Speakers

Gibson, like many manufacturers of the time, used Jensen speakers in their amps and shown here are examples of some of the most common types. The Field Coil speaker is likely the earliest and was used in smaller amps or amps of lower wattage, like the Gibsonette shown in an earlier post. The Alnico (which comes from its Aluminum/Nickel/Cobalt magnet) speaker with the large "bell" covering was used on the high-end amps of the 50's, like the Les Paul GA-40, also shown in an earlier post. These are thought to produce a better sound than those with ceramic magnets. The Special Design speaker was first used in the 50's, as shown in the Les Paul Jr. in the first photo, and was later upgraded as shown by the later example from a Kustom cabinet. You can clearly see the speaker code 220843 on the rim. This indicates that it is a Jensen, made in the 43rd week of 1968. This is a very clean example, for its age. Also shown is a lower-end speaker (though still quite good) used by Gibson and others during the 60's. It is a CTS speaker shown in a Gibson "free form" cabinet from the 8th week of '67 (137708 speaker code). Original speakers, in good working order, can significantly increase the value of an amp, and may provide a more vintage tone than newer replacements.