Looking for a speaker to put in my Fender tube amp that can get close/in the ballpark of Garcia's tone. I know he used JBLs and they are unique but is there anything in the line that can get close? Hoping to get recognizable, respectable Garcia tone. Those sparkly cleans, nice bottom end, etc...
Thanks
The G12C/S ... or G10C/S smooth-cones are the closest!
Vaughn thanks for the reply. A little confused because I feel I have seen on this forum that the G12C/S is warm sounding and can make a Fender amp sound darker... I could be wrong. When I think of Garcia's tone neither of those descriptions come to mind. He had those bright, sparkly cleans. Also don't want to cause any stir but I sent an email asking the same thing and was told the ET65 was the way to go, that it was the closest WGS speaker to a JBL d120f. I just like to be thorough before I buy a speaker to make sure I am not disappointed. Do you still think the G12C/S is the way to go or do you agree with the other WGS rep and think the ET65 is the right fit?
I don't know if you made the move on speakers yet? I've a guitar I setup like Garcia's wolf with three DiMarzio Super 2's. I just paired an ET65 and a G12CS in a 212 Hard Truckers style cabinet and I'm blown away by the tone. It maybe sacrilege to say but I think my tone is better than Garcia's now. The amp I'm running is a customized Fender Pro Reverb AB763 type circuit. Pair these two speakers up and don't look back, you won't be sorry!
Hummm ... well the G12C/S does use an almost identical cone to the JBL D120F ... and honestly, I know the JBL SPEAKER better than I know Garcia's tone! However, the C/S does not have the aluminum dust-cap of the JBL, which did bring some brightness back that the smooth cone smoothed out. Sooo ... if too-dark is a concern, then yes, I would agree with the ET65 ... which is literally never a bad choice!
Garcia's tone was all highs and High mids; barely any lows, which made him stand out in the mix. His Fender Twin Blackface Head was voiced this way as well. I think the Alnico G12A would a better choice. Or the G12C for as cheaper alternative.
His Twin Head was silver-face.
https://i.pinimg.com/736x/81/f4/07/81f40780598acd0897c9e2d27848d2da.jpg
He used silver face twin preamp section only into McIntosh power amp for most of his career.
I posted a reply to this but it's not shown up here yet? So I'll Post again.
Timmy: Have a guitar I set up similar to Garcia's wolf guitar with DiMarzio Super II's in it. Per WGS Trevor English recommendation I installed a ET65 and a G12CS in a Hard Truckers style 212 Cab. It may be sacrilege to say but I feel my tone is better than Jerry's. You will love this speaker pairing for Garcia tones. I see your post is from September so you may've already made a speaker purchase but if you haven't then pair up an ET65/G12CS and kill with kindness!
mrbreeze
Haven't made a decision yet or checked this thread for a while. Wolf is my favorite, sounds like you have a sweet setup. Would you mind sharing some clips? Have you ever used JBLs, how would you compare them to this setup? Do you feel this setup is versatile or good just for Garcia tones? Thanks for sharing the info.
Tim
I'll try to get you some clips. I've never used actual JBL's but i'd used some eminence commonwealth's that are Supposed to be a JBL clone. I didn't like them. the highs were harsh/shrill. the G12c/s and et65 gives me plenty of highs but never makes me cringe. definitely versatile if you like fender cleans you will dig the G12CS. The ET65 gives it top end sparkle. I like to think the ET65 gives me that tone of Garcia's McIntosh amp clipping in the sweet spot. The WGS12l might be an option if you really want to go the JBL E-120 route. Maybe Vaughn or someone from WGS could comment?