The 6 Best Guitar Amp Speakers (2023)
The quality of your guitar amp speakers can have a big impact on your sound. If you’re looking for either a replacement or an upgrade, this list is for you.
If you’re a professional guitarist or a passionate enthusiast, you’ll know that choosing the right speaker for your amp can drastically change the sound outcome you get when you play on it.
In this article, we’re going to present to you our pick of the 6 best guitar amp speakers. In this list, we have included different sizes, materials, and power, so there should be something for almost everyone!
The 6 Best Guitar Amp Speakers – Our Round-Up
1. Celestion Vintage 30
Celestion is one of the most famous and revered amp speaker manufacturers in the world. This British company has been, together with Marshall, at a cornerstone of the British rock sound that took over the world. And up to today, they have remained at that exact spot.
Celestion Vintage 30 is the reimagined version of the iconic Celestion Blue speaker from the ’60s. The company used a process called Laser Doppler Interferometry to scan the original speaker and recreate it as closely as possible, but with modern materials.
And so, we have this 12” speaker in front of us. Vintage 30 has a power rating of 60W, meaning that you can use it in bigger cabinets and comfortably play it for smaller gigs and clubs. It has a 16 Ohm impedance, which will save you power, but also give you a cleaner, crisper sound like the outcome.
The price on this item is a bit higher, but with it, you’re getting one of the best speakers on the market and in the history of rock music, which is not a small feat.
2. Eminence Ragin Cajun Patriot Series 10″ 75-Watt Replacement Guitar Speaker 8 Ohm
Eminence Ragin Cajun is a sweet, 10” guitar amp speaker that will give you the classic American southern sound. It has a maximum output of 75W, an impedance of 8 Ohms, and weighs 6.4 pounds, so it won’t be too much hassle to take it with you.
As for the sound it produces, you can expect to hear the perfect low-end, chunky, gritty sound, which is perfect for jazz, blues, and country music. It covers all of the range with just enough dirt so you can get the most out of your guitar but still get that dirty sound whenever you want it. As for the price, it’s really affordable for the quality of the sound it puts out.
3. Eminence 820H Patriot Series
Even though speakers are usually 10” or 12” in size, here we have an 8” speaker. Eminence 820H is part of the Eminence Patriot series and, as such, will always provide you with a smooth, American sound. It has a 4 Ohm impedance, so it’s on the lower end of the scale and has a 20-watt power limit. This makes it a perfect speaker for your practice amp, but it won’t take you much further since it won’t have enough power other than to play in really small rooms for a select number of people. Pricewise, this is a cheap way to get that quality sound when you’re practicing (or recording) at home.
4. Eminence Swamp Thang Patriot Series
And now to move on to one of the most played speakers and one of the leaders of the high-end category. Eminence Swamp Thang is a 12”, 150-watt speaker with 8 Ohm impedance. This big baby will have enough power to put you through any gig you might have and still enough delicacy to catch every nuance of your guitar playing style.
The sound coming off this thing is a low-ended, fat, American-styled sound (as all Eminence speakers have), but it will give you enough mid and high tones to clearly cut through the noise of the rest of the band. This is a professional, high-end speaker with a price tag to match that as well.
5. Celestion G12H-75 Creamback
This is another reinvented version of the iconic Celestion speakers from the past. G12-H is an updated version of the G12-M Greenback speaker, which was one of the most used in the British music industry in the ‘60s and ‘70s. This one comes with a 12” diameter, 8 Ohm impedance, and 75-Watt power limit. This ensures that you get a thick bass sound that will give you the depth and power you want for your rock music, with resonance starting from 70Hz. Pricewise it’s in the upper mid-range class, so you won’t need tons of money for it.
6. Electro-Voice EVM12L
We finish off this list with a high-end, high-quality speaker. EVM12L is a top-of-the-line product that is being used by many world-known musicians for their stadium concerts and endless tours. This is a 12”, 8 Ohm speaker with resonance going from 80Hz to 7kHz, giving you all the range you might need. It’s sturdy and high-quality, made for long hauls and transport every other night. But you should expect to pay a high price for this kind of quality.
How to choose a speaker?
When you’re looking to buy a new guitar speaker, there are several different things you want to check before you make your buy.
First off, check the power output of your amp (measured in Watts, 20, 60, 75, etc.) and get a speaker with a matching limit to get the best performance.
Secondly, beware of the impedance of your speaker and the effects it’s going to have on your amp and the sound it creates. Impedance is measured in Ohms and usually ranges from 4 to 16. This is important because impedance controls how much power your amp is going to consume, so the lower the impedance, the higher the power consumption is. You should never go below 4 Ohms, as that will burn your amp. Also, beware of the way you combine several speakers (if you have them), as that can also easily lower your impedance and let electricity fry your amp and/or speakers.
Also, note that the sound from the speakers differs compared to the size of the speaker. So, 12” speakers will give you a cleaner sound, while 10” or smaller will give you a dirtier and more bass-fueled sound when playing.
Conclusion
We hope that this article has helped you learn something new about replacement guitar speakers and the effect that they have on the sound your amp is producing when you play. Pick carefully and before you buy, make sure that the new speaker is compatible with your amp cabinet. Then, you can enter a whole new world of sound improvement for not much money at all.
Featured image by: Oldangelmidnight from Northampton, MA / CC BY-SA
