Thinking about getting a set of either 4 reapers, 4 vet 30s, or 2 and 2 in an x pattern to go with my Splawn Quickrod and Marshall 4x12. Going for more of a heavy, thrash, modern megadeth kind of tone. Anyway, I don't know much about replacing speakers other than what I've seen on YouTube. What is a drop in replacement speaker, as the reaper states it is? What's the difference between that and a normal speaker? Anybody have experience bringing a 412 to a tech to get new speakers and what they paid? I'd like to do it myself as it doesn't seem too daunting but I don't really like soldering. I saw a guy online do quick disconnects instead of solder and that seem to make lots of sense. So many things to consider....
Drop in speaker vs regular
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Speakers like these are like the wheels of your car: as long as it's the same size they will fit.
Whether it's a snap-on or solder connection is down to the manufacturer of the cab, or in the event the cab was converted from one to the other, really. I know for a fact that Marshall should be snap-on.
Solder joints done right obviously provides a more secure connection. I solder all my cabs and soldering a cab is one of the easier soldering jobs you can attempt, really. But seeing that most lugs are for snap-on you may have to drill through the lug or wrap the strands around the lug to fit the wire properly.
On the Reaper page:
"The 12” Reaper™ guitar speaker is a DROP IN REPLACEMENT for Celestion™ G12H30 Anniversary Edition"
means the two sound nearly identical.
As Jonas said ... all 12" speakers should be the same size/fit. As for soldering ... I am pretty sure the Splawn will use removable terminals. As discussed here:
https://wgsusa.com/proper-size-speaker-spade-lugs-definitive-answer