Tone Tubby Speakers Alnico 12-Inch Hemp Cone Speaker

This is a review for the 8ohm Alnico speaker. It is the standard cone (H1E). There are two options the original H1 (duller) and the H1DD (brighter). The Alnico Tone Tubby has a bright red paint finish. The main feature of this speaker is the hemp cone.

The speaker connectors seemed to be mounted on a pieced of cardboard which seems out of place on such a well made item.

This speaker replaced a used V30 which replaced the original Jensen MOD in a Cornell Romany Plus 10w singled ended combo.The Jensen was not loud enough and the V30 was but the top end was a little shrill and it beamed. The Tone Tubby has improved the volume and the sound in this combo and I can comfortably gig with it.

Guitars used are a Les Paul or a Rickenbacker. The amp is typically set to 6-8 and pedals used to drive it further.

I have had it a year. The speaker is rated for 40w and the amp for 10w.

DC Developments are the UK dealer for Tone Tubby. They also made my amp. Dennis Cornell has always been helpful. When speaker was ordered he took time to check that I knew what it was and that I would be happy with it.

This speaker is excellent and the best I have tried. However it has taken a year to get to this point. The break in period is a pain in the rear end. To be fair after 10 hours the speaker is ok.

One day it just got a lot better. Way more treble and way more volume.

Great speaker, I am pushing up to 40 watts. No issues. I broke it in with lower volumes.

I have this in a Avatar Vintage G112 Cabinet. I run this with my Vibroverb Reissue. It really opens the sound up. A little tighter that the 15" in the Vibroverb.

No issues.

All questions answered.

Replacement speaker for an older Blackface Princeton Reverb. Hemp speaker, 12", replaced the original blue labelled Fender Speaker and was a/b'd with a Celesion Vintage 30.

Sound improvement was mediocre. I a/b'd it with the Celestions and it didn't sound that much better, if better at all? I personally don't really care for Celestions either. I tried to improve the tone of the amp, NOS tubes, speaker swaps, etc. but nothing made much of a difference. I play mainly blues and use strats. I'm not very articulate when it comes to descriptions but to me the only thing that comes to mind when describing the sound is brittle.

They're definately the best looking. They seem to be built like a tank as well. I owned the speaker for about 4 months.

I actually punctured a hole in the speaker, of course after I finally decided to sell it after putting it in and pulling it out of several amps to see if it was just me, or the amps that made the speaker sound bad?? I called them and they were always helpful and friendly, I sold it as is but they were willing to patch it or recone it at a reasonable price. A+ service.

I can't recommend this speaker based on my experience. Tone is subjective, maybe I got a bad one or maybe the amps were dogs, I don't know. Try them first if you can, I personally prefer Weber Alnico Blue speakers in my amps. The Tubbies have a longer than usual break in period as well, I found this out afterwards. I think I gave them enough time but that could have been the case.

38 oz AlNiCo magnet, 40 watt power handling for tube amp, H1E Hempcone

I put this speaker into a Dr. Z Maz JR with Verb. I took out the stock celestion G12H. What I have noticed is a slight drop in low end response and the bass is not as tight as the g12H. The amp sounds more mid rangey and 3D with the TT in. I like the way it sounds thru a strat and paul reed smith. I play rock, jazz fusion and this set up with an Alfanso Hermida pedal is all i really need. The Dr Z has a sweet EL84 break up for rhythms however not quite enough drive for leads so i added the pedal. Back to the speaker. The speaker handles this set up really well.
It could use a little more low end roundness for the heavy rhythms however for the clean chime of the Dr Z it broadcasts the sound of the amp very well.

I havent heard of any one blowing these speakers. Very reliable for about a year now.

The guys at A Brown back up their products and are very friendly. They offer custom shop service. I have taken speakers to them before and there service is dynamite. They have a 1 year warranty on all transducers.

I have been playing for 18 years. I am using a Two Rock Onyx with a Dr Z Z best cab for live shows and the Dr Z for rehersals. I have a 1964 Fender Super Reverb and a 1995 dual channel Mesa Dual Rectifier with the HexFred upgrade.

I have a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe Blonde (very nice amp) and he was equipped with a Jensen Speaker when I get him. After 10 min., I kicked out the Jensen, then he was just harshing when I used the Chrunch Sound - dreadful ! So I replace it with a Celestion Vintage30 - so good so far - I was happy for the moment -'til I heard from the Tone Tubby H1E ! Quickly I orderd one and it was blowing me away..!!!!! Now I have so an openwide and unbelievable Sound with this Hempcone Speaker - believe me, I tryed out a lot of amps and speakers in my musicians live..... over 40 Years! But the TT ist still the best speaker I'v ever heard. I can't understand the reviews here on this platform from musicians they wrote "awful"... what kind of ears they must have ? They should better stop playing - sorry !

I think I've said all about this speaker - just try it out - It was not important for me who's gonna endorsed this speaker - it's always a question of taste - for sure, but this speaker - everyone must love it....!

no really experience until yet - but I think it is a very nice team ! (Dave)

dito

This speaker will blow you away....!!!!!

12" alnico magnet not sure of the formulation. Hemp cone with no doping on surround. Company is vague about power handling, voice coil material, voice coil diameter, former material, etc... Build quality seems fine. Stamped metal is on the thin side and rings quite a bit when tapped. Nice paint job. Cheesy off center sticker.

The sound quality of this speaker is just plain weird. There is a forwardness in the treble exactly where you don't want it to be and yet the rest above that range is strangely missing with a distinct lack of harmonics and sparkle which leaves the speaker sounding unemotive and uninspired. The rest of the audible range is somewhat vague, reserved and polite. This speaker is just not capable of any interesting breakup when pushed that we expect from a classic paper cone alnico magnet speaker. Overall not very musical with no pleasing character to speak of and consequently way overpriced
The only purpose I see for this product is to tame a really harsh amp but this is a bandaid approach and not recommended.

Fortunately I didn't buy this speaker. I heard it through a friend with a group of others. We tried a pair through an old Tweed Twin, an old Blackface Twin, a modern Twin reissue, A reissue AC30, A matchless DC-30 and a Dr.Z Maz 38

It's an alnico hemp cone speaker. Build quality is average. I'd rate it about on par with Jensens in terms of that. Celestions and Eminence have a much more stable well-built feel to them, thicker metal.

I don't normally do this but I just felt like I had to with this bad of a product. I hate this speaker. Granted, I believe that it's very tough to make a hemp cone sound good and useable, but this model fails. The tone-tubby ceramic magnet model isn't too bad, but for a fraction of the price you can buy a hemp-cone speaker from Eminence that doesn't sound too far off. This speaker captures none of that "alnico sound" that people buy alnico speakers for. Compared to even the new Jensens, which are not nearly as good as the old ones, this speaker is just awful. No highs to speak of, lows were flabby, and dullness all around. Break-up from the cone was just plain bad. It didn't sound like the standard hemp sound. The real kicker here is the price. Ladies and Gentlemen, it costs 40$ TOPS to build a speaker. This one costs $280 = Arrogance and celebrity endorsement at their finest.

To be honest, I kept the speaker in the cab for about 3 minutes. I know what break-in does to a hemp-cone. It won't cure this. Could be a very reliable product. I don't know.

Don't know.

Awful, awful product. Don't believe the hype. Listen with your ears, not with your wallet. Buy what you like, not what Santana or Clapton get $$$$$$$ to endorse. Personally, I love the stuff that Eminence is coming out with now. Not so much the Legends but their Red-Coat line, I think is superb. Governor, Private Jack, and Wizard are my favs. I am aware that these are modeled after Celestions (much cheaper though) and are "British voiced". I do, however believe that at some level, there is an objective "good sound" that feels good to hear, or that interacts with the player in a good way. Beyond my preferences for British-style speakers. The alnico Tone-Tubby, I thought was objectively terrible. It was obviously made by businessmen and not people trying to make an actual musical instrument. Way to go guys.

Hempcone Alnico and a verry nice red paint !

Sound quality...Right out of the box it sound like dream, i'm not a pro player but i know when i heard something with Tone, and those speakers got tone .

Nice people at A. Brown sound !

I sould buy these earlyer, but now that i know them i may buy another one for my deluxe reverb ri

12 inches alnico hempcone in a Mesa Boogie Lonestar Special

I just put it in today and it's alreadt sound verry nice, i just cant wait that the speaker is break in...

Verry nice guys over there they awnser my e-mails fast and pertinent

Top speaker a ever owned !and nice look too ;)

Like an earlier reviewer I am using a Rivera M60 but unlike the earlier reviewer I am using the 1 12 version. To the best of my knowledge the amp is from the mid nineties but Rivera doesn't change their line up very much so who knows. But as it has been said it's a speaker, how many features could it have? Do check your ohm rating for your cab or combo prior to ordering this will save a you from a world of grief later.


I cut and paisted this information from A Brown Soun's website for all the tech heads out there.

Specifications
Impedance: 8 Ohms.

Wattage: 40 watts on Valve amplification. 50 watts on Semiconductor amps.

Response: Designed specifically to enhance the frequency of the guitar.

Size: 12" - 8 bolt with 5" bell cover, Depth 6.5".

Material: 32 Oz Alnico Magnet. Hempcone. Copperclad aluminum edgewound coil.

Finish: Red color with Solder tag terminal connections

Weight: 7.7 Lbs - 3.5 Kgm

Driver Properties
Name: TT Alnico 12
Type: Standard one-way driver
Fs = 80.3 Hz
Fsa = 55.4 Hz
BWs = 30.5 Hz
Vas = 59.0 Liters
Cms = 1.40E-04 m/N
Mmd = 20.7 g
MMr = 7.36 g
BL = 10.3 Tesla/m
Eta = 3.41 %

Qms = 8.84
Qes = 0.86
Qts = 0.78
Re = 6.400 Ohms
Zmaxs = 72.2 Ohms
2.83-V SPL = 98.3 dB
1-W SPL = 97.3 dB
Kr = 0.000
Xr = 0.000
Ki = 0.000
Xi = 0.000

As it has been said before but it does warant mentioning again these speakers do have a break in period, say six to ten hours of playing even at moderate volume levels. At first the speaker will sound a little dull but keep with it and you will be rewarded with rich and wonderful tones after that break in period.

In terms of guitars I am using a fairly wide range:

1998 Guild Bluesbird with stock Duncan SH 1 59 pickups

Michael Dolan built Esquire with a single Bill Lawerence L-290TL-E and a Q filter

Late eighties Japanes made Fender Standard Strat also with Bill Lawerence L 290 and 280 pickups.

Subway built Tele knock off with Stephens Design ZEPHYR BLUES P90 "X" SET.

Effects are pretty simple a reissued Marshall Guvnor pedal, Voodoo Labs anolog chorus, Dunop Cry baby.

In terms of music I am playing largely songs from the American songbook ranging from Sons of the Pioneers, Tin Pan Alley, delta and country blues, country, bluegrass, then I'll set all the phasers for "kill" and play Corrosion of Conformity, Down, High on Fire licks.

Now, this is what you all have been waiting for, in a word the Tone Tubby sounds great. I cannot believe the difference between the stock Rivera speaker and the replacement Tone Tubby. Prior to replacing the stock speaker with the Tone Tubby the Rivera sounded good but nothing to really write home about. Truth be told I was thinking of selling it for an F Series Mesa.

The bass was flabby, mids were muddy, highs were shrill and unpleasant, the distortion was just plain unlistenable. But now with the Tone Tubby it brings out a lot of hidden characteristics in the guitars I didn't think they had, especially the Dolan made Esquire (talk about piano like overtones).

Now with the Tone Tubby I can get a very respectable Blackface Delux tone, to Clapton's Beano to just the most insane amount of distorion with a couple taps of the chanel selectors and that is without even touching the Marshall pedal.

For me this has been an outstanding choice and while the Tone Tubby was an expensive choice it cost me 1/3 of what a new amp would have.

I also highly recomend viewing their on line discussion page and or phoning them directly. As for picking the alnico magnet speaker vs the ceramic a good rule of thumb is if you have an open back combo amp or cab, go with the alnico because it will support the bass better than what you have now. If you have a closed back combo amp or cab go with the ceramic mainly because the alnico may generate so many bass overtones as to be unpleasant.

Sure, there is a lot of buzz right now concerning alnico vs ceramic pickups and by extention alnico vs ceramic speaker magnets. Most of the guitars I own use ceramic magnet pickups but when played through an alnico magnet speaker magnet I have found that you get a lot of the desireable alnico overtones but with a much lower noise leval. Paired with the guitars I have that do use alnico magnet pickups it makes a good quality pickup sound that much better.

I will say this, most of the tone samples from their site are for the birds but if you really want to hear what the Tone Tubby speakers sound like rent or buy a copy of "Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival" dvd and really listen to the segments with Clapton and Gibbons. Sure, Santana is reported to use Tone Tubby speakers too but a MK1 with a PRS sounds like a MK1 with a PRS no matter what you do with it.

A Brown Soun has built their reputation on real world amplifacation for touring muscians pluss they offer a full service center and amp repairs (thanks Dave).

As good as their speakers are I can not say enough good things about their amp tech Dave. He truely turned a let down of an amp into a thing of beauty.

Awsome. Could not be happier. Can't recomend them highly enough.

Although the Tone Tubby 12" alnico speaker has been one of the singel most upgrade I have done it has been the most rewarding.

To my ears the Tone Tubby is closer to either a classic JBL or Celestian G12 than anything else but with a better bass end responce, less tone cry and a more rewarding top end.

That said this drastic of modification may not be for every one. If you all ready have an amp you are happy with, if you all ready love the tone you are getting you may not get as much out of this as you may if you are currantly dissapointed with your presant set up. For me it's been totally worth it even though there is now a big dent in my pocket book.

Sure, nearly $300 for a speaker is a lot of cash but if you look at the prices of Eminence. JBL or the new Celestian speakers they are all within about $30 of one another.

Lastly I had liked the Tone Tubby so much I pulled the stock speaker from my '74 Princeton and replaced it with a 10" ceramic speaker. Hey, it's a back up amp so there wasn't any reason to go crazy.