In praise of the laney cub 12

Dave_Mc

Teetonetal said:

Trouble is swapping speakers is like changing pickups unless you do it you have no idea if it works or not.

Yeah definitely. There's only so much research you can do before you basically have to bite the bullet and take a chance.

dhaywood67

See, now after all these glowing comments I'm wondering if I should consider one of these rather than trying get a Marshall SL5! I could buy one new and swap the speaker for less than a second hand SL5. Out of interest would it suit a Greenback as I think I'd prefer a less modern sound than the V?

Fuzzdog

I'm a big fan of Laneys - used to gig with a VC30 for ages, got an LC50 now which isn't the most amazing sounding amp in the universe, but it never fails to sound good in pretty much any situation and just keeps on working.

ICBM

Teetonetal said:

Agreed the stock speaker in the cub 12 is a rocket 50 I think. It's dreadful. Harsh in the clean and very fizzy in the distortion.

Trouble is swapping speakers is like changing pickups unless you do it you have no idea if it works or not.

If the stock speaker is a Rocket 50 it *always* works.

dhaywood67 said:

Out of interest would it suit a Greenback as I think I'd prefer a less modern sound than the V?

Yes.

simonk

I tried a few speakers in mine when I had one: a Cannabis Rex - too dark, V30 - a bit 'shouty' (upper mids emphasis plus the small, cheap cabinet didn't work for me), G12M Greenback - suited the amp nicely. Great little amp for the money, I think I payed 120 quid for mine and sold it to a mate for the same. He's now stuck a WGS speaker in it, a green beret I think, and loves it.

My only word of caution though would be about weight: with the Rex and certainly the V30 I noticed with some discomfort the rubber handle flexing wildly as I carried it about. If I still had it I think I'd stick a, frankly superb, Jensen Neo Tornado in.

Sarge

Sorry for the brief hijack OP,
I have a Celestion g10n w 40w in the lc15-110 and while it sounds good to me, there's a worm in my head that's asking if it could sound better with a different speaker.
Anyone know this speaker and recommend something else in 10"?

ICBM

It's not a bad speaker, but I think the G10 Greenback would be better in that amp.

Sarge

Thanks @ICBM
The frequency graph of both speakers look not too dissimilar, though the greenback being 20w (mine is 40w) would this be quieter and give more or less clean headroom?

ICBM

The frequency graphs don't mean much other than to give a general ballpark - the difference is that the Greenback has a more complex, richer and more 'vintage' sound. The G10N is a good speaker too but is tighter, cleaner and more 'modern'. They're about the same sensitivity (ie volume).

Sarge

Got ya, thanks @ICBM
I think it's a case of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"  I really like what I have but just curious to see if it could be "better"


As you were OP:)

dogload

Another +1 for the Cub.

I've got the head and cab mini-stack version, although I am running the amp through a home-made Ashdown cab with two Celestion V30s in it which is much meatier than the supplied speakers. That said, the original cab does sound pretty good to my ears. But yeah, it is a wonderful little amp - as has been mentioned it has a lovely 'on the edge' clean sound.

dhaywood67

So, 12 or 12R? Is it worth the extra for the reverb?

fnpt

Reverb is nothing special but does ad some extra dimension to the sound. I think it's worth it.

fnpt

What speaker impedance will match the amp?

ICBM

fnpt said:

Reverb is nothing special but does ad some extra dimension to the sound. I think it's worth it.

It's also a digital, which these days I think is better than a cheap spring - it sounds at least as good and doesn't tend to break.

fnpt

If it is this simple, I think I'll have a go:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u32N272kkD4

Teetonetal

I went for no reverb. It's cheaper and has a loop so I just use my existing pedal.

If you don't have a pedal then it's worth it.

Stock speaker is different in the cub 12 I think?

fnpt

Well, having ordered from Thomann a celestion greenback, I decided to record my stock Laney Cub 12 before the swap to have a reference point. It actually sounds pretty good in the mix if I say so myself.

Recorded at TV volume levels (you can hear the pic attack at some parts). Sorry for the low quality, I didn't use headphones so the recording bled from the monitors into the mic:

https://soundcloud.com/fnpt/alright-nowlaney

Voxman

I think Laney's are massively under-rated amps.  I have two - a Cub 12R and a VC30-210.

The Cub is a cracking little amp. The new Cub 12R has an HH speaker which is much better than the dreadful cheap Celestion Rocket 50 that came with my earlier version.  I play a lot of classic rock & blues and changed the speaker for a Celestion Vintage 30, which gives it a really good raunchy tone and takes it from 95 to 100 db which really ups the volume making the 15w Cub nearer the volume of a 25w amp.  Mine came with stock Chinese Ruby tubes that really didn't help the amp deliver its potential. So, I put in a full set of JJ HRX hand-tested premium selected tubes, with balanced power-tubes, giving way warmer musical tone with a nice glassy clean, with more brightness, much better tonal definition, and even a tad more volume.  Interestingly, and for reasons I don't understand, although the reverb is digital and not valve driven spring reverb it now sounds so much better and more natural with greater range - it's weird but true (and not placebo I promise you!).  The amp is so good now that I actually enjoy playing it straight with no extra effects.  And through a 4x12 cab it just sounds HUGE!  And its an extra for an amp at this price point to have 8/16 Ohm external speaker capability, serial FX loop, built in lead with a nice tie-back (so no fear of forgetting a kettle lead!), a good sounding digital reverb, and even a nifty little tilt-stand built in.  

My VC30-210 is just lovely - it has 2x10" Jensen C10Q16 speakers as stock which are really good. Sometimes (but IMHO unfairly) referred to as the 'poor man's AC30, the VC30 has a wonderful tone all its own. The only mod I've done to mine is to put a Russian Electroharmonix in V1 (or was it V2? - can't remember) which gives it a much crunchier distortion that makes it a bit more 'Marshally'.  It has a nice Acutronics spring-reverb (newer versions are digital), parallel FX loop, and 8/4 Ohm switching for extension speakers.  I chose the 210 rather than the 212 because it was smaller and lighter, and because I wanted a change from 2x12 tone - the 2 x 10's give a slightly toppier and a more vintage tone that I really like, and which really cuts through the mix well - and the tone from this mini-stack combination is seriously good, with more than enough volume for gigging even as pure back-line. To make up for the slight loss in bottom end I have the matching 1x12 GS112VE cab with a Celestion Seventy Eighty which is a decent enough speaker that's given me no real need to change it.  The speaker input options mean I can go 1x12, 2x10, or both together - and I even have another 2x12 cab if I wanted more options. The VC30 gives lovely glassy cleans, it's loud as hell, and has a really nice distortion with its own character that is somewhere between Vox/Marshall.  And weighing only 48lbs, it's pretty kind to my ageing back too. 

fnpt

Ordered the green back celestion on the 23rd of December from Thomann, arrived today. Yep, you can always count on the Portuguese mail for a speedy service. And you guys complain when it takes more than 2-3 days to get your stuff delivered 

Anyway, I'll try to install it this week and make another clip to see if there are any audible differences.