I had another thought... what

1

Hi Guys,

 

I can't make up my mind what speaker to pair with a BlackHawk 50w in my semi open back 2 x 12 cab and need some help.

 

Previously in this cab I had a Weber Blue Dog 30w Alnico + a Celestion G12H30 Anniversary.  It was a great combination, nice chime, good bottom end, sweet mids.  Short story is I left the cab at a friends studio for a while and he used it a lot (because it sounded great) but he didn't realise it was only a 60w cab and melted the voice coils running a Musicman HD-130 through it...

 

So I've got an idea of which way to go but who says a good thing can't be improved right?  Can't decide between these combinations:

- BlackHawk + Green Beret (Love the mid range crunch of the GB from listening to soundclips on this site and youtube)

- BlackHawk + Reaper 55hz (I like the the idea of the extra bottom from the Reaper 55Hz but concerned about it's higher SPL)

- BlackHawk + Reaper (Would match my old speaker combo, SPL more similar to BlackHawk)

 

I'm mostly torn between the first two options but worried a) is the BlackHawk going to have enough bottom end on it's own to pair with a Green Beret? and b) would the higher SPL of the Reaper 55hz overpower the BlackHawk?  I want the primary tone to come from the BlackHawk and the second speaker to add color.

 

The amp I use is called a Ratajczyk Extreme Reverb (made her in Brisbane Aus) and is a 30w cathode biased head 2 x EL34 and is early Marshall-ish with a couple of extra foot-switchable gain stages + Fender '63 reverb circuit.  It's quite a thick / fat sounding amp, plenty of bottom end, not bright amp but that suits because I mostly use a Fender Jazzmaster.

 

Tones I really like and often go for are Hendrix, early Clapton (Bluesbreakers, Cream), early AC/DC (think Jailbreak), early Sabbath, SRV, early Led Zeppelin, Peter Green.

2

I had another thought... what about a BlackHawk + ET65?

3

I am curious about this combination too.  I have a pair of ET-65 in a Twin Reverb now which sound great.  Wondered though if I had one ceramic and one alnico what it would sound like.

4

Sorry, this one slipped by me...

The Blackhawk / Reaper HP would be a nearly identical tone to the blown combo ... but would take a SOLID 100-watts RMS.  So, that's a solid score.

Your idea of the Blackhawk with an ET65 will also sound fantastic, and very similar.  And again, a solid 100-watt cab.

I'd recommend either of these two combos.

5

I run a Mesa/Boogie TA-30 and slapped a Blackhawk underneath her. However, with AlNiCo speakers, compression kicks in and with it, a loss of bottom end. I absolutely love the sustain and almost Santana sound that I get from it. However, sometimes I wish to get a thicker, BB King type sound from her. What would you reccomend to pair up for blues, jazz, country blues, country. I use a Washburn Semi-Hollow, stock and a PRS C24 with Dimarzio classic rock setup and oil-filled tone cap. And if vertical cab, which would you put on top. The closer the dB's the better. I was tempted for a Reaper HP or an Invader to add some cream, but don't know how the bottom end is on the Invader. 1/3 open back, but may go closed back.

6

How would pairing it with an et-90 sound? I like how close the dB's are to eachother

7

I would like to suggest the Invader with the BlackHawk. Does the Green Beret thing, pairs really well with the BH and gives you a100 watt cab. The ET-90/BH isn't a bad combo either but personally I like the ET-90 more with the BlackHawk HP. Killer!!

Dean