Anyone who knows me, has heard "use your ears & know what you like" a multitude of times and knows I am in constant perfection of my creations. One is my AMI 'Lil Giant, a.k.a.: my 'gig rig' pictured below. I set it up to be for a wide variety of music and situations, consisting of my unique cascading circuit into a 6CA7 output section, using 1967 Bassman transformers, with tank reverb, all wedged into a 70's Princeton open-back cabinet with a 12" speaker. That would be 50w to 60w depending on the output tube selection, which can be 6L6, KT66, KT77, KT88, 6CA7, EL34 or 6550. Very pedal friendly and I run it on the edge of breakup.
I use it in two ways:
A.) Tiny gigs: the internal 8 ohm 12" with a reactive 8 ohm load in parallel, for 4 ohms load (what a '67 Bassman tranny wants to see)
B.) Bigger gigs: the internal 8 ohm coupled with the 4x10 80w closed-back cab, which contains (2) Weber Blue Pup 10" and (2) Weber 10A125.
The internal 12" speaker has always been the shortfall, especially when paired with the 4x10. It originally had a Pyle which in hindsight, was probably the best. Next was an12" EV-12L 8 ohm which spent 20 years in the amp and was very flat, but also too HiFi and rarely got used. For about a year, it has a 12" Celestion Classic Lead 80 8 ohm which is isn't warm enough, missing bass and way overpowering the 4x10.
Here is the deifying convention part. I tested Fender Eminence made Fender 12" 8 Ohm speaker (121042) that came stock in many 90's and 2000's amps, to which the internet poo-poos which leads to speaker swapping. So far the internet 'discard' sounds the best for just using internal or coupling with the 4x10. Alone, it covers the frequency range without sounding dull, the bass and trebles are lush and the mid is just present enough without sounding pokey. The speaker breaks up medium to late. The 4x10 is more scooped sounding and breaks early, which complements the Fender discard perfectly.
So now I am on the hunt for a 12" 8 ohm Fender brown sticker 121042.
The moral of this long tale: use your ears, listen to the internet with healthy skepticism, find out what you like and be happy with it even if it isn't the popular choice.
