Celestion Alnico Cream IRs. Why so few?

sounds like a good plan :)

I personally prefer more traditional size cabs, let’s say the speakers are always v30’s - tradional size cabs sounds always better for me compared to oversized.

tighter, more focused, better transients, less ear fatique, IMO of course :)
I would say, that depends on the speakers, but the size is a bit challenging, when crossloading. Right now I'm trying to crossload a pair of H75 Creambacks together with 2 WGS Reaper 50HPs with pretty good results, but the Reapers will be changed against M65 Creambacks and get their own place in my DIY Oversized 2x12 Wolverine cab.
 
I would say, that depends on the speakers, but the size is a bit challenging, when crossloading. Right now I'm trying to crossload a pair of H75 Creambacks together with 2 WGS Reaper 50HPs with pretty good results, but the Reapers will be changed against M65 Creambacks and get their own place in my DIY Oversized 2x12 Wolverine cab.
m65 creambacks are very smooth sounding speakers. in fact, much smoother compared to alnico creams.

m65 are great for something like alice in chains. Here’s how smooth they are in my friedman cab :

 
I see you are from Slovakia. If you wanna get one of your cabs captured for an IR pack, let me know. We are not too far away from each other.
The problem is, I have 550 km´s only to the AT/SK borders.

This cab has around 55 kg, so it´s PITA to ship it.
 
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I just ordered a Alnico Cream to go into a Carol Ann 1x12 semi-open cab that I use with my Tucana 3. I’m looking forward to the testing even more after reading the commentary here.
Looking forward to a full report of your findings! Sweet amp.
 
I just ordered a Alnico Cream to go into a Carol Ann 1x12 semi-open cab that I use with my Tucana 3. I’m looking forward to the testing even more after reading the commentary here.

I can't imagine you'll be disappointed
 
I just ordered a Alnico Cream to go into a Carol Ann 1x12 semi-open cab that I use with my Tucana 3. I’m looking forward to the testing even more after reading the commentary here.
You’re gonna love it! And the more you play it and break it in, the better it will sound. My pair is from 1994, so they’re nicely broken in and sound great in every cab I’ve tried them in.

Once you install it, try using a looper and let it run at bedroom volume for about ten minutes, then turn it up to a decent volume where the cone moves a little more and let it go while you eat lunch or something to help loosen it up.

New speakers can sound harsh out of the box, so giving it some time to settle in will make a big difference when you’re ready to play through it. I can’t wait to hear what you think about it!
 
You’re gonna love it! And the more you play it and break it in, the better it will sound. My pair is from 1994, so they’re nicely broken in and sound great in every cab I’ve tried them in.

Once you install it, try using a looper and let it run at bedroom volume for about ten minutes, then turn it up to a decent volume where the cone moves a little more and let it go while you eat lunch or something to help loosen it up.

New speakers can sound harsh out of the box, so giving it some time to settle in will make a big difference when you’re ready to play through it. I can’t wait to hear what you think about it!
Thanks for the break in suggestions! It got in today, but of course I’m 800 miles from home. Hope to get back quickly and give it a whirl. I’ve tried several other off-the-beaten-path models (EV 12S, Altec 417-8H, Mesa C90) and all sounded good but not quite what I think that amp can sound like. It sounded good in the Axe Fx III with some Alnico cabs, but they’d never stand the wattage in the real world (a conservative 75), so this 90 watt monster just seems a perfect match.
 
Thanks for the break in suggestions! It got in today, but of course I’m 800 miles from home. Hope to get back quickly and give it a whirl. I’ve tried several other off-the-beaten-path models (EV 12S, Altec 417-8H, Mesa C90) and all sounded good but not quite what I think that amp can sound like. It sounded good in the Axe Fx III with some Alnico cabs, but they’d never stand the wattage in the real world (a conservative 75), so this 90 watt monster just seems a perfect match.
Hey Rick! So how is the Cream turning out with the Tucana?
 
Hey Rick! So how is the Cream turning out with the Tucana?
I’ve been meaning to come back here and update. During my break in as @York Audio outlined, about 45 minutes in the sound suddenly faded to nothing, though the amp was clearly on. Visions of hundred dollar bills burning filled my thoughts as I went to check it out. Burned voice coil? Or worse, burned output transformer? Either would be odd, as I wasn’t pushing it that hard, but there was no noise like a failing power tube might make. There was no sound at all!

I hooked the speaker up to my PRS HX/DA that happened to be set up next to the Tucana 3 rig. Thankfully, the speaker roared to life. A thorough check of the Tucana followed, and a 5751 preamp tube was found to be faulty and going out intermittently. I didn’t have one, so I ordered a new one and put in a 12AX7 to test the amp and make sure that was all that was wrong, and it was. $26 was the total damage… just a fluke thing on an oddball tube.

Back to testing! Now, somewhat broken in with recorded music, it was time to plug in a guitar. Starting with the clean channel, it was immediately apparent why this speaker is so popular. The sound was big and round, and very clear. You can get an extremely loud, percussive sort of tone through it that still sounds musical at the edges, kind of 3D if you know what I mean. Beautiful clean tone, as expected of this type speaker, but with a ton of headroom. A pair of these in a 2x12 would be killer. In this single 12, semi-open back Carol-Ann cab, the output is surprising. Louder, for instance, than a 2x12 greenback loaded cab on the same settings.

Cautionary note here: this speaker is so clear sounding, it’s easy to think you’re not playing as loudly as you are. I stopped playing at what I thought was a moderate volume and could hear the strings ringing on my guitars hanging on the wall around the room. That’s how percussive the sound can be!

On the two higher gain channels, the pattern of copious output and clarity continued. At a edgy overdrive level, that nice ability to hear the note through the breakup made me think of those players who are actually playing less distorted than you think, even when rocking: Joe Perry, Angus Young, Mike Campbell. I think the KT88 tubes in the amp also have something to do with that, as no matter how loud this amp gets it never sounds like it’s beyond its means to hold it together. This speaker is like that, so together they come off more like they’re dancing than fighting one another. Even to high gain settings, it sounds beautifully balanced. The low end isn’t particularly pronounced in this cab, but a pair in a closed back 2x12 should have some impressive bottom. Still, it’s not going to sound like a Vintage 30 or similar speaker in that way.

So, my impression after a limited time with it is that it is a great sounding speaker, a bit like Alnico Blue meets EV12L in sound. I like it quite a lot for the sounds I do, and it nails the mid gain tone I was looking for especially well. As expected, the clean tone is big, clear, and very pleasing to the ear. It’s loud, so you get a lot of output per speaker. If there was one phrase to describe it, I would say it’s a spacious and balanced sound. Nothing cramped about it, and more vintage “whole spectrum” sounding than the more mid-forward ceramic Celestion. Not what I’d think of first in a metal amp, but perfect for the guitarist looking for the classic Fender/Vox/Hiwatt/early-Marshall sounds at current amp wattages. It’s a great match for the Tucana 3, an amp that can push a 4x12 to a crushing level, so you can really match the personality of the music just by changing the speaker cab, which was the whole idea! It adds another option, and isn’t like every other speaker I already had here.
 
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@JRod4928 I took a few test shots of the Alnico Cream in a 2x12 and made a quick mix. I didn't have time to hone in on mic placements, so it's not perfect, but hopefully it'll temporarily scratch your Alnico Cream itch.

It's in .syx format, so you can drag n' drop it into one of your user slots.
Thanks for this Justin. I am really digging this with my FM3 Bogner XTC preset.
 
Justin, I forgot if I asked already but do you have any plans to release a pack based on your Alnico Cream setup? The test IR you posted has become my goto for just about everything. Let me know and I will buy it immediately.
Thanks -Frank
 
Justin, I forgot if I asked already but do you have any plans to release a pack based on your Alnico Cream setup? The test IR you posted has become my goto for just about everything. Let me know and I will buy it immediately.
Thanks -Frank
Man, I forgot about that speaker. It’s not in my immediate plans for a new pack, but I’ll put it on my list.
 
Interesting reading everyone’s take on this speaker. I recently bought a Tone King Gremlin and the previous owner swapped the “custom” Celestion stock speaker with one of these Alnico Creams. Wasn’t bothered by that as I saw it’s a speaker that sells for $319 on its own, plus he also gave me two TungSol KT66’s, and free shipping thrown in as well lol.

Anyways, it’s a low watt blackface/tweed style amp, so wasn’t sure how ideal this speaker would be. Certainly a LOUD speaker but seems really nice and balanced over all.

Was thinking of something like a Jensen or Weber low watt Alnico for more of a period correct vintage American type sound, but given how well everyone thinks the Cream sounds, might just stick with what I’ve got.

Having been just a FAS user for the past 5 years or so, it’s certainly different having to deal with the expense and effort to change a speaker vs just clicking a button and selecting a new IR lol. Fun stuff though getting your hands dirty and feeling the sheer physical weight of a 12”. No wonder those cabs were so heavy to carry around right ? Some of these speakers are monsters
 
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