Altec 417-8c Speaker Test

Yehuda

Yehuda

Well-known member
I know vintage speakers arent as well known in the high gain amp circles, but Altecs and JBL are really special. This is primarily clean tones since i have an extra one that someone wants, and thats what they wanted clips of, but Ill get chug tones up when i have my Engl XXL fully loaded with them

 
Randy Rhoads tone at the end lol

He used altec speakers too right? I’m fairly positive he did!
 
What amp did you use for clean?
I felt like I could hear the paper/cone move on clean it was cool.
Gain wasn't my jam but a good vintage sound.
 
Nashville Riff Co said:
Randy Rhoads tone at the end lol

He used altec speakers too right? I’m fairly positive he did!
Click to expand...
He did as did Santana, but the way I use them (mostly for metal) they’re nothing like those guy’s sound lol. Some of the best speakers of all time imo, the B version being my favorites
 
braintheory said:
He did as did Santana, but the way I use them (mostly for metal) they’re nothing like those guy’s sound lol. Some of the best speakers of all time imo, the B version being my favorites
Click to expand...

Haha I’m not much of a Santana guy but love Randy’s playing…tone not so much lol

But I’d love to hear what the secret is to making these speakers sound good?! Or maybe the better way to ask is, what should Randy’s sound engineer have done to make his tone on the records not sound the way it does?
 
Last edited:
gritstogroats said:
What amp did you use for clean?
I felt like I could hear the paper/cone move on clean it was cool.
Gain wasn't my jam but a good vintage sound.
Click to expand...
This was all 2c+

The gain tones arent great because I didnt really care about mic placement for clean, but mic placement matters way more for gain channel, and gain channel was something i added because why not
 
Nashville Riff Co said:
Haha I’m not much of a Santana guy but love Randy’s playing…tone not so much lol

But I’d love to hear what the secret is to making these speakers sound good?! Or maybe the better way to ask is, what should Randy’s sound engineer have done to make his tone on the records not sound the way it does?
Click to expand...
I feel the exact same way with respect to Randy. I have no idea why his tone wasn’t great, not my problem lol. I don’t have any secret. Most of my amps through a quad of 417C’s or 417B’s (much better) sound amazing. I will say I didn’t like the 417H’s as much. Not sure if Randy used that version or not. I don’t pay attention to what gear other guy’s used. I just try everything I can and see what I like most

Altec’s are a specific flavor that’s very different from celestions as are JBL’s; less mids, more extended lows and highs (much sharper), so maybe some guy’s ears don’t like that change, but my 2 cents would be to keep an open mind because the tone is so much more 3D/complex than any Celestion IME other than ‘60’s Alnico Blues/Silvers and pulsonic greenbacks. The other celestions imo are not in the same league in having a 3D/complex/nuanced tonal quality or feel. Most celestions sound cardboardy and bland when compared to them, but celestions do have the most pleasing mids IME
 
Last edited:
braintheory said:
I feel the exact same way with respect to Randy. I have no idea why his tone wasn’t great, not my problem lol. I don’t have any secret. Most of my amps through a quad of 417C’s or 417B’s (much better) sound amazing. I will say I didn’t like the 417H’s as much. Not sure if Randy used that version or not. I don’t pay attention to what gear other guy’s used. I just try everything I can and see what I like most

Altec’s are a specific flavor that’s very different from celestions as are JBL’s; less mids, more extended lows and highs (much sharper), so maybe some guy’s ears don’t like that change, but my 2 cents would be to keep an open mind because the tone is so much more 3D/complex than any Celestion IME other than ‘60’s Alnico Blues/Silvers and pulsonic greenbacks. The other celestions imo are not in the same league in having a 3D/complex/nuanced tonal quality or feel. Most celestions sound cardboardy and bland when compared to them, but celestions do have the most pleasing mids IME
Click to expand...
Thanks for this detail, much appreciated, I’ll aim to try em someday!
 
Nashville Riff Co said:
Thanks for this detail, much appreciated, I’ll aim to try em someday!
Click to expand...
Definitely worthwhile imo. Even if you don’t like them you’ll experience a very different and high quality flavor. It seems like most high gain guys only know celestions and imo only a few of their speakers truly were top tier stuff compared to others, while my other all time favorites are the Altec’s, JBL D120F’s, E120’s, Fane Crescendo’s and ‘50’s Cletron’s/Roger Charles’s. All of these speakers get a level of lows and highs not in the cards for celestions and the JBL’s and Crescendo’s especially are capable of much heavier chugs, punch and high end aggression than any celestion. It’s almost like comparing a colisuem to a regular mark amp in some ways
 
Nashville Riff Co said:
dude i haven't left the state in i dont even know how long...but if i ever make it up to that area, i'm DEFINITELY LOOKIN YOU UP!!!
Click to expand...
I dont want to out them as living in the area, but someone else near here has a way more impressive collection of gear in the area as well haha- they can respond or msg you if they want
 
Yehuda said:
I dont want to out them as living in the area, but someone else near here has a way more impressive collection of gear in the area as well haha- they can respond or msg you if they want
Click to expand...

all good man, i don't even like leaving the house unless absolutely necessary so it wouldn't matter lololol
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top