the 30 watt rating is perfect. If I wanted to switch it into my Plexi combo (a home build with a Green Beret and a Reaper), it would still be at home. I love the sound of a bit of natural compression. The medium magnet would also line up with this. I associate big magnets with those car audio subwoofers that have double stacked magnets that allow the speaker to destroy ear drums. I don't need my speaker to go jumping across the stage with some palm muting. So, basically I want a good even speaker, which allows the mids to sing. Not as much sparkle as some of the Voxy stuff, but more oomph of Marshall-ness without being thumpy. Wow, I didn't know I was so picky!
Name: Robert
Style of music I play: Blues
Magnet (Heavy or Medium): Heavy
Power (30, 65, 90 watt): 90
Dope (heavy, med, none): light or none
Dope type (Britt or American): don't know the differemce but whichever one will only slightly effect tone, if at all
Dust Cap: (ET, Vet, Reaper): Paper, appropriate one for handling power
Reasoning behind my choices: I like a lot of clean headroom with medium wattage amps (Bassman @ 50) so want a speaker that will stay clean at higher volumes, i.e., no breakup; heavy mag supports higher wattage so 90 watts; like American "sounding speakers" overall; I bought some old Altecs and JBLs once and I prefer the paper dust cap over Aluminum - seem to be a little less bright. Thanks!
Name: Tom Burns
Style of music I play: Classic Rock - edge-of-breakup jangle to piano-like medium overdrive
Magnet (Heavy or Medium): Medium
Power (30, 65, 90 watt): 65 watts
Dope (heavy, med, none): med
Dope type (Britt or American): Brit
Dust Cap: (ET, Vet, Reaper): Reaper
Reasoning behind my choices:
I have a sound in my head that my rig is capable of. The last component I need is THE speaker to bring it out. Compounding my limited speaker knowledge, most manufacturers I look to for guidance have been giving me stock models instead really looking into my needs.
This custom option would allow me to work one-on-one with Dean and get 'zing' instead of fizz and 'lively' instead of woody.
And finally get this sound out of my head and onto the stage where it belongs!
Name: Ryan Kearney
Style of music I play: Metal
Magnet (Heavy or Medium): Heavy
Power (30, 65, 90 watt): 90 watts
Dope (heavy, med, none): none
Dope type (Britt or American): n/a
Dust Cap: (ET, Vet, Reaper): British Lead
Reasoning behind my choices: I have a 1x12 isocab that I built and I swap WGS speakers in it for the tones I need for whatever feel I'm trying to get. I feel that a British Lead without any doping would really be able to send my solos and passages into the stratosphere with a really open and chewy midrange and an increased dynamic range. Lately I've been experimenting with getting some "ugly" in my bottom end for rhthym guitars as well, but all of my choices so far have been fairly stiff as that is the standard modern sound. I'd love to have a speaker that is very different for mixing with other speaker tracks and by itself on solos. Hell, I might even buy a telecaster if it'll do the jangle!
Style of music I play: I play amplified harmonica/styles range from blues/swing-jump blues/rock and honk-tonk.
Magnet (Heavy or Medium):I would prefer a medium magnet on this speaker so it would work well with the range of amps I have. Valve Junior, Kustom "Defender" 5 watt head, VHT Special 6 head and 2 custom made low wattage heads.
Power (30, 65, 90 watt): (30 watts) so I can over drive the speaker, I like the tone to be mean and gritty with subtle highs and the mids/low more pronounced.
Dope (heavy, med, none):Medium doping for me, I am getting older and cannot handle the heavy dope like I use to :). Seriously, I do like some doping on the speaker but medium is my preference.
Dope type (Britt or American):I would like the "American Dope" from what I have read on the "WGS" website.
Dust Cap: (ET, Vet, Reaper):I would like the "ET" style large dustcap so as to subdue the highs, I play harmonica and like my amp/speaker walking the line of feedback, heavy Chicago style and the highs are not where I am at.
Reasoning behind my choices:As I mentioned above I like speakers to be more pronounced in the mids and lows with the highs just a little on top but not overbearing the mids/lows. I like the gritty overdriven sound that I have developed over 40 years of playing and I feel that the choices I made above would cut through the mix and sound soooo badass!
Here are a couple of videos of my style.
"Whisky Afternoon"
http://www.youtube.com/user/SteveHarvell?feature=watch
and "Slow Blues in G"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2j1CP4LYHqg&feature=plcp&context=C33f10f1...
Name: Joel Newman
Style of music I play: Blues/Soul/Funk/Jazz/R&B/Rock
Magnet (Heavy or Medium):medium
Power (30, 65, 90 watt): 65 watts
Dope (heavy, med, none): med
Dope type (Britt or American):Britt
Dust Cap: (ET, Vet, Reaper):ET
Reasoning behind my choices:
I'd say my reasoning is 50/50 in terms of sound wants verses weight/portability. You can gig with a 65watt one 12"cabinet and not break your back. I Have one o' yer ET65s which I think is just great, and light! Kinda looking for another to go along with it on those days when I have to do play a larger venue or outdoor gig. My reasoning for lighter on the dope is I'll go for a brighter tone and risk a speaker possibly tearing, as I think WGS speakers are so reasonably priced it wouldn't be any kind of finacial hardship to replace em.
Ok I guess that's it, thanks for letting me play!(and thanks for making me sound better!!)
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Name: Mark Roberts
Style of music I play: Blues
Magnet (Heavy or Medium): Heavy
Power (30, 65, 90 watt): 90 watt
Dope (heavy, med, none): Heavy
Dope type (Britt or American): Britt
Dust Cap: (ET, Vet, Reaper): ET
Reasoning behind my choices:
I have a 100W Chassis in the Dumble-Bluesmaster-style that I've been trying to work in a combo cabinet. The ET65 generally works well with Dumblish amps (in a 1x12 or 2x12 separate cab), but I've tried many speakers in my combo cabinet without much satisfaction.
My idea is to get a 90W speaker (big coil and magnet) with the rounded tone of the ET Dust Cap and heavy doping to keep everything smooth and under control. The combo cabinet seems to lack 'bottom' so I'm happy if the speaker tends to limit the highs and emphasis on the lower end.
-mark.
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Magnet - HEAVY
Power - 65 WATTS
Dope - MEDIUM
Dope type - BRITISH
Dust cap - REAPER OR ET
My 20 watt Jet City 1x12 amp is a beast, I don't care what anyone says. It's a little monster and I unleash it on crowds in venues with less than 200 people, by the end of the show everyone has been massacred and it's one bloody mess. I confronted my Jet City one night after a show about its violent tendencies - he was cooped up in the bathroom, slowly washing the blood and guts off his forearms. He sits down on the toilet and his blue tolex has turned red from the massacre. A dull barber's blade sat jagged and attentive on the sink, waiting for its next victim.
My Jet City looks up at me, tears slowly welling in his eyes and he says, "My friend, I'm useless to you." I'm appalled, why? We've killed so many crowds together, we sat under bright lights and laughed as the audience's heads rolled off their shoulders like Ichabod Crane. Absolutely flooring our victims and we do it together each and every night! On the road, I pack him nice and snug into his warm road case after he's fed on more victims, but useless, where could this be coming from?
My Jet City amp says, "I need a new speaker, I just can't blow them out the water the same way with this stock speaker." I look into those dark shadows and make out his blue and black tolex, I look deep into the monster's eyes and see glittering wires, tubes for teeth, an old speaker that represents his demanding, unrelenting voice. This is my good friend - we've fought together on several battlegrounds, watched as fellow soldiers ran into no man's land and bomb because they didn't practice enough...or maybe the crowd wasn't drunk enough.
But this is one of my best friends, I can't let him down. I look him straight in the baffle and say, "we're going to get you a new speaker dammit! It's going to have a heavy magnet, 65 watts of power so when I run both my Fulltone OCD and Rat through you, it will sound great, but not overdistorted. Plus we're going with a medium British style dope because I know your mother is from England and your father, well I think your dad is from America, guy named Mike Soldano or something. Anyway, dont worry about the dust cap either, it'll be a Reaper or ET style, whatever you like. You had a tough year and you deserve it buddy!"
By this time, I see the blood running off him down the drain of the white sink and it swirls gurgling down like hot Listerine. He's happy, ecstatic because like a true soldier, like a true killer, he has the opportunity to bless the crowd with superior tone. Most importantly, he gets to do it with his friends.
Name: Morgan
Style of music I play: Alt-Country
Magnet (Heavy or Medium): Medium
Power (30, 65, 90 watt): 30
Dope (heavy, med, none): none
Dope type (Britt or American): n/a
Dust Cap: (ET, Vet, Reaper): ET
Reasoning behind my choices: I play in an alt-country band and I'm almost finished with building my dream amp - a one channel blackface deluxe reverb clone with bias vary tremolo instead of photocell, 3 knob reverb, and a built in resistive attenuator. The ET65 is already my favorite speaker for this circuit (my buddy has one in his '78 DR), but it still could use a little more punch and mids to beef up that blackface circuit; thus the Liberator cone with its fatter midrange and punch and presence is destined to be the perfect speaker for my perfect amp! I've been building this amp for over a year now, as parts are so expensive these days. Each gig I play, half of the cash goes to family savings account, some goes in a pot for consumables like strings and picks and cables, etc., and what's left over goes into the amp fund. A free speaker gets me to alt-country nirvana a full two months ahead of schedule!
Help me WGS...you're my only hope!
Name:Vaughn
Style of music I play:Rock
Magnet (Heavy or Medium):Heavy alnico
Power (30, 65, 90 watt):65watts
Dope (heavy, med, none):med
Dope type (Britt or American):britt
Dust Cap: (ET, Vet, Reaper):vet
Reasoning behind my choices:I would like to have a fat compressed speaker with in your face mids
my reasoning is because i cant afford to buy one and it would be awesome to know you made one for me
Name: Sam
Style of music I play: I'm 50 years old, and have a lot of stuff floating around in my head.
Magnet (Heavy or Medium): Medium
Power (30, 65, 90 watt): 65 watt.
Dope (heavy, med, none): None
Dope type (Britt or American): N/A.
Dust Cap: (ET, Vet, Reaper): Veteran 30
Reasoning behind my choices: I favor low wattage tube amps and like getting tone above volume. That being said; I still like as much volume as I can get out of my low wattage tube amps. A medium mag, with no dope and a Vet 30 cap I think would be perfect with the Liberator cone for my needs/wants. But, I'm open to suggestions from persons far more experienced then me in these matters. Thank you for your time.
Style of music I play: Blues/Jazz and Classic Rock
Magnet (Heavy or Medium): heavy
Power (30, 65, 90 watt):90 watt
Dope (heavy, med, none):heavy
Dope type (Britt or American):Britt
Dust Cap: (ET, Vet, Reaper):ET
Reasoning behind my choices:I'd like a heavy duty 8ohm 12" speaker for my 100 watt D-style Bluesmaster amp for a single 12" cab. Right now I have a Mesa Boogie 80's EVM 12L in a small Mesa cab (same vintage) and would like a more "musical" sounding speaker which I believe the above would be. I'm also a huge WGS fan as I have two ET65's (16ohms each) in an Avatar cab for my Bluesmaster as well as a Vet 30 in a hand-built Tweed Deluxe by Davies Audio. Great speakers!!
Name:vaughn
Style of music I play:rock
Magnet (Heavy or Medium):heavy alnico
Power (30, 65, 90 watt):65
Dope (heavy, med, none):med
Dope type (Britt or American):britt
Dust Cap: (ET, Vet, Reaper):vet
Reasoning behind my choices:I need a big fat compressed sounding speaker with in your face mids
my reasoning is because i cant afford a new speaker and it would be awesome to know you built a custom one for free
Style of music I play: Blues/Jazz and Classic Rock
Magnet (Heavy or Medium): heavy
Power (30, 65, 90 watt):90 watt
Dope (heavy, med, none):heavy
Dope type (Britt or American):Britt
Dust Cap: (ET, Vet, Reaper):ET
Reasoning behind my choices:I'd like a heavy duty 8ohm 12" speaker for my 100 watt D-style Bluesmaster amp for a single 12" cab. Right now I have a Mesa Boogie 80's EVM 12L in a small Mesa cab (same vintage) and would like a more "musical" sounding speaker which I believe the above would be. I'm also a huge WGS fan as I have two ET65's (16ohms each) in an Avatar cab for my Bluesmaster as well as a Vet 30 in a hand-built Tweed Deluxe by Davies Audio. Great speakers!!
Name: Six String Zombie
Style of music I play: Rock - everything from punk to progressive
Magnet (Heavy or Medium): Heavy
Power (30, 65, 90 watt): 90
Dope (heavy, med, none): Medium
Dope type (Britt or American): Brit
Dust Cap: (ET, Vet, Reaper): ET
Reasoning behind my choices: Because its badass.
Name:Mark Fowler (mf1313@gmail.com)
Style of music I play:Country/Roots rock/ Americana
Magnet (Heavy or Medium):Heavy
Power (30, 65, 90 watt):65 watt
Dope (heavy, med, none):Med. dope
Dope type (Britt or American):American
Dust Cap: (ET, Vet, Reaper):Vet cap
Reasoning behind my choices:I use a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe largely for the clean side. I would like to hear if my idea has merit when I push the amp for a more slightly warm sound but not quite distorted.Think Fender meets Vox on the just breaking up side.
I think the heavier magnet with the medium power rating , med. American doping and the Vet cap may just be the ticket.
Great idea for a contest. I’ve actually been thinking about it a bit recently, so it’s perfect timing for me…
Name: Tom LaPens
Style of music I play: Rock and Roll
Magnet (Heavy or Medium): Heavy Alnico
Power (30, 65, 90 watt): 65W
Dope (heavy, med, none): Medium (Not to metalhead stiffness)
Dope type (Britt or American): American (penetrative)
Dust Cap: (ET, Vet, Reaper): ET (large)
Reasoning behind my choices:
Magnet: Heavy 50 oz magnets track the bottom end better, causing your sound to be tighter overall with a more defined bass response, which is why Hendrix and Jimmy Page used them. With medium weight magnets, the bottom end can suffer. Alnico magnets are simply put, the best sounding that money can buy. They have the best breakup and distortion and provide the best classic sounds. The sought after Fender tweeds, classic Marshalls and Vox amps all used alnico magnets.
Power: This one is subjective, so I am treating this category as if this will be THE speaker in a 1x12 or 2x12 combo. I said 65W because I play tube amps with pretty good gain breakup characteristics there to be dialed in. If I had an amp that needed a bit more speaker breakup to compliment the amp’s sound, I might go 30W. If I was loading a 4x12, I would likely use a combination. I think 90W might be too stiff for my use.
Doping: Paper is the weakest link and it deteriorates with age. American style penetrative doping (especially) increases stiffness and tends to produce better string definition with a smoother high end and tighter bass response. Not doping a speaker can result in a weaker cone producing bass notes that sound muddy and a high end that sounds lifeless. Dust Cap: ET without question. I love my ET-65’s and the WGS customs Richard put in my Goodsell 17W 2x12 combo. Both have the large size and the highs are smooth as a bell. Never harsh.
Name:Scott H
Style of music I play: I play many styles but like the classic rock sound.
Magnet (Heavy or Medium):medium
Power (30, 65, 90 watt):30 watt
Dope (heavy, med, none):med
Dope type (Britt or American):Britt
Dust Cap: (ET, Vet, Reaper):Reaper
Reasoning behind my choices:I figure that 30 watts with a medium magnet will play nice with my 18 watt Marshall clone. Medium britt dope will help keep the cone in check just enough as I play this particular amp flat out most of the time. I selected the reaper cap because it is more "neutral" . I love this amp because it is so responsive to my touch.I need a speaker that is very responsive as well. Less stiff and controlled and more compressed singing sustain is what I'm thinking. Oh,and Hi from Lake Cumberland.
Name: Charles Taylor-Goldstein
Style of music I play: stoner blues/retro-vintage metal/pop
Magnet (Heavy or Medium): Medium
Power (30, 65, 90 watt): 30
Dope (heavy, med, none): med
Dope type (Britt or American): British
Dust Cap: (ET, Vet, Reaper): Vet
Reasoning behind my choices: This speaker would be the most kick-ass rock speaker ever created by anyone in the universe based on these spec choices. The medium weight magnet creates a vintagey-loose and mid-heavy feel, while the 30-watt power handling capacity allows the speaker to be driven like a Ferrari Scuderia on European roads with just about any amp, and blossom like a Bird of Paradise in the warm summer sun. (After all who plays a 100-watt head through 1x12 speaker??) The moderate amount of British doping would add to the British tribute in the speaker's design already, and not allow too much color to be soaked up. Since this speaker would be a tad mid-heavy, the Vet dust cap would allow some nice presence to shine through. Oh, sunny day! That's what I'd call the design, "The Sunshine"!
Name: George H.
Style of music I play: Blues, Rock
Magnet (Heavy or Medium): Medium
Power (30, 65, 90 watt): 30 Watt
Dope (heavy, med, none): Medium
Dope type (Britt or American): Brit
Dust Cap: (ET, Vet, Reaper): Reaper
Reasoning behind my choices: I think this would be a very responsive speaker with just the right amount of breakup for the type of music I play. I have a Peavey Classic 30 that I am always experimenting with as far as my tone, by trying different tube combinations and pedals but I have yet to replace my speaker. This would be a great opportunity to have a custom "one-off" speaker for a solid foundation.
Name: Daniel
Style of music I play: Alternative Rock, Post-Rock, Indie, Post-Hardcore, Hardcore, Post-Metal, Sludge Metal, Doom, Stoner Rock, Folk, Shoegaze, Ambient, Noise Rock
Magnet (Heavy or Medium): Heavy
Power (30, 65, 90 watt): 65
Dope (heavy, med, none): Medium
Dope type (Britt or American): British
Dust Cap: (ET, Vet, Reaper): ET
Reasoning behind my choices: The term "heavy magnet" is, by its intimidating descriptive demeanor, already giving me butterflies. But what Vaughn said in his previous blog about the "bold romance" between a heavy, powerful magnet and a "boisterous voice-coil" really resonated with me. I appreciated the sentiment, because although I love heavy tones and consuming myself and others with pure, crushing volume, I don't want to sacrifice the musicality and the emotional energy that is often associated with heavy music. The term "romantic" as a description for heavy metal and intense feeling is something I appreciate.
65 watts is, as similarly mentioned above, a solid balance. You're not sacrificing balls and energy for dynamics and smooth break-up, but neither are you sacrificing that same sweet romance that happens between the amplifier - with its transformers, rectifier, preamp, phase inverter, power section, EQ curve - and the cabinet and its associated speakers.
Medium Dope seems the perfect compromise, where you are not forgoing articulation for the benefit of potentially unnecessary sturdiness and extremely high volume control, because although I love me some serious chest-thumbing sound, I love it because of the music behind it, and if that is compromised in any way, what could would all that durability and control do me?
The ET Dust Cap seems the most appropriate for me personally because I generally prefer tones that are darker. I often use bright, articulate, dry, and transparent amplifiers and then control the high-end by rolling back the presence and treble both in the preamp and poweramp stages, which allows a certain thick, chewiness to the character that brighter speakers can sometimes mask.
I chose the British Dope because I am British and it's what I've grown up with. It's what I know well.
I'd like to think that I understand how music and playing guitar makes me feel. A new speaker, with the description above, would hopefully aid me in my efforts to show other people how music makes me feel. I genuinely believe that there are those out there who can love what I love doing each and every day, with or without them, and that is one of the only things I am 100% sure about in my life.
Name:Alejandro
Style of music I play:Rock
Magnet (Heavy or Medium):Medium
Power (30, 65, 90 watt):90w
Dope (heavy, med, none):med
Dope type (Britt or American):Britt
Dust Cap: (ET, Vet, Reaper):ET
Reasoning behind my choices:
Reasoning behind my choices: I just like the ET 65 and the media will Liberator fat. I especially like the sound of vintage 30 and the Greenback, .. but mostly because it has such v30 very special ways. The ET65 is that more is coming ... because the veteran lacks luster and has plenty of retro serious. Excuse you refer to another brand, but I think the analogy is valid. And it would be wrong to get a little more power, so opt for 90w. Aunke latter is not essential.
Name: Kirk Whitaker
Style of music I play: Mostly Christian Contemporary...but I play just about anything..love the blues and jazz
Magnet: Medium
Power: 30watts...but 65 will do
Dope: Medium
Dope Type: British
Dust Cap: VET
Reason Behind my choices: I play a lot and my styles vary...but my main amp is a 18 Watt...a Lite IIb...that I built from scratch. Very touch sensitive vintage type amp. All power tube distortion. Nothing else I have played has the feel. Currently I move back and forth between a Vet 30 and a 40 watt 4ohm Celestion. I would love to have a 30ish watt Brit Speaker that is able to bring out the tone of the amp. Make me an 8 ohm 30 watter with a medium coil and lets see what it will do...great products guys...keep it up!!
Kirk
Name: left paul
Style of music I play: Blues, Texas Blues, British Blues, Chicago Blues
Magnet (Heavy or Medium): Heavy
Power (30, 65, 90 watt): 65
Dope (heavy, med, none): Med
Dope type (Britt or American): Britt
Dust Cap: (ET, Vet, Reaper): Reaper
Reasoning behind my choices: I'm looking to replace the G12T-75 in my Marshall JCM800 4010 combo. I'm jonesin' for some fat, juicy, bluesy 60's mojo to replace that big hair, head bangin' scooper. As Bruce Dickinson would say "I gotta have more cowbell, Baby!". Well, I gotta have more Voodoo magic and creamy tone of a woman! Have Mercy!
Name: Chris Scharenbroch
Style of music I play: Rock, Blues, Jazz
Magnet (Heavy or Medium): Medium
Power (30, 65, 90 watt): 30 watt
Dope (heavy, med, none): Medium
Dope type (Britt or American): American
Dust Cap: (ET, Vet, Reaper): ET65
Reasoning behind my choices: I have a Fender Pro Junior which I had modified to except an extention 1x12 cabinet, and I will be doing more modifications in the future to it, such as replacing the Transformers (power and output) with Mercury Magnetic Transformers. Because the Pro Junior is low wattage (15watts) it is perfect for small clubs, especially after doing the modifications I will be doing, so I really need a great speaker that will compliment these modifications and that will bring out some great mid's, not be brittle, and will have great clarity. I believe the choice's that I have made will do just that.
Name: Chris Scharenbroch
Style of music I play: Rock, Blues, Jazz
Magnet (Heavy or Medium): Medium
Power (30, 65, 90 watt): 30 watt
Dope (heavy, med, none): Medium
Dope type (Britt or American): American
Dust Cap: (ET, Vet, Reaper): ET65
Reasoning behind my choices: I have a Fender Pro Junior which I had modified to except an extention 1x12 cabinet, and I will be doing more modifications in the future to it, such as replacing the Transformers (power and output) with Mercury Magnetic Transformers. I really need a great speaker that will compliment these modifications and that will bring out some great mid's, not be brittle, and will have great clarity. If I could afford it, all of these modifications would have been done already as well as one of your speakers loaded in the extension 1x12 cabinet. At some point I will expand from a 1x12 cabinet to a 2x12 cabinet which I expect to put WGS speakers in it. I believe the choice's that I have made will most definetly compliment what I am doing and take me in the direction that I am headed and that is Tonesville USA.
Name: Matt Nylen, aka Mattbedrock
Style of music I play: Classic Rock
Magnet (Heavy or Medium): Heavy
Power (30, 65, 90 watt): 65w
Dope (heavy, med, none): Med
Dope type (Britt or American): Britt
Dust Cap: (ET, Vet, Reaper): Reaper
Reasoning behind my choices: I am building my own Hiwatt DR504 clone to the 1970's spec and would like a speaker that can withstand 50 watts of EL34 Hiwatt power and respond cleanly with a smooth, nuetral tone that will bring out the best in my amp. If you want to put a purple label on the back, I'd be cool with that!
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Name: Josh Simons
Style of music I play: Blues Rock
Magnet (Heavy or Medium): Heavy
Power (30, 65, 90 watt): 30 watt
Dope (heavy, med, none): med
Dope type (Britt or American): American
Dust Cap: (ET, Vet, Reaper): Vet 30
Reasoning behind my choices: I am currently building a custom amp. The power section is a 4 x 6v6 push-pull with a 1/2 power switch. The amp is going to have an integral stand alone reverb input, and I want the cleans to sparkle. I'm going to be using a 1x 12" and 1x 10" cab I have, and I think this combo with perhaps a Veteran 10" or perhaps a G10A will give a lovely 3D "swirl".
-Josh Simons, Poughkeepsie NY
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Style of music I play: Rock, Jazz, Blues, Latin, Country
Magnet (Heavy or Medium): Medium
Power (30, 65, 90 watt): 65
Dope (heavy, med, none): med
Dope type (Britt or American): American
Dust Cap: (ET, Vet, Reaper): Reaper
Reasoning behind my choices: As I play a variety of styles clean and overdriven I went for a med magnet and 65 watts to handle clean and dirty and different powered amps 18-40 watts. Med American dope for good cleans and still able to hold together for overdriven dirt. And a Reaper cap for warmth.
Name: Chrsitopher Neiman
Style of music I play: Anything from all out Rock to Blues to Jazz Fusion.
Magnet (Heavy or Medium): Heavy
Power (30, 65, 90 watt): 90 watts
Dope (heavy, med, none): medium
Dope type (Britt or American): British
Dust Cap: (ET, Vet, Reaper): Reaper
Reasoning behind my choices: Ok, the reasons...mainly this speaker would serve as a 1x12 separate cabinet design. I already have a 2X12 ET-65/Vet 30 Combo, and love the nice way these speaker compliment eash other. In the case of the dream speaker I would want a speaker that would achieve a similar balance by itself. It would have to be powerful and beefy so a 'heavy" magnet will do the trick. Being able to handle a wider range of power handling all the way up to bigger amps is a good thing, so a 90 watter will be nice. Also, I would like to have a speaker that will take everything a 50 watt amp (which I use most) will throw at it without breaking up as easy for great cleans. Medium British dope just to help with protection more than anything, but some taming of any extreme highs will be good. And finally, a ET-65 ducst cover to help tame and smooth.
Well there you go...can't wait for my speaker... ;-)
Name: Ron Mesic
Style of music I play: Prog-Rock primarily, but anything...
Magnet (Heavy or Medium): Medium
Power (30, 65, 90 watt): 30
Dope (heavy, med, none): medium
Dope type (Britt or American): Gradient mix
Dust Cap: (ET, Vet, Reaper): Reaper? You tell me
Reasoning behind my choices:
My current rig includes a Mesa/Boogie 20/20 and a Blackstar HT-5 along with a Kustom stereo PA for acoustic, modeling and synth outputs.
The speaker goal is to deliver a low efficiency driver capable of exercising the power amp sections into their sweet spot, yet still get loud enough when needed. Targeted tone would be if Marshall made a Deluxe Reverb - rounder than the Marshall, crunchier than the Fender, fluid and expressive.
Name: Richard Kodadek
Style of music I play: Classic hard rock, 80’s rock, Pro live audio engineer & Backline rental
Magnet (Heavy or Medium): Medium
Power (30, 65, 90 watt): 65W
Dope (heavy, med, none): Med
Dope type (Britt or American): Britt
Dust Cap: (ET, Vet, Reaper): Reaper
Reasoning behind my choices:
My dream speaker would be something that has a classic, responsive feel and bright articulate top end, yet has enough power handling that it is capable of taking some abuse without going to pieces. I want sort of a Green Beret with more power handling and more top end response. For me the industry standard vintage voiced 60 watt speaker has really over-stated midrange while higher power speakers lack in responsiveness and seem sterile at useable volume levels. The Medium magnet, 65 watt configuration is going to give me the power handling I want without sacrificing too much in the way of responsiveness, while the medium application of Britt dope is going to keep the speaker together without sacrificing touch response and the brightness of the speaker. The use of a Reaper dust cap is also going to help keep the highs clear and responsive.
This is AWESOME!...just had to say that.
Name: John Sparrow
Style of music I play: Blues, Classic Rock
Magnet (Heavy or Medium): Medium
Power (30, 65, 90 watt): 30
Dope (heavy, med, none): medium
Dope type (Britt or American): Brittish
Dust Cap: (ET, Vet, Reaper): ET65
Reasoning behind my choices: Let me start by saying that I am really just a self taught rec room guitarist and will probably run the same amp forever. I run a strat through a 5 watt class A tube amp with the 75 watt stock speaker. The strat has a set of fender alnico strat pups which are under wound by todays standards and just dont push the amp very hard. I chose 30 watts to bring the speaker closer to the output of the amp in order to get a bit more warmth. Went with medium brittish style dope for durability without any damping. I thought hard about no dope to keep it as touch sensitive as possible, but I dont want to ever have to replace this thing. I chose the et65 cap because I tend to turn treble down on this amp as it seems a bit on the bright side. I LOVE the clean sound clip of the 80 watt liberator and according to the description it is based on the et65 with more midrange. Basically, if I could have a 30 watt liberator in one of those cool orange baskets, I could die happy
Thanks for listening
Name: Ryan C. Laing
Style of music I play: Classic Rock, Hard Rock, Blues Rock, Melodic Rock (Gary Moore type stuff) etc..etc...
Magnet (Heavy or Medium): Heavy
Power (30, 65, 90 watt): 65 watt
Dope (heavy, med, none): medium
Dope type (Britt or American): britt
Dust Cap: (ET, Vet, Reaper): Reaper
Reasoning behind my choices: I am mainly looking for a british style speaker that can hold its own at higher volumes and not flub out like other speakers I have tried. That is why I I'm shooting for a heavy magnet, high wattage speaker with some medium doping to help keep the speaker together longer under gig playing conditions. Also I wanted these specs so that the tone is a thick yet classic british style tone, I wanted a speaker that can go from Led Zeppelin, to Van Halen, to RATT, to chunky grunge when need be, yet still do so with tight lows, lots of rich mids, and treble that doesn't get too present but still have some sparkle.
Name: Jay Wilson
Style of music I play: Lap Steel guitars - Alt-Country, Roots, Americana
Magnet (Heavy or Medium): Heavy
Power (30, 65, 90 watt): 90 watts
Dope (heavy, med, none): Medium
Dope type (Britt or American): Britt
Dust Cap: (ET, Vet, Reaper): Reaper
Reasoning behind my choices: Heavy Magnet: Heavy to maintain clear pronounced un-muddy lows but also chiming highs
90 watts: 90 watts should easily accommodate the high powered pups used in my lap steel guitars (Lollar Supro, Ric Horseshoe etc..)
Medium Doping: I choose this in hopes it will maintain a vintage sound but provide stability and sonic integrity at higher levels or distortion.
Brit Style Doping: British because it is said it can provide some durability without compromising tonal potential inherent to the speaker.
Reaper Dust Cap: Steel guitar speakers usually have a smaller dust cap so my knee jerk is to say a small dust cap as per the Vet; HOWEVER, the samples I have heard of the Vet lead me to believe they need more sparkle if they are to be used for steel guitar purposes. My decision is to go for the Reaper dust cap, as it is both small but is also claimed to be acoustically neutral, hence allowing the sound of the pup and the guitar itself to be less "colored" by the character inherent to the speaker.
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