Ascension A30

I’ve been using 12” Blue Alnico loaded cabs for decades. I have a 1x12 and a 2x12 that are my go to’s. I use them with everything from Two Rock to Friedman to Magnatone and more - even a Fractal Audio Axe FX and a solid state Matrix power amp. They’ve been reliably good. Everyone loves a Blue Alnico. I recently found out Fane was manufacturing their own low wattage Alnico speaker. There was a rumor that they sounded very much like the coveted old Weber “Silver Bells”. I ordered a 1x12 open back loaded cab from Avatar. I figured I could use a refreshed cab if I didn’t like the speaker. Avatar makes great cabinets. Well, it’s been a week now since my 1x12 A30 cab arrived. As could be expected, the speaker was stiff and punchy the first day. While I couldn’t get it to sound right, I could definitely hear something good going on. That night I plugged the speaker in to an FM receiver, tuned in to the local, member driven radio station, KRFC FM, and cranked up the volume. I let it play in my rehearsal room overnight. It was night and day difference after loosening up for a bit. The 35 watt Two Rock Vintage Deluxe head found the sweetest - and easiest - midrange crunch that the stock, Warehouse speakers just didn’t have. This A30 is a very efficient speaker. But it’s not just louder, it’s more dynamic. Two Rock’s WGS speakers can be frustratingly thin sounding at lower volumes. The A30 gave a wonderful fullness and a better crunch than the high end WGS cabinet. My Marshall reissue JTM 20 watt head also sounded bigger, fuller and sweeter - the A30 was doing exactly what the Silver Bell’s were known for. I had similar results with the Friedman JJ Jr, Magnatone Baby M80 (just wow!), Two Rock ExO 15 and the Magnatone Varsity Reverb. They all sounded better. Some sounded much better, actually. Finally, the fun surprise of the A30 was what it did to a 5 watt Magnatone Starlite. The Starlite amp is more of a rumpus room, Tweedy type. It sounds great and it’s fun to play but it could never be used for a gig or serious rehearsal. Well, think again! The A30 was efficient enough to turn the little 5 watter in to a very rehearsal worthy, creamy toned spitfire! The bottom line is that virtually every amp - clean and dirty , Fender, Marshall and Vox types - was improved through the A30. The A30 has the sweet low end - not just low bass tones but that round, warm tone that hugs you as you play and keeps you safe - that the old Blue’s couldn’t get unless they were full out. I’ll be ordering a 2x12 soon. Highly, highly recommend!