# What do you guys thing about Eminence



## flint757 (Dec 4, 2011)

Specifically a 2x12 combo with Swamp Thang and Texas Heat speakers.

For metal what other combinations might y'all suggest instead. (And FYI I hate Celestion Vintage 30's especially Mesa's)

My amp is the Mesa Mark IV.

Any advice will be useful.


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## Illure (Dec 5, 2011)

I have a 2x12 with a Texas Heat and Cannabis Rex. Sounds sick.


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## djpharoah (Dec 5, 2011)

Swamp thangs are awesome pickups and they are dark.


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## flint757 (Dec 5, 2011)

What kind of music do y'all play and what kind of tone do you get out of the C-Rex and texas heat combo. And most importantly what gear are y'all running through them.


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## wlfers (Dec 5, 2011)

djpharoah said:


> Swamp thangs are awesome pickups and they are dark.



hmm



flint757 said:


> Specifically a 2x12 combo with Swamp Thang and Texas Heat speakers.
> 
> For metal what other combinations might y'all suggest instead. (And FYI I hate Celestion Vintage 30's especially Mesa's)



What kind of sound are you going after? What direction do you think your amp needs? I wanted my amp to be a bit more tame, so I went for legends. Like stated above, the texas heats are pretty dark sounding (I like that). Another eminence I've had is the manowar, brighter and had my engl sounding a bit more "creamy" than I wanted.


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## Deliverowned (Dec 5, 2011)

I have a VHT cab, so with custom P50 eminence speakers. Love the cab so much and the emnience too a lot. So i will prolly get legends v12 for my toehr cab. I sold the v30s in it because I coulnt stand them with my vht amp. My 5150 is sounding so nice through my vht cab, and only hear good comments through vaders cabs too. Get legends!


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## flint757 (Dec 5, 2011)

I want it to be darker and fairly smooth, but overall balanced. Something that sounds amazing for modern metal (both standard tunings and drop tunings, not 80's or hair metal), but not so colored that it wouldn't sound good for rock and blues. I ran my Mark IV through a Mesa OS cab with vintage 30's that went with my recto, but it had this whoopy sound if that makes sense. Either way I didn't like it. 

Online I was listening to a youtube video showing texas heat and swamp thang separate then together it seemed that yes swamp thang's were fairly dark, but texas heat had more mids balancing it across the spectrum.


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## pitbulltodd (Dec 5, 2011)

u might dig "the govenor"


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## flint757 (Dec 5, 2011)

Ya I had considered doing the governor with the wizard, but the wizard supposedly sounds like shit through an open cab and I have a convertible cab which I will actually use both ways. 

My attempt is to also use 2 different speakers so from the suggestion of the Governor what would you match with it? Would the Man-O-War make it too bright across the spectrum. If it would has anyone matched the Swamp Thang with Man-O-War?


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## flint757 (Dec 5, 2011)

Looking at tons of info and clips Manowar and wizard are out because they apparently don't fair as well with convertible cabs.

I'm thinking Swamp thang is guaranteed.

Now which would go good with it Texas Heat, Tonkerlite, Governor or Red, White and Blue or would maybe just getting 2 be the way to go. My attempt is to literally have the speakers balance each other out sonically.


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## Toshiro (Dec 5, 2011)

The Swamp Thangs are very smooth and dark. If you want any crunch at all, I would pair one with something like a Governor or Tonespotter to get some of those british speaker mids.

2 Swamps can hang with a 4-12 for low end though.


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## signalgrey (Dec 5, 2011)

Eminence Legends are badass.


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## flint757 (Dec 5, 2011)

Toshiro said:


> The Swamp Thangs are very smooth and dark. If you want any crunch at all, I would pair one with something like a Governor or Tonespotter to get some of those british speaker mids.
> 
> 2 Swamps can hang with a 4-12 for low end though.



Hmmm which would you prefer.

Listening to the audio on Eminences website the Tonespotter sounded brighter than the Governor and the Governor sounded slightly more muffled. Since the Swamp Thang is a low beast would the tonespotter be more appropriate.

They didn't sound drastically different on the overdrive, but tonespotter sounded more open on the heavy and the governor sounded more smooth on the cleans while the tonespotter had a little more clarity and bite. So given that what are your ideas?


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## flint757 (Dec 5, 2011)

signalgrey said:


> Eminence Legends are badass.



Anything in particular I didn't see anything that directly caught my attention


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## fretninjadave (Dec 5, 2011)

Eminence legend 1258's 
I got them in my cab and they rule!


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## flint757 (Dec 5, 2011)

fretninjadave said:


> Eminence legend 1258's
> I got them in my cab and they rule!



That does sound pretty good.

Everything is starting to blur together. Honestly the written descriptors don't match the sound clips on some of them IMO. 

What type of music do you play and what do you play through as reference?


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## fretninjadave (Dec 5, 2011)

There is no Ark "This time" | Facebook

I use a mesa Nomad 100 and my lotus .No pedals or anything.


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## flint757 (Dec 5, 2011)

fretninjadave said:


> There is no Ark "This time" | Facebook
> 
> I use a mesa Nomad 100 and my lotus .No pedals or anything.



Would this be a correct to describe the speaker. Tight low end, aggressive mids, and mellow highs with a slightly throaty sound or is that just because of the medium it was recorded on?

How would you describe it and also great show liked the song 

I'm still leaning towards the swamp thang they've cast a spell on me 
And I'm curious still about which would be better with it Governor or tonespotter or something else.

Would the legend go well with the Swamp Thang or if I went that route should I just get 2 or another legend?


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## fretninjadave (Dec 5, 2011)

Hey thanks man.I'm glad you dig it. 
I would say its all those things you're asking for.I think Vader uses them and also Krank cabs use them . 
it was recorded on a droid or something. it doesn't do justice to the sound but you can still hear everything pretty clear.

As for mixing I'm sure it will sound great but I still prefer the all legend sound. 
like i said man "They Rule!"


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## fretninjadave (Dec 5, 2011)

dblpst


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## flint757 (Dec 5, 2011)

Now I'm even more confused, I'm trying to narrow it down, but I keep liking more things and for different reasons.

I want to mix to add a little depth and diversity to it especially in the recording sense, but I have no clue what would or wouldn't sound good together and selling/buying repeatedly is a grueling process 
/rant

So anymore suggestions based on what has been posted thus far people


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## Illure (Dec 5, 2011)

flint757 said:


> What kind of music do y'all play and what kind of tone do you get out of the C-Rex and texas heat combo. And most importantly what gear are y'all running through them.


 I play modern metal-ish rock stuff. Lots of chugging, good lead tones too. I play through a Mesa Triple Rectifier.


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## TemjinStrife (Dec 5, 2011)

I'm a big fan of the Eminence Tonker.

Also, they make a neodymium version if you want to be able to lift your cab without herniating a disk.


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## flint757 (Dec 5, 2011)

I emailed eminence and a guy responded agreeing that a swamp thang fits my needs and that a good match would be either the tonespotter or the Man-O-War. So who else has had experience with these?


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## fitterhappier (Dec 5, 2011)

I've got an Eminence Swamp Thang in my Spider Valve 112. I dig it. LOTS of lows, and nice highs.

When I compare it to the V30s in my ENGL/Emperor ministack, you can definitely tell that it's missing that mid-spike (which I happen to love). Also, if you're looking for speaker break-up, don't get a Swamp Thang, because they will NOT break up at all. The Swamp Thang was originally in my Emperor cab, but I didn't think it matched well with the V30, so I swapped the V30 in the Spider Valve with it. Turned out to be win-win. The ENGL/Emperor sounds awesome with all V30s, and the Spider Valve has a new lease on life with the Swamp Thang.

I would go with a Swamp Thang/Governor combo if I were you.


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## Toshiro (Dec 6, 2011)

flint757 said:


> Hmmm which would you prefer.
> 
> Listening to the audio on Eminences website the Tonespotter sounded brighter than the Governor and the Governor sounded slightly more muffled. Since the Swamp Thang is a low beast would the tonespotter be more appropriate.
> 
> They didn't sound drastically different on the overdrive, but tonespotter sounded more open on the heavy and the governor sounded more smooth on the cleans while the tonespotter had a little more clarity and bite. So given that what are your ideas?



I'm just not a big fan of the V30 sound, which what the Governor is going for. I've always thought about grabbing a Tonespotter, which is a G12-65 style tone, more like a high wattage Greenback. I currently have 2 Swamp Thangs, but I used to have 1 Swamp and 1 Tonker, and you couldn't tell the Tonker was there in the cab, the ST just owned it.

Back when I had my Laney, which was ridiculously bright, the 2 Swamps worked great, but I feel like I want some more mids and high end now with a 3120 and a JCA22H.


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## flint757 (Dec 6, 2011)

Toshiro said:


> I'm just not a big fan of the V30 sound, which what the Governor is going for. I've always thought about grabbing a Tonespotter, which is a G12-65 style tone, more like a high wattage Greenback. I currently have 2 Swamp Thangs, but I used to have 1 Swamp and 1 Tonker, and you couldn't tell the Tonker was there in the cab, the ST just owned it.
> 
> Back when I had my Laney, which was ridiculously bright, the 2 Swamps worked great, but I feel like I want some more mids and high end now with a 3120 and a JCA22H.



2 swamp thangs would be ridiculous with a mark IV i imagine 

I'm inbetween the tonespotter and manowar at the moment


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## flint757 (Dec 20, 2011)

I went with the Tonespotters and Swamp Thangs and owe man that was the right call with the Mark IV they are amazing. The swamp thang keeps the bass from getting flubby and the tonespotters add just the right amount of chime. Dialed in right I think I can get the sound I've been looking for out of these and supposedly they ill only get better with age.


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## mcleanab (Feb 26, 2012)

Old thread!

I have two 2x12 cabs... old Gallien-Kruegers... the type that Alex Lifeson used on A SHOW OF HANDS. Yanked out the cruddy Celestions in them and replaced them (after much research) with Eminence Swamp Thangs, Governor and Wizard. Chunky, dark with some lovely sizzle...

Of course, being a low end junkie, I use a touch of the Aphex 204 to make them sound/feel like 4x12's, but it works for me... I dig the speakers...


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## flint757 (Feb 26, 2012)

mcleanab said:


> Old thread!
> 
> I have two 2x12 cabs... old Gallien-Kruegers... the type that Alex Lifeson used on A SHOW OF HANDS. Yanked out the cruddy Celestions in them and replaced them (after much research) with Eminence Swamp Thangs, Governor and Wizard. Chunky, dark with some lovely sizzle...
> 
> Of course, being a low end junkie, I use a touch of the Aphex 204 to make them sound/feel like 4x12's, but it works for me... I dig the speakers...



Eminence does a great job and they only get better with age.


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## wlfers (Feb 26, 2012)

flint757 said:


> and they only get better with age.



How true is this? Because I definitely noticed my emi's getting better with age. Maybe it was that they were not broken in, as the cab was in pristine condition but sold as used, or that it's just my ears getting accustomed to the way it sounds.


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## cyb (Feb 26, 2012)

how would a swamp thang sound in a 6505 112 combo? should I try something else?


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## flint757 (Feb 26, 2012)

athawulf said:


> How true is this? Because I definitely noticed my emi's getting better with age. Maybe it was that they were not broken in, as the cab was in pristine condition but sold as used, or that it's just my ears getting accustomed to the way it sounds.



That is why they get better. It takes awhile to break in. I liked them in the beginning and I like them more now. There is a number given for how long it takes, but I don't know it.


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## flint757 (Feb 26, 2012)

cyb said:


> how would a swamp thang sound in a 6505 112 combo? should I try something else?



It would probably sound alright. What does it sound like now and what are you trying to achieve?


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## cyb (Feb 26, 2012)

flint757 said:


> It would probably sound alright. What does it sound like now and what are you trying to achieve?



I haven't actually gotten it yet, it should be here on tuesday. I've just heard everywhere that the stock speaker is garbage so I'm looking for a good replacement. I guess I'll wait and see just how bad the stock speaker sounds first.


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## mcleanab (Feb 26, 2012)

Check the Eminence website for sound samples of their speakers...

Really good representations of what they are tonally even if you are cranking the gain, the "shape" of the sound is pretty spot on... you'll know what you are in for...


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## Mordacain (Feb 26, 2012)

I love my Governor. Honestly, I had it paired right next to a Mesa UK Vintage 30 and I preferred the Governor. The Governor might not even be completely broken in yet. It has all the nice qualities of the Vintage 30 but just seems to have a smoother frequency response all way around.

There is a set of Texas Heat and Swamp Things for sale locally I'm eager to try out.

I've also played on a Cannabis Rex and it was similarly awesome. I also have an ancient 15" Eminence and its awesome for bluesy crunch as well.

Every Eminence speaker I've played has been awesome and I have no qualms recommending them.


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## SpaceDock (Feb 26, 2012)

The legends in my vader cab sound freakin awesome, so much better than v30's that I used to have.


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## flint757 (Feb 27, 2012)

Yeah I'd wait and/or listen to clips with the supposed bad speaker to see what you'd like to improve. That's basically what I did for my Mark IV. The recordings on their website are good for spotting the EQ ranges it emphasizes and the texture so look past the fact that they were recorded fairly low gain on their website.


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## krovx (Sep 27, 2013)

Sorry old thread bump but this is a lot of great information.

I am trying to find a speaker that is not a Vintage 30. I have two cabs loaded with them and hellatone 60s. I was looking for a 1x12 that could be good for recording. Part of me wants a Green Back for a different sound. Some of the metal stuff I have heard with Greenbacks kicked butt. However, at 25 watts, I am afraid I would damage with my heads.

I suck at looking at specs and frequency curves. I have looked at WGS but Eminence is made in the USA and the power handling on most of them is high. My only experience with Eminence is a VHT Deliverance 2x12 combo and a Basson 4x12. I thought both of them were pretty dark in comparison to my Mesa 4x12 and Marshall 4x12. Part of me wants to go with the GT-75 type sound for something different for recording but the Greenback sound is just in my head. Any suggestions?


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## TemjinStrife (Sep 27, 2013)

Eminence Tonkerlite is my choice. British voicing, somewhat bright, 150w power handling and only 4 lbs.


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## cGoEcYk (Sep 27, 2013)

Eminence speakers rock, especially when put in a good cab. I recently did some fairly extensive A/B testing with my Emperor 2x12 (Legend V12) and Mesa Recto 2x12 (V30). The Emperor with this combo destroys the Recto cab. I couldnt believe it.


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## krovx (Sep 30, 2013)

TemjinStrife said:


> Eminence Tonkerlite is my choice. British voicing, somewhat bright, 150w power handling and only 4 lbs.



Hmm, I will have to look into this one. 4 lbs for 150 watts? Wow!


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## krovx (Sep 30, 2013)

cGoEcYk said:


> Eminence speakers rock, especially when put in a good cab. I recently did some fairly extensive A/B testing with my Emperor 2x12 (Legend V12) and Mesa Recto 2x12 (V30). The Emperor with this combo destroys the Recto cab. I couldnt believe it.



Is there only one type of Legend V12?


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## UV7BK4LIFE (Sep 30, 2013)

Deliverowned said:


> I have a VHT cab, so with custom P50 eminence speakers.


 
Ditto. I don't know how they do it with those fatbottom cabs but it sounds amazing.


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## p4vl (Oct 2, 2013)

I've had problems with my XXX being fizzy and icepicky for years. Like a lot of guitar players, I've changed pickups more than half a dozen times (JB, Super 3, HN3+, BBQ, Hellabucker, Blackouts, TB6), changed power tubes (settled on E34L's), tried using lower gain preamp tubes; changing speakers was last on the list. 

Someone on here was pretty enthusiastic about them, saying that the XXX was designed with the Eminence Legend V12 (or the old G-flex cab, sorry I can't remember), and the Legend would kill the fizz. My RG2550 w/Duncan TB6 in B standard is _heavy as ...._. The V12's in my Lopo 212 have a warm/slightly neutral tone, at least at bedroom volume. 

I'd recommend them to anyone that has trouble with a fizzy icepick amp, and they should be tried by every XXX/3120 user. Never been happier with my tone. 

Best part? My local shop cut me a great deal on the V12's: $60 bucks per speaker and $20 for installation.


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## Moustache_Bash (Oct 2, 2013)

I have a Whitebox 2x12 w/ Emi Wizards in it. Great speakers, effing loud. They have a really gnarly upper midrange thing that's almost unbearable when playing alone, but SLAYS in a mix. They have a little bit of speaker break up, makes cleans a little harsh but manageable. Given the opportunity, I would chose some other Emi speaker over the Wizards.


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## krovx (Oct 7, 2013)

I notice Eminence has a new cab that has different speakers in it so retailers could showcase the different speakers. Wish a store by me had one :\


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## VBCheeseGrater (Oct 7, 2013)

Toshiro said:


> The Swamp Thangs are very smooth and dark. If you want any crunch at all, I would pair one with something like a Governor or Tonespotter to get some of those british speaker mids.
> 
> 2 Swamps can hang with a 4-12 for low end though.



Agree, gotta have a really middy speaker to go with a Swamp Thang. By themselves to me they lack the full spectrum of guitar tone. A Texas heat may be just the ticket, or i might try a Wizard - that could work great, as it's LOUD, so you'll hear the Wizard, but still get low end of Swamp Thang.



Moustache_Bash said:


> I have a Whitebox 2x12 w/ Emi Wizards in it. Great speakers, effing loud. They have a really gnarly upper midrange thing that's almost unbearable when playing alone, but SLAYS in a mix. They have a little bit of speaker break up, makes cleans a little harsh but manageable. Given the opportunity, I would chose some other Emi speaker over the Wizards.



Yup, I had a Wizard for awhile and it was as truly loud. After reading this, based on your tone description, a Wizard should mate perfectly with the Swamp Thang.


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## cGoEcYk (Oct 7, 2013)

krovx said:


> Is there only one type of Legend V12?


I think there are a few kinds but the ones people are typically referring to are V128 (8 ohm) or V1216 (16 ohm).



VBCheeseGrater said:


> By themselves to me they lack the full spectrum of guitar tone. A Texas heat may be just the ticket


TH/Swamp didnt do anything for me. I dunno if mine was just overly broken in or what but it didnt add what I was wanting/expecting. I'd recommend Governor or V30. I enjoyed that combo.

I'm going to do some A/B testing with V30/G12K and V30/Swamp soon.


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## krovx (Oct 7, 2013)

cGoEcYk said:


> I'm going to do some A/B testing with V30/G12K and V30/Swamp soon.



I hope you post your results


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## sawtoothscream (Oct 8, 2013)

I put a swampthang in my 6505 112 and its awesome. Really brought the amp to life


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## VBCheeseGrater (Oct 8, 2013)

cGoEcYk said:


> TH/Swamp didnt do anything for me. I dunno if mine was just overly broken in or what but it didnt add what I was wanting/expecting. I'd recommend Governor or V30. I enjoyed that combo.



That's good to know, because i never tried the combo myself. I've since sold my Swamp Thang/Legend Cab, not sure i'd buy a swamp thang again, but if i did, it's got to have the right speaker to go with it.

I've also noticed Eminence seem to need some break in time to judge, except when i got the Wizard in an HT-20 combo, that just killed from the get go.


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## krovx (Oct 8, 2013)

Anyone have some direct comparisons of a Man-o-War versus a Celestion GT12-75?


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## codycarter (Oct 9, 2013)

flint757 said:


> Specifically a 2x12 combo with Swamp Thang and Texas Heat speakers.
> 
> For metal what other combinations might y'all suggest instead. (And FYI I hate Celestion Vintage 30's especially Mesa's)
> 
> ...



I feel like after reading this we could be best friends


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## krovx (Apr 7, 2014)

I am still looking into this. So far I have just played around with micing my cabs with various microphones and placement. I notice the v30s can be tricky for me to EQ and capture right. Plus, live, my guitarist notices that V30s can get muddy and have that weird mid thing going on. I have been reading and searching a bunch and keep ending back up at Emis or a G12k-100. I am curious about the Legends but they seem to be similar to V30s?

The new Emi EM12 is interesting. The frequency range gets low and the power handling (200watts) is crazy. But it weighs a lot.

I have a front loaded 4x12 and a rear loaded closed/open back 2x12 both with vintage 30s. Any recommendations?


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## rectifryer (Apr 7, 2014)

I sold my swamp thing upon acquisition of v30s. The v30s seem scooped sounding comparitively. The swamp thing had this agressive 400-500 hz smearing that I could not stand. That is what they are built to do and they do it.

I am still curious about the governors.


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## Grindspine (Apr 7, 2014)

Personally, I really like the Celestion G12H-80 (rebranded H-90 that was originally made for Line 6 Vetta combos) speakers that I use with my Triaxis/2:Ninety.

I will say that the Eminence Legend 100 watt version sounds pretty damn phenomenal in my friend's rig though.


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