Scumback and celestion sound clips

[Jon W]

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default ... dID=915947" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

94 Les paul Std stock
1976 Super Lead ppimv (MV running at ~80% with two EL34s pulled)
Preamp running on 5 and 10

1rst clip is of an old late 70s with 65s
2nd is with reissue english made greenbacks that have hammered on for quite a while
3rd is of H 55 30 watt Scumbacks


Miking was exactly the same for all three with two 57s

What do you think?

OH YEA, forgive my sloppy playing. "It was cold"

[jfhudak]

Hmmm....

First off, NICE playing!

Gotta be honest, with that amp, I like the 65s. They smoothed it out nicely.

The greenbacks weren't for me, too harsh.

The Scummies were muddy and constipated sounding.

Was that the amp you just bought from me? If so, I'm glad it went to a good home!!

Again, nice playing.

[Jon W]

Yeh, that is your amp. It has a nice warm sound. I did change the tone stack, but otherwise it is as was when it left Virginia.

The 65s are hard to beat. I do have to say that this cab has a lot of miles on it. That has to help. But, I remember really loving these back when they were new, So...

Not so fond of the greenies, either. I did not really like the originals either. Always went for the 120watt cabs, back in the day. They sound this way in person, too.

The scumbacks sound really good when the are bass and drums filling up the room. The fizz gets lost and they warm up. The scums are bass (55hz) speakers, too. I think, as a rule, 75hz speakers are better for guitar. I do like them in person more than on the recording. However, the recording really does capture the tone. Just not the presence.

I wonder how much the particle board back on the two newer cabs plays into the sound?????

[Scumback Speakers]

Thanks for the clips, Jon W! Your clip perfectly illustrates why I tell players to not use four H55's in a closed back cab with a Les Paul, just a bit too woofy for my tastes. The other way H55's work is in an open back or ported cab.

Here's a Les Paul with PAF's through a 2x12 Royal cab with H55's. Ed Amantia is the guitarist, pretty well known on the LPF forum.
http://www.scumbackspeakers.com/h55clip ... oyal50.mp3" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Normally if someone's going for a deeper tone, the most I'll recommend is the H75/H55 mix with an LP and a closed back cab.

Now with a Strat, four H55's absolutely kills...but with a Les Paul an H75/M75 mix, or four of either is the way to go.

[Jon W]

Mine sound very close to that in a band context. Maybe, Ill do a track with each in a full song.

I have been thinking of moving these to my combo rigs, as they have so much more grunt. I think that they will kill in those. Everything else in the combos sounds thin when competing with and svt and a deaf bass player.

Listen to the studio recording "Southbound" by the Alman Brothers. I think that these come close with a 50w head.

Maybe it is a little unfair to compair these to some very seasoned, 30 year old 65 watt celestions in a full plywood cab. But I will say the Scums sound a lot warmer than the greenbacks and are getting better as I beat on them.

[Scumback Speakers]

If your H55's are 30 watters, you have to get 25-30 gig volume hours on them, or they'll have a bit more brightness until you do (fizz/whatever).

If they're the 65 watt models, then it's 40-50 hours of gig volume.

Here's what the 30w H55's sound like in a open back cab with a Les Paul and a Suhr Badger amp. I can't name the guitarist, as he's paid by another speaker company to promote their speakers...so for posting reasons, he's L'Angelo Mysterioso.

http://southbayampworks.com/h55/Badger-H55-LPstd.mp3" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[toner]

I also liked the 65's best but give the scumbacks some break in time. I'm surprised those greenbacks were broken in. Didn't care for them at all.

I play strats 60% of the time and Les Pauls the rest. I use an H55/H75 scumback mix in a 2x12 and it covers a lot of tones. I usually mic the 75 because it has more mids but the mix in front of the cab sounds very nice with single coils or humbuckers. The slight top end "fizz" gradually goes away with time. They're still the best sounding speakers I've heard straight out of the box and they only get better after pounding on them for a while.

Thanks for the clips. Nice to hear a mix of different guitar volumes and styles with each speaker.

[Jon W]

I think the scums are still tight. But, they are a lot better than they were when I first got them. They breathe a lot more.

I don't know why people like the reissue greenies.

I'll get some more clips with different heads in song fromat. I do know that I have certain cabs that I always pair with certian heads.

[jfhudak]

Let me be clear, I LOVE my Scumbacks! I have a quad in my 1960a and they just kill. So, no disrespect intended to my favorite speakers or speaker guy, Brother Jim!

I never could get that amp to sound worth a shit for what I like, so I am pleased as punch that you like it! I wanted it to go to a good home!

Jim, please forgive me if my post came off wrong. Scumbacks are still the only speakers for me.

And yes, the greenbacks sounded pretty bad.

[RCCola]

Strange.

I actually just sold a quad of original 65's this past week. The week before that I received a 4x12 full of late 80s/early 90s greenbacks, and just today I picked up a 4x12 with 2 Scumback H55s and 2 H75s (from a member here).

I just got done doing a little comparison using a R9 Les Paul, Straub Cantus, and Clark MTC45.

I found the Scumbacks generally woofy with a fizzy top end. I don't think these are broken in yet though. I couldn't really switch from bridge PU to neck PU w/o re-EQing.

When I switched the same amp to the Greenbacks, I had to dial down the treble and push the mids up a bit. I really liked the Greenbacks at any volume, either PU. These are broken in though.

The 65s were ok - a little too smooth on the top end for me.

In the next week or two, I'll try to get some recordings up. I also have a THD 2x12 with a H55 and a H75. Still waiting on the damned USPS to deliver my e906 mic.

[Jon W]

wife was gone today, so I cranked it up LOUD.

Added some more clips. the "old 65s celestions" and the "Scums 55Hz 30W" show how they respond to being pushed hard. I think in the amount of time I put on these today, they have warmed up even more.

[JamesHealey]

I use 12-65 speakers in my amp just because I want high power handling so I can use one 4x12 cab without an attenuator, and they're the best quality speaker you can buy here in the United Kingdom... they work fine for me.

[908ssp]

When I had the H Scumback speakers I don't think my H ever sounded like that but my guitars are probably brighter and more articulate. My favorite was the 75 hz cone with the large dust cap. Doesn't get much attention because it doesn't exactly replicate any vintage speaker but it sounded great. The dust cap is similar to the dust cap used on the 65 watt speakers but the cone is a bit brighter. I tested the three cone options in 30 watts in three 1x12 cabs and the 75hz LDCP sounded the best had the widest flattest frequency response but the high and was still sweet and smooth.

[Jon W]

Well, I giged this cabinet this weekend. All I can say is that the 65s sound better by themselves and they should as they are very broke in.

BUT, this cab, with the Scumbacks, CUT!. It was like I was playing a chainsaw (think the into to carry on wayard son by Kansas). The soundman oozed all over it as did a number of other guitar players in the audience.

I ran the head with the bass at zero (something I did not do and the first recordinf) and this got rid of any "woof". My eq, at the board, was FLAT. The sound was bouncy and chewey. Really fun...

So I guess the point i got, is that what sounds good in a stand alone environment, ie. a high gain amp with a smooth sound, is NOT what sounds good in the context of a band.

And as I said above, I beat on these pretty hard this weekend and they are breathing a little more.

I like 'em.

I would like to try the 75HZ ones, just out of curiosity, when the economy recovers and I'm not so freaked abut spending money.

[Scumback Speakers]

Well, I giged this cabinet this weekend. All I can say is that the 65s sound better by themselves and they should as they are very broke in.

BUT, this cab, with the Scumbacks, CUT!. It was like I was playing a chainsaw (think the into to carry on wayard son by Kansas). The soundman oozed all over it as did a number of other guitar players in the audience.

I ran the head with the bass at zero (something I did not do and the first recordinf) and this got rid of any "woof". My eq, at the board, was FLAT. The sound was bouncy and chewey. Really fun...

So I guess the point i got, is that what sounds good in a stand alone environment, ie. a high gain amp with a smooth sound, is NOT what sounds good in the context of a band.

And as I said above, I beat on these pretty hard this weekend and they are breathing a little more.

I like 'em.

I would like to try the 75HZ ones, just out of curiosity, when the economy recovers and I'm not so freaked abut spending money.

I'm happy to hear that the Scumbacks proved themselves in a gig situation for you, Jon. As I'll tell anyone who wants to know, I firmly believe that many bands use M's in the studio (G12-65 is a higher powered M with a large dust cap), but switched to H's live just because they cut through the mix and made the live guitar sound much better.

Thanks very much for the update!