5:25 Speaker Swap - Cannabis Rex

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NomadExpress

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I found the the tone of the V30 to be a little harsh/brittle and was always rolling off the treble on the amp.
I've had my Express for about 2.5 years and when the wife asked what I wanted for Christmas, I asked for a Cannabis Rex speaker to replace the V30.

It didn't take long to swap out.

Initial take:
1) a little louder - slightly more sensitive, I guess.
2) Rich sound, good harmonics
3) Shrill/ brittle elements are GONE.
4) Lighter speaker

I think this is a keeper. It will only get better as it breaks in.
 
NomadExpress said:
I found the the tone of the V30 to be a little harsh/brittle and was always rolling off the treble on the amp.
I've had my Express for about 2.5 years and when the wife asked what I wanted for Christmas, I asked for a Cannabis Rex speaker to replace the V30.

It didn't take long to swap out.

Initial take:
1) a little louder - slightly more sensitive, I guess.
2) Rich sound, good harmonics
3) Shrill/ brittle elements are GONE.
4) Lighter speaker

I think this is a keeper. It will only get better as it breaks in.

I've got a 5:25+ and started with a V30, and found it to be "ice picky" (harsh and brittle is a good description as well), even after 250 playing hours. It now resides in it's shipping box, and an MC90 is in it's place. Much smoother, but still with a nice chime to it. Also bought a WGS ET-65, and it was nice as well, but just didn't have the chime of the MC90. I did consider buying a Cannabis Rex, so I might just pull the trigger on one and try it now that someone else uses one with their 5:25. A small disclaimer - I have a head and cabinet, not a combo.

Al
 
Yeah I should clarify - I am using an Express 5:25 combo (non-plus).
I love the amp to begin with.
I like what the Rex is doing for my sound.

The V30 is going into a small closed back 1x12 that I will build.
 
I use a Cannabis Rex as well. Everyone talks about what a dark speaker it is, but with this amp I feel like it makes it sound NORMAL. Pretty much what Nomad has been reporting. It's a cheap speaker and sounds amazing. Get it.
 
For me I am looking for "breath" and less buzz. Darker is OK with me, my other amp is a Nomad.
 
I have a 16? CR sitting around with nothing to do. Can I safely "test" this speaker in my 5:50 (non plus) combo? If I can do that safely, and it sounds good, I'll get an 8? version of the CR to install.
 
You can definitely do it safely by plugging it into the 8 ohm tap, but it won't be an accurate assessment of the CR. It will change the impedance your power tubes see and effect the damping of the speaker. It won't be the same sound as a proper impedance match.
 
EtherealWidow said:
You can definitely do it safely by plugging it into the 8 ohm tap, but it won't be an accurate assessment of the CR. It will change the impedance your power tubes see and effect the damping of the speaker. It won't be the same sound as a proper impedance match.

Well... I tried the 16? Cannabis Rex last evening. You are correct, the mismatch didn't sound very good. I have a SCUMBACK M75 (factory break in - FBI) in it now and it's a well balanced speaker in my 5:50 combo, but I'm wondering what improvements, if any, a proper 8? Cannabis Rex would make? I understand that the 5:25 is a slightly different animal than the 5:50. Did the CR make the 5:25 sound more American, more British, or something completely different?

I wasn't totally happy with the Celestion MC90 BLACK SHADOW.* Even though it was pretty well broken in, it lacked something that I can't describe... perhaps a little "sterile". The SCUMBACK seems easier to EQ, and seems to have a little better "touch sensitivity", but it still isn't quite the sound I'm looking for. I guess I'm looking for something with a nice tight low end punch, warm mids, and mellower highs (if that makes sense).

I'm somewhat hesitant to purchase a new 8? Cannabis Rex for this combo. I would hate to invest in a speaker that's going to sit idle if I don't like it.

*These sound great with my 5:50 Plus head and 2 - 1 X 12 23" Lone Star cabinets. In this case I wouldn't change anything.
 
My 5:25 never really struck me as really British, despite the EL84's. When I think British, I think of the very upper mid Marshall sound. The CR just made my amp sound a little mellower. I had a C12K in before which wasn't too bad. Distorted a little easier and had more mids, IIRC. The main change that made my amp useable mainly for higher gain was the change in 2 preamp tubes to 12AY7's.

I'll post up a sound file on drop box some time this week on how the different impedances sound. Just keep in mind the weird preamp tubes and the fact that I'm using a Thiele cab.
 
EtherealWidow said:
My 5:25 never really struck me as really British, despite the EL84's. When I think British, I think of the very upper mid Marshall sound. The CR just made my amp sound a little mellower. I had a C12K in before which wasn't too bad. Distorted a little easier and had more mids, IIRC. The main change that made my amp useable mainly for higher gain was the change in 2 preamp tubes to 12AY7's.

I'll post up a sound file on drop box some time this week on how the different impedances sound. Just keep in mind the weird preamp tubes and the fact that I'm using a Thiele cab.

Which positions did you change, and what was the difference?

Al
 
I put one in V2, which is actually the first tube, and in V4, which is the PI. Mainly I did it for Burn. Burn is a lot more useable now and actually pleasant to use. Before it sounded overly compressed and the chord definition was terrible on higher gain settings. It's really good now though. Clean's gain has been reduced a LOT and you have to turn up the gain and master quite a bit now, but it doesn't bother me too much because I hardly ever use that channel anyway. Blues makes for a pretty good sounding clean channel now.
 
NomadExpress said:
I found the the tone of the V30 to be a little harsh/brittle and was always rolling off the treble on the amp.
I've had my Express for about 2.5 years and when the wife asked what I wanted for Christmas, I asked for a Cannabis Rex speaker to replace the V30.

It didn't take long to swap out.

Initial take:
1) a little louder - slightly more sensitive, I guess.
2) Rich sound, good harmonics
3) Shrill/ brittle elements are GONE.
4) Lighter speaker

I think this is a keeper. It will only get better as it breaks in.
I put a welll broken in CR in my 5:25 plus and it did wonders for mine. Much more rich in harmonics, that grainy lower mid range of the celestion is gone. I call it my little Mark IIc plus, as I own a couple of those and a/b d them together. Not quite as rich and complex as a real Mark II but dang good AND at lower volume levels. I play in the Carlos Santana, Jeff Beck type tone so it may not be for everyone but it's working great for me.
 

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