From now on, when I encounter a poorly-executed gear comparison video, I'm going to point them at this video. Amazing. This sets the standard of what a gear comparison video should look like. OP worked hard to eliminate confounding differences between the tone of the two speakers, and showed us exactly what's the same and what's changed. Additionally I like the way OP switched back & forth throughout the comparison, rather than playing for 2 minutes on one setup, then another 2 minutes on the other. It's much easier to compare the tones this way. Bravo!!
A competent, intelligent person doesn't switch on the standby switch immediately after switching the power on. It's not a Kemper or AxeFx. The tubes must warm up to a working temperature.
I have several of the Vox AC handwireds in various power sizes, and all are equipped with the blues. I too have often wondered how the blues and greenbacks differ in these amps. This is just an excellent demo all the way around. I can appreciate the production time that went in to making this. Add bonus points for slipping in MS Excel. While I still prefer the blues for what I play 90% of the time, your demo makes me think I wouldn't miss them too much if I had greenbacks, and the higher gain was clearly better to my ear with the greenbacks. Although when I play higher gain through my blues, they sound just fine to me as well. Thanks again and keep up the good work.
hey, thanks for your feedback. Yeah, both are great! I personally would go with blues, they sound much more traditional in terms of AC30 to me. But even with high gain they have some unique spiciness
@@MaxSoloMusic I agree. I think overall unless you’re constantly running your vox hot with high gain the blues are the tone most are searching for. Greenbacks are in tons of other combos anyway might as well go with the blues in your vox right?
I have a 1994 reissue AC30/6 with one Greenback and one Alnico Blue. It is indeed a wonderful combination. The Blue is louder; the Greenback warmer. Both have great crunch tones.
For those who do not know how retail pricing works, I will explain. I am not endorsing or applauding this, I am just explaining (I worked for Avid and M-Audio). Retail Price = Cost x TheMultiplierNumber. Wholesale Price is usually 50% of the MSRP. Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) = some fraction of the MSRP that is usually fixed, like 80%. In one of the companies I worked for, TheMultiplierNumber was 5. So, if the Cost to build a widget was $100, then the MSRP would be $500, and the Wholesale cost would be $250. If it cost $200 to build a Knutenvalve, then the retail would be $1000 ($999, for the psychology) and the wholesale would be $500. This is why the cost of the alnico blue speakers isn't exctly 308 euros higher than without. The speaker changed the cost of build, which drastically affects the multiplier (and often, the profit margin).
you probably dont give a damn but does any of you know a trick to get back into an instagram account?? I was dumb lost the password. I would love any assistance you can offer me.
@Decker Hayden Thanks for your reply. I found the site thru google and Im waiting for the hacking stuff atm. Looks like it's gonna take a while so I will reply here later with my results.
Watching this 6 years after you posted it. What a brilliant demonstration between the two amps. Perfectly done. I’ve played a greenback but never a blue. This has given me the answers to get a blue. Thank you
This clearly took a lot of effort, and is extremely well done. Thank you! I bought an AC15 and replaced the greenback very easily, I'm surprised to find I prefer the normal channel sound of the Greenback but the top boost blue speaker sounds a lot better to me. Super interesting video!
To me the Greenbacks sound better for the thrashy stuff, but everything else sounds better with the Alnico Blues. This was very helpful, just ordered an AC30HW2X, thanks for the video!
As far as I can hear, not enough sonic difference to justify the price difference. Sometimes the Greens sounded better, sometimes the Blues did. Depended on the guitar, the mike and the distortion. I think one could be happy with either. I have an AC30 with Greens and wouldn't start a Blue hunting project on the basis of this video. Excellent vid BTW. Very complete and well put together. Thanks!
gliddofglood yeah, I think the average player would be better off saving the cash on the .05% tone difference and buying a few awesome pedals with the savings instead. Plus I hear the blue speakers don't last as long
The blues have a lower power rating, so I could imagine people blowing them apart without too much trouble. My band hosts jam nights, so I've installed much higher rated speakers in my amp, because many of the jammers choose to turn everything up to 12!
Wives are a thing of joy, right up until they say no ! Having said that if you can see, feel, smell, taste or recognize a difference in a product, then it is a value judgement. When wives are involved with financial dealings then the smartest thing to do is provide a bauble, or practical solution or equal value for her. Let's realize that her set of valuation parameters are different from yours. How much does she spend on a Hair appointment ? How long will the difference pay for your gear ? This a just one item. How about clothes ? This is about you getting more than her in her eyes. So you must balance this with factual parity. Make it equal for you both and "Happy wife equals Happy Life". If you are not really equal and even handed shame on you, this woman picked you and she didn't have to. You had nothing to do with it. She knew she could fix you !
I really appreciate how you kept playing while switching amps, so it was really easy to tell the difference. A lot of people take a long time to switch and talk in between, so you lose the sound of the amp in your head. Overall this was a nicely laid out comparison. I personally based on the video prefer the sound of the the Greenbacks.
Blues add a ton of midrange. Not what you want unless you play cleans or a really ice picky Tele imho. Humbuckers especially the neck on a LP can become impossibly boomy.
@@thebendu33 The lead singer/2nd guitarist from Minus The Bear has one of each in his ac30hw2. I just bought one and a bought used alnico blue and I'm going to try it. Psyched.
I recently just bought a used Ac30 cc2 from the mid 2000’s. Came with alnico blues. I’ve tried a lot of vox amps of the years. This is the first one I actually like. I say give the blues a try. It’s the classic combo.
Same here. I've been pining over blues for my ac30/6tb ($550!!), but no longer. Someday it may get one for Christmas, but not this year or next. Thanks for the amazing video.
Wow! Thank you for your research and that your doing this in English it’s helping me immensely with my decision to purchase one of these amp. Your insight, research, and use of common resources to find information is impressive. Tausend dank!
Thanks for providing the comparison video. I have a buddy that keeps telling me to upgrade the greenies in my AC30C2 to blues. I realize Alnico magnets are superior but I really didn't hear 'that much' of difference to warrant the expenditure. I'm 65 and my ears just aren't what they used to be. I just bought an AC10C1 with a creamback (should be here this weekend) - looking forward to comparing the two amps. I know I'll be happy with the +/- 45 lb. weight reduction.
Thanks for the demo. There's a noticeable difference in the sound of these speakers when used in a traditional style 6 input non-master volume AC30 such as an AC30/6TB or TBX. The Blue has a more pronounced upper midrange response. Together with its lower power handling capacity, this allows the Blue to translate more of the amp's chiming sound at lower volumes. The Blue gets the "blizzard of nails" tone better than the G12M25 Greenback. The Blue is also audibly louder than the Greenback at lower settings. But the volume difference disappears as you turn the amp up, and the Greenback lends the amp a more focused sound as you push the volume. The Greenback never gets unattractively ragged sounding in the highs at loud settings as the Blue sometimes can. The two different speakers make a great sounding mismatched set with an AC30.
I find both speaker types sound good in their own way. For clean, the blues imo are clearer and warmer, more organic. Greens for crunch and rock. Very interesting.
Fucking hell this was the perfect comparison video!! Quick swap with no distractions, Fender and Gibson clean, then up to the highest gain, different generes, clear graphic help, all in 8 minutes!!!! Please do more
i preferred the more mid focused green tones in this excellent comparison. It did make me wonder if adjusting the tone stack to find the sweet spots for each speaker may have highlighted benefits overlooked with a flat tone stack. of course that's a lot more variables to track! thanks for the video
This video earned a "subscribe"! EDIT (4 years later) I finally got an AC30C2X! I found a great used one and I jumped on it. This video still stands out as one of the best demonstrations of the amplifier’s capabilities.
Brilliant, thank you. This is the best way to make a video of an A/B comparison. A few seconds of A then a few seconds of B. Our ears and our short term memories can process this.
Great comparison. THey are both great speakers. I use Greenbacks in all my amps. I actually like how dynamic alnico blue is, gives you that sweet clean tone but when it comes to gain, the woody rock sound of a greenback speaker is unbeatable. If you are lucky enough to have one of each, why not. In reality, there is no better or worst, it depends how you like your tone to b. I also like V30s for rhythm guitars.
First of all, amazing comparison! Here's what I heard: Blue's cleans were fuller w/ more mid range, less of a "nasal" tone. Liked them better than the greens. Blue's "crunch" tones on the non-top boost channel were really full, sounded almost like a Marshall! Green's crunch tone were not nasal, but retained top end-clarity better than the blues. I liked the blues better, but greens weren't bad. On the top boost channel, for some reason the Blue's had more treble, but also were not as clear - sounded more "vintage" whatever that means... Greens didn't have the filter effect or top end of the blues. I liked both, but they were very different. I noted more clarity with the condenser mic compared to dynamic mic. I liked the condenser better in every situation.
Excellent video! Saved me some dough. I’ve had my AC30 for about 5 years now and finally after playing in a band and moving it around and letting it set I finally need to replace stock tubes. What do you suggest to go to now??
Excellent demo! I have both an AC30C2x (Alnico Blues) and a recently acquired AC15HW1 (Green Back). I'm loving the mid-range crunch I get from the GB on the AC15 but after seeing this video I think I might swap it out for one of the Alnico Blues on the AC30 and see what happens. Thanks again! Cheers.
This is an excellent video. Switching from one speaker in an instant playing the same riffs made it easy to tell the difference. And showing at the top all thru the video made it so you can go to any spot in the vid and know what your hearing. Thanks for posting. So many people swear by the Alnicos but the difference to my ears is minimal and not worth paying for.
Watching in 2024. Great video and one of the best comparisons I’ve ever seen and not just music gear but for any product. I recently bought an AC15C2 with Greenbacks and was curious how they would compare with the blues. While they do sound different each had their strengths but I wouldn’t say one was better than the other overall. I’m perfectly happy with the greenbacks and the blues don’t sound THAT much better to justify the price difference of upgrading
As for me, personally, I'd go for the Blues for that traditional tone Vox is known for. And I wouldn't use the amp for anything heavier than Queen covers.
Fantastic analysis of both tone and price! To me, the Blue sounded '60s, and the Greenbacks more '70s, with overdrive bringing out the differences. I'm not sure I'd pay the premium for the Blues, but they clearly have their place. Vielen Dank!
I don't understand the price difference either -- they COULD argue it's a "convenience fee" for installing the speakers for you ahead of time. But it's so easy to swap speakers, you should ALWAYS get the greens pre-installed, buy separate blues for less, AND now you have a set of greens too if you want! Either that, or sell the Greens for $90-$100 each to recoup cost on the Blues. Like, why *wouldn't* you do that?? For how high the price hikes with Blues pre-installed, I'd expect to get the Greenbacks too disconnected in the box!
It's interesting (to me) that so many people seem to prefer the greens for overdriven tones and the blues for clean tones. For me, it's the reverse. The greens seem to have a more open sound, and sound great clean but get a little muddy/too warm when overdriven; the blues sound more compressed, and thus stiff when clean, but really articulate and defined (not at all muddy) when overdriven. But yeah, amazing comparison video. Unexpectedly helpful!
I feel the same! The blues have a stonger midrange and not as wide treble response so i makes for awesome rock n roll overdrive tone. I feel it compliments the scooped character of the amp better too
Really well done video, love the mic changing. I can hardly hear the difference with the condenser mic. I prefer the blues for clean/crunch and the greens when you boost them up, but not for €600. How worn in were the blues?
Great comparison - I have a pair of JMI era AC30s, one which has non-original Greenbacks (serial number dates them to late 1969 - so those are post-JMI, probably came from a Marshall cab or something), and another with the original blues. This is the same kind of difference that I hear, really - the one with blues has a much wider spectrum of sound but with quite a soft, smooth character to how it projects the sound, the top end is very sweet, the bass is kinda loose but not in a muddy/flabby way. By contrast, the one with greenbacks has a kind of dirtier quality to the sound, much more direct with a more focused and punchy midrange character. Both sound glorious, though. It really depends whether you want the more angelic, airy sound of the blues, or the more aggressive, focused sound of the greenbacks, as to which speakers you should go for. I love both, but for different things.
Good vid. I'm not looking to drop a fortune on blues now. While there may be small differences in A-B comparisons (and personal preferences),I always remember that when gigging in a band with other instruments, vocals and audience - nobody's going to hear the subtleties of £000's spent on speakers that close in sound.
The key takeaway from this should be tone is more than the amp: its also the Mic, pedals, and guitar. Good stuff. Personally, I love the greens with a condenser but the blues certainly shined on a 57!
Excellent comparison video. Both speakers sounded excellent. I think the Greenbacks were more to my liking though. Subscribed. Cheers from Ontario, Canada.
Thank you for a really fascinating Test. I play for my own enjoyment clean Shadows stuff. My Laney valve Cub12 has a Laney speaker fitted. I've been thinking of up-grading to an Alnico Blue, which in UK costs some £190. Listening to lots of comparison Tests, I think the Blue would improve my Cub. BUT.....Here comes my question. Surely by adjusting the Bass, Middle and Treble settings, any speaker can be set for the Tone etc I want. Maybe the Laney speaker is Ok, and why spend so much money on a Blue? Any thoughts Guys?
Great video Max. I've often wondered if one type of speaker could be made to sound like another by using a 10-band EQ pedal in the FX loop of the amp. I hear a lot of talk on forums of people spending lots of money trying out different speakers to get a certain sound... maybe EQ would be a cheaper solution for them? What do you think?
Thanks! I think EQ can do a part of the job but it's helpless to emulate the right dynamics. Alnico Blue has very specific behavior due to low power rating when cranked up. Unfortunately I couldn't capture this in the video cause I don't want to move out of this flat yet :) What I know for sure, is that I'm totally going for Alnico based speaker in the nearest future. Maybe Jensen or something
ForViewingOnly i promise an Eq in the loop of an amp is the most versatile thing ever dreamed. u can get absolutley and speakers sound. between the eq and pickups height. i promise
A good EQ can give some amazing results. I heard a guy playing an un-named guitar and just by changing EQ settings he could transform it from sounding like a strat to a Les Paul. However, not sure if it would alter the dynamics and responsiveness of a speaker.
For the most of the common players greeenback will fit. Thank your for this video, I like your clear empiric approach. Well done, you deserve a lot more subscribers!
Hi and thanks for the accurate and interesting comparison! I'm not sure if I got it right: did you say that you've used the handwired ac30 with alnico blue speaker as an external cab for the regular ac30? If so, how did you connect the ext. output of the amp to the alnico blue speakers? I'm asking because I'm interested in doing something similar with a Marshall head of mine and I'd like to know if it's possible right out of the box or needs some kind of mods. Thank you!
Thanks for answering mate! Yeah I’m aware of that, sorry I’ve not made myself clear. I was asking how did you hook it up on the blue speakers cab side (I’ve never properly seen inside an ac30 c2 but from the pictures I don’t see any jack or similar connections for the internal speakers)
Oh, that's easy. As any other other guitar speakers, those in ac30 are connected using two wires. They are detachable. I have a cable with a jack plug on one side and two connectors on the other side to connect any speaker to any power amp's out
I really love speakers with Alnico or Neodymium magnet. But for the Vox the Greenback is just doing fine, its Thiele & Small parameters are harmonizing very well with the test setup. The same I can't say for the Alnico Blue which was lacking some bass response. Were the speakers broken-in? The Alnic Blue sounded like not broken-in.
I love greenbacks for Marshall JTM-45 circuits. But with an AC30, the Greenbacks sound like you threw a blanket over the cabinet (until you get to the very high gain, then you hear why the greens are better for Marshalls). All the stock Vox amps come with Blue Speakers made in China. So the best deal is to buy separate UK/English Blue Alnico Speakers (lightly used if possible to have them broken in) for a better value and better speakers (with even more complexity to the mids than you hear with these Chinese units). Sell the Chinese Greenbacks, or keep them as backups... or for your next Marshall. GREAT test video! You can really hear the differences.
Both great, BLue is truer to the vintage Vox tone even you could say with some similarity to the Fender Tweed Deluxe and greenbakcs sound more like Marshall JTM, but it all depends on what you want.
Just music Berlin is my local store also, they have like five floors and a rooftop bar on top where you can relax after a day of trying different instruments
Well, I kept heading for a Vox Amp in my mind and followed some of the threads online. With that video is all said and done! Great comparison, dude! Best of information stuck into short time! To me the green speakers had a better "definition" in sound, the blue ones are a bit more "brown"... a bit mellow. Is it worth the price changing then? I think it will depend on the gear you're using, your style of music and all these tiny little things which use to have impact on your sound. There is no right or wrong... just make YOUR decision what seems to be matching to you. To me, I would go for the greens. But what do I know? Just my penny.
I recently bought an AC15 with greenback. I noticed then that it was cheaper to buy the greenback amp and purchase a blue speaker seperately, plus you have a spare greenback to keep or sell. I won't be swapping out my greenback, I think it's different but not better or worse, and I find it a bit warmer which I prefer. Most important fact with the blue that's not mentioned here, is that it is more efficient and noticeably louder if you need the extra volume.
Well done video. Straight to the point and shows what you need to hear. Both speakers sounded great but they were different. Really depends on just what your ears prefer. I lean slightly to the blues.
Excellent and fair test ! the only trouble is the quality of your effort is defeated by a wide range of limitations. 2 inch Computer speakers, poor sound cards, tone stacks in sound cards, well I could go on but I think the answer is obvious.....This is in the ear of the live buyer. Having heard the amps live, I can tell you there are subtle but important differences. Can you hear the difference in tone of a Vox amp played on 120/60 AC versus 234.0 volts at 50 cycles/second. That makes a huge difference. To 99 people in a hundred there will only be a perceived difference, not a measurable one on an oscilloscope. In all fairness the riffs played were close but not identical in all variations. A tone generator would have been a better comparison.
A bit late to the video but something else to consider is the manufacture of the speakers (British made AC30/6 TBX Blues, early JMI Blues/ current Blues)...and how the speakers and amp break in over time. I have a 2001 TBX (blues), my bandmate has a mid 1990's TB (greens), both Korg Vox but made by Marshall in the UK (until they moved production to China and Vietnam in late 2003). Both amps are broken in and both sound amazing (especially when played at a volume where the tubes are being pushed so you have that natural breakup. Both take turns to shine in different conditions (certain pedals (especially a Crowther Hot Cake (IYKYK)), different songs live versus the recoding studio, when playing live with our bandmate with his Mesa Boogie Maverick Dual Rectifier (2×12 Combo) or when my Mesa Boogie Mark III is also being used. They each sit in different places in the mix and if played alone might sound a bit off but when played in a mix they take their turn to shine. Different tools for different jobs is really what it comes down to. I will say that the normal channel of each is excellent with pedals and if you're patching between the normal and brilliant (Top Boost) then you get a whole other gear to shift into. So versatile. I suggest that if you're going to get Blues then get them directly from Celestian in the UK or buy yourself a well maintained (not abused) UK made TBX. Those Amps are made like the vintage JMI's to be out of phase. Otherwise just go with the greens and swap out one speaker for a blue (so you have one of each) to give you a nice blend.
If I were to close my eyes I'd swear the entire video was made with one amp. That's how close the sounds were to my ears. I was leaning towards the blue in an ac15c1 but I may juat save the $200 and get an extra couple of pedals instead.
From now on, when I encounter a poorly-executed gear comparison video, I'm going to point them at this video. Amazing. This sets the standard of what a gear comparison video should look like.
OP worked hard to eliminate confounding differences between the tone of the two speakers, and showed us exactly what's the same and what's changed.
Additionally I like the way OP switched back & forth throughout the comparison, rather than playing for 2 minutes on one setup, then another 2 minutes on the other. It's much easier to compare the tones this way.
Bravo!!
Totally agreed !
Sure but not one word of technology spoke. Greenbacks balong in Marshalls. Blues for ACX30c2's
Came for the speaker comparison, stayed for the Excel tutorial.
Hahaha, for sure!
This is what happens when a competent, intelligent person puts together a comparison video. That was excellent.
Spot on.
Agreed, very well done!
A competent, intelligent person doesn't switch on the standby switch immediately after switching the power on. It's not a Kemper or AxeFx. The tubes must warm up to a working temperature.
@@mladengrubelic873 Dumb ass, that was time elapsed. Think first before jumping up to denigrate someone asshole.
@@mladengrubelic873 Tube amps existed for years before standby switches were added, and there were no problems just turning those amps on you moron.
thank you so much for switching back and forth quickly! wish all demos did this
One of the best speaker comparison videos I have ever watched! Thank you for taking the time to make it 👍🏼
I have several of the Vox AC handwireds in various power sizes, and all are equipped with the blues. I too have often wondered how the blues and greenbacks differ in these amps. This is just an excellent demo all the way around. I can appreciate the production time that went in to making this. Add bonus points for slipping in MS Excel. While I still prefer the blues for what I play 90% of the time, your demo makes me think I wouldn't miss them too much if I had greenbacks, and the higher gain was clearly better to my ear with the greenbacks. Although when I play higher gain through my blues, they sound just fine to me as well. Thanks again and keep up the good work.
hey, thanks for your feedback. Yeah, both are great! I personally would go with blues, they sound much more traditional in terms of AC30 to me. But even with high gain they have some unique spiciness
@@MaxSoloMusic I agree. I think overall unless you’re constantly running your vox hot with high gain the blues are the tone most are searching for. Greenbacks are in tons of other combos anyway might as well go with the blues in your vox right?
Greenback for gain tone. Blue for clean tones. May as well put 1 of each in the amp! Best of both worlds.
That's what i'd do!
I've seen it done, works really well.
Gordon Tubbs exactly what i thought, my fav goes to the greenback... crunchier i 'd say ...anyway, excellent demo and new suscriber here!
Hey! Thanks
I have a 1994 reissue AC30/6 with one Greenback and one Alnico Blue. It is indeed a wonderful combination. The Blue is louder; the Greenback warmer. Both have great crunch tones.
For those who do not know how retail pricing works, I will explain. I am not endorsing or applauding this, I am just explaining (I worked for Avid and M-Audio). Retail Price = Cost x TheMultiplierNumber. Wholesale Price is usually 50% of the MSRP. Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) = some fraction of the MSRP that is usually fixed, like 80%. In one of the companies I worked for, TheMultiplierNumber was 5. So, if the Cost to build a widget was $100, then the MSRP would be $500, and the Wholesale cost would be $250. If it cost $200 to build a Knutenvalve, then the retail would be $1000 ($999, for the psychology) and the wholesale would be $500. This is why the cost of the alnico blue speakers isn't exctly 308 euros higher than without. The speaker changed the cost of build, which drastically affects the multiplier (and often, the profit margin).
Come for the speaker comparison, stay for the marketing lecture.
you probably dont give a damn but does any of you know a trick to get back into an instagram account??
I was dumb lost the password. I would love any assistance you can offer me.
@Marcos Davian Instablaster :)
@Decker Hayden Thanks for your reply. I found the site thru google and Im waiting for the hacking stuff atm.
Looks like it's gonna take a while so I will reply here later with my results.
@Decker Hayden it did the trick and I finally got access to my account again. I'm so happy:D
Thanks so much, you saved my ass!
Watching this 6 years after you posted it. What a brilliant demonstration between the two amps. Perfectly done. I’ve played a greenback but never a blue. This has given me the answers to get a blue. Thank you
This clearly took a lot of effort, and is extremely well done. Thank you! I bought an AC15 and replaced the greenback very easily, I'm surprised to find I prefer the normal channel sound of the Greenback but the top boost blue speaker sounds a lot better to me. Super interesting video!
To me the Greenbacks sound better for the thrashy stuff, but everything else sounds better with the Alnico Blues. This was very helpful, just ordered an AC30HW2X, thanks for the video!
Lol. Tell me you didn't
I just got the AC30HW2x with english greenbacks
By far the best speaker comparison video I’ve ever seen. Perfectly executed
As far as I can hear, not enough sonic difference to justify the price difference. Sometimes the Greens sounded better, sometimes the Blues did. Depended on the guitar, the mike and the distortion. I think one could be happy with either. I have an AC30 with Greens and wouldn't start a Blue hunting project on the basis of this video. Excellent vid BTW. Very complete and well put together. Thanks!
gliddofglood yeah, I think the average player would be better off saving the cash on the .05% tone difference and buying a few awesome pedals with the savings instead. Plus I hear the blue speakers don't last as long
The blues have a lower power rating, so I could imagine people blowing them apart without too much trouble. My band hosts jam nights, so I've installed much higher rated speakers in my amp, because many of the jammers choose to turn everything up to 12!
Wives are a thing of joy, right up until they say no ! Having said that if you can see, feel, smell, taste or recognize a difference in a product, then it is a value judgement. When wives are involved with financial dealings then the smartest thing to do is provide a bauble, or practical solution or equal value for her. Let's realize that her set of valuation parameters are different from yours. How much does she spend on a Hair appointment ? How long will the difference pay for your gear ? This a just one item. How about clothes ? This is about you getting more than her in her eyes. So you must balance this with factual parity. Make it equal for you both and "Happy wife equals Happy Life". If you are not really equal and even handed shame on you, this woman picked you and she didn't have to. You had nothing to do with it. She knew she could fix you !
Your comment is brilliant, some who are lucky enough NOT to be married may not fully understand.
I think the price difference in the speakers is related to the cost of the magnets they use in them not the sound quality
I really appreciate how you kept playing while switching amps, so it was really easy to tell the difference. A lot of people take a long time to switch and talk in between, so you lose the sound of the amp in your head. Overall this was a nicely laid out comparison. I personally based on the video prefer the sound of the the Greenbacks.
The Blue went better with the top-boost channel, but in the normal channel the Greenback sounded great and less boxy than the Blue. Nice work Max.
That's what I thought too!
Exactly!
I don’t know of a better prepared & executed comparison video. Fantastic job!
Thanks for taking the time and effort to post this up as I am in speaker selection and these tests were a real help.
--- Alnico..
Some of the rare VERY GOOD comparison videos on youtube. Thx
Was going to switch my greens to blues.....not anymore.
You have to get the VOX AC30 with the Alnico Blue speakers to believe it. I did not believe it until I tried.
Blues add a ton of midrange. Not what you want unless you play cleans or a really ice picky Tele imho. Humbuckers especially the neck on a LP can become impossibly boomy.
I prefer the clean tone of the bleu speakers, but the crunch is way better with the greens
@@thebendu33 The lead singer/2nd guitarist from Minus The Bear has one of each in his ac30hw2. I just bought one and a bought used alnico blue and I'm going to try it. Psyched.
You can tell the difference but it’s hard to hear a difference in this video but I have played both and I prefer and have blues in mine
I recently just bought a used Ac30 cc2 from the mid 2000’s. Came with alnico blues. I’ve tried a lot of vox amps of the years. This is the first one I actually like. I say give the blues a try. It’s the classic combo.
Same here. I've been pining over blues for my ac30/6tb ($550!!), but no longer. Someday it may get one for Christmas, but not this year or next. Thanks for the amazing video.
Wow! Thank you for your research and that your doing this in English it’s helping me immensely with my decision to purchase one of these amp. Your insight, research, and use of common resources to find information is impressive. Tausend dank!
Thanks for providing the comparison video. I have a buddy that keeps telling me to upgrade the greenies in my AC30C2 to blues. I realize Alnico magnets are superior but I really didn't hear 'that much' of difference to warrant the expenditure. I'm 65 and my ears just aren't what they used to be.
I just bought an AC10C1 with a creamback (should be here this weekend) - looking forward to comparing the two amps. I know I'll be happy with the +/- 45 lb. weight reduction.
Jesus I went through so many videos before I found this one.Had I found it first it would have been the only one I needed. Great job.
Thanks for the demo. There's a noticeable difference in the sound of these speakers when used in a traditional style 6 input non-master volume AC30 such as an AC30/6TB or TBX. The Blue has a more pronounced upper midrange response. Together with its lower power handling capacity, this allows the Blue to translate more of the amp's chiming sound at lower volumes. The Blue gets the "blizzard of nails" tone better than the G12M25 Greenback. The Blue is also audibly louder than the Greenback at lower settings. But the volume difference disappears as you turn the amp up, and the Greenback lends the amp a more focused sound as you push the volume. The Greenback never gets unattractively ragged sounding in the highs at loud settings as the Blue sometimes can. The two different speakers make a great sounding mismatched set with an AC30.
This! The blues lose all definition when pushed. Just turns to mush. Chime is nice but most modern Vox amps are way too icepick to begin with.
I choose greenback, more balanced. Blueback has more presence at crunch, especially top boost. Thx bro, excellent work.
I find both speaker types sound good in their own way. For clean, the blues imo are clearer and warmer, more organic. Greens for crunch and rock. Very interesting.
Fucking hell this was the perfect comparison video!! Quick swap with no distractions, Fender and Gibson clean, then up to the highest gain, different generes, clear graphic help, all in 8 minutes!!!! Please do more
i preferred the more mid focused green tones in this excellent comparison. It did make me wonder if adjusting the tone stack to find the sweet spots for each speaker may have highlighted benefits overlooked with a flat tone stack. of course that's a lot more variables to track! thanks for the video
Thank you for taking the time to do a useful comparison.
This video earned a "subscribe"! EDIT (4 years later) I finally got an AC30C2X! I found a great used one and I jumped on it. This video still stands out as one of the best demonstrations of the amplifier’s capabilities.
For clean, crunch and moderate distortion it’s Alnico Blue for the win?
Brilliant, thank you. This is the best way to make a video of an A/B comparison. A few seconds of A then a few seconds of B. Our ears and our short term memories can process this.
Fantastic video. Intelligently put together, very complete and revealing of the tonal difference. Wunderbar my friend !
Thank you kindly!
Great comparison. THey are both great speakers. I use Greenbacks in all my amps. I actually like how dynamic alnico blue is, gives you that sweet clean tone but when it comes to gain, the woody rock sound of a greenback speaker is unbeatable. If you are lucky enough to have one of each, why not. In reality, there is no better or worst, it depends how you like your tone to b. I also like V30s for rhythm guitars.
They both sound great. You cant go wrong with either speaker.
First of all, amazing comparison! Here's what I heard:
Blue's cleans were fuller w/ more mid range, less of a "nasal" tone. Liked them better than the greens.
Blue's "crunch" tones on the non-top boost channel were really full, sounded almost like a Marshall! Green's crunch tone were not nasal, but retained top end-clarity better than the blues. I liked the blues better, but greens weren't bad.
On the top boost channel, for some reason the Blue's had more treble, but also were not as clear - sounded more "vintage" whatever that means... Greens didn't have the filter effect or top end of the blues. I liked both, but they were very different.
I noted more clarity with the condenser mic compared to dynamic mic. I liked the condenser better in every situation.
Amazing A/B. Thank you. Would be good to hear a comparison of the HW and the C - both with the same speakers
I have a Vox Ac30 with greens, but also thought I would prefer the Blues for a more authentic Vox sound, but now I am happy with my greens......
The Greenbacks sounded richer to me.
This video helped me decide on the speaker for an amp build.
Brilliant video editing skills! Great production. The Blues have more upper midrange punch and the Greens are slightly more "scooped".
Excellent, well thought out comparison video. I prefer the Greens. I'm going to check out any other videos you have done now.
Excellent comparison, nicely done. Blues for the cleans and Greenback for the dirt.
Excellent video! Saved me some dough. I’ve had my AC30 for about 5 years now and finally after playing in a band and moving it around and letting it set I finally need to replace stock tubes. What do you suggest to go to now??
Hi Max Solo,
Super pro job ... many could learn a few things here!
Thx /Jens
Excellent demo! I have both an AC30C2x (Alnico Blues) and a recently acquired AC15HW1 (Green Back). I'm loving the mid-range crunch I get from the GB on the AC15 but after seeing this video I think I might swap it out for one of the Alnico Blues on the AC30 and see what happens. Thanks again! Cheers.
Samuel Ocea How did it go?
This is an excellent video. Switching from one speaker in an instant playing the same riffs made it easy to tell the difference. And showing at the top all thru the video made it so you can go to any spot in the vid and know what your hearing. Thanks for posting. So many people swear by the Alnicos but the difference to my ears is minimal and not worth paying for.
The narrator sounds like an evil professor plotting world domination before lunch.
T G haha, nice
You watch too much Hollywood propaganda, they've tricked your brain!
Your mind has been jew’d
an evil cat professor plotting world domination before lunch.
rubbish statement unless it was said in humor. the review was excellent.
Blues seem to have more clarity and a truer representation of the vox sound
Really well made comparison! Congrats!
Both great but I think the blue are for
Me 👍
Great video! It shows how much the mic choice colors the sound, much more than the different speakers actually.
Watching in 2024. Great video and one of the best comparisons I’ve ever seen and not just music gear but for any product. I recently bought an AC15C2 with Greenbacks and was curious how they would compare with the blues. While they do sound different each had their strengths but I wouldn’t say one was better than the other overall. I’m perfectly happy with the greenbacks and the blues don’t sound THAT much better to justify the price difference of upgrading
That was excellent. Thank you! Both speakers sound great in their own way.
Great video. Great idea of comparing prices with Excell. With speakers would you prefer to play Jazz and Metal?
As for me, personally, I'd go for the Blues for that traditional tone Vox is known for. And I wouldn't use the amp for anything heavier than Queen covers.
Great Vid Mate. Both sound Great in different ways, Blues for Me
Such a good demo, thanks! Probably gonna go with the greens!
Fantastic analysis of both tone and price! To me, the Blue sounded '60s, and the Greenbacks more '70s, with overdrive bringing out the differences. I'm not sure I'd pay the premium for the Blues, but they clearly have their place. Vielen Dank!
Very good comparison video.
I don't understand the price difference either -- they COULD argue it's a "convenience fee" for installing the speakers for you ahead of time. But it's so easy to swap speakers, you should ALWAYS get the greens pre-installed, buy separate blues for less, AND now you have a set of greens too if you want! Either that, or sell the Greens for $90-$100 each to recoup cost on the Blues. Like, why *wouldn't* you do that?? For how high the price hikes with Blues pre-installed, I'd expect to get the Greenbacks too disconnected in the box!
great video! couldnt think of a better way to compare those speakers. I subscribed to your channel and look forward to similar conten :D
It's interesting (to me) that so many people seem to prefer the greens for overdriven tones and the blues for clean tones. For me, it's the reverse. The greens seem to have a more open sound, and sound great clean but get a little muddy/too warm when overdriven; the blues sound more compressed, and thus stiff when clean, but really articulate and defined (not at all muddy) when overdriven.
But yeah, amazing comparison video. Unexpectedly helpful!
I feel the same! The blues have a stonger midrange and not as wide treble response so i makes for awesome rock n roll overdrive tone. I feel it compliments the scooped character of the amp better too
one of the best comparasingd videos out there. congrats!
Awesome video! Very thorough, you earned my sub. 🤘
Roland JC-120 vs JC-40 vs JC-90 vs JC-77 next?
Really well done video, love the mic changing. I can hardly hear the difference with the condenser mic. I prefer the blues for clean/crunch and the greens when you boost them up, but not for €600. How worn in were the blues?
Both amps were absolutely new
Great comparison - I have a pair of JMI era AC30s, one which has non-original Greenbacks (serial number dates them to late 1969 - so those are post-JMI, probably came from a Marshall cab or something), and another with the original blues. This is the same kind of difference that I hear, really - the one with blues has a much wider spectrum of sound but with quite a soft, smooth character to how it projects the sound, the top end is very sweet, the bass is kinda loose but not in a muddy/flabby way.
By contrast, the one with greenbacks has a kind of dirtier quality to the sound, much more direct with a more focused and punchy midrange character. Both sound glorious, though.
It really depends whether you want the more angelic, airy sound of the blues, or the more aggressive, focused sound of the greenbacks, as to which speakers you should go for. I love both, but for different things.
Good vid. I'm not looking to drop a fortune on blues now. While there may be small differences in A-B comparisons (and personal preferences),I always remember that when gigging in a band with other instruments, vocals and audience - nobody's going to hear the subtleties of £000's spent on speakers that close in sound.
Great video, you really helped me. Gotta get a '03 english with greenbacks!
Mike Litoris Thanks for feedback!
I prefer the blue ones, although I like how the greenback sounds on this video too.
The key takeaway from this should be tone is more than the amp: its also the Mic, pedals, and guitar. Good stuff. Personally, I love the greens with a condenser but the blues certainly shined on a 57!
Excellent comparison video. Both speakers sounded excellent. I think the Greenbacks were more to my liking though. Subscribed. Cheers from Ontario, Canada.
Very good info and demo of the two, thank you.
I'm so glad mine has the blues.
Thank you for a really fascinating Test. I play for my own enjoyment clean Shadows stuff. My Laney valve Cub12 has a Laney speaker fitted. I've been thinking of up-grading to an Alnico Blue, which in UK costs some £190. Listening to lots of comparison Tests, I think the Blue would improve my Cub. BUT.....Here comes my question. Surely by adjusting the Bass, Middle and Treble settings, any speaker can be set for the Tone etc I want. Maybe the Laney speaker is Ok, and why spend so much money on a Blue? Any thoughts Guys?
Great video Max. I've often wondered if one type of speaker could be made to sound like another by using a 10-band EQ pedal in the FX loop of the amp. I hear a lot of talk on forums of people spending lots of money trying out different speakers to get a certain sound... maybe EQ would be a cheaper solution for them? What do you think?
Thanks! I think EQ can do a part of the job but it's helpless to emulate the right dynamics. Alnico Blue has very specific behavior due to low power rating when cranked up. Unfortunately I couldn't capture this in the video cause I don't want to move out of this flat yet :) What I know for sure, is that I'm totally going for Alnico based speaker in the nearest future. Maybe Jensen or something
ForViewingOnly i promise an Eq in the loop of an amp is the most versatile thing ever dreamed. u can get absolutley and speakers sound. between the eq and pickups height. i promise
A good EQ can give some amazing results. I heard a guy playing an un-named guitar and just by changing EQ settings he could transform it from sounding like a strat to a Les Paul. However, not sure if it would alter the dynamics and responsiveness of a speaker.
Is this going to be on the test next Friday professor
Very good comparison video... couldn't ask for more. Thanks
For the most of the common players greeenback will fit. Thank your for this video, I like your clear empiric approach. Well done, you deserve a lot more subscribers!
The blue is what I consider the classic VOX sound. Especially with single coils. It was pretty apparent in this video. Great work!
edit. the green with high gains was better to my ears tho...
Hi and thanks for the accurate and interesting comparison! I'm not sure if I got it right: did you say that you've used the handwired ac30 with alnico blue speaker as an external cab for the regular ac30? If so, how did you connect the ext. output of the amp to the alnico blue speakers? I'm asking because I'm interested in doing something similar with a Marshall head of mine and I'd like to know if it's possible right out of the box or needs some kind of mods. Thank you!
Hi. Yeah, ac30c2 has an external speaker output. When used, its own speakers get disabled. See at 3:00
Thanks for answering mate! Yeah I’m aware of that, sorry I’ve not made myself clear. I was asking how did you hook it up on the blue speakers cab side (I’ve never properly seen inside an ac30 c2 but from the pictures I don’t see any jack or similar connections for the internal speakers)
Oh, that's easy. As any other other guitar speakers, those in ac30 are connected using two wires. They are detachable. I have a cable with a jack plug on one side and two connectors on the other side to connect any speaker to any power amp's out
Excellent video, sets a new standard for how it should be done. Thank you! I think Greens would be me preference after watching.
To my ears the difference was not enough that could not be tweaked by the tone stack.
Thanks for the work, you presented the case perfectly.
Really well made video man! Keep it up.
I really love speakers with Alnico or Neodymium magnet. But for the Vox the Greenback is just doing fine, its Thiele & Small parameters are harmonizing very well with the test setup. The same I can't say for the Alnico Blue which was lacking some bass response. Were the speakers broken-in? The Alnic Blue sounded like not broken-in.
I love greenbacks for Marshall JTM-45 circuits. But with an AC30, the Greenbacks sound like you threw a blanket over the cabinet (until you get to the very high gain, then you hear why the greens are better for Marshalls). All the stock Vox amps come with Blue Speakers made in China. So the best deal is to buy separate UK/English Blue Alnico Speakers (lightly used if possible to have them broken in) for a better value and better speakers (with even more complexity to the mids than you hear with these Chinese units). Sell the Chinese Greenbacks, or keep them as backups... or for your next Marshall. GREAT test video! You can really hear the differences.
Both great, BLue is truer to the vintage Vox tone even you could say with some similarity to the Fender Tweed Deluxe and greenbakcs sound more like Marshall JTM, but it all depends on what you want.
This took so much work to make. Thank you
As funny as it may sound, it took about 10 times less work than my standard videos usually do :)
@@MaxSoloMusic that's crazy
Well done. Very informative comparison.
Almost bought an alnico blue model. Thank you for this video
Just music Berlin is my local store also, they have like five floors and a rooftop bar on top where you can relax after a day of trying different instruments
Loved the greenback
Well, I kept heading for a Vox Amp in my mind and followed some of the threads online. With that video is all said and done! Great comparison, dude! Best of information stuck into short time!
To me the green speakers had a better "definition" in sound, the blue ones are a bit more "brown"... a bit mellow.
Is it worth the price changing then?
I think it will depend on the gear you're using, your style of music and all these tiny little things which use to have impact on your sound.
There is no right or wrong... just make YOUR decision what seems to be matching to you. To me, I would go for the greens.
But what do I know?
Just my penny.
I recently bought an AC15 with greenback. I noticed then that it was cheaper to buy the greenback amp and purchase a blue speaker seperately, plus you have a spare greenback to keep or sell. I won't be swapping out my greenback, I think it's different but not better or worse, and I find it a bit warmer which I prefer. Most important fact with the blue that's not mentioned here, is that it is more efficient and noticeably louder if you need the extra volume.
Use an Alnico Gold if you want it to be warmer. It handles power better and doesn't drive as fast.
Well done video. Straight to the point and shows what you need to hear. Both speakers sounded great but they were different. Really depends on just what your ears prefer. I lean slightly to the blues.
Excellent and fair test ! the only trouble is the quality of your effort is defeated by a wide range of limitations. 2 inch Computer speakers, poor sound cards, tone stacks in sound cards, well I could go on but I think the answer is obvious.....This is in the ear of the live buyer. Having heard the amps live, I can tell you there are subtle but important differences. Can you hear the difference in tone of a Vox amp played on 120/60 AC versus 234.0 volts at 50 cycles/second. That makes a huge difference. To 99 people in a hundred there will only be a perceived difference, not a measurable one on an oscilloscope. In all fairness the riffs played were close but not identical in all variations. A tone generator would have been a better comparison.
This surely is an excellent comparison video, thanks a lot man.
A bit late to the video but something else to consider is the manufacture of the speakers (British made AC30/6 TBX Blues, early JMI Blues/ current Blues)...and how the speakers and amp break in over time. I have a 2001 TBX (blues), my bandmate has a mid 1990's TB (greens), both Korg Vox but made by Marshall in the UK (until they moved production to China and Vietnam in late 2003). Both amps are broken in and both sound amazing (especially when played at a volume where the tubes are being pushed so you have that natural breakup. Both take turns to shine in different conditions (certain pedals (especially a Crowther Hot Cake (IYKYK)), different songs live versus the recoding studio, when playing live with our bandmate with his Mesa Boogie Maverick Dual Rectifier (2×12 Combo) or when my Mesa Boogie Mark III is also being used. They each sit in different places in the mix and if played alone might sound a bit off but when played in a mix they take their turn to shine. Different tools for different jobs is really what it comes down to. I will say that the normal channel of each is excellent with pedals and if you're patching between the normal and brilliant (Top Boost) then you get a whole other gear to shift into. So versatile.
I suggest that if you're going to get Blues then get them directly from Celestian in the UK or buy yourself a well maintained (not abused) UK made TBX. Those Amps are made like the vintage JMI's to be out of phase. Otherwise just go with the greens and swap out one speaker for a blue (so you have one of each) to give you a nice blend.
Now I want a 2x12 cab with both speakers even more.
I bought the AC30 with greenbacks. The blue are better for some things and not for others. Spent the savings on pedals.
If I were to close my eyes I'd swear the entire video was made with one amp. That's how close the sounds were to my ears. I was leaning towards the blue in an ac15c1 but I may juat save the $200 and get an extra couple of pedals instead.