New DC- 3 owner - 3 questions.

I just got a DC-3 ( newer model) today for $500. in almost mint condition,except the guy I bought it from installed an Eminence 16 ohm speaker in it which has to go,
1:How can I determine the year of manufacture?
2:Any advice on speaker replacement?
3:Should I go with the Original Celestion Vintage 30, or something else? :?:

Welcome. I also own a nearly mint DC3 combo which I have had for a little over a year. I traded an American Tele which was worth about $600 at the time for the amp, so it sounds like you got a good deal. I am still very happy with the trade. The DC3 is takes a while to dial in but it is worth the effort.

Per your speaker question, I believe that you should be using an 8 ohm speaker VS the 16 ohm that was replaced in your combo.

I would not recommend using another V30. I am always looking for a warmer tone and the V30 is not exactly a warm speaker. The V30 can sound pretty good cranked once you dial in the amp.

Lately I have been running my DC3 through my Avatar 2x12 cab with G12H-30’s at home for practicing and the tone is much improved over the V30 at lower volumes. I haven’t had a chance yet to try the new cab with the DC3 and the band cranked.

I would recommend trying a Celestion G12-65 in your combo or the WGS clone. The G12-65 is my favorite speaker and the 65watts would work well in the combo. The G12-65 also has a lower sensitivity rating than the V30 so you can crank the amp’s MV a little more and get slightly lower volumes. This very loud 35 watt amp so I would not recommend using a high sensitivity speaker.

I hope someone else on this forum can explain the date codes on this amp. I have yet to be able to figure out the date mine was made.

Nice amp. Enjoy.
Doug

Thanx for your reply, definitely needs an 8ohm speaker in it, I was so disgusted when I got home ,and realized that this guy had put a 16 ohm speaker in it,some people just have no clue.
As far as the WGS speaker you recommend , would that be their Veteran 30 model, or their ET-65 ? The sound I want is the clean Fendery sound,so I can run my Wampler Ecstasy pedal in front for OD. Another reason I am leaning towards the Celestion Vintage 30 , is to keep the amp's originality intact,as you mention dialing in the controls is key .

I should have clarified. My DC3 currently sounds very good on the clean channel with the stock V30.

Not quite as glassy-clean as a Fender, but this amp has great cleans with the V30.

My issues were with the drive channel which can be a little to raspy for my tastes.

Let us know how you make out with the amp.

Welcome again. Good to see some new correspondence on the DC3 forum page.

Doug

DC3 Gridlock said:

I should have clarified. The amp currently sounds very good on the clean channel with the stock V30.

Not quite as glassy-clean as a Fender, but this amp has great cleans with the V30.

My issues were with the drive channel which can be a little to raspy for my tastes.

Let us know how you make out with the amp.

Welcome again. Good to see some new correspondence on the DC3 forum page.

Doug

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install a 12at7 in the phase inverter slot V6=smoothes it out and gets rid of the gritty/grainey distortion.

For Fender tone. I would call or email WGS about their speaker recommendation for Fender like tones.
I have emailed them in the past and they were quick to respond with good advice. I believe that their website also has sound clips of their various speakers with differnt guitars and amps.

Good guys and great prices at WGS. The Marshall forum also gives them great reviews.

Try this link.

http://wgs4.com/

bhsbhswarp said:

install a 12at7 in the phase inverter slot V6=smoothes it out and gets rid of the gritty/grainey distortion.

Click to expand...

Having trouble with the quoting process...

bhsbhswarp,

Is just a tube swap? If so what brand would you recommend and do I need to re-bias?

I usually have a tech work on my amps. I haven't touched the DC or had it serviced since I bought it over a year ago.

Guess that it is time to get it serviced for a checkup.

Thanks,
Doug

simple tube swap.I use a gold lion at7 no bias needed.I've also had good tone from the GT12at7(Groovetube).

DC3 Gridlock said:

For Fender tone. I would call or email WGS about their speaker recommendation for Fender like tones.
I have emailed them in the past and they were quick to respond with good advice. I believe that their website also has sound clips of their various speakers with differnt guitars and amps.

Good guys and great prices at WGS. The Marshall forum also gives them great reviews.

Try this link.

http://wgs4.com/

Click to expand...

Yes, I heard some of their sample clips on their site, I really like the clean sound of the Reaper HP-50 watts, but I saw another post on the forum where they recommended the Retro 75 watt, but to me that clip sounds too clean.

Running a 1x12 G12T-75 loaded cab along with the V30 in the amp. Cant believe I found a nice mix for the V30(aside from a G12H-30). The hollow mids of the G12T-75 make a great fit for the aggresive mids of the V30. Might have to try a 12AT7 in the PI as I have tons of old stock 12AT7's(GE,RCA,TUNG SOL,etc). Bob

I found an original Mesa Black shadow made by eminence , that were used in the first generation DC-3s , Installed it ,and I'm liking the sound , also have a V30 coming this week to try ,and compare.

I've also changed the PI to a 12AT7 in a DC-2 with excellent results.

Ok, I just installed a used Celestion Vintage 30 I got off ebay , sounds great with it's original speaker.