Alnico verses Ceramic and Weber Speakers

Wayne Carver · Post by **Wayne Carver** » 7 Jun 2003 6:09 am

Which is preferred for steel and does anyone use Weber speakers foe steel?

Jon Light (deceased) · Post by **Jon Light (deceased)** » 7 Jun 2003 6:23 am

Hi Wayne. I'm working with two main rigs---for big wattage needs, an Evans FET 500 Custom with a Black Widow--great sound--and for smaller needs, an all-tube rack rig with a Weber. I think it is an outstanding speaker. I have a California 15" ceramic with paper dustcap. It is in a Duane Marrs cabinet. Although the speaker has some weight, you wouldn't believe how light the Marrs/Weber box is! I believe the speaker is rated for 80 watts although I'd need to look that up. It delivers clean broad spectrum sound.
I simply can't tell you anything about the alnico except that it costs significantly more.
I'm a fan of Weber speakers (I also have a Cali 12" in a small enclosure for other uses).

Ken Fox · Post by **Ken Fox** » 7 Jun 2003 11:04 am

I can tell you about CTS Alnicos. I have 4-10" in a Super Reverb and 4 Ceramics in another Super Reverb. The CTS alnicos are a thicker midrange and rounder sounding highs. Good blues guitar amp, but I have to use the bright switch with a Tele to get closer to the sound of all my other Fender amps. Oddly the old JBL and Altec speakers I have are alnico and are not guite so thick in the mids.<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Ken Fox on 07 June 2003 at 12:05 PM.]</p></FONT>

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 7 Jun 2003 11:22 am

The alnico magnets usually sound "rounder", and "sweeter". Their overall efficiency, however, is usually poor (meaning they produce less output for a given input). Most alnico speakers won't handle much power, either, due to the generally smaller voice coils. They do excel for recording use, but I wouldn't trust them for a live steel gig. I've "fried" too many of 'em!