Original Speakers in 212HD 130

banksy76

I have 2 Original Music Man speakers which I believe are both rated at 75w 8ohm but they look slightly different and I was hoping that someone here could conform for me if these differences are purely cosmetic or if there is also difference in their tone and performance?

The one on the left in the images provided is what came in my 212HD 130 and I believe is the original stock speaker but there are no details printed anywhere on it as to what model number it is etc.

The one on the right I purchased separately to the amp and has the model number A12-G on it (Im guessing that the 'A' refers to Alnico) and the date code 677824 which from the info I have read online means that it was produced in the 24th week of 1978.

So are these speakers going to sound the same and be compatible or are they likely to be of completely different design?
Any insight into this matter would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks in advance.

Full Name
Lars Verholt
Music Man Equipment
HD-130 head, 210X cab, 210RH cab, RD-50 110 combo, Sixty-Five 112 combo, RP65-112

Member for

10 years 9 months

lmv Sat, 04/26/2014 - 12:09

Hi there,
the speaker on the left is model A-12G/HD with a 28oz magnet and 2½" voice coil. This model was stock in the 212HD 130 combo. The speaker on the right is model A-12A with a 18oz magnet and 2" voice coil. The A-12G was stock in the 112 and 212 65 watt combos as well as in the 412GS cabinet. A third model, A-12RH, was used in the 212RH cabinet - my guess is that it was a slightly reinforced version compared to the A-12G/HD (the 'G' stands for guitar) that would allow the RH cabinet to be used both for bass and guitar. This theory is supported by the fact that the RH version is listed as weighing 7lbs and the G/HD version is listed as 6lbs.
So, is there a difference in tone between them? Probably a bit yes if you run two different ones side by side - but if you run them together you'd listen to the net result of the two and not the individual ones. This is similar to running an open-back cabinet (or combo) together with an RH cabinet. Those who have tried it will know what a sweet tone it can produce.

Clear as mud?

Cheers,
Lars Verholt

Full Name
Fred Holmes
Music Man Equipment
212hd 130

Member for

8 years 6 months

Fredj Thu, 06/30/2016 - 18:17

Were the stock speakers in fact 8 ohm 75W? I bought on that someone out two 4 ohm celestions in wired in series. Doesnt seem right. If they are supposed to be 8 ohm (stock) are they wired in parallel with the switch set to 4 ohms? Would like to get this thing to stock specs Thanks

Music Man Equipment
MM 2-10-65

Member for

10 years 9 months
Profile picture for user mm210

mm210 Fri, 07/01/2016 - 07:41

They SHOULD be two 8 ohms speakers, wired in parallel for a 4 ohm load. THEN, you could add a second cab with 4 ohms and switch to the 8 ohm setting as the external jack is wired in SERIES with the primary one. Mike.

Full Name
Fred Holmes
Music Man Equipment
212hd 130

Member for

8 years 6 months

Fredj Fri, 07/01/2016 - 18:07

Thanks. This one had two 4 ohm on series and the switch was set to 4 ohm instead of 8. Sounded like crap. Thinking about EV M12L or S. I guess the only difference is the depth of these are slightly different. Any other recommendations? Thanks for the info Mike

Music Man Equipment
MM 2-10-65

Member for

10 years 9 months
Profile picture for user mm210

mm210 Sat, 07/02/2016 - 04:13

EV's are nice but that amp is a bear anyway to lift! Eminence has some great lines, as does Weber. I put weber califonia's in mine but they ARE meant to be squeeky clean. They pedal well though. Webe has a hell of a line that you can pick from. Mike.

Full Name
Ken Morgan
Music Man Equipment
RD100-112, RD50 head, SixtyFive Reverb, RP65-112

Member for

10 years 8 months

Ken Morgan Sun, 04/27/2014 - 07:08

I'm guessing those were ceramics... AlNiCo was not very popular politically when MM was in production, nor could cpeaker designs with AlNiCo really handle the power MM amps put out...

Just a guess

Full Name
Lars Verholt
Music Man Equipment
HD-130 head, 210X cab, 210RH cab, RD-50 110 combo, Sixty-Five 112 combo, RP65-112

Member for

10 years 9 months

lmv Sun, 04/27/2014 - 09:05

MM did actually use AlNiCo V magnet speakers in most amps for the first 5-6 years. The horseshoe magnet 'A' speakers from Eminence are AlNiCo (the ones we are talking about in this thread). The later 'C' series with the hockey puck magnets are ceramic. Original 65-410 amps had ferrite magnet speakers rated at 20 watts apiece. This was later changed to a similar ceramic magnet speaker for the 75-410.

Sincerely,
Lars Verholt

Full Name
Ken Morgan
Music Man Equipment
RD100-112, RD50 head, SixtyFive Reverb, RP65-112

Member for

10 years 8 months

Ken Morgan Sun, 04/27/2014 - 12:47

Thanks for that ... had no idea MM used such low powered (comparatively) speakers in their boxes.

Music Man Equipment
Music Man 410-65 (1974)
Music Man 410-65 (1979)
Music Man 112RD-100 (1980)
Music Man 210RD-100-EVM (1982)
Music Man HD-130 Head (1975)

Member for

10 years 9 months
Profile picture for user pacAir

pacAir Sun, 04/27/2014 - 14:19

If you own a 210-65 or 410-65 you are probably aware that these speakers CAN be blown if you play really loud at full power! Music Man saved some pennies by using different 10" drivers in the 65 series than the heavy-duty drivers in the 130 series.

I bought 2 used 410-65 amps on eBay about 16 years ago (1974 & 1979 model years...the first and last versions of this amp). BOTH of them had 2 blown drivers in them! I took out the GOOD remaining drivers from the 1979 amp and restored the 1974 amp to a full complement of original drivers (and they all match!). I bought 4 brand new Fender (Eminence) 65 watt 10" speakers (used in the Princeton Chorus and RocPro amps in the '90s, Blue Label, "Special Design") and put those in the 1979 amp (this one is my "player") and they sound great and will not give me the same trouble!

Of course, the 210HD-130 & 410HD130 high power models used completely different speakers and had no such issues. This is the ONLY time I can recall that Music Man "cheaped-out" on a component!

Steve