10" Speaker suggestions.

[Slowy]

Within minutes of installing Strummers's Eminence in my Princeton, I knew I had found a rabbit hole.

The original Jensen was sweet sounding at low volume but a bit harsh when driven and flabby in the bass. My Telecasters like a tight bottom.
The Ragun Cajun solved all these issues but at 100db efficiency, it turned the amp into a baby Twin. By the time it breaks up with the volume around 7, it's putting out a very useable stage volume and I no longer play stages.
Don't get me wrong, it's a beautiful thing.

The solution is obvious; I need more speakers and 1x10 cabs!
Actually I'm in the market for a cab and I'm trying to determine the prefect second speaker. Ideally it would be like the Eminence; sweet sounding with a tighter bass than the Jensens seem to have and an efficiency somewhat below 100db.

Suggestions? Offers?

The other path is to use a Timmy or Belle but where's the fun in that?

[StrummersOfThunder]

I find it a bit odd that an attenuator didnt solve this riddle but here we are.
The PR can suffer from flubby bass. There are amp mods to deal with this ( adding another 20mf filter cap to bring the first stage up to 40mF can make quite a difference) - Mike C will have a better idea here.

Vintage type jensens do sound trashy driven. I agree
How about a celestion g10 creamback? I think thats what Jim Campalongo uses in his PRs. 96dB sensitivity so it will be ALOT quieter than the rajun.
Your other option is to play the amp through a closed back cab with 2x10 or 1x12... But then your loosing a lot of the charm of the princeton id say.

[Slowy]

I find it a bit odd that an attenuator didnt solve this riddle but here we are.
The PR can suffer from flubby bass. There are amp mods to deal with this ( adding another 20mf filter cap to bring the first stage up to 40mF can make quite a difference) - Mike C will have a better idea here.

Vintage type jensens do sound trashy driven. I agree
How about a celestion g10 creamback? I think thats what Jim Campalongo uses in his PRs. 96dB sensitivity so it will be ALOT quieter than the rajun.
Your other option is to play the amp through a closed back cab with 2x10 or 1x12... But then your loosing a lot of the charm of the princeton id say.

You're right about the attenuator. I just didn't like the feel of it. Yeah, I know.. I love the amp as it is, would just like access to the drive without hurting myself.

Creamback noted, thanks.

[jeremyb]

I was gonna suggest a creamback too, but once you'd wiped that off we could talk speakers for sure.

[robthemac]

I'm with Ants, here. Propositionally and geographically. Turn the volume up, turn the bass down, whack an attenuator somewhere, job done, six points and a song.

But if do want to go the speaker route, my 10" experiences are as follows (no, Jeremy):
Stock Jensens: eeew, boomy and harsh.
Eminence SA64: way more balanced. Not boomy, a little scooped midrange, decently airy treble that's got a hard shelf from about 5k so no sparkle.
Warehouse G10C: warm but well-controlled bass, very glassy treble that can get a little spiky, does not apparently seem to know the meaning of 'lower mids'
Creamback: slightly bass-light but thick midrange and rounded treble stop it being overly bright.

I've ended up very happy with a G10C/Creamback mix in my 2x10 Deluxe Reverb. I have a spare of each that will one day go in a closed 2x10, but until that day you'd be welcome to hold onto them.

[TmcB]

So I’ve been down this road.
The lower efficiency thing is what will hamper you.

If you can deal with a little more efficiency, WGS G10C is good. I found it a bit boring and yelly. Vastly prefer the G12C

If you can’t but want Alniconess Jensen P10R-F is my top pick. I don’t like how it gets a bit of speaker break up at high volumes but that’s my taste. Gorgeous combination.

If you want sweet, Alnico, slightly not Fender, and expensive, Celestion gold 10 is chefs kiss.

[robthemac]

So I’ve been down this road.
The lower efficiency thing is what will hamper you.

If you can deal with a little more efficiency, WGS G10C is good. I found it a bit boring and yelly. Vastly prefer the G12C

If you can’t but want Alniconess Jensen P10R-F is my top pick. I don’t like how it gets a bit of speaker break up at high volumes but that’s my taste. Gorgeous combination.

If you want sweet, Alnico, slightly not Fender, and expensive, Celestion gold 10 is chefs kiss.

Yeah I didn't want to mention 12" options, but the Jensen P12Q is my favorite speaker for a Blackface amp.

[MikeC]

So I’ve been down this road.
The lower efficiency thing is what will hamper you.

If you can deal with a little more efficiency, WGS G10C is good. I found it a bit boring and yelly. Vastly prefer the G12C

If you can’t but want Alniconess Jensen P10R-F is my top pick. I don’t like how it gets a bit of speaker break up at high volumes but that’s my taste. Gorgeous combination.

If you want sweet, Alnico, slightly not Fender, and expensive, Celestion gold 10 is chefs kiss.

Jensen P10R-F is also lower efficiency than P10R. FWIW I just purchased a pair of lightly used Jensen P10Rs (the Italian re-issues) and I've read often that they take a long while to break in. My current favourite 10" speaker for a vintage build PR is my Eminence GA10-SC59 10" AlNiCo. The P10R is rated for 25W and the GA10-SC59 is rated for 20W - I'd hate to kill the GA10 in my Princeton Deluxe!

[StrummersOfThunder]

Bruce, remind me what it was you disliked about the attenuator ? Loss of high end ?
If that’s the case the thd hot plate is my go to and has functions to boost bass and treble.

[bender]

I love a well broken in Jensen P10R. Such a rad sounding speaker. To be fair, I tend to keep it pretty clean though.

When I picked up the little surf green tremolux from Ryan, we tried 6 or 7 different speakers, mostly 12”. The P10R had such great character compared to all the others.

[StrummersOfThunder]

I love a well broken in Jensen P10R. Such a rad sounding speaker. To be fair, I tend to keep it pretty clean though.

When I picked up the little surf green tremolux from Ryan, we tried 6 or 7 different speakers, mostly 12”. The P10R had such great character compared to all the others.

It’s a nice speaker for the tweedy tremolux for sure but the PR break up accentuates all the worst parts of a Jensen I think. I just don’t think they play well, unless you stay cleanly clean.

There is probably more written about 10” speaker choices for Princeton reverbs on guitar forums than anything else.

I’m sure we could find a comprehensive poll on Tele discussion page or similar.

I guess at the end of the day it’s all so damn subjective, a bit like Ben says, you probably need to try a whole bunch. So if the current one isn’t a good fit just keep on switching out till you find it

[bender]

What model is your Princeton, Bruce?

[bender]

I’d be happy to lend you my tremolux for a bit - that way you can try the speaker with both amps, and see if maybe a tweedier breakup might sizzle your bacon.

[MikeC]

I love a well broken in Jensen P10R. Such a rad sounding speaker. To be fair, I tend to keep it pretty clean though.

When I picked up the little surf green tremolux from Ryan, we tried 6 or 7 different speakers, mostly 12”. The P10R had such great character compared to all the others.

Vintage P10R or re-issue?

[TmcB]

Forgot to mention - I settled on running a Celestion Gold G10 with a Brakelite attenuator in my PR. Happy with results there.

Has a DR spec OT and the first cap is 40uf