Celestion Hempback Guitar Speaker Now Available

Announced in 2021 at the virtual edition of the NAMM Show, Celestion confirmed that this highly anticipated guitar speaker particularly well-suited to American-voiced amps is now available at retailers worldwide. Combining a hemp cone specifically chosen for its tonal character and a medium-weight ceramic magnet, the G12M-50 Hempback represents an exciting new development in Celestion’s never-ending pursuit of tone.

Kemper announced availability of a new Kemper Kone NEO replacement speaker for its 12" guitar cabinets. This is the same speaker manufactured for the German company by Celestion and used in the Kemper Kabinets, now with a new lightweight neodymium magnet. Also available for a wider range of cabinet designs, these speakers were designed for guitar tone monitoring with a choice of 19 classic guitar speaker imprints activated by Kemper Profile PowerRacks and PowerHeads.

With the entirely new TAD 6V6GT-STR REDBASE, German company Tube Amp Doctor Musikhandels GmbH introduced a new family member to their REDBASE high quality premium tube series. An ideal tube for Fender Deluxe Tweed 5E3 or Blackface Princeton Reverb guitar amps, single ended Class A amps like the Fender Tweed Champ, Vibro Champ, Fender Champion 600 or the Univalve. As the company explains, many boutique amp builders have already embraced the TAD 6V6GT-STR REDBASE and the company is ready to ship worldwide!

Celestion announced that its Alnico Gold guitar loudspeakers is now available as a Dynamic Speaker Response (DSR,) the next-generation digital speaker responses that capture the sound and feel of the speaker’s dynamic, non-linear responses for even more tonal detail. All Celestion DSRs are designed especially for use with SpeakerMix Pro, the self-contained studio-grade DAW plug-in dedicated to bringing ground-breaking levels of detail and realism to guitar and bass speaker tone.

Following on the introduction earlier in 2021 of the 6L6GCM-STR, the first model from an all-new high quality premium tube series named REDBASE from Tube Amp Doctor (TAD), the German company now announced the new TAD EL34-STR REDBASE, which can be used for any EL-34 application in guitar amplifiers and also hifi tube designs instead of 6CA7 and KT77 tubes. All tubes in TAD’s REDBASE family are manufactured on a new exclusive production facility.

In this project article for audioXpress, the author shares his guitar tube amplifier, a simple, low-wattage, that any DIYer can easily build. Costas Sarris believes in building simple tube amplifier designs, with simple circuits that he found to work better, particularly when the electric signals carry music information, because the signal distortion is easily handled. This article was originally published in audioXpress, June 2015.

Radial Engineering is now shipping its two newest professional products, the JX42 V2 and JX44 V2 Guitar and Amp Switchers and Signal Managers. Designed with input from some of the industry’s busiest touring professionals and roadies, both units now feature high-end Jensen transformers and expand Radial’s renowned line of professional switchers and signal managers.

In this article, Mark Driedger revisits “The Remaking of a Champ,” inspired by Kirk Elliott’s original article for Glass Audio (1992). The Fender Champ is considered “the” classic tube practice amplifier and it has been remade a few times over. Driedger created his own version, including a provision to easily try different output tubes. This article was originally published in audioXpress, January 2016.

Introducing a new brand from an American loudspeaker manufacturer is a reason for celebration. But better still when MISCO, the venerable St. Paul, MN-headquartered company announces a completely new line of guitar speakers under the name ToneSpeak. MISCO has been diversifying their business in the last few years with the acquisition of Oaktron and the introduction of their latest high-end driver brand, Bold North Audio. And ToneSpeak clearly reinforces the company's position.

For this edition of audioXpress, start with our valuable Market Update on Audio Test and Measurement, followed by an interview and guided tour of QuantAsylum. From a practical perspective, Stuart Yaniger shares his experience with the latest version of Virtins Multi Instrument Measurement Software, Michael Steffes explains how to explore an interesting composite amplifier structure for great results, Mike Meechan continues his series on microphone preamplifier design, and Ethan Winer explains how to avoid too much wiring in large designs. Another great edition of audioXpress, now available to read in print and online.