How Much does your Amplifier Speaker affect Guitar Tone?
There are a lot factors when trying to find your ideal guitar tone; from the guitar you play, to the pickups it has, to the type of amplifier you run. And you may not think about it too much, but the speaker you use on your electric guitar amplifier has a huge overall effect on your tone. There are a number of factors to consider when selecting a speaker. The size of the speaker, and the type of magnet used in the construction can both have a big impact of the final sound you hear.
The guitar you play is one part of the overall sound you get.
Most speaker manufacturers will provide online sounds samples so you can get a rough idea of how a speaker will sound. And there are a number of good resources online to explain everything you need to know about amplifier speakers, but maybe you just want to hear how it sounds directly against other speakers.
I was curious how all my speakers would sound when compared next to one another, through the same amplifier (Marshall DSL20HR). I was also curious how much of a difference I would hear while playing through various electric guitar models.
the SPEAKERS
So first let’s talk about the speakers. Why am I comparing these particular speakers? These are simply the speakers I had on hand in my personal collection at the time. So I thought, hey why not see how they all compare tone wise. I’ll keep using the same amplifier head, the Marshall DSL20HR, and I’ll swap out the speaker. So in not particular order, here are the speakers we will be comparing.
Celestion G12 Neo Creamback
Celestion G12 Neo Creamback 12" Guitar Speaker Features:
A 12" guitar speaker with a neodymium magnet
Same tone as the famed Celestion G12M Creamback
Only 4.2 lbs.
60W power handling
75Hz-5kHz
8 Ohms
You can buy the Celestion G12 Neo Creamback Online at these shops:
Vox Celestion G10R
10″ 8 Ohm Celestion Custom speaker
This Celestion 10” speaker is a custom model released with the Vox Mini SuperBeetle. You can’t officially purchase it alone from Celestion, but there are similar 10” models that exist.
You can buy Celestion G10 speaker models online at these shops:
Celestion G12 V-Type 12 inch 70-watt
Celestion G12 V-Type 12" Guitar Speaker Features:
A 12" guitar speaker with a superbly balanced tonal signature that imparts a vintage musicality to your tone
Clean sounds are true across the lows, mids and highs, with just enough upper-mid chime and HF sparkle to add clarity and definition
Crank it up for a sizzling overdrive and raw rock tones, with plenty of mid-band warmth
Impedance: 8 ohms
Power Handling: 70W
Magnet Type: Ceramic
Magnet Weight: 31 oz.
Frequency Range:70Hz-5kHz
Unit Weight:7.2 lbs.
You can buy the Celestion G12 V-Type Online at these shops:
12” Peavey Blue Marvel
The Peavey Blue Marvel may not be for sale on it’s own, and in my case it was the stock speaker in the Peavey 112 cabinet that I purchased. Here are all the specs about this cabinet and speaker.
Peavey 112 Cabinet with Blue Marvel Guitar Speaker Features:
1 x 12" extension speaker cabinet designed for the ValveKing II Mini head
More than enough power handling at 40 watts
Punchy tone from a 12" Peavey Blue Marvel speaker
1/4" speaker cable input
Power Handling: 40W RMS
Impedance:16 ohms
Mono/Stereo: Mono
Open/Closed Back: Closed
Inputs: 1 x 1/4"
Height: 17.5"
Width: 20.5"
Depth: 11.5"
Weight: 27.7 lbs.
You can buy the Peavey 112 Cabinet with Blue Marvel Speaker online:
Eminence Texas Heat Patriot Series 12” 150-watt
Eminence Texas Heat 12" Guitar Speaker Specs & Features:
12" guitar speaker with smooth, warm tone
Very touch-sensitive, will capture the nuances of your playing
Rich midrange with a bit of top-end bite, suitable for classic rock, blues, and southern rock
150W
70Hz-5kHz
8 Ohms
Materials: Paper Cone with Zurette Dust cap, Pressed Steel basket
Magnet Type: Ferrite
Magnet Weight: 38 oz.
Unit Weight: 8.3 lbs.
You can buy the Eminence Texas Heat speaker here:
Kustom The Defender 12” Cabinet SPEAKER
The final speaker in my comparison is a 12” Kustom speaker that comes loaded in the Kustom Defender 1x12 Extension cabinet. It’s another speaker that I believe only comes included with the Kustom cabinet. You may not be able to purchase this speaker on it’s own unless you find it on the used market.
the GUITARS
The speaker model will shape your tone, but so will your electric guitar and the type of pickups that you have installed. I’ve selected three different types of guitar from my collection to test against each speaker. Here are the different guitar models being used:
Fender Player Telecaster
Fender Standard Stratocaster
Fender Telecaster with Humbucker Pickups
the AMPLIFIER HEAD
For all the speaker comparison tones, I am playing through a Marshall DSL20HR. I’ve done full walkthroughs and reviews on this amplifier. If you’d like to know more about the amp check out this video on my Youtube channel:
Now talking about each speaker is one thing, but hearing them for yourself is what you need to do. Check out my video below featuring all the speakers I mentioned, played through a Marshall DSL20HR, and with the three electric guitars. I’ve made the video really easy to navigate by time-stamping all the speakers and guitars playing, so you can easily jump back and forth to compare tones. Play guitar and have fun!
