I need some insight from a speaker expert

[Planobilly]

Lately I have had the opportunity to experiment with a number of new and vintage guitar amp speakers. I was generally aware that different speakers sounded different.

What I was not prepared for was the truly huge and amazing difference the various speakers made in not only sound but how they reacted to the guitar. The same amp and same guitar sounded and reacted so differently to the different speakers I am a bit baffled how that is even possible.

At high gain levels placing the guitar facing and near a speaker will normally produce sustained feedback of a type rock guitarist find useful.

How for example would one 12 inch guitar speaker cause a very pronounced feedback and other similar speaker produce little or no feedback at the same gain level?

Thanks,

Billy

 

[Bystander]

Factor one, of many, phase shift.

 

[Planobilly]

Thanks, I will look into the phase shift parameters. What do you consider the next most important factor?

One of the issues is that frequently, exact specifications for a perticular speaker are not avalable to me. I am sure I have a large learning curve ahead of me.

Thanks,

Billy

 

[Baluncore]

The audio characteristics of the room, and the ears of the listener make the biggest difference.

One big difference over the years is speaker damping. Speakers were once efficient, now speakers are over-damped to give them a flat response, independent of the housing used. A significant part of the guitar amplifier feedback scream was at the speaker resonance.