Jensen C12N

features? well, it has tinted glass, 8-track cassettes, and a four barrel. oh! you mean the speakers! they are powder black with an ugly logo sticker on the back. oddly, the sticker does not say 'c12n'. you gotta look on the frame to see that and the '8 ohm' lettering. they're heavy enought to feel solid but not heavy enough to make you say 'dayum!"
i can't rate this category because its a speaker - like all speakers. the only kewl speakers i've seen are the jbl's with their satin silver cone covers that lotsa people take off anyway to warm them up. at least that's what i read they do. i dunno because i was tempted to buy them in the seventies, but they were too pricdy, even back then.

i bought a pair of c12n's to replace the speakers in my 65 twin reverb - yes, i had the amp since new.
sound? they're bright as hell and very 'fendery' sounding. it took me back to when i bought the amp new. i'd call it the 'classic fender sound'. if an alien from another planet wanted to hear an american guitar sound, i'd play him my twin with the jensens.
it holds up well at high volume. the clear sound remains clear. i'd love to try a telecaster thru the amp. it would sound so authentic country that i'd prolly wanna buy grits.

i dropped the jensens into my twin and took it to a gig. i brought along a crate amp as back up - just in case. i didnt have to worry. the jensens did their job. they sounded just like in my house - only loud as hell.

i hope they don't blow up like the original jensens in the sixties did. back then, jensen gave great customer support. they replaced my speakers free under warranty - even though i played really loud back then. yea, i remember the sixties.

jeez - seems like all my ratings are eights. in 40 years i'll tell ya about reliability.
overall rating is 8.
i'd love to pair one of these with a celestion like someone said in this forum. maybe one day i'll pull out one jensen and drop in an old University speaker i have. (i had two Universitys but the cone went on one of them - after only 40 years). it would prolly boost the bottom end. the two together would prolly make it a 10.

12 inch ceramic speaker 50 watts (mine is 8ohm)

This speaker has that classic Fender sound but it's pretty terrible compared to the higher wattage C12K. I discovered this the hard way by buying it and then later comparing it to the speaker in my new Fender Deluxe Reverb (22 watt amp). I did not understand why Fender would put a 100 watt C12K in a low wattage amp, why not use the C12N 50 watter? Well after comparing the two, the C12K wins hands down in tone and performance. The C12K does everything the C12N does only better, lows are fuller, highs are warmer, distortion or overdrive break up is much better. The C12N's bass is thin and the highs too thin, it does break up early when overdriven but it looses definition in the highs and sounds annoying. The C12K is better and works in amps of low to high wattage.

good reliability

not sure

It's a decent speaker until you try the C12K.

Made in 2005 I guess. Standard features for a speaker.

I put this in my Deluxe reverb. What is really amazing is how many Celestions I went through before I found this on ebay for $30.00 slihjtly used. I don't know how much they cost new, but it will probably ne worth it. Anyway, this speaker sounds rich and full, not as chimy or bright as some. Rich texture laden with subtle intricacies and a very powerful, deep growl when driven. Plenty of clean headroom with focused highs and mids, yet encompassing full embodiment with gentle harmonic overtones. I was very suprised in a pleasent way of the bell-like crispness and overall saturation qualities of this speaker. I have tried a few EVs, a half dozen Celestions, and 3 eminences in my DR and this ones stands out.

Great.

They are in Italy.

If some one stole this out of my amp I would find it rather odd to steal the speaker but not the amp, but Yes, I would replace it with a C12N or possibly a C12K

I play country, rock, blues, etc. with a 1968 Fender Pro Reverb (2x12) These speakers do a great job. It can punch, it can be soft, it can be straight forward. It distributes all the freqencies greatly. Thats why its one of the standards.

I'm not going to use the words warm, sparkle, or anything else that deals with other sense that don't deal with hearing. a speaker's job is to produce sound, and how well it produces most of the freqencies its given. These speakers do the job, and more. A work horse, a standard, one of the best, realistic. Not something in fairy land.

i haven't had any problems yet. But it looks well made.

haven't had to ask for any support.

They are great sounding speakers. So I would say I may buy them again after the paper cone and spider fade, or ware out. Nothing last forever.

8 ohms, 12" Seamed cone, 50 watt rating, Ceramic Magnet.

I was looking for a replacement for my Blues Jr. The difference between it and the stock eminence is fairly subtle but it is a bit more articulate, a little brighter and 'punchier,' and the reverb seems to have a little more depth (not sure why it should). In a word, it is less muddy. Overall, I would say it helps the BJ have a classic Fender tone. I play a variety of guitars through this set up but most often look for a clean 'jazz' tone with punch mids. It makes my strat sound better too. Very responsive, especially when you consider the price.

N/A I haven't used this enough to comment.

N/A I bought this used so probably wont be trying to contact Jensen if it breaks.

I've been playing for many years. I think the BJ and the C12N is a good match. My BF Twin just sounds great whatever you do and my goal has been to get the same sound out of the BJ. It isn't the same but it is a good sound but this speaker gets a little closer. I can't think of a better sounding speaker/amp combination for the price.

It's a speaker, 8 ohms, 12" Seamed cone, Ceramic Magnet.

I have two of these in a Peavey Slant 2-12 cab. One is original and one is reconed. I play through a Marshall JCM800 1987 50 watter. When I only use the Marshall, I get a great medium powered sound that needs some low end to sound perfect. The highs are very smooth and the mids make MArshall nirvanna. When I use my Ratt pedal, I have plenty of low end thump. And still the creamy highs. Great definition
and very responsive. They seem to handle the Marshall 50 watts very well because I do play loud most of the time. My clean sounds are rounder and less shrill than my stock G12-80 Celestion. But then I'm comparing my 1-12" open-backed combo to a 2-12" closed-back cab. These
speakers cut through very well and have a great lead tone. I have tried Celestions(G12K85), Utahs, Scorpions and these were the best sounding.

I had one speaker reconed because I put a hole in it by accident.

N/A

A very good speaker with excellent response and feel but could use a little more bottom end.

I use Jensen reissue C12N's in my 66 Deluxe Reverb and as the other half in my Marshall 1936 2x12 cab along with a Celestion Vintage 30. My 66 Deluxe Reverb has 6L6's and a solid state rectifier because I needed it to "conduct itself better" on a medium size stage. (I have another Deluxe Reverb I leave stock for recording, but I use an old Jensen P12Q in it.) My Marshall 2x12 cab is closed back and I use different heads with it, depending on where I play, what mood I'm in, and which head is closest to the door! Heads range from Marshall 1959 Super Lead 100's to Marshall Jubilee 2553's, to a Marshall 1987 50W plexi reissue to modded Fender blackface Bassmans and....well, you get the idea.... I don't know how to put a number rating on features, because speakers ARE what they ARE.

These speakers are bright. They sound perfect in a closed 2X12 cab like the Marshall 1936, or better yet, a real old Fender Bassman 2x12. Both of these cabs are forgiving for bright, sensitive speakers because the transducers are rear mounted.....you screw them in from the back. I use one in the Marshall 1936 cab because two of them were too bright....and I like the way a C12N and a Celestion Vintage 30 compliment each other. The Jensen adds a "hi-fi'ness" and clarity
that offsets the "warmness" and "grit" that the Celestion adds. You can say America meets Britain. The two in tandom match up in volume when cranked to form a natural "chorus". Try it! I got the idea from a Top Hat 2x12 cab. Dr. Z uses a Celestion G12H30 and a Vintage 30 for a blend that's ALL BRITISH. Incidentally, this is what I have in my Fender Bassman cab now and I love it. The C12N works great by itself in the Deluxe. It may seem bright at first, but it really cuts through on a real job. Even if it may seem bright, it puts out sufficient low end to compensate.

No problems after 3 years. My 66 Deluxe Reverb may venture into the 30watt realm once in a while with the Fulldrive or Tube Driver pedals I use, but the C12N is rated for 50watts. The Marshall cab has been pummeled by 100 watt Marshall Super Leads from the late 60's and early 70's! These aren't pussycats (520-630 volts to the plates of the output tubes!), so the Jensens hang tough for me. Very dependable ratings for these.

A C12N averages about 63.00 in cost on the consumer market. I've never had to get one repaired. I don't think they are worth reconing. If you drop one or subject one to shock, the cone gets misaligned and you might as well buy another one.

This review was written for the new Jensen C12N reissues, made in Italy. The real C12N's sound more balanced throughout the frequency spectrum, but I kind of dig the "brightness" thing the new ones have going. I read in Gerald Weber's book that the old C12N's were rumored to be Clapton's favorite speaker.

It's really and 8.5. The sound is great for distortion. Nice and punchy, not so great clean, but not terrible. For an affordable speaker I was fairly happy with it until it blew out. See below.

Well, one of my speakers blew out after one year. I have seen speaker that are 10 years old or older that still sound fine. Just over one year of service is not acceptable. I have emailed Jensen but I am not expecting much here. I have been very careful with my cabs. They are matched to maximum wattage but I have never turned my gear all the way up, or even close. They are matched for ohms as well, so it's not on my end.

We'll see.

It doesn't matter how they sound if they break down...