Eminence Private Jack

well its a cool red color,and its 16ohms,great U.S.A quality not from china everyone know that! replacing a blue not so marvelous speaker on a peavey classic 30. awesome sounding amp!

The private jack is replacing a peavey blue marvel speaker on my Peavey classic 30 1x12. I think the blue marvel is a ok speaker but not something to brag about. the private jack on the other hand has some well balance definition I think this is a perfect match for the classic 30 specialy when playing blues,funk,rock,or harder heavier rock type which I play every weekend. when on the clean channel it kinda gives it a chime and sparkle on the 2 and 4 position on my phat strat type guitar.but not annoying,it has sweet highs,warm mids,not over powering its well controled.where as the blue not so marvelous speaker gives my clean channel a nasaly tone no matter what I do with the eq on the amp. Now when switching to the drive/distortion channel it has a massive sound and well balance of everything. the lows push tight and big but not a chunky metal type lows where it starts to fart out its there when you play chunky rythm but its not too pronounced. the mids are well balance and define,and I think this is the main strenght of the private jack which gives an amp a massive sound without disappearing in the mix. when my bass player who has a five string hits a lot of the low end I dont disappear anymore,and it does not make my amp sound nasaly anymore. this is a problem for the peavey classic series its an annoying nasaly mids. but the private jack holds its own extremely well on the mids,its nice and warm specialy at band volume levels where everything is crankin,it makes the amp sound massive on the drive/distortion channel,open chords and chunky rythm sound massive. I'm very impress with sound dispersion of the classic 30 1x12 with private jack speakers in them.its hard to believe that a change of speakers makes a huge difference in tone. and its second strenght is sweet high's not ear splitting high's. when playing solo's whether shred or albert king type it cuts and you will be heard. better have good chops cause these speaker will embarasse you if you aint got it!

eminence has a excellent track record. I'm a former amp/mixer tech for carvin and they check the boat loads of eminence before installing in the cabinets and there's only a 2% failure rate per every 200. 50% of the 2% failure rate is shipping damage. no worry's

very fast response and great guys to deal with!

overall a well balance speaker an all around,all season,all terrain for those low watt tube amps. now I know how great my peavey classic 30 sounds. now I wonder how my peavey classic 50 2x12 sounds with two Private Jacks....hummmm!wink wink

Basic 12" 8 ohm speaker.

This speaker replaces an Eminence Tonespotter which is a decent speaker, but not one I've grown fond of. I am using the PJ with a Cannibis Rex each in its own open back cabinet, but connected together in a 2X12 configuration running out of a 18 watt tube amplifier. Both my HB and single coil guitars sound great through these speakers.

I found the Tonespotter high end to be too brittle sounding while the Private Jack has a nice smooth tone with nice highs, but without the shrill. These two speakers complement each other well and sound great for just about any genre of music.

I have not reason to doubt the reliability of the speaker. Never had any issue with any Eminence speaker

I like the sound of this speaker and would even consider using two of them in a 2x12 cabinet as oppose to having mixed two different speakers. However, I like the more pronounced bass tone I get from the Cannibis in conjunction with this speaker. I think this speaker works well either in a 1x12 or 2x12 configuration.

One nice-touch feature is the rubber protecter surronding the ceramic magnet. The red paint is nice, too... The 50 watt rating is a plus if you're comparing it to a Greenback.

I'm using two of Jacks in a 2 x 12 Ampeg cabinet from their early 90's Lee Jackson line - nice desgn of medicre construction.

I play a ZZ-top meets Iggy and Stooges style of rock. The Jacks word really nice for this and will inhabit this cab for a while.

I've use this cab with two UK Vintage 30's, one UK Greenback with a Vintage 30, a Greenback with an Eminence Screamin' Eagle, and a Greenback with a Reverend AllTone 1250.

The Jack's have top-end definition like the Vintage 30 but are not harsh (like the V30). They have more definition than my UK Greenback but have similar mid-scoop characteristics. The low end response is similar to the Greenback, maybe a bit stronger but not by much.

Surprisingly, they sound a lot like the Screamin' Eagle, a speaker from Eminence's Jensen-like Patriot line.

The biggest difference to the Celestions is they're louder. This works well for me because my primary amp is a only 17 watts (EL84s).

Like most speakers, they need to be broken in.

I give them a 9 b/c they're balanced. They'd be perfect if they had *slightly* tighter, louder bass.

Eminence products are rated conservatively and stand up to abuse, period.

Eminence's product support people reply quickly. I've never had a warranty issue, though...

Excellent value. Balanced sound in the same league as a Greenback. Great, if you don't require a ton of bass.

12" speaker from the Red Coat (British-sounding) series, available in 8 or 16 ohms, with a medium/large 38 oz. magnet, 8 mounting holes, and a 50 Watt power rating. Moderately heavy doping. There are foam-rubber gaskets on the front and back of the speaker (for front- or rear-mounting) as well as a black rubber protector around the magnet. The bright red textured paint on the speaker frame is cool but screams "look at me."

I used this speaker in the Epiphone Valve Jr. 1x12 semi-open-back extension cabinet to replace the hard and punchy-sounding Lady Luck speaker--also an Eminence, but more cheaply built--that came in the cab. I mostly used the Valve Jr. 5-watt head with it, but would also run the cab from my Peavey TransTube Studio Pro solid-state combo for comparison. Guitars are a pretty standard setup Strat and Tele.

Extremely warm and full low end with transparent and clear bell-like mids and highs. Very musical, warm, and woody. The low end is so rich and full (keep in mind I'm using a mostly-closed open back 1x12 cabinet) that I'd swear I was hearing a 4x12. Like being surrounded by the sound, rather than the speaker aiming the sound at you. Eminence says it has a tight low end, which I disagree with, but it's not really uncontrolled or flabby. I'd simply say it's very open-sounding, not tight and focused.

It's supposed to be a Greenback clone, which it is but without any harshness of the Celestion re-issue version. It is vintage sounding, in fact when played clean it's almost reminiscent of an AlNiCo Blue. But with a good bit of distortion (classic rock, not nu-metal) it thickens up and leans toward the more modern Vintage 30 sound. Not quite versatile enough to tackle the California-clean Fender sound, but the Vox-type jangly cleans are outstanding. I would suggest checking this speaker out if you're looking at the Celestion G12H-30--same overall balance but the Private Jack doesn't get as much aggressive grind in the upper mids. A beautiful speaker for classic rock, blues, or down 'n' dirty southern rock.

The Patriot and Red Coat speakers seem to have very high quality and consistency across both lines. I've never experienced a problem with any of the Eminence speakers that I have/had.

Never needed to contact them about a problem, but I've emailed them a few times about product information and always received a prompt response.

I think this is a highly under-rated speaker and I sorely miss not having it anymore. (I sold the amp head and needed money more than an extra extension cabinet.) I really miss having those room-filling lows and rich warmth. I definitely plan to get another one in the future???in fact, I want to mix it with a Red Fang in an open-back 2x12 for the ultimate Vox/Bluesbreaker cabinet.

New in 2008, 12" British-voiced speaker, features per other reviews, and (if you're curious) per Eminece's very comprehensive website.

Music: Blues-based rock, forays into country-punk, played either clean or with an overdrive pedal. I installed this in a a Koch Studiotone (20-watt, 2x EL84, 1x12 combo) which has a 2-stage overdrive circuit plus a short-spring reverb tank.

The PJ's a pretty nice-looking unit, painted in a distinctive red with a Union Jack sticker over the magnet. Comes with a couple of novelty items -- two Union Jack picks, and an "Eminence Inside" plate which you can stick onto your amp if that sort of thing appeals to you. Other than that, it's a speaker.

I usually use single-coil pickups. One is a 1985-ish DiMarzio (maybe an old Fat Strat?) and the others include GFS Greybottoms and Vintage Overwound models. I have a J. Vaughn Strat loaded with the stock Tex-Mex p/u's, plus a medium output Stewart MacDonald Golden Age in the bridge. Most of these pickups are fairly hot (8.5-10k ohms) and can trend towards bright. I don't use pedals, but I will use the built-in extra gain-stage boost on the amp, on occasions when I want a more modern or heavy sound.

The Studiotone is extremely versatile by design; it's capable of producing tones which, depending upon the settings, can suggest Fender, Vox, and Marshall. After a couple of months, however, I decided that the speaker was not as good as the amp.

The stock VG12-60, built for Koch by SICA, was making my bridge pickups sound a little too bright on the clean channel and harsh / peaky / spitty on the overdriven settings. I wanted to smooth out all frequencies -- especially the highs -- and to hopefully bring out a bit more "chime" from the amp. The other pickups didn't sound as lively as they did through my Princeton Reverb, either, so I knew I was missing some of the Studiotone's versatility.

Installation was decidedly NOT a drop-fit; in fact, it was a bit of a bear. The screw holes and the frame diameter did not match (that's my fault for not measuring.) To make matters worse, the Koch is built like a brick shithouse. It has cages surrounding the tubes, threaded speaker bolts at 4 of the 8 screw positions, and speaker wires soldered onto the speaker lugs. Eventually I got the SICA out and the PJ in, and fired her up. By now I was REALLY hoping that I wouldn't need to go through another dissasembly / reassembly cycle.

Verdict: Pretty much did exactly what I wanted. Smooth across all frequencies, no peaky treble frequencies spiking through my skull, and a nice chime. The bass is a little softer than I'm used to (I'm more accustomed to American-voiced 6L6/6V6 tightness) but it's not
so soft as to be squishy, so it's a nice extra flavor. Played clean, the amp is now much more Vox-like than before. Overdriven, with the mid-frequency shift punched in, the amp suggests the old Marshall combo sound. And it still does the small-combo silverface Fender thing to some degree, without the unwanted glassiness.

The most impressive change I've noticed is the increase in overall smoothness. Playing with staggered single-coils, there will always be the issue of volume differences between adjacent strings, but this speaker / amp combination seems to compensate for that somewhat by eliminating harsh peaks which can make notes on the unwound strings leap out.

I should note (and this was totally unexpected) that he PJ makes the short-pan reverb on the Studiotone sound 100% better. Again because of the peaks in the old speaker, the reverb had sounded ringy and hashy before the swap. I had figured that it was just a typical small 'verb with a less-than-awesome circuit design. Now I can actually use the 'verb, and it's acceptably smooth. I hadn't even considered that possibility. Live and learn.

It's rated 50 watts, and I'm using it in a 20-watt combo which seldom gets cranked, so it should outlive me.

Never dealt w/ Eminence. I like the fact that they're building the stuff in the USA.

Whoever did their web page did a nice job; I've now made two well-informed replacement speaker choices by using the site's sound clip comparisons. Check it out.

I have more gear than I need, more than I want to admit to myself, and WAY more than I'd ever admit to my wife. I'm still learning as I go about how each component of the signal chain affects the others.

I've never used Celestions (I've been mainly a Fender amp guy for 30 years) so I can't make a comparison between the PJ and a Greenback. I will say, however, that the Private Jack is definitely a very good-sounding speaker in its own right. If you're considering a British-voiced speaker, it deserves at least a listen using Eminence's website sound clip page.

Overall, it was well worth the installation headaches; the amp has a whole lot more character now, for a modest $85.00 investment

A very solid value.

nothing really to add regarding "features."

Overall the Private Jack has a balanced sound. Nothing too dramatic about highs, lows, mids, etc. I use it in a 1x12 open back cabinet. Lows are punchy enough and not too loose, which makes it ok for open back cabs. In a closed back cab it would be tighter and punchier, at the expense of some highs and the even sound dispersement of the open back, but that's a whole other discussion.
Highs are smooth, it tamed the harsh nature of the lead channel of my amp. Mids are definitely there but it's not too thick sounding.
Breakup seems to be later than a greenback, but it does start to break up at band level volumes. I'm using it with a 35 watt Mesa Maverick head, so I'm not hitting it too hard (RMS rating is for 50 watts). Distortion and cleans are both nice.

Seems fine after about 6 months.

I bought the Private Jack used, though in the past I've contacted Eminence and they seem to be pretty responsive and professional.

I'm happy with it and it's going to stay in my cab. I prefer it over The Tonker, which had a bigger low end and thicker mids but also some harshness to the top end which I didn't care for. I recommend the Private Jack for guitarists who aren't going to use a ton of bass and distortion. It is suited for both open and closed back cabs. There's going to be some break-up too, which again may or may not be to your liking. It should be a fine speaker for blues, jazz, classic rock, etc. Not so much for metal though.

8ohms, Private Jack

I use the private jack mixed in a cabinate in an X pattern with 2 Governors these speakers arent quite as loud and cutting as the governors and used in this context they sit behind the governors slightly warming the sound up adding some nice compression due to them only being 50watts compared to the 75watt governors, this makes for a really great Brown Sound that has that squishy feel.

I've mic'ed up these speakers seperate to the Governors and they've got a really nice warm bite with plenty of sizzle in the high end I really like the sound of these.

I've been playing around 13 years, I've owned Celestion Vintage 30's G12T-75, G12T-100.. and the Red Coat series are fantastic.

If i lost my cab i'd replace it with the same speakers again.
I love the squishy slightly compressed sweet sounding high end and the way the low end responds tightly but still has this vintage "thud" that I really like on percussive lead playing and dynamics.

-About 3 months old
-16 ohm version 70Hz to 5.5kHz response and 38oz magnet
-rated at 50 watts power

Here's the basic personality of the private jack speaker.It has tight low end.Handles high gain/distortion really well.And perhaps does a better distortion sound than clean. The mids are focused and hte high end is bright.Brighter than the Governor but not grainy or harsh.It handles almost as much power as a Celestion V30 and only breaks up a little sooner

-I have played through greenback cabs as well as many other speakers/cabs. I can't say that the private jack sounds like a greenback.The PJ is its own thing. The private jack handles more power than a Celestion greenback and this makes a large difference in the perceived tone of the speaker.

- To me , the private jack actually is best described as a Eminence Governor that breaks up sooner and is brighter. And basically, the private jack is smoother than a greenback.The Private Jack doesnt' have the same rash sounding high end as the greenback

-My best advice for someone speaker shopping is to consider the wattage rating and basic tone.Then think about the cabinet it will be going into and if you need the cabinet for close micing or only for room sound

-The Private jack definitely has a british sound butis smoother than the Graanback and handles more power.The low end is very tight and the mids are controlled and the highs are bright but not grainy.This speaker is working well for me in my studio. I close mic it for recording. In a live scenario, the harsh greenback can actually sound nice once the sound diffuses out into the room or club's space.So you have to consider the way you use something as much as the actual product you use. Go with the private jack if you want more headroom and more smoothness.Go with the greenback if you want a raunchier tone, or need a brighter sound in a big room/venue

Seems to be solidly built and I have seen other eminence loaded cabs around that are still working after many years.

Eminence customer support responds ot emails adn phone calls.This is rare. And htey are willing to answer questions. I assume that they get hte same questions on a daily basis and seem to be patient in answering all of them. They also back their product very well.

-I have quite a few amps. I have a Mesa Mark 3 head, and a rack system with a Mesa Quad preamp, Mesa triaxis preamp, Suhr CAE 3+ se preamp and VHT 2502 power amp. Other units in the rack are Rocktron Guitar Silencer, Rocktron Intellifex,Sylsonic line mixer and Sylsonic Custom Power Supply.

-I have two Mesa 2x12 closed back recto cabinets and also have the Suhr CAA 2x12 cabinet.I am testing everything in the Suhr cabinet.the speaker is fairly well broken in as I bought it used. Still needs more break in I think.

-I can be reached through my website which is www.paulsecondino.com

About 9 months old.

50 watts. 16 ohm.

I have this in a 2x12 Combo with a Gorvernor.
They work well together. I also put it in my
1x12 cab & it sounds great. I know these are designed
to be like Greenbacks, I can't really tell since I
no longer have any Greenbacks.
They do Breakup early & the louder you drive them
the tighter they get. You can't say that about Greenbacks.

I'm sold on Eminence!

Great Support.

All my Cab's & Combo's have been switched from
Celestion to Eminence over the past Year. I bought
a pair of Governors & I was hooked.
Celestions are still great speakers, just not for me.
I got tired of V30's & Greenbacks Mids farting out.
And lacking definition in the Low-End.

I'm a Hard Rock, Punk Rock guy. I also like a nice round
warm tone from my speakers. If you're slightly unhappy with
your speakers make a change. There's a ton of info &
options out there.

Private Jacks are Great Speakers.

Basic Private Jack Speaker....It's Red!! You know the rest.

Mounted in a Mesa Boogie 22+ w/ JJ tubes. SOunds much smoother than the original Black shadow from Mesa. Straight bolt-in, installed in less than 10 minutes. Broke in gradually and after about 2 hrs tried a bit of volume. Clean is awesome...everywhere. Bass, mids, and highs; all shine w/ this spkr. Drive channel...just took some tweaking time. Everything you could want tonewise. Just play with the knobs until you get what you want...EXACTLY what you want! I use a Gibson 355 and a Boss OD-3 from time to time. Couldn't be more pleased....Can't help but wonder about how a Canabis Rex might sound....Hmmmm.

Really too soon to tell. Got the speaker from Bernie @ BLT; great help there. I really don't know what I would complain about.

see above...

Been playing a LOOOONG time (30+ years). I've used SS Marshalls for years w/ Celestions. This is kinda fun for me at this point. I've pared my axes down to just my 355 and a very few pedals (usually none), and a smaller amp (Mesa 22+). I'm really happy w/ my sound at present. This speaker was a great upgrade to the overall character of my little Mesa amp.