Are All Guitar Amps Better Through EV Speakers? [Princeton, AC15, 50-watt Plexi, Matchless]

The fabled EVM12L with four classic guitar amps – heavenly or horrific?

Life too short for long YouTube videos? Please see the ‘Interesting bits and go-to sections’ information below.

Welcome to the show! Now there was a time when the Electro-Voice EVM12L speaker was the Undisputed King Of Drivers. Some argue that it still is, but for the most part the dear old EV has taken something of a popularity battering since its 1980s heyday.
All of which got us to thinking… What about some amps that you wouldn’t normally associate with the hallowed 200-watt behemoth loudspeaker? Could it ever sound good with the Princeton or an AC15, for example? Let’s find out…

Enjoy the show!

Pedals & gear used in this video
• TheGigRig Three2One

• Sonic Research ST-200 Turbo Tuner

• Keeley D&M Drive

• Source Audio Collider Delay & Reverb

Interesting bits & go-to sections
0:00 What are we doing today?
1:57 The Andy Timmons EV incident
3:35 Today’s amps
4:18 Of course there are variables
5:12 Princeton Reverb into Jensen C10R
6:55 Princeton Reverb into EVM12L
9:12 AC15 into Celestion Greenback
11:22 AC15 into EVM12L
16:13 Marshall 1987x intro
17:05 Marshall into two Celestions
20:10 Marshall into two EVs
22:10 Marshall thoughts
23:38 Matchless into two Celestions
26:50 Matchless into two EVs
30:34 Matchless cleaner tones
34:00 Closing thoughts

Guitars in this episode:
• Gibson Custom True Historic ’57 Les Paul Goldtop, Murphy Aged - no video yet

Amps & cabs in this episode:
• Fender ’65 Princeton Reverb with Jensen C10R speaker

• Vox AC15C1 with Celestion G12M Greenback speaker

• Matchless C-30 head with Matchless ESD212, 1 x Celestion G12M Greenback & 1 x Celestion G12H Anniversary

• Marshall 1987x head

• 1980s Mesa 212 with 2 x EVM12L speakers

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[JensenSpeakersVideos]

Hey Mick & Dan, Ignazio here. Vintage EVM12L are in my personal top 3 favorite guitar speakers. A MESA/Boogie 1x12 Thiele Extension loaded with MY own 1980 EVM12L is a mainstay in Jensen's demo room. Since we obviously went a great deal looking into the build specifics that make that speaker so special, I thought of sharing a few notes from the R&D lab:

1) The EVM12L is NOT a guitar speaker. It was originally designed as a mid-woofer for PA/Sound Reinforcement applications. Proof of this is the surrounds that are made in treated cloth, while all guitar speakers have paper surrounds (or better, in a traditional guitar speaker the cone membrane extends to the edge of the speaker, and is bent/formed to become the suspension). Fortunately, some guys on the US west coast decided to give it a try, and did not care about the recommended application: the community should be grateful to people like Alex Dumble, Randall Smith and Paul Rivera for having paired Fender-style amps with the EVM12L.
2) The frequency response is, after all, not THAT different from a traditional guitar speaker. The difference is HOW the EVM12L responds to power. It is designed to be as clear and uncolored as possible. So, the membrane, voice coil, and spider, are designed to react "piston-like" with the minimum dynamic compression and distortion possible. The complete opposite of what a trad guitar speaker is designed to do, enriching and coloring the tone with harmonics and overtones even with a mere handful of watts.
3) every detail in the EVM12L is made to minimize distortion and coloration. Even the basket frame is die-cast aluminum, to avoid vibrations and resonances.
4) Super large voice coil (2, 5"), about twice the size of a normal guitar speaker voice coil (from 1 1/2" to 2" max). Most Celestion speakers have 1 3/4" VCs.
5) HUGE ceramic magnet. 2 or 3 times bigger and heavier than the standard. The combination of the large voice coil and huge magnet make up for exceptional dynamics and nearly unlimited headroom.

So, do we like'em? Yes, we love'em, with certain amps, not all of them, and they need to be used in a certain way to get the most out of them.
We love them with F-style amps, from clean to medium gain tones. Since the speaker is SO clean, it loves a certain amount of amp compression and "hairy" overtones; if you pair it with a super squeaky clean amp, it might sound a bit too dry and sterile. Yes, they can be brutal and unforgiving if wrongly paired. Great in ported and open back cabs.
We like them less with British-style amps and power amps, especially with EL84-powered amps. We're still quite happy with fat, powerful EL34 amps, and closed-back large cabs.

Hope this may be of interest to the community... yes, I'm a bit of a speaker nerd, I do admit...

[philhatton]

Massive EV fan here, I’ve tried quite a few celestions and there’s just something in them that I don’t like and the EV fixes that. This show demonstrates that nearly symbiotic relationship between amp and speaker, some amps need a certain speaker colouration to sound their best, others are more of a blank canvas where the speaker is another tone shaper. In terms of the EV I think what goes in, comes out and if you don’t like what comes out then that’s the pure sound of the amp that you don’t like, don’t a big deal because as demonstrated, once you find the speaker that works with that amp you’re back in happy land. Other things to mention, the weight!! Every cab an EV goes in becomes heavy and then there’s the feel, because of their clarity and they can feel very honest and stiff, which also doesn’t suit all amps. Still it’s my favourite speaker, awesome round up guys, this is quite a specific rabbit hole but one I’m sure a lot of people have wondered about.

[SonicProvocateur]

I had a 4x12 Avatar cab that I loaded with 4 EV12Ls and i'll never forget turning on a swollen pickle and the absolutely COLLOSAL bass. The sub-bass in my recording studio from the speakers was so intense that from 4-5 feet away you could feel your bones vibrating up all the way to your knees through the floating wood floorboards. Absolutely bonkers.

[Yupppi]

I just realized how wonderful TPS has become over the years. I just listen without touching the volume bar no matter talk or play. Can't say that for many youtube videos! Also I'd love to hear speculation about the speaker power handling relation to anything. Like you originally got power handling to match the amps for them not to break (and they still withstand a lot more power than expected), but people figured out you don't need that amount of power to push the speaker to play well, that the same 100W speakers could play just nice with 20W amp, perhaps even better to your taste than some better matching ones.

EV and its copies are just very nice combined with a traditional speaker like Celestion V30/65/75/Greenback. I loved Johan Segeborns comparison on EV combinations, it just made everything better when mixed together.

Also I have a bad pun for you: what happens when you put a heavy magnet in Electro-Voice speaker? You get EVH.

My take on angled cabs: got one because they look cooler. Realized that I hate the sound of speaker directly into your ear, I would always stand on the side further away.

[pauleandersonmusic]

While I went to view this video to learn more about the speaker in question, during which time my questions were answered, I ended up truly enjoying both of you showing and sharing real joy and skills while playing guitar. The two of you are a great together and you both play so well and show such clear passion and knowledge about all things related to electic guitar and amps that just can't be faked. Thank you both and cheers all around 🎉

[tommyraper]

You can say whatever you want, I just love Dan's Red Telecaster plugged into anything!

[timmotel]

Wow. It's cool to hear the EVs. I had forgotten that they even exist. They've always been the top end of speakers. This is an excellent demonstration and great guitar playing on both your parts. Very enjoyable and educational. You're a good team. Good food for thought... Thanks

[AndrewJayGuitar]

EVs are the best speaker companion I could ask for in my tone journey. Wherever I go, whatever I ask of it, and no matter what I put it through, my EVs handle it with integrity. Despite the EQ of the EV being relatively flat, I think of it as more complimentary to a variety of amps than others that impart more of their identity. If I don't like the sound I'm getting, I know it's because I'm hearing more of the amp or pedal, rather than the EV producing unpleasant or uncomplimentary sounds on its own. It helps me eliminate a variable because I know where I must make adjustments from. EVs won't work for everything, but they offer me a better perspective on what other pieces of my gear sound like and help make me a more informed tone chaser because of it.

[scottsaunders]

A friend had a mid 50's Vibroluxe that he had shoehorned a 12" EV SRO into. It was an absolutely amazing sound.

[rossnielsen]

Dan's Matchless amp and cab are just special. When he plays that combo with his Tele he just comes alive.

[sweethands]

After years of trying all kinds of pedals/amps/guitars... I have settled on a few gear philosophies that work for MY ears. #1 single coils #2 fender blackface smaller wattage circuit (15/22wts up to 35 depending application) #3 higher wattage speaker when matched to amp. Get the dirt from volume or pedals.

[ericbrewerguitar]

Oh man I love the old EVM12L’s. I used to use only high powered tube amps with 12L’s, always trying to get the most clean headroom I could. Those speakers will quickly reveal the holes in your playing - very unforgiving yet make you a better, cleaner player. They’re painfully heavy. And will surely deafen your audience and infuriate your sound engineer in short order. But to feel the power that they put at your fingertips, the clean volume that you always wished you could get out of your amp suddenly there in spades…very addictive!

[airtow]

Used an EV15B in my bass set-up for years and it never overloaded and sounded as good as any Altec, JBL or Eminence I ever used. Loved it!

[MrTendentious]

I’ve always loved EV loaded Boogies, and most of the time I’ve had them raised off the floor on an angled stand. They do have a lot of gravity packed into them though.

[ThroBakChannel]

My experience with the EVM12L is in my Mesa Boogie Mark III Purple Stripe and my Mark II C+, both with graphic EQ. Having graphic EQ in the amp or the effects loop I think is the key to making the EVM12L sound great with just about any amp. The Mesa Boogie Mark II and III amps and Dumble amps were designed with the EVM12L in mind. Blues and Classic Rock through EVM12L’s sounds amazing. Mick, if you can find one, buy a Mesa Boogie MS-12 Black Shadow Speaker with the Jouster on it, for the top half of your Boogie cabinet. The MS-12 was made by Eminence for Boogie as sort of lower cost 150 watt copy of the EVM12L. The MS-12 sounds a lot like a EVM12L but with a smoother treble response, many prefer it to the EVM12L. My Mark III has the MS-12 in the combo and an EVM12L in a Mesa Thiele cabinet. Together they sound huge and fuller than two EVM12L speakers.

[damianocarrara]

Another amazing video guys, as always! Really liked the honesty of the EVs, but that Matchless cab man, what a sound!!!

[ShinyShinyBlack]

Nice - the EV’s immediately “opened” the upper mids, which can be really nice, especially for cleans - but wow, if the amp is a little “pokey” to compensate for dark speakers, the EVs are BRUTAL. 😬
Thanks for the explorations! Cheers.

[paulcollingridge]

Thanks Guys, that has answered many, many questions.... Many of which I'd never thought of asking and few would be within my scope of actioning.... But thanks... There was no question over the fascination!

[davidreynolds]

Hey Dan & Mick - Not re: EV Speakers but....A challenge for you!

You've some outside gigs coming up - festivals, garden parties, busking etc. - however being outside you've no access to mains power!....So the challenge is...

You need to put an amp & board together to cover a wide range of tones, relying on batteries only - easy right!

Not quite...there are a couple of rules:

1. You've no budget restrictions, but only a couple of days to pack, so both amp & pedals must be readily available, new & 2nd hand is fine, fast delivery - but no waiting lists allowed!
2. Being that you'll be on the road all summer, you can only use batteries commonly available from most shops - no 're-chargeable' battery packs, or car battery set-ups allowed! - only 9V, AA, AAA's etc.
3. In your rush to pack you've forgotten your screwdriver, so battery access for both amp & pedals has to be 'tool-free' - so budbox MXR screw style enclosures are out!
4. Finally, being dedicated tone-hounds you balk at built-in amp effects, so ALL tones must be produced from the pedals only - apart from amp reverb, that's a freebie :-)

I've recently been through a very similar experience, and with the ever increasing proliferation of pedals that due to small size or reliance on power hungry digital chips can only be run on mains power, it turned out to be a fun challenge in limitations!

Love to see a show on how you guys would approach it!

[bazookachicken]

Personal favourite combinations were:

Princeton with Jensen
(I like the way the bass falls over it’s quite musical to my ears)

AC15 with EV’s
(Just great tones)

1987X with Lester and EV’s or with Tele and Celestions

Matchless with Lester and Celestions or with Tele and EV’s

Another great show guys! Thanks for all your hard work!!