A. Yes. All of the speakers included in this comparison were purchased new, and through normal retail channels.
Q.Are all of the sampled speakers currently available?
A. Yes. The speakers chosen were all current models that were available as of the making of ConeTones Volume 1, in 2008.
Q.Why were the low power Scumback models chosen for the comparison?
A. Since the Scumbacks were modeled after vintage Celestions, their low powered models are more comparable to many of the other speakers sampled on the CD.
Q.Why are the Jensen Mods included in the comparison?
A. Although the Jensen Mods aren't exactly British-style, they do appear to be aimed at that segment of the market and have been included for that reason.
Q.Were the speakers broken in before they were recorded?
A. Yes. All speakers were given a minimal amount of break-in consisting of 20 watts of relatively clean guitar audio for a period of one hour. The only exception to this being the Celestion Blue which is a 15 watt speaker. The Blue was broken in at 15 watts for one hour.
Q.Is one hour enough time to properly break-in a guitar speaker?
A. Maybe, maybe not. If information about speaker break-in on the Celestion website is correct, then the speakers heard on the CD should be better than 95% broken in.
Q.Why is the Celestion Blue given two separate CD tracks with two different power levels?
A. The Blue is the only speaker among the group that is rated for less than 20 watts RMS. Since it would be unfair to only sample the Blue while operating it in excess of it's rated power, it was decided to offer one sample at it's rated limit of 15 watts as well as a second sample with the same 20 watt power level as all the other speakers. GTR Audio does NOT recommend operating the Celestion Blue, nor any other speaker, in excess of it's rated power level.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. How were the Weber speakers used in the comparison chosen?
A. Weber is truly a custom speaker manufacturer. The options chosen for this comparison were selected based on the idea of keeping them similar to the speakers that they are patterned after while choosing power ratings above 20 watts.
Where "degree of doping" was an option the extremes of no doping and heavy doping were avoided in favor of moderate doping.
Given the myriad of variations available in their British line alone, the Weber speakers presented here are a relatively small sample of what is available from this manufacturer.
Q.I'm interested in (insert speaker of interest here). Will you be sampling this speaker on a future CD?
A. Sales of "Volume 1: British-style 12's" have not been sufficient to support the decision to produce additional volumes at this time. Thank you to all of you who have shown an interest in future CD's and have taken the time to submit your recommendations for our previously planned 'Volume 2 American-style 12's'. This project may be re-considered at a later date.
A.The source audio was created using a tube amplifier with all EQ controls set at 12 o'clock. The amplifier output was fed into an interface device with an unfiltered line output creating the digital source audio file. This method allows the tone of the entire amp (preamp and power amp) to be captured.
A. All speakers were recorded in a speaker isolation cabinet designed for 12 inch guitar speakers. This cabinet incorporates a ported speaker baffle. Using the isolation cabinet insured a consistent, noise-free environment from one speaker model to the next.
A. The ConeTones audio CD is intended to be a general baseline comparison of the selected speakers. As there are many variables that affect how guitar speakers sound, listeners should not expect this CD to accurately detail what any given speaker will sound like in their own rig. Regardless, most of our customers report being pleased with the accuracy we have captured.
