I recently acquired two Lab Series L5 2x12 amps. Plan was to acquire one and a friend was to buy the other, but he backed out last-minute. His loss was my gain (although I'm still trying to justify to the wife why I'm not selling the second one - saying "these amps are amazing" isn't cutting it...)
One of these amps has two WGS Veteran 30s, the other has a mish-mash of non-original speakers which I can't trace to any major manufacturer.
The unit with the Vet 30s sounds great, the other unit sounds good (not as good as it could though), so I'd like to replace the speakers.
My only complaint about the unit with the Vet 30s is that I'd like a little more high-end and tighter bass.
I thought I would pick up 2 WGS speakers and then split them with the Vet 30s, putting one replacement and one Vet 30 in each L5.
I'm debating whether or not I should get the ET65 or the G12C as the speaker to pair with the Vet 30.
ET65 is 6-4-6 bass/mid/treble.
G12C is 5-4-7 bass/mid/treble
Vet30 is 5-7-5 bass/mid/treble
Any educated opinions on the matter? I'm thinking the G12C would give a lot more treble but not do anything for the bass...but wondering if the ET65/Vet30 combo would brighten it up enough. Thoughts?
By the way, these amps are KILLER. Since acquiring them I haven't touched any of my tube amps. Clean tones are amazing and I LOVE the overdrive at Ty-Taborish settings (Bass 6, Frequency at 2K, Midrange 3, Treb and Multifilter maxed)
Yeah the Labs are great. I have an L5, L7 and L6 bass combo. Learned about them from one of Vaughn's videos. I first got the L5 and put some Veteran 30's in it that I already had laying around. Sounded great but I too wanted a bit more high end and sparkle. Vaughn suggested the G12C and Retro 30 combo and it was MUCH brighter with good low-end too. This is sort of a blend between a Fendery sound (G12C) and a Marshally sound (Retro 30). Very nice and you won't need to use your bright switch as much.
I also have a ET65 but in a different amp- I think it would sound great too but to me it has a more subtle/softer sound. I use it in an amp that is naturally kind of harsh to smooth it out. For what you are describing, I think the either the G12C or the Retro would get you more high-sparkle and presence than the Vet 30s or the ET65- but to be fair, I haven't actually TRIED the ET65 in the Lab- I may be wrong- could be just right for you. But this combo of the G12C and Retro 30 REALLY spanks in the Lab (Telecaster heaven). If you don't want that much high-end, maybe try a G12C or a Retro paired with one of your Vets you already have.
In my opinion and based on what I've tried- for the Labs anyway- the G12C/Retro combo is great for clean to moderate distortion. If you really get down with some heavy doom-ish distortion though, other speakers might be a better choice. I think the ET65 would do better in that catagory.
I'd be curious to hear the ET-90 in it though. Suspect that would sound really good too and have more presence than the ET65.
Well then .... if you are going to stick with 1. Keeping both Vet 30's, and 2. Keeping both L5's (I would, too ... if they were worth a grand, THEN I'd sell one ... but as cheap as they are, I'd consider the second one a spare).
Then ...
Here is what I would suggest:
Buy a G12C and a Retro 30. Make one combo the Vet/Ret combo ... it will have the most high end sparkle and tighter bass that you want. Then, make the second amp more "Fender" voiced with a G12C and the Vet; it will have a bit more of a vintage Fender tone with a lot of added upper-mids and top end.
And ... since both amps will sound EXCELLENT ... but slightly different ... then you'll have another excuse to keep em both :-)
Thank you Scott and Vaughn...I very much appreciate your input. When I make the changes I will report back.
cheers
Well, here we are - more than 3 years later. I finally got around to doing the speaker upgrade. Bought a Retro 30 and a G12C from the Canadian distributor. One amp has a Vet 30/Ret 30 combo, the other has the Vet 30/G12C.
Both sound fantastic. As prescribed, replacing the 2xVet 30 with a Vet/Ret really opened it up on the top end. The other amp has a different feel, but both sound GREAT, clean or distorted. I'm very happy.
Thanks again for the advice, guys....looking forward to putting many hours on these almost-40-year-old amps. If only old amps could talk (about their past experiences....of course, when playing we're trying to make them sing...)
Cheers