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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! > Kalamazoo II Speaker Recommendation
Kalamazoo II Speaker Recommendation
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Rhartt1234
154 posts
Nov 13, 2014
9:50 AM
So I've had a Kalamazoo II for years. I love it for guitar. It gives me that Tiny Grimes/Willie Johnson 'sploding amp sound. For harp it's little too distorted.

I swapped the stock speaker for the Fender Special Design that came in my Pro Jr. I thought the speaker would tame some of the distortion, which it did, but it also reminded me why I took it out of the Pro Jr. No character at all.

So what speakers do ya'll recommend?
barbequebob
2754 posts
Nov 13, 2014
10:04 AM
I've got a '95 Pro Junior that has the Eminence made blue alnico magnet speaker in mine. Does the one you have got the flat, pancake shaped ceramic magnet in it? (Don't care for the ceramic magnet version as much).

I happen to own a '48 Sears Silvertone amp with a similar thing happening (get me a guitar tuned to open D and you've got instant Hound Dog Taylor super dirt, but way too much for harp) and what I found worked with that amp was an older JT30 mic that had either an MC-101 crystal or MC-126 ceramic element in them and unlike their respective MC-151 and MC-127 counterparts that are highly prized (and I've got both of those as well as the other two) is that the big difference is that the last two do NOT have a midrange presence rise at all, or as quoting a listing from a page in a'50's Astatic catolog, "substantially flat," which works perfectly with amps like that and having a midrange presence rise in those amps are often way too much, so you may want to consider that before swapping out speakers.
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Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
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chromaticblues
1623 posts
Nov 13, 2014
11:06 AM
Ryan I think one of the problems is the preamp tube(if it is the original 12ax7) is to powerful when used with a HI Z mic. I don't remember the tube number that I use. It is a low noise version of a 12dw7(I think).
The first half is a 12ax7 and the second half is a 12au7.
I can turn it up to 4 before it starts getting thick sounding and distorts nicely at 5. It's just more harp user friendly.
Now yes the original speakers suck! Nor do I like ANY new speakers. I played the Ebay game until I won. Wasn't an easy battle!
Ryan if you would like your more than welcome to try my Kalamazoo out. Then you can hear the difference for yourself! Contact me off forum if you'd like to try it. I live in the great state of RI!
Joe_L
2542 posts
Nov 13, 2014
11:11 AM
I had one of those ceramic speakers in my Pro Jr. I swapped it out with an Alnico Weber Sig 10, which was pretty inexpensive. It was a tonal upgrade, but it didn't seem as loud. So, I swapped it with a vintage series Weber 10A125-O. It was a massive upgrade. I would try those, but I would also ask Greg Heumann his thoughts. I suspect he has tried several speakers in Kalamazoo amps over the years.

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Rhartt1234
155 posts
Nov 13, 2014
11:53 AM
Greg's website recommends the Jensen C10R, which at about $50.00 certainly seems reasonable.
harpwrench
934 posts
Nov 13, 2014
12:00 PM
Sonny Jr advised a long time ago when I bought mine, stock speaker is best match for the OT, use a 12AT tube to tame it. Still running it like that.
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High performance harmonicas.
LSC
693 posts
Nov 13, 2014
2:26 PM
I ran a Weber 10a100 in mine for a long time. I found the amp was louder, had a warmer break up, and the quality of the crunch and the overall sound was....well, more quality.
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LSC
JTThirty
257 posts
Nov 13, 2014
3:22 PM
I bought a Kalamazoo I from Sonny Jr years back. He put the Jensen C10R in it, which kicks butt. As a side note: The amp arrived with a cracked baffle board (surely UPS stupidity, because it was packed well). I contacted Sonny Jr and he yanked a baffle board from another 'Zoo and over nighted it to me. I'll always admire that move.
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Ricky B
http://www.bushdogblues.blogspot.com
RIVER BOTTOM BLUES--crime novel for blues fans available at Amazon/B&N and my blog
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hvyj
2583 posts
Nov 13, 2014
6:40 PM
Don't know much about speakers and don't know anything about Kalamazoo amps. But HEMP cone speakers take the edge off treble harshness and generally smooth out, thicken and darken the tone. Weber makes them in several models. It does take them a little while to break in completely. But it may do just what you are after.
blueswannabe
525 posts
Nov 13, 2014
7:51 PM
Personally, I would not go with the eminence I'll buddy in the Kalamazoo. Although it's a great speaker for harp, the amp won't have the same original character. I have tried the eminence legend 1028k Which is similar to the original speaker with more bass. I would also consider an old vintage smooth cone speaker like a Jensen p10s (which is in my Kalamazoo) or a Rola or some other old speaker out of a stereo cabiner, like a magnavox. That will give you the break up that you want for the zoo

Last Edited by blueswannabe on Nov 13, 2014 8:06 PM
chromaticblues
1626 posts
Nov 14, 2014
7:10 AM
Bingo!
blueswannabe hit the nail on the head!
The last sentence of his post is what I found to be the case. Of course I bought more speakers than I care to admit before I stumbled on to the stereo cabinet thing.
I always thought those big speakers in the bottom of 50's and 60's stereo cabs were woofers. We'll what they thought was a woofer and what woofers are today are very different.
It's a stab in the dark sometimes, but worth the effort because they aren't selling for collector guitar amp speaker prices!
Greg Heumann
2875 posts
Nov 15, 2014
9:02 AM
Here's a Kalamazoo Tip re: "As a side note: The amp arrived with a cracked baffle board"

Whenever I buy a Zoo, I provide the shipper with very explicit packing instructions. One of the most important things is to ship the amp FACE DOWN. The most vulnerable part is the speaker baffle board. This way the shock of an innocent drop is spread around the baffle board - otherwise it is focused on the 4 speaker mounting screws and will crack the baffle board at those spots.
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***************************************************
/Greg

BlowsMeAway Productions
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Barley Nectar
569 posts
Nov 15, 2014
10:26 AM
Hmmm, good tip Greg. Thanks...Goose
harpoon_man
82 posts
Nov 15, 2014
6:50 PM
Awhile back, I tried a few different replacement speakers in my Heumann Kalamazoo Model 1: Jensen Jet Tornado; Eminence 1028k; Weber 10A125O with H dustcap. The Weber was the best of the bunch to my ears, with nice bottom end and very musical-sounding, especially on chords and double-stops. The Eminence was okay, but less musical and a bit spiky at the upper end of the mid-range.

The Kalamazoo also sounds great with my Squeal Killer, btw. Not that it needs the SK for feedback, it just adds some punch to the attack and additional beef to the tone.


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