Upgrading your guitar speakers is DUMB.........here's why.

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[chrisbyrneguitar]

I think yours and Glenn's videos approach it from two different points of view. You're coming at it from the resale value and how buying speakers may not be a good return on an investment if/when you come to sell them, and as you say with how cheap cabs cab be had, it makes a lot of sense to wait for a good deal. Glenn's comes at it from an engineers point of view in what makes the biggest change to your tone and in a dollar to tone change ratio, assuming that you're not intending to sell the gear down the line. Both are very valid points to consider when purchasing any new gear, not just speakers.

[natrixxvision]

This sounds more like a capitalism problem than an actual speaker problem.

[Chucksguitargeekery]

This is definitely a valid argument for 4x12 cabs. I’m in the 1x12 combo amp world, I still think upgrading the speaker in a cheap combo is worth it. But, keep the stock speaker and swap it back in if you want to sell the amp.

[PhuketMyMac]

I upgraded every single 4x12 cab I have (3 of them as of now) and I am very happy I did. It took me time to find the right combos (different flavor of speakers into the same cab) but that was worth the effort and money.

[BenjaminRoethig]

I'm now waiting for the Kyle v. Glenn cage match 😂😂

[mhillaxeman]

This advice makes sense if you are a hobbyist who buys and sells used gear. His same advice would go for new pickups, hardware or any other upgrades to lower cost gear. But if you actually gig or make serious recordings you might want a fine-tuned rig with upgraded speakers as an investment in your music career. (And you can alway put the original speakers back if you decide to sell an amp or cabinet.)

[calebmckinney]

For my first (and only) cab I got it custom made by my friend. It has Mojotone speakers and I love how it sounds I know it wont hold much value but I supported a local artist and helped support our local hardcore scene.

[Folk]

Interesting take. I think you’re right about the investment angle. However I personally like to load my 4x12s with a few different speaker options for recording and blending tones in the studio. Powerful tone sculpting tools, that’s where the value is for me. I have a Marshall 1960b with g12-75’s and Marshall Vintage. And a Mesa oversized slant with Vintage 30s and eminence dv77’s. In the studio the options are plentiful.

[rickyturner]

That's why I use a 2x12. If I'm going to get bored with Vintage 30s in my Zilla Fatboy, I'll go and buy Hesu Demons or something else. Plus I'm not buying and selling gear, so I don't care on resale value on my gear.

[aacgoudie]

Interesting approach, that works for the individual.

I'm almost 40 and haven't parted with any piece of gear I've bought since I was 14

[ScottStieg]

A good parametric EQ does wonders for tones if speaker swapping gets exhausting.

[AVM-Music]

I started out the same way: buying, selling and trading, but I’m no collector: I’m a player who buys most of my stuff previously used in order to make the journey cheaper. Doing it this way means I get to experiment with sounds and gear, keep what I like, move on those that I don’t.

For me: music is like modifying cars: the money spent doesn’t equate to money returned, but it’s the journey and the experience :)

[samuelsanchez]

Hey Kyle. I scored a Engl pro 412 cab on GC for $899 used!! It was a 3 hour drive for me and I traded in my Carvin Legacy 412 to put towards it. I ordered casters for the Engl which ran me about $60 from Thomann and shipped to my door in about 3 days from Germany. With my trade in and casters I was in it for about $750 for a brand used Engl Pro cab. I couldn’t be happier!

[lowqualityguitarvideos]

Celestion Seventy 80 are my favorite cheap celestion. $30-50 per speaker used. Once broken in, they have great harmonic content and balanced tone. Work for lots of cabs and tones. Wont do maybe some specific vintage mid humped tones but add an EQ and you can get there.

The reason I like these speakers is you get the basic Celestion tone, a good mid sized magnet, overall balanced tone and can tweak with EQ and cab dimensions. And they are cheap, and everywhere. Once they start getting broken in on the used market (ie: all the ones people ripped out of brand new cabs) start getting used and the tone smooths out, I can see them being more widely embraced and understood. Theres some bad intel online that these are only made for modelers.

To my ear they are basically a V type with less mids.

[RodneyHale-gw]

Absolutely. Got a used Bogner Uberkab 4x12 off GC pristine condition for $600. Saved $700 vs new.

[tubo]

ABSOLUTELY!
Patience pays off. I just got a '99 Mesa Rec 4x12 for 350!
Great vid 👍

[garyshelly]

It's the same exact thing as guitars, you buy a $200 guitar and put in a $200 set of pickups it is not now a $400 guitar.

[Doughnut]

your not wrong but you are arguing resale vs tone. glen is offering advice to upgrade the tone. sometimes we can only afford what we can afford and its more cost effective to swap a speaker or two.

currently rocking a yamaha 2x12 mismatched cab. i love the one speaker but the other is muddy. it makes more sense to swap the one speaker and create my own sound.

to each his own though!!

[StillLivinginthewoods]

Glenn's entire channel revolves around the idea that the guitar, the amp, and even the guitar player themselves doesn't matter, ... as long as you have the right studio equipment and engineer.
That why ALL of his comparisons are ALWAYS about how the recorded MIX sounds, and never focuses on the sound of the guitar in isolation on in a live situation.

[ooDemiurgus]

You make a lot of valid points. I don't "replace" speakers (unless I need to because it's toast) But, after listening to every speaker out there from Glenn's video, I built twin 2/12 cabs. I got cheap Sonic empty cabs off Amazon in a groovy orange color, (actually pretty solid birch plywood) and I loaded them each with a 150w Celestian redback for the lows and a 60w Celestian Cream back Neo for the mids/highs. They sound awesome! In stereo! I don't worry about resale, these are for my home studio.