Just a quick note to let you know I ran a quick test of the 12" ceramic drivers you sent me against a pair of vintage Celestion G12-30 speakers I've been using to test and develop with. The Tone Tubbys are: louder, cleaner and have a tighter bottom end and a clear bell-like high end. Even though I got more chest thumping volume out of them, the spike in the ear I normally get from the G12-30s was absent. Your speakers let the amp breathe better. I noticed that break up was clearer (less ragged) and when I cranked up the Swampdonkey M50 to the overdriven realms of AC/DC, the overdrive sound was a lot smoother. Bravo ! In the next week I'm expecting pairs of vintage Jensen ceramic and alnico drivers that I'll compare to the Tone Tubbys. I'll also test in a more suitable venue on the weekend and give you more feedback on my impressions. Overall, I'm very impressed and look forward to testing the Alnico product sometime in the future. We'll be in touch !!! All the best to you and your crew!
Chris/Swampdonkey Guitar Amplifiers
Just wanted to drop you a line and tell you how pleased I am with your product. I build custom hardwood amplifiers as a hobby and to satisfy my own urge for good tone. I recently loaded up a black walnut V-front cabinet of my design with your Ceramic 12s. They sound fantastic. They are driven by a 35 watt tube circuit that I built myself and the rig sounds as good as, or better, than my all original '64 Bassman. It has now become my amp of choice. Thank you for a wonderful product. I will be using them again for future amplifiers. |
|
 Jose Peraza/El Cajon, CA |
I first played through Tone Tubby speakers when I borrowed a 4X12 Marshall speaker cabinet from a band that we played before at a gig. My first impression when I started playing was that these were not Celestion speakers I was playing through. I mean, I was hearing a creamier fatter tone that I was not use to being that I also was a 4X12 Marshall owner as well. So when the show was over I asked the guitar player who loaned me the TT, what he had loaded in the cab and he proceeded to tell me that there was a company named Tone Tubby that made speakers out of hemp & ceramic or alnico, hence the great sound that I got. So I went online and ordered myself a well deserved 4X12 TT cab with ceramic speakers and took it into the studio for recording which you can hear at my bands site www.myspace.com/Castillo or my solo artist site www.myspace.com/joseluisperaza. I can tell you ever since then I've been getting compliments on my tone. Thanks Tone Tubby! |
Got the cab. It is amazing. It magically makes every other piece of gear sound better. It makes my wah pedal in the fully toe down position sound sweet, not harsh and bright like it used to....but at the same time I play a strat through it and the tones are clean, snappy and with the right amount of brightness. Hit it with gain and it gets real creamy. The best way I can say it is this: the tone tubby cab and speakers filter out all the non-musical frequencies, leaving only the stuff guitar players want to hear.
Lou Vena/Roselle, IL
Hello tone tubby Staff,
My name is Joel Sanders, I am a local musician in the Atlantic City area of New Jersey. I recently purchased a crate v series amp, equipped with one of your speakers, to use as a back-up amp for my ac30 vox. Sorely after the purchase of my new v series crate I found myself favoring the tone tubby loaded crate to my vox. The response of the speaker is great at any volume and the tone is comparable to that of the numerous vintage speakers I have heard out there. Excellent product guys!
Keep Rockin'
Joel Sanders/Atlantic City
I just wanted to send you a picture found on the internet that I thought you guys might enjoy.
Taken @ Montreux on July 9. http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/060710/ids_photos_en/r3132426498.jpg (Gallery)
It's a real classic shot. As soon as I saw it, I knew you guys had to take a gander. I look forward to loading up the Super Boys for our bass player. I have a Marshall 4x12 with Ceramics and a TT 2x12 with original hempcones. I'm going to get a 4x12 with original hempcone alnicos real soon... They're all amazing, and I can't get enough!! Your speakers are like sonic nicotine!!
Thank You!
Steve Portillo/National City, CA
I had over several years switched around a variety of Celestions and Webers in my custom 20-watt Plexi clone - alnicos and ceramics - seeking the ever elusive holy grail of tone. Great tone came from all of these speakers, yet each possessed certain weaknesses. I found myself wishing that there was one speaker somewhere out there that took the best qualities from the speakers I tried and eliminated the weak spots. I then tried a Tone Tubby Ceramic that I ordered from South Valley Vintage Amps and put it in the little Plex. I realized instantly that there the fictitious speaker I envisioned is not fiction afterall. The TT provided all the punch and attitude that a Pexi-type amp craves, and unlike any ceramic I had played before, it had some of the smooth sophistication of an alnico speaker. The icepick in the ear effect was gone. I took the little Plex into a local guitar shop and started playing it to show the owner. All of a sudden, several people came from other areas of the store, wanting to see what amp the music was coming from. I should mention that this amp is a combo, constructed from pine and birch. It has a retro look, and is not exactly a masterpiece of carpentry. That said, all who chuckle at this amp's visual funkieness quickly zip up their pie-holes when they hear it speak. The Tone Tubby Ceramic 12 is the last speaker this amp will ever have.
Thank You!
Walt Simmons/Sacramento, CA
Robert O'Grady/Canada
 Dave Meniketti's rig 3/25/2006 SF, CA |
From the Y & T Website Killer Tone Tubby's The Dude talked about. [quote=Babe Magnet]-Interesting amp there under the Mesa. What is it? The keyboardist, John Langford, was good tooo...He was off & on stage as needed,..& you could see him rockin' in the wings a bit tooo... good vibe, fun guy, & he makes HEMP speakers!!!! & Dave likes 'em! ...& DAVE PLAYIN' HIS NEW GUITAR!!!!!! WOOOOHOOOOOoooooo!! Looks & sounds AWESOME!! |
I can't really hear too much difference between the Alnico and Ceramic, except the Alnico is a bit sweeter sounding.
I think I am going to have to buy more of them pretty soon. Will be in touch. Thanks.
Jim Sogi/Hawaii
Thank you again. Best regards,
Daniele Cabibbe/Italy
Peter L/Sonoma, CA
I just got off the phone with Boogie and told them to break their piggy bank open and buy a few TT’s to put in their amps to check them out. I have owned over a dozen high end amps in the past years. From Boogies to Vintage blackfaces, and a lot in between. A few weeks ago, I bought the greatest new amp Boogie has come out with in years. The Lone Star Special. I thought this was the greatest amp in the world. I was wrong. I just put in a ceramic 12 hempcone into the LSS today. NOW it’s the greatest amp in the world. Wow. I just can’t describe the beautiful sounds coming from this. All tones! All settings. Shimmering clears vintage breakup to metal mania. It’s all there times ten. It’s like I had 10 pounds of wax removed from my ear canals, or that feeling of complete clarity when your ear pops from altitude changes.
I bow to your greatness and will build a shrine to honor you.
P.S. My family may come after you, since they can’t pry the guitar from my hands.
Ron Brent/BAAAhston Massachusetts
Guitar World Magazine April 2005
Billy Gibbons/ZZ Top Vintage Guitar Magazine December 2004
News Flash: 2005: Look for Tubbs in a Crate Amp near you. Available now!!
A sold-out fan,
Paul/Denver, Colorado
You folks are the real deal. When rookie nammers Stone Tone needed a perfect amp to demo their precious babies. Tone Tubby coughed up a 30 watt beast (Crate V30 with a Tone Tubby Hempcone Ceramic 12") that stole the show in our booth. Thanks to your impeccable little amp we had flawless sound and beautiful tone. (what else would you expect with such a combo, granite guitars and hemp speakers??)
Anytime we can help you out with something just drop me a line.
Thanks again,
Bob Anderson/Stone Tone Music
Thanks for a great product. I've played through both the alnico and the ceramic 12" TT's and just enjoyed the hell out of every note. My ceramic Tone Tubby loaded 4-12 cab is so smooooooth with just the right amount of breakup and grind to give me singing blues solos with solid bottom end.
Thanks again,
Ed Drotar/California
are these the most amazing speakers ive ever FOGGING HEARD OR WHAT?
I CANT BELIEVE HOW GREAT THESE SOUND
LOWS HIGHS WHATEVER
WANT TO GRUNT GRUNT
WANT TO BITE BITE
WANT TO HOWL HOWL
GROWL TO ZINGING BELL TONE
BOX OF FROGS TO ALMAN BROTHERS TONE
IM VERY UPSET NOW BECAUSE I THOUGHT I HAD SOME TONE GOING
SHHHHHHHHHEEEEEEEIIIIIIIIT
THESE SPEAKERS ARE REALLY SOMETHING
I DONT NEED 4 IN A CAB AT ALL
IT SOUNDS SO AMAZING I DONT WANT TO SHARE IT
BECAUSE ITS TAKEN ME THIS LONG TO HEAR WHAT I WANTED
MY GOLLY GOODNESS THEY JUST TELL ME WHAT I WANT TO HEAR
GREAT GOOOGLY MOOOGLY
ME REALLY LIKEY D SPEAKERZ
Ron Frey
Hi John,
Great talking with you today.
As I said we are now using Tone Tubby Ceramic speakers in all our 12" amp combos. The 4x10 model we make will soon be shipped with Tubby's as well. I'm thinking about combining 2x10 alnicos and 2x10 ceramics in that model.
Once I got your speaker sample I began optimizing (fine tuning) 2 of my amp models to accomodate your Hemp Cone design. The results are nothing less than amazing. I think some builders do it backwards, trying to find a speaker to fit thier amp, I believe that the amp needs to be tuned to compliment the speaker. I'll send you one to check out for yourself, you gonna love it!!
Thanks,
Dan Butler / Butler Custom Sound/Chicago Blues Box
www.chicagobluesbox.com
Hi Dan,
I'm the proud owner of your fabulous Kingston amplifier. This amp just sounds great for my music! Single coils or humbuckers no problem, they both sound excellent. I love the fact that you control your sound with just your volume knob. No stomp boxes needed! That Tone Tubby Hempcone is the best, no farting out! Also, it's the perfect size for the small clubs I play and it's a looker in purple. I just love the amp! You should hear it with my leslie!
Thanks,
Rick Masi
Hey John, Jahson here in Albuquerque.I just want to say,I love the sound of my new tone tubbies. And so does everybody else who hears them. I've been in the studio the past four nights and the engineer is totally impressed with the sound. I would like to send you a cd when it's done. Reggae music seems to just flow out of the ganja cone. And ganja cones seem to just flow in to I. It's ok to feel like you need to go to the van after reading this, put on some Bob Marley on and chill. It's a real honor that these speakers were handmade for me. To me that's really cool. I saw some pictures of you on your site, and you look a lot like my grandpa. He's from Whittier Ca. and retired here in Alb. This city has grown tremendously sense you were a kid. The only thing you would recognize would be the Sandias. One Love, from New Mexico .
Jahson / Albuquerqu
 |
John and Charlie, My cabinet sounds so great with my Tone Tubbies! I can't thank you enough. It's truly the best tone I've ever had. Thought I'd send this picture of my rig. We just played under the Arch in St Louis on July 4th (03). We had a crowd of 50,000 or so and Tone Tubbies rocked! I'll stop by when we play the Bay Area later this month and I'll call soon. Love always, Bernie |
Bernie Chiaravalle/Guitarist for Michael McDonald on his 4 Tone Tubby Ceramic 12" 40/40 Hempcones
Update September 2004
What's up guys? I've been on the road since June with Michael with the Rock and Soul Review which includes Average White Band and Hall and Oates. It's been great and the Tone Tubbies are kicking serious butt as usual. I get so many coments on my tone.
I just wanted to check in with you and say hi and thanks again for making my rig sound so good. We play Concord in Oct. Please let me know if you'd like to come. Love always, Bernie Chiaravalle
Update July 2005
Hey John,
I'm out on the east coast at the start of a summer tour with Michael McDonald. I've got my 4x12 loaded with my TTubbies for the whole summer and fall. We've had to use rental stuff for the last few months on gigs so I've been without my own rig. But man, as soon as I fired up the rig yesterday the tone was back! I can't tell you again how much I love these speakers!
Anyway, we're hitting the Bay Area late July/early August. I hope to stop in and say hello. Let me know if you need any tickets. love always, Bernie
.Dave Mason
I love the speakers that you sent me, the tone is really warm and sweet and does give the orange cab some solid definition. Thank you so much for hooking me up.
.Adam Seymour / The Pretenders
Junior and it sounds great. Im addicted.
.Mark K / Sedona, AZ
came down and put in 4 ceramic Hempcone 12" in my Orange cab about a year ago and they are truly my secret weapon. I am trying to help them to be less secret. Anyway I will be at the Zinky booth at NAMM this year and will come by to say Hi..
.Ron Heathman / Supersuckers
Charlie, Just wanted to thank you for your service and attention. The speakers are the BOMB!! They are exactly as you described. Muchas Gracias,
.Daniel / California
Test results on Tone Tubby Speakers.
12" Ceramic, good general sound, the tone falls some where between the Vintage 30 and the green back. I would prefer to use this speaker in place of the Vintage 30. I would also use them in place of the Green back if the power was much higher and the customer needed a little less bass.
Speak to you soon.
.Denis Cornell / DC Developments U.K.
Just want to let you know I installed the 12" Tubby in my Princeton Reverb and have used it for the last 2 weekends playing. The sound is just great. It makes the amp really come alive. Last night I accidentally used it for several songs with the bypass setting invoked on my Yamaha DG Stomp amp simulator/effects pedal. It sounded so good, I think I will use it without all the time. The tone is so warm and full, but with enough bite to cut through the mix when I want to solo. Sustain is just incredible.
All The Best,
Burt Tschache / Oregon
I installed your speaker in my 65 watt Peavey amp and following is my impression of the new sound. The first thing to keep in mind is the speaker can't create what's not in the electronics. The Peavey "Transtube Studio 112" was improved in the mid range area and it was a huge improvement in tone quality digging out more dynamic range from what the amp provides. Clarity is a big gain, the "Transtube" transistor amp offers a mild to medium tube distortion simulation but not until the speaker was installed was that feature distinguishable from speaker muddiness. The final improvement was the speaker draws more watts so at low volumes a player needs to turn up the amp and that puts your ready volume more into the sweet spot in the amp dynamics, using more amp watts at low volumes.
A tech guy can explain the above in tech talk but the final word to the world could be "A new amp for the price of a stomp box".
Thanks,
Bob McConnell / California