Eminence Red Fang

38 oz. ALNiCO magnet 12" speaker. It came with a Headstrong cabinet I bought from Mass Music. Pleasant surprise.

I have used ALNiCo magnet speakers for 50 years, in all of my amps, both combos and heads/cabs. I play blues/jazz through semi hollow guitars and blackface amps, and have favored the Weber Vintage 12A150A ALNiCO speaker for many years. I was really surprised that Red Fang sounds equally as good as the Weber. The compression, lows, mids and highs are all great. ALNiCO magnets work really well with darker sounding semi hollow guitars, PAF pups, great for more melodic music, i.e. old R&B, Chicago blues, etc. Ceramic speakers are much brighter, have less compression, different than ALNiCO. ALNiCO speakers cost $100 more minimum per speaker due to cost of cobalt in the magnets.

Great speaker, wonderful tones.

It's got an alnico magnet and has a power rating of 30W. Nowadays you may receive a 50W version. Mine is 16 Ohms.

I'm using this speaker replacing a Wharfedale GSH1230 speaker in a Vox AC15 CC. My complaints about that speaker were that it sounded shrill and thin and that it missed bass, especially when overdriven or distorted. It didn't keep the sound tight and it suffered from adding notes (which is referred to as cone cry?).

Since I replaced it with the Eminence speaker my Vox sounds warmer in general and it has more bass - not a tight bass though, so it won't work for metal, but that's not my style anyway. It has more top end, but not in a bad, icepick, shrill way. The top end is smooth and warm as it should be. Of course it also has this typical midrange, well known for British style speakers. It sounds very natural and it seems to keep more control than the Wharfedale. And this speaker still has to break in! So the sound only gets better!

The alnico magnet makes two things happen: first of all you have a natural compression. It is not bad, because it's a very useful compression that adds to the sound quality. The second thing is that the speaker breaks up quite quickly, which makes it work well in overdrive, but also clean it makes wonders with this small edge of breakup. This is not a sterile speaker that keeps things perfectly clean.

And a third remark on this speaker is that is very loud! I measured the speakers' loudness at a distance of half a metre (+/- 1.5 feet)with both the master and top boost volume entirely opened.The Wharfedale had about 96 dB, while this Red Fang produces 113 dB at the same distance! This means that my small 18 Watts amp produces lots of dB's now!

Overall the sound is great! It makes my Vox AC15 CC sound more like a... Vox, if that makes any sense. It sounds more like it should and I really like this amp. It works well with the styles of music I play (Blues, some Hendrix up to some hard rock). This is the sound I wished for and a simple speaker replacement did miracles!

It seems to be made very well! Although there's one concern for all speakers with an Alnico magnet: you mustn't bump or drop the speaker as the alnico magnet will lose it's strength. This is a natural property of alnico magnets. You won't have that disadvantage with ceramics, but on the other hand alnico's sound so much sweeter!

I've heard some pretty good things about Eminence, but I can't tell yet.

Considering the fact that it costs only half the price of a Celestion Alnico Blue and that it sounds as good as an Alnico Blue (of course there are differences in sound between these two, and I seem to like the Red Fang better) it is great value for money! If this speaker got broken or lost (???) I would buy it again immediately!

I recommend this speaker to everyone that owns a Vox and everyone that is looking for that Vintage British sound. It is a great upgrade for people with low wattage amps, since it will make your amp noticably louder and it will make it sound sweater.

30 watt, alnico magnet guitar amp speaker.

This speaker turned my amp (Peavey Classic 50 tweed) into the best sounding amplifier it could possible be. And straight out of the box it sounded like magic. The frequency response is almost identical to the celestion blue that it was modeled on. And it sounds very close. It has a very colourful bass tone with no distortion in that range at higher volumes. The highs are the way they should be, shimmering but never harsh. It sounds like you are running a valve studio compressor, its so easy to listen to. I was beginning to think I would never find the sound I hear in my head, and now I have it. It retains the same clarity using a lot of fx as well.

Running it with my 50watt valve amp driving it hard most of the time. Its only rated at 30watts but still no probs.

NA

Been playing over 20 years, main guitar les paul/busrtbucker pros amp peavey classic 50. Would love to hear a quad loaded with these. I can't praise them enough. If you want that tone you hear in your head. But if you are not sure if it really will make much difference to your sound for the money. Don't hesitate a moment longer. You won't be dissappointed.

It is a 30 watt speaker made my Eminence. It is manufactured in the USA. It is painted red. It also has red protection cap over the alnico magnet, glued on so that it won't rattle at all like some of the caps Celestion has been slapping on their new reissue speakers (blue, g12h greenback). Other than that, it looks like a normal guitar speaker.

The sound/tone is absolutely awesome, but be prepared to work for it. When you first get this speaker it sounds awful/ugly. A lot of this is due to the extremeness of the paper cone being so stiff, and it really does need to get broke in before you can unleash the tone. For those who don't know this, almost every guitar speaker you buy brand new will sound like crap before you break them in. It's just that simple. Exercise the living hell out of them; they can take the abuse. It took me about 25 to 30 hrs before it started to smooth out, and start kicking ass. This breaking in time period is where most people give up on the speaker they have, and then post horrible reviews over what ever speaker they selected. Acquire some patience, extensively exercise the speaker by playing it at loud to medium volume levels, and you will be rewarded with the tone it is meant to unleash.

With that being said, once you break it you will love the tone it produces. It is suppose to be Eminence's version of a Celestion Blue. Truthfully I think they both sound great with slight sound differences being in each speaker, expect the RED FANG cost about half of its competitor, and the Celestion Blues protective magnet cap is secured on poorly and (unless you are lucky) will noticeably rattle when you play. The Red Fang is solidly constructed (no rattling), and I think it is a superior speaker to Celstions Reissue Blue.

For the abuse that I've thrown at these speakers they still play great, and get the job done for me at the end of the night when the last drunk is being escorted out of the bar. I've never spilt anything on them, but they have been in rooms filled with cigarette smoke (barrooms) and still sound phenomenal.

I have never had to deal with them. The speaker has been that reliable for me.

It is a fantastic speaker, just break it in and you will not be disappointed.

I run 2 of these speakers in a Marshall JCM2000 TSL 602 combo amplifier.

I got www.musiciansfriend.com to do a price match for me that one of it's internet competitors was running for $83.00. I ended up getting 2 of these for under the normal price of just one of these speakers.

Red Fang Speakers (a pair) abt 100 Euros each.
For my old VOX AC30 69er. I took the silverbulls out to keep them save.
For gigging a replaced them with a pair of RedFangs.

the RF are very close to the silvers a had. But more louder and directer. They have everything of the silvers but not the sweetness of 'em. This may take a while as they are not totally broken-in.

Cannot say until they are fine.

well I wd not give a 10 but a 9. This is really a good replacement for the original ones. I also had a mix of Vintage 30 and REDFANG in my vox. This sounded also very nice, but I wanted a pair of RFs.
The Vintage 30 alone is missing clearness and sparkle. But has more low-mids and power bottom end. But tone is not as rich and colorful as the RF and the Silvers. A mix of 1 Silver and 1 RF was not such big thing because of the difference in loudness.
Yes I wd buy that RFs again.

This is a 12 inch 16ohm guitar speaker. Red finish. What other features does a speaker have?

Put this speaker into a Peavey Valve King 1x12 combo amp. Amp puts out 50 watts rms in class ab mode. It puts out approximatley 20 watts rms in straight class a mode. This is set by the texture control on the back of the amp. This is important because the speaker is rated for 30 watts rms.(don't want to blow the voice coil).
The only other modifications to the Valve King are the preamp and power amp tubes. I use Tungsol 12ax7 for the preamps and Ruby 6L6GCMSTR for the power amp.

First of all let me say this speaker is very loud in this setup. Eminence rates the speaker at 103db 1 watt 1 meter. Although I have heard others question this I believe it. The speaker is that loud.

Even though it is not completely broken in this speaker sounds very good. Nice breakup. Still retains clarity when over driven. Played it with a 4 piece band in an empty 300+ seat auditorium. Set volume on 4 on the clean channel with the bass at 8 and mid and trebel at 4 this thing filled the room with vintage sound. Lots of top end sparkle without any of the painful spikes.

30 watt rms speaker in a 50 watt amp. Be very careful not to fry the voice coil. For vintage rock, jazz or country this works great. Works great for classic rock but if you use a big head you might want 4 of these in the cab. Well built. I doubt if I will be able to break it.

Have had very good luck with Eminence.

Eminence is great. Every time I have called with a question they have either been available right away or they have called me back very quickly. I am impressed. Eminence is the only manufacturer I know of who does this. Along with the great speakers it makes for a very satisfied loyal customer.

Warranty is 7 year parts and labor. I don't believe this covers abuse of the product. Respect the ratings.

I have been playing for over 30 years. I have several different amps for different uses. I also have a number of different guitars. I lean toward the Gibson/Epiphone camp.

If this rig were lost or stolen I would definatley replace it. It sound that good.

I also have a Cannibus Rex and a Red Ryder in a different amp. I like them also.

Compared to the original Valve King speaker Red Fang takes the Valve King 1x12 from a Very Good Tube Amp to a great Tube Amp.

Compared to the Texas Heat I tried prior to the Red Fang I am finding a lot more clarity and a more vintage sound.

British cone, alnico magnet, and cool red paint

I bought an Allen Accomplice about a year ago, and have been trying to find a good speaker for it. So far, I've tried a V30, Cannabis Rex, Texas Heat, Legend GB12, Private Jack, CTS Alnico, and a Rola Alnico (both with small magnets). I liked all of them except the PJ (harsh)and the two older Alnico's(way too thin). I was a little hesitant about getting this speaker because of the 30 watts and the fact that a lot of people said that it broke up "too early" or "too much". Well, not only is it rated for 60 watts peak, it sounds like a dream with my amp turned up high (still clean). Balanced, clear, precise, articulate, and it's not even broken in yet! I have never played a C Blue, but this speaker kills everything listed above. Great efficiency (103db LOUD), which is awesome for low wattage amps.

There are a few ceramics listed above that break up before this speaker. If you're thinking about getting it, don't let that throw you off. This is a great speaker!

Looks sturdy

I assume it's top notch

Best bang for the buck out there. I wanted to try a Weber Blue Dog too , but it was $50 more expensive. I wanted to be sure that I liked this type of speaker before spending $175 on one. I don't think I'll be removing this one from my combo any time soon.

Bell cover is not removable and sticks out a bit. Barely fits in my Tweed deluxe clone. Measure your amp before you buy one.

GREAT speaker. Vintage alnico compression with a twist. This speaker is incredibly loud (103db efficiency). It also has a nice voice. Holds togther a LITTLE longer than some of the other lower power offerings. TINY bit of Brit flavor but not so heavy on upper mids like some others. Just a very smooth and balanced spkr to my ear. I replaced a Weber Sig 12S alnico in my Tweed Deluxe clone and couldn't be happier. The 20 watt (?) Sig was busting up too soon and was very bright. The Fang is warmer and holds together just right in this amp. Been afraid to run it off my 40 watt Super so I can't comment authoritatively on clean sounds at stage volume, but sounds reeeeeal good and 3-D for as long as my lil tweedy stays clean. Only give it a 9 in lieu of 10 cause I'm way stingy... :-)

Driven it hard w/ no problems/

Been playing 35+ years. Love my '72 F T-Line to death do us part.

The Red fang differs structurally from the archetype Celestion Blue with just about everything except the cone,dust cap and possibly the spider.These sport as 35 oz alnico magnet to the Blue's 40,a different basket of thinner stock to the Blue's more robust basket( the Red fang basket seems robust enough tho),foam gasket(as apposed to the pressed paper of the Blue)The Red Fang.

None of this is a surprize concidering the price discrepancy.35 oz of alnico on a speaker that cost me $109 plus $8 shipping.I was however concerned with the fact that of the two new Red Fangs that I ordered together that there existed a non trivial difference to the speakers apparent resonance.Out of the boxs one speaker resonated (to the tap of the cone) right around the same pitch where my Greenback(same cone) resonates,The other Red fang was substancially lower in resonance.However they are not broken in yet nor do I know how consistent any given speaker model can be expected to respond out of the box and before broken in.I was a little disapointed at the somewhat poor red finish and the apparent glitches in the finish that looked unprofessionally retouched(looked like sloppy fingernail polish almost)on one of the speakers.It looks as if eminence painted over already black baskets to the red finish that fails to adequately mask the basket's original black finish.Again,the Blue tone at less than half the price...can't complain too much

I play strats/single coils through a Tophat Vibratrem.The Vibratrem is a Vox style 2-el84 based non master volume amp that requires pushing the power tubes to yeild it's Vox/roots rock type of crunch.The speaker receives a workout!
Ok,I have only tested one red fang so far(the unit similar in free air resonance to the greenback) in the same Tophat amp combo and having owned a Celstion Blue I can say it is in the park tonally.The Red fang I tried sounded a little more crisp out of the box than I recall over the Blue yet the lower treble(2-5 khz) response seemed a bit more subdued in the red fang to the Blue's prominent lower treble spike.Sometimes the blue sounded TOO spikey in the lower treble region.The red fang seems slightly more balanced and slightly more full range.I'm quite happy overall tonally with the RED fang but then again the Blue had a zone of usable looseness in the low end that I've not found in any other speaker,a tonally dynamic/touch sensitive looseness that was pleasing and added complexity to the tone.It really spit the notes out at you when pushed...sounded 3 dimensional.Th red fang possesed some of that low end complexity however in all fairness to the red fang some of that low end complexity my amp had with the Blue likely stemmed from having more sag in the power supply since my power filtering in the amp is slightly beefed up now(the amp stays a bit tighter now).The greenback in that amp did not offer the low end complexity of the Blue with the original filter caps so I guestimate that the red fang occupies the intermediate zone in complexity,again I estimate this.Take it for what it's worth.

Overall I am quite happy with the tone of this speaker and it does offer that tonally dynamic alnico compression quality.It is not overly spiky in the lower treble like I suspected it may be.It is jangly and thick sounding,it crunches up nicely when pushed too.I'll give it a 9 because I don't hand out tens so loosely.

not sure

N/A yet

I think Eminence could have been a bit more quality consious ashtetically,make that *deffinitely* more quality consious asthetically.However I am quite happy with how it *sounds* though,they delivered really nice tone for the money and that carries more weight with me me.I'll give it a nine because although the quality to detail suffers the value in price earns a solid ten.The speaker is a great alternative to the Blue and so much cheaper!

This is a follow up review for the Red Fang Eminence speaker. You by now know the features.

I wound up getting two more Red Fangs since the last review, and have given each a thorough breaking in. That in itself is a testimony. I use each of the 3 in its own 1x12 cab, to avoid frequency cancelling harmonics. Let me conclude some bottom lines, all of course just my opinion:

These speakers are well rounded for quite a few applications. Clean, they have a nice hint-o-hair on the edges, especially in position 2 and 4 on my Ernie Ball Silhouette Special. This works well for my amps, since they all have that Voxy vibe to them. Through the drive channel, they are creamy and rich, great for leads when driven through either single or bucker pickups.

You've already read about compression of these speakers, and they do compress quite a lot. So, for high gain modern rock, they would be too slow and mushy, especially at high volumes. But for blues, country, modern country, funk, classic rock, they, imo, are incredibly nice sounding. Nothing does everything, but these speakers can fill a number of great applications, and do it in stellar style.

Looks solid.

How to give any speaker a 10 rating? No can do. Each does something unique. These are no exception. But I'll just say that I'm very pleased with what these speakers are capable of doing. I love playing through them.