# which one Jensen C12n or P12Q



## lightman (Sep 4, 2013)

I have a princeton reverb RI FSR with the 12" canabis rex, I dont really like that speaker with my strat.
So I'm thinking of replacing it with either the Jensen C12N or P12Q as I have been gassing for a Jensen speaker for awhile and think that either will match up well with my strat.
Stewmac have them on sale right now with free shipping (stewMax) so I'm going to pull the trigger on one of them just not sure which one to go for.
I play mostly clean to mild breakup on the princeton so heavy overdrive ( distortion) is not so important to me when I play that amp.
any one have any thoughts on it.


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## cboutilier (Jan 12, 2016)

I would go with a Weber, or something similar, to get that vintage Jensen tone. Or an actual vintage Jensen. I loved my PR circuit through a C15N


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## StevieMac (Mar 4, 2006)

If you're set on one of the new Jensens for a PRRI, I believe the C12N is a much better sonic fit for that amp than the P12Q. Just my 2 cents but you asked so....


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## Paul Running (Apr 12, 2020)

lightman said:


> I have a princeton reverb RI FSR with the 12" canabis rex, I dont really like that speaker with my strat.


I have been thinking about a cannabis rex for myself. May I ask what characteristic about the speaker that doesn't sit well with you? Like is it just the strat that doesn't match well?


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## lightman (Sep 4, 2013)

StevieMac said:


> If you're set on one of the new Jensens for a PRRI, I believe the C12N is a much better sonic fit for that amp than the P12Q. Just my 2 cents but you asked so....


 I was listening to some samples on you tube ( not the best ) why would you recommend the the P12N over the P12Q ? On youtube it is hard to tell the difference they both sound good although they were installed in 5e3.
I did find one clip of a princeton reverb FSR Bordeaux with the C12Q and it sounded really nice but it is recorded with his phone 




When I saw that you put your vintage Princeton up for sale I almost contacted you to buy ( my wife even said I could) but with the lockdown etc ( your 4 hours away from me) I thought maybe I should just try to get my princeton where I want it to be.


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## Swervin55 (Oct 30, 2009)

You really can't use the example of either speaker in a 5E3. Totally different animal. I have had both of the speakers you are questioning in a Blues Jr and Deluxe Reverb and I prefer the C12N.


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## lightman (Sep 4, 2013)

Paul Running said:


> I have been thinking about a cannabis rex for myself. May I ask what characteristic about the speaker that doesn't sit well with you? Like is it just the strat that doesn't match well?


 Over all the speaker is ok. But I find with my strat on the neck pickup I get some frequencies I don't like and the rex it can get quite dark. I have a separate Fender cab with a celestion v type speaker and I actually like it better, ( with the princeton) I have that Paired with a hotone british invasion I got from BestBuy on clearance for 60.00 bucks and it sounds good.
Sound is such a subjective thing unless it's really awful.
Some days I'm ok with the Rex mainly on the bridge pickup it just does not appeal to me on the neck pickup.


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## StevieMac (Mar 4, 2006)

lightman said:


> I was listening to some samples on you tube ( not the best ) why would you recommend the the P12N over the P12Q ? On youtube it is hard to tell the difference they both sound good although they were installed in 5e3.
> I did find one clip of a princeton reverb FSR Bordeaux with the C12Q and it sounded really nice but it is recorded with his phone
> 
> 
> ...



In simple terms, the C12N will provide more clean headroom and less compression when it does break up. PRs need every bit of that IMO as they're already prone to sound mushy when they distort. If you find the C-Rex to be too dark sounding however, the P12Q would change that in a hurry. It really depends on what you're trying to achieve then.


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## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

The rex sounds amazing in a blues junior


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## Paul Running (Apr 12, 2020)

knight_yyz said:


> The rex sounds amazing in a blues junior


I'm hearing more and more good things about this speaker. I was attracted to the name and it appears to be more to it than just the name.


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## Lincoln (Jun 2, 2008)

Not wanting to rain on your parade, but I think you'll find that a 10" speaker will ship free using StewMac, but for a 12" they want extra shipping money. Might be by weight, an alnico 12" might slide by?


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## Jalexander (Dec 31, 2020)

I play clean through my Fenders. My PRRI sounded infinitely better through my 1x12 cab with a vintage C12N than through the stock 10”. It still doesn’t compare to my 68 Bandmaster Reverb or 72 Super Reverb. There are a lot of factors here though:

It seems I just like bigger amps at low volume than the little PR
There may be a difference between the old circuits and the new, but that might just be bias
A bigger cab gives a fuller sound than the small PRRI cab
I like single 12’s better than single 10’s
So I can’t compare the C against the P, but I can say a vintage C12N was an improvement over the stock 10”. Others have recommended the Weber’s, and I’ve had success with those in other applications. Good value for a high quality speaker.


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## lightman (Sep 4, 2013)

Thanks all for the replies I guess I better check to see what the shipping will be on the 12 inch from stewmac then as I was under the impression shipping was free for everything . it was the last time I ordered from them. maybe they changed it.


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