TremOVerb Combo Speakers: Vin30 + C 90

So, I've got both a Tremoverb 2x12 Combo, with Vintage 30s, as well as a Maverick 2x12, which has the Black Shadow C90s. I know that the Maverick 2x12's usually came with the Vintage 30 speakers, while the 1x12's came with the C90s.

I'm considering swapping speakers between the two, so I'd have one Vintage 30 and one C 90 in each 2x12 combo. Has anyone experimented with this mix in open back combos or cabinets? I know the swap will be somewhat of a PITA, as I have to pull the chassis and possibly the front grill as well.

I’d say do it. I’ve always liked mixing speakers. I have a vertical 2x12 halfback with the c90 and an ev12l that I picked up when I had my tremoverb combo and I far preferred running it instead of the 2 v30 in the combo. Now I have a tremoverb head that I replaced the combo with and I just bought another vertical 2x12 halfback with a v30 up top and a c90. I can give a tone report this weekend but won’t be able to fire it up until then. Can’t wait. 2 of those cabs next to each other is gonna be sweet.

I'll have to do some testing then. Maybe run the speakers in both amps off of one. Because, yeah, changing out a speaker from a combo is a royal pain.

How'd you like those two MESA's?

Other than a Mark IIB my TremoVerb and Maverick are keepers for me. I sold my other Mesa amps.

Do you find these two amp are different tone wise but very similar in design e.g. two channels, each with two modes, solid state rectifier / tube rectifiers selector?

Enough talk of these two amps.

I'm not familiar with C90 but as far as any other Celestion speakers I could give you description (VIntage 30s, G1230 Heritage or Anniversary, Greenbacks, and others. Then some Weber's Legacy, Silver Bell, Blue Dog.

And speaker tones is subjective, different preference for the guitarist.

Well, after playing both, I decided to just keep the speakers they way they are. I get great sounds out of both. I also was talking to some speaker oriented people, and they said that mixing speakers with different sized dust caps can make it hard to EQ the amp, as the dust cap really affects the high end. It'll sound good on one side, but not on the other.

The Maverick and the Tremoverb are quite a bit different in terms of voicing, and also just overall "gain". If you read the original Mesa Writeup, the Maverick is almost like two single channel amps put together. The two channels do not share any tube triodes until the effects loop, which really can help zero in on a sound with careful tube choices. The Class A EL84 output section also is quite a bit different, so the overall response is different as well. The Maverick also uses the 5AR4 rectifier, which is the "least saggy" of all the rectifiers that mesa uses, so honestly there is only a very subtle difference. With the tremoverb, you definitely get some serious tube sag from the 5U4G rectifiers.

If you like mostly low gain and clean playing, the Maverick is really a better choice. It's even got two clean modes, bright and fat, which further help dial in the sound. You can get some dirt on the Rhythm/Clean channel, but it's very smooth an subtle. The lead channel is much more of a classic smooth boogie gain sound. There are also only 3 gain stages on the channels, so they aren't capable of nearly as much saturation as the Tremoverb.

The Tremoverb is definitely more versatile, but it also can't get some of the territory that the maverick does in terms of low gain. The reverb on both is incredible. THe tremolo on the Tremoverb is... kinda gimmicky if you ask me. It's more subtle than most would like.

One thing to consider with the maverick is that it will require more frequent tube changes due to the Class A EL84 output SEction. It isn't as bad as some of the early Studio caliber amps, but they still do get run pretty hard.