Luke Juke
158 posts
Mar 10, 2010
8:10 AM
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I've got a modded vjr head and cab. It was bought second hand and the cab didn't have the lady luck speaker in it. After reading many great reviews and reading what a great speaker it is for harp, I decided to get one.Anyways, I've managed to get a brand new lady luck speaker off of eBay for a great price. So I've put it in the cab and played for an hour or so. And to be honest, I'm not that impressed with it at the moment. It seems to have too much bite, a little bit too much treble and not enough low end, making it sound a little harsh and kind of glassy. I thought it would have alot more bottom but I've a/b'd it with a weber sig8 ceramic speaker, and although the weber is not as loud, it did sound warmer and have more bottom. Even the generic cheap chinese speaker sounded better. I know that speakers have to be broken in, but I was wondering if other lady luck users out there have noticed a big difference in there lady luck once it had broken in. I hope so. Maybe i was expecting too much from the lady luck. I don't have a ton of cash to go chasing speakers but I'm thinking of buying a 10" weber to stick in the cab along with the sig8.
Last Edited by on Mar 10, 2010 8:13 AM
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Bluzdude46
525 posts
Mar 10, 2010
9:15 AM
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This is the very first time I've heard this description of a Lady Luck. I've owned 3 of them and know others that use them. Something else must be happening here. When you say modded head, What kinda mods, Harp Mods? Guitar Mods? I will tell you right now if it was modded for guitar the tone will be nasty glass trebley. Thats the nature of most of them. If you have access to a different amp try that. I think the problem has to be in the head.If someone claims to have made harp mods find out what they modded and we can begin to investigate. No worries you have good platforms to work with. From here any changes will be low cost and not too difficult. I'll help you thru.
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The Original Downtown Philadelphia Fatman... Accept No substitutes!
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Luke Juke
159 posts
Mar 10, 2010
9:53 AM
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I've done the lone wolf mods to the head. Although it's only the second amp I have modded, I am quite confident with what I have done. The weber speaker I have is in a champ 600 that I've put a Hammond transformer in. I hooked it up to the lady luck last night and it still didn't have the low end of the 8" weber. Maybe it's just me, but to my ears, the weber beats it hands down. With the weber, the tone control is very usable but with the lady luck, I have to put the tone control all the way down. I do prefer a darker sound, horses for courses and all that. I'm gonna run my stereo through the speaker tomorrow while I'm at work and see if that helps.
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congaron
649 posts
Mar 10, 2010
11:32 AM
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Just to be clear, what size speaker are you referring to? I'm reading mixed info about 8 inch speakers and two speakers in a cab and valve junior head.
Are you talking about an 8 inch lady luck? The 12 inch IN the epiphone extension cab gets sterling reviews from most harp players and most of the guitar players I've read. There are always exceptions...and tone is very subjective.
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Luke Juke
160 posts
Mar 10, 2010
11:56 AM
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Soz C, I should be clearer but I was writing that on my phone and I was being lazy. I have a 12" lady luck in an ext cab and I have an 8" weber sig8 in a champ 600. I've tried both speakers seperately with the vjr head and the champ 600. To my ears the 8"weber has more low end and sounds warmer than the 12"lady luck
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Bluzdude46
527 posts
Mar 10, 2010
12:15 PM
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Ok I think here is where we agree to disagree. It has to be something in the mod. Unless you got a blown speaker somewhere that just sounds bad from either defect or abuse. The Lady Luck is known for a very loose early low end break up, so much so that a lot of guitarists don't like them and want more glassy high end. I would check over your component values again and check your solder joints. Something is not right.
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The Original Downtown Philadelphia Fatman... Accept No substitutes!
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congaron
650 posts
Mar 10, 2010
12:25 PM
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Of course, you may have a trebly microphone or a loose open cup too. Those things affect tone a lot.
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Steve Harvell
91 posts
Mar 10, 2010
3:09 PM
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I agree with Congran that a MIC has a LOT to do with how a speaker sounds. And as far as 12" speakers go, the Lady Luck is my second favorite 12" speaker after the "Eminence" Red Fang.
But having said all that, I too prefer the sound of the "Weber" 8"Signature over ANY 12" speaker after years of doing reviews on speakers. I had rather use (2) eight inch Webers than one 12" speaker. I will be doing a YOUTUBE video in a week or so where I use one 8" Weber Signature and one 6" Weber Signature and I wire them in series for 16 ohms. This NOW my favorite combo.
But music and the SOUND you hear can be a very subjective subject but there are definitely hard facts to consider. But still, I prefer 8" Webers over anything out there. Just what I like.
Last Edited by on Mar 10, 2010 3:11 PM
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rbeetsme
237 posts
Mar 10, 2010
4:26 PM
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Look, trash the Lady Luck and buy a real speaker. Get a Weber or a vintage Jensen alnico. Actually, I've never heard of the Lady Luck, have no experience with them at all. Eharp hasn't posted in a while so I thought it was up to me cause trouble. (we take turns) From what I've heard from amp builders over the years is that every amp seems to have its' own voice, speakers that sound great in one amp may not sound like much in another. Gary at Sonny Jr. tries who knows how many different speakers and combinations before he settles on a good choice for each model. One size or brand doesn't fit all. You might just have to try several different ones. My experience with my vintage amps is that the small magnet alnicos sound best for harp. I agree that some of those big magnet ceramics can have too much of a bite for my taste.
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Steve Harvell
92 posts
Mar 10, 2010
5:48 PM
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yes, matching the right speaker to the right amp and that to the right mic can be time consuming. These pictures are but a few of my projects.
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewPicture&friendID=124984396&albumId=2133115
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mrdon46
33 posts
Mar 10, 2010
7:37 PM
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just a thought--the Lady Luck is a 16ohm speaker, the stock valve jr OT secondary is I believe 16ohms also. But you ABed it with a Sig 8 which I believe is available in only 4 and 8ohms, and say it sounds better with the Weber. You say the amp was modded--was the OT possibly replaced with one with 8ohms secondary? Not sure if an impedance mismatch would cause the problems you describe, and this may be something you've already thought of and accounted for, but sometimes it's all too easy to overlook the obvious....
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Luke Juke
164 posts
Mar 13, 2010
9:50 AM
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I thought I'd just give a quick update.
I was looking on the net for ways to break a speaker in. Some sites mentioned various ways. One even said to rub fabric conditioner into the cone. Some sites said that speaker break in was a myth.
I played my stereo through the speaker at about 1/3 volume for 10 hours whilst I was at work. The speaker sounded much better than it did.
I have now given it about 30 hours of playing and the speaker is sounding great. Speaker break in is definately not a myth. The speaker now has much better bottom end. The glassyness (is that a word?) has gone. The speaker has a gutsy, throaty growl now. The treble cut tone control doesn't need to be turned all the way down and is now very usable. I am happy with it and it is now a keeper
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