I'm looking to replace the Celestion Rocket 50 speaker in my BS HT-20 combo. There are several choices and I'm not sure which way to go. Its fairly large for a 1x12 20 watt el34 amp. I think the dimensions are something like 22"w x 20"h x 11.5"d. The amp is about 85% closed back.
The amp currently has this nasally tone especially when playing single notes on the GB&E strings. I tended to hear this type of tone in most all of the amps I tried with bad stock speakers before buying the Blackstar, so I'm hoping a speaker upgrade will be just the thing to get rid of it.
I play mostly Hard Rock/Old school metal and am looking for a nice thumpy/tight bottom end and a crunchy mid range growl. I definately dont like scooped mids. I want a thicker tone on the treble strings for leads.
My first thought were the Veteran or Retro 30's, I really liked the tone of the Retro 30 in the sample vid. Its pretty close to what I'm going for, but the Liberator sounds very interesting as well. The Reaper 50 also sounds interesting.
Any Suggestions?
My first thought would be Reaper (not HP). However, the Retro 30 has equal merritt. Given your tonal target, I would not recommend the Liberator ... which is somewhat Green Back choice.
Post back w/your results :-)
Hey after watching probably every video on you tube & agonizing over the veteran 30 and the Retro 30,i finally settled on the Retro 30 for my Blackstar Ht 20 studio.I liked the Retros Overall Sparkle & Presence but when i heard those AC/DC chords compared to the Reaper 30 i wasnt so sure it had enough chord definition. the video was only 480p so it made it much harder to know if what i was hearing was TRUE or not.
I'm hoping it is a good fit and compliments this amp. Does this speaker take distorion and FX well and i guess i wont know til its installed but does it suit modern Rock and lead playing to cut thru a band rehearsal and does it sound better after broken in ?
Thanks
Hi Vaughan,Like the OP I too have a Blackstar HT-20 combo (but with lower gain preamps). I play more clean and mid-gain stuff.I was looking at the Retro 30 but I read in a thread where you said that it doesn't sound as good in an (semi) open back cabinet which the HT-20 is. I definitely want a Brit-voiced speaker in there. So do you have any opinions?Thank you.
Yea ... gonna stick with the Reaper as a perfect match!
Thank you Vaughn.
Hi again Vaughn,I was pretty much set on the Reaper till I stumbled upon the sound clips of the Invader. The clean tone on that is the sweetest I've ever heard. Do you think that'll fit the Blackstar HT-20 well? It's a dark amp, much like the Orange used in that clip.Thank you.
Hummm ... yea, probably ... especially if you liked that Orange clip ...
If you go for it, please return & post your results here!
So I spent time looking at all the options from different speaker manufacturers, listened to the video clips available and decided upon the Reaper for my Blackstar HT20 amp. Couldn't be happier. It was a good change from the Rocket 50 in both volume and tone. The amp has really opened up and works great with both my Strat and Les Paul, clean and dirty.
Thank you Vaughn for your insight and suggestion. Reaper is awesome!
Cool beans! Yea ... that sure felt like the right combination.
Why do you say (noHP)?