Unbelievable a video of a 23 minute video that has basically answered the question everyone wants to know about celestion guitar speakers. The only bit missing is where the Seventy 80 speakers sit because they’re common in a lot of affordable cabs and combos so giving reasons why you would want to change that kind of speaker would be helpful. I have started using redback speakers because I wanted to run a 100watt amp through a 1x12 cab it sounds fantastic and it replaced the Vintage 30 in there which I really didn’t like the sound. But your explanation has made me understand why I really like the redback is because it’s in the ballpark of the era of music I like to listen to. Excellent work this definitely needs to be on the celestion website.👍
I'm seriously sleep deprived and a bit dehydrated this morning, yet I'm at the edge of the seat; thank you so much for explaining what previously was an impenetrable mess to me!
Very interesting video. Subscribed off this. I have a very bad HH amps habit, it started when I was a teenager and needed a large cheap amp for gigging. I picked up a VS Musician Reverb from Crack Converters and it was loaded with a Celestion silverback and, a Rola Celestion Goldback. The sound I could get from those speakers and that amp was unbelievable! Totally unique in a sea of Marshall and Peavey users. I became a total convert to the Goldback in particular. It could handle extreme distortion and cleans so well, but one night we were playing a pretty rough venue as a replacement for a cancelled band and their fans did not like us. My amp got a Zippo lighter straight through the speaker grille and through the cone of my Goldback. I sent it to a company in London for repair and the company went out of business. I never got my speaker back, sadly. I replaced it with an old Vox blueback I had lurking on a shelf which, while being quite unique, certainly didn't give me the same sound as I had with the old Goldback. One day I'll find another vintage Goldback to replace the lost one. I still think that the metal world is overlooking the Goldback as a viable metal speaker, both for distortion and cleans. I don't know if it would cope with modern metal but it certainly does 70's and 80's metal and 80's Thrash with the right pedal in the FX loop.
I purchased a reality 112FR today and then watched this video to understand different celestion speakers and its absolutely fantastic, not only do you know your stuff, you are a born teacher, very clear and concise. Thanks mate
I won't be able to buy right away but you just made a customer, sir - I recently bought an amp/speaker switcher and was planning on spending time over the next while buying(and eventually selling) and shooting out speakers for my own edification, and this helped focus me on the path, for lack of a better term, my purchases should take for Celestions. Many thanks!
this is the best explanation on youtube ever! ive swapped the stock speaker on a hot rod deluxe mk 3 to an alnico cream 90w and it turned out amazing, this was at my work on live gigs at a backline company so the amp is gigged with many guitar players and different styles and they all love it since it took the harshness away. at home i'm using 2 greenback heritage 20w with my 1974x and i love them thanks for an amazing and insightful video. btw here is my free tube tip: whatever amp you have it doesn't matter swap v1 to a vintage mullard it's under 100$ tested on ebay enjoy
This video... is priceless!!!! Best damn explanation of Celestion speakers I've ever heard. Actually... one of the best explanations of guitar speakers... period. I wish you would do a video like this but with audio examples. It would honestly be my "greatest day of my life" dream to be able to have a single amp head, in the center of a room, with... 10-15 1x12 cabinets placed around the amp in an arch... with some kind of switchable junction box that allows me to run the head into each 12" speaker, one at a time. I've seen a lot of "shoot out" videos on RUclips that show... one or two Celestions A/B'd. But... the audio is usually rubbish, and it is usually not a very good comparison. Like... Neo 250 vs. AlNiCo Blue. If I had $100,000 to spend on Celestions, I'd buy one of each and make my dream video. Ha!!! Anyway... I digress like mad. Thanks man!!! Excellent excellent video!!!
I picked up a HH 100w power amp some years ago that had been made into a home made 1x12 (might be a 15? Can't remember, been ages now) cabinet with a Celestion G12T-75 speaker. It was picked up as a "bass power amp" so I used it with a Behringer BDi21 in front of it and it was quite a serious but of kit. Incredibly loud for 100w. Now you've said what you have about that speaker being a good metal guitar speaker, I will give it a bash with one of my guitars and one of my metal preamp pedals. Let's see what happens, thanks for the inspiration. 🤘
Great video. Thoroughly agree with everything stated. I only have experience with the gold, 25w greenback, v-type, neo creamback, vintage 30 and G12T-75. I would add that the gold works really well in a deluxe reverb, 25w greenbacks seem to balance out only in a 4x12 and can sound harsh with high gain (but weirdly fine for fuzz), vintage 30s sound good in 1x12, 2x12 and 4x12 and produce decent cleans given how good they are for high gain but as many would agree the upper mids can be fatiguing. V-types are excellent for the price and provide a good balance for 'jack of all trades' amps like the DSL40CR. G12T-75s sound good in the Marshall 1960A cab with high gain but quite scooped in a mix and not great for cleans. The seventy 80 deserves all the hate it gets, the neo creamback has a bit too fast of a response and the G12 Neo Century Vintage is similar and overly bright (as seems to be the case for the newish Neo V type that there are about two demos of on all of RUclips). Need to get my hands on a blue, G12H anniversary and a G12H (55) (or four..) at some stage as well. Thanks for sharing your knowledge!
Didn’t know anything about speakers and how they effect my sound before this video, other than that celestion is the standard. Just bought my first boutique amp head and have decided to build my own cab. This video is awesome and made everything in the decision process so much easier. Explaining in an understandable matter, while not compensating or cutting out technicality and information. Awesome video 👍.
Great Video! A lifetime worth of very useful info in less than thirty minutes! Just as useful as "the talk" (birds & bees) me Pop gave me fifty years ago....
This was very useful. I've mostly known Vintage 30s or whatever my combos came with. Watching Johan Segeborn and his great experiments/demos on vintage cabinets have me asking myself some questions about sound level, smoothness, etc .. Looking into the idea of running in stereo a pair of Monoprice/HB 15w tube combos, much like Budda Guedes, and realizing that I have some more to learn of what would work well. Now I need to learn more of your products, since you do have a the clearest explanation of Celestions I've seen, which tells me you know your products and that is something I can stand behind.
Brilliantly explained, 10/10. It's rare to get an easy to follow but still informative video. I was actually excited learning this all. Celestion should be promoting this. Thanks
Dude, this vid has given me a totally different perspective. I've been trying for a early 2000s v30-ish speaker quest. But I play at bedroom levels heavily attenuated. Now I kinda realize all the youtube vids with speaker sounds bites blasting their cabinets with 100w amps arent really what my setup needs or can replicate. Thank you very much.
It’s an excellent video, but the only one I wanted to know about is the G12H-Anniversary, and how much of a Greenback it is? What greenback is the closest of the Anniversary? Or how close it could be from the old Marshall 4x12”?
Have to stop the video half way through just to say a big tahnk you!!! I've been looking for information on speakers as I just got myself a cab and want to change it to better for my tubemeister deluxe 20 head. Such valuable information to me right now.
Have tested in detail AlNiCo Blue/silver, V30, G12M Greenback+ Creamback, G12H-30 Anniversary, G12-65, G12T-75 and -100. Best combination by my ear is AlNiCo and ceramic in combo. Playing rock/blues/americano/pop-reverby-stuff I use a vintage silver + G12H-30 in a 212 cab. For 112 I have not really decided. Have earlier used G12-65 and G12-100. Also tried 1x G12H-30. Now I use another AlNiCo silver VOX speaker, but with only 17W power rating it has limited volume. Looking for best >50W solution - Possible Creamback, but need to get a better overview of the Jensen/american voicings. Maybe a A-type is good second option? Most likely will end up with a Alnico Gold :D
Everyone's praise of the detailed and informative nature of this video is spot-on. I agree on the V30 and V-Type analyses completely. I mix them and they sound amazing.
I have a Greenback, a Creamback, and an Alnico Cream. One of each. They each have their place. The Cream and Creamback each work great in a 1x12. The Greenback needs to be in a cranked 4x12 to sound good.
I’m pairing a G12H30 70th Anniversary with a G12H-30 (55 Hz) in a 50 watt Ampeg Reverberocket 212 open-backed combo. Sounds great! Nice creamy mids with present lows and sweet highs with a bit of distortion from the Anniversary while the 55 Hz G12H is a basic straightforward balance across the frequencies Speaker that runs a bit cleaner and keeps the combo from sounding too gritty. Love it!
Arghh. You didn't even talk about the Anniversary G12H ! I have one and it's actually sitting in a box at the moment. Was hoping you'd give me a clue as to proper application. I'm going to assume that, given it's position on the chart, that it's more of a lead guitar voiced speaker. But I also think that a lead guitar voiced speaker would actually be better for a gainier rhythm sound? Excuse my petty criticism. Really, really wonderful video. Genius !
Very informative explanation of the Celestion speaker types. I've tried about a third of these speakers and my number one favorite is 25w Greenback. Second would be the G12-65. I know the Creamback 65 is supposed to be a higher wattage handling model of the 25w Greenback, but to me it sounds nothing like it. A few years ago, Celestion put out a limited-edition anniversary model with a Pulsonic cone that I only bought 2 of at the time and I wish I had bought more. It's called an G12-35X (I think) and they sound great.
@BarefacedAudio I've never tried the EVH, but I have briefly tried the 20w Heritage which is supposed to be the exact same speaker. I've heard the 20w Heritage, but not with my amp which is a '72 Marshall Super Lead. I compared it to a 25w Greenback using a Bogner amp and found it noticeably darker-sounding and compressing/distorting quicker. The thing I really like about the 25w Greenback is it's vocal-sounding midrange, but I think they need to be in a 4x12 configuration to really shine. I've always wanted to try the G12H (75) Heritage, but never had the opportunity to do so. The exact model number of the limited-edition Celestion speaker that I mentioned is G12-35XC and they were available 2017-2018. They are similar to a Greenback, but with a little more low-mid oomph. I use them in my JCM800 50w 2x12 combo. They make the open-back combo react and sound similar to a closed-back cabinet.
Alnico Blue, Alnico Gold, Vintage 30, G12M Heritage, G12M-65, G12H(55) Her, G12H(75) Her, G12H-150 Red, G12-65. Seriously GOOD video on loudspeakers. Particularly when you explained how a single Redback will sound full like a 4x cabinet. I have all of the above speakers, but want to add a pair of 25w Greenbacks. A good 70s sound, for my 74 JMP.
i have an alnico blue and g12 h anniversary in my top hat club royal that is utter perfection. i think those two speakers were made for each other,especially in vox/marshall type circuits. i also use a alnico gold in a more fender tweed princeton type circuit( swart str) i honestly did not think it was going to work,but it sounds great,will not be changed!
Celestion Alnico Cream. Worth the price premium. I play with very tight high gain. It retains all of the definition of the distortion of my 25 watt Mesa Mark Series since the power handling is so much higher than the amp output. The alnico mag tames the harsh highs just enough to reign in any harshness and adds enough warmth to make chugging sound more organic and less sterile. Anyone who thinks alnico can't be used for metal should re examine this topic. I think I'll add a ceramic creamback when I upgrade to a 2x12 unless you have another suggestion. 50% of what I play is metal w/ the other half being jazz, fusion, neo soul, and blues. The Cream sounds great for most genres IMO and is just very clear, warm, and organic while filtering out harshness.
Agree, they are not flabby sounding at all, just big, bold and sweet and very 'firm' in the tone too. I got a deal on 4 of them and put them into 2 2x12 closed cabs for some classic ZZ TOP rock and they are growing on me (usually play Greenbacks or G12H30)
This is great information, Cleared up many questions I had, I would like to know if there is a pdf available with all this great info. Thank you for explaining this to us.
Do you have a video comparing ceramic drivers in a Reformer 112? The Vintage 30 isn't my cup of tea so I'd love to hear the difference between a G12-65 Heritage, an M Creamback, an H Greenback Heritage 55hZ, and an A Type, for example.
This was exactly what RUclips was designed for. Right down to using a drum stick as your pointer. I would have gone to University if I could have learned useless-useful information like this.
I went to university and any stuff I learnt about this then (well actually it was more specifically learning bass playing and music) was extra-curricular. I presume having done a Mech Eng degree made it easier to learn this stuff later on! A
@@BarefacedAudio I went to music college but learnt everything I know from sound engineering and gigging in function bands in the evenings. I've run a musical instrument shop for a decade and I definitely never used anything from my further education in my day to day life. 🤷🏻♂️ Love your work... Will be buying a cab just as soon as I am working again.
There is one thing I’d love to know, being a Mesa Booger … how does the 90w Celestion C12 Black Shadow fit into the map? (Specifically because I wonder what loudspeakers work well as an extension for a Boogie Mark V) Chris
Just what I have been looking for! Thanks for taking the time to make this video ... a fantastic and fascinating explanation. Going to need to watch this a couple of times to digest, but feeling a LOT more confident about speaker upgrading or choice. Brilliant.
Great video sir. In short I prefer low wattage speakers for the reasons you state. They sound sweeter faster. They are nearer to the floor if you will and do not require revving a 12 cylinder engine to 7000 RPM to get their legs stretched. G 12 M 20 and blue most near and dear to my heart. G 12 H 75 and 55 are excellent. Definitely very different to each other and to the previously mentioned and you can tell which 60s stars wound up on those particularly the 55. 35XC is a modern classic in my opinion. Truly great. There are a few modern Jensens that are truly exceptional but not as uniformly exceptional as Celestions are. I must say that random old alnico speakers are a treasure hunt worth excavating. There are some truly brilliantly great sounds out there. Lurking around in old people’s living rooms. And on eBay of course. To hear you is to hear my own self. It’s refreshing to realize that someone else in the world realizes that all of these distinctions are not just stickers and plastics and designations. These are such all different animals. One I failed to mention is the Marshall vintage modern greenback. G12c. I think it is basically an undoped G 12 m 25. Doping really takes the sweetness out of the mid range. And notably all of my favorite speakers by Celestion are undoped. I wonder whether you know off the top your head whether the G 12 M 20 uses a paper former.
Amazing video for a speaker novice! Thanks. Question: I just got a Laney Cub 15watt 1x12 combo with a matching 2x12 cab. all of the speakers are Celestion Rocket 50s which are no longer available. I like the sound a lot (cab speaker has mellowed out) but I def want to change them out. So back to the actual question: where do the Rocket 50s fit in sound wise?
Check out the Celestion V30 - one V30 will sound about as loud as all three Rocket 50s working in unison! Can't say much about the Rocket 50 (assuming that's what you mean? A google search yielded nothing called a "Rocker") but they seem versatile, depends a lot on the style you're playing/tone you're hoping to reproduce! It looks like the Rocket 50 is Celestion's answer to making a 12" guitar speaker that sounds ok for as little money as possible!
I mix them with V-30's in the same cab and think they sound amazing. I like the combo better than my greenback loaded cabinet. I haven't tried an alnico. I like what I have.here in videos of the alnico's.
I have the G12H-75 as well in an oversized Avatar partial open back cab, and yes, "tight & clear" is a good description of this speaker, as well as full& round. It is a great pairing with a Soldano head. It is also VERY loud. I'm wondering how the G12H-75 compares to the NEO cream back.
I think it's important to test many speakers with all the different circuits that you can to find the most compatible combinations make sure to observe proper impedence, I can also increase or decrease volume by adding speakers or decrease speaker sensitivity to lower volume increase speaker sensitivity to raise volume different type speaker for different type tone
A question for a good replacement speaker. 2-12" OXFORDS 45 power watts, 8ohms, being used in a Music Man 212HD-130. The oxfords were the original speakers used.
I have the new Duchess amp pedal and I'm looking for a single 12 incher to knock dicks into the dirt. This made things so much clearer. Excellent video.
Have cabs fitted with G12-K100, V30, G12-T75 and a 2x15 with Celestion G15, 2x10 with G10s. Got every Celestion IR and own a Kemper. Nice roundup vid. Rolling off high end or paired with a dark amp and the Vintage 30 is nice allround speaker. I agree. It depends on the entire signal chain what speaker I choose - I like to blend the low end of a 15” with the articulation of a 12” or 10”. I play lower tunings mostly. Would love to try a Barefaced cab sometime, but have to get rid of stuff first before accumulating more gear. Wish you all the best with your channel and business.
Blue, Gold, G12H30 70th anniversary, G12M25 Greenback, V30, G12M70, G12H75 Creamback, G12H100. I'm generally not a fan of greenbacks or V30s. I love mixing 2 different speakers in a 2x12. Based on your description of the neo 250 copperback, I want to try one. Honestly, the EVM12L and the EVM12S are my absolute favourite speakers, and I'd love to see what Celestion does in that realm. Cheers.
Thank you for the cool video. I have used Celestion G12H(55 Hz) and G12H(75 Hz), Celestion Gold, G12H Anniversary, G12T75, and EVH Greenbacks. Your lecture seems to explain something I was wondering: why the EVH speakers sound dark to me. I have had the Heritage 55 hz and 75 hz in a pair of 1x12 cabs for a long time. I picked those two after trying a bunch of speakers by different brands. Recently I acquired a Marshall 1960B (? the slanted one) loaded with G12T75s. I actually thought the T75s sounded pretty good (even though they get a lot of hate online), particularly the clean sounds. However, I liked the Heritage speakers so much that I thought I wanted the 20 W version in my cab. I was told by Celestion that the EVH's are the same as the Heritage, so I got four and put them in. I have found the EVH's to be much darker and muddier sounding than the Heritage speakers and I wondered if I should have held out and found some used Heritage 20 W speakers even though Celestion claims they are the same. I almost like the T75's better, but the EVH's do convey the midrange of a greenback (which I like). Anyway, according to your video, it makes sense that the 20 W version is more bassy and less crisp than the Heritage because it has a smaller magnet than the Heritage. Now I am thinking that I may want to switch my 4x12 to V-types or something. Anyway, thanks for the video. I almost clicked away because I didn't want to watch a 20 minute lecture, but it was pretty interesting!
As a bassist, this is the only video that's ever clearly explained the apparently-convaluted Celestion 12" speaker range - excellent job Alex, thanks! I'll look foward to a similar vid 4 the 10"ers, in due course. Have you done a similar video for the 10" & 12" bass speakers that your company get made by Eminence? Cheers - from a future 1x10" Barefaced bass cab user!
Great! Just found this and answering a lot of questions. Now... a comparison between 10” and 12”. A (4) 10’s cab was always a stand out to me. I don’t know what it is about it but enlighten me. Good, bad and ugly.
You can't make general statements about 10" vs 12" speakers because so many other aspects of a speaker matter more (even though they're harder/impossible to see). However, if you keep everything else the same (motor, voice coil, cone material, surround and spider materials) and just shrink the diameter of the cone then you end up with a tone that has less bottom, more mids and better treble dispersion - basically more clear and less fat. A conventional 4x10" cab won't have the dispersion benefit and will suffer from comb filtering too, as the wave fronts from the four speakers all interact.
I had used V30 for years But I was felt it was a little harsh in the top end and they were some mint things I wasn’t crazy about. The funny thing is I have a V 30 in my blues junior and it sounds great even and it’s not too bright. In my Bogner one by 12 I switched out the V30 for a Scumback J 75. That was less harsh in the highs and had more low mids which I preferred. I was also using a ported custom 1x12 with an EV 12L. With my Mezzabarba Skill 30 head which is a bright head and can go very high gain it was still a bit bright on the top. So I put in an Altec 417 and the high end harshness went away. That speaker seems to work well with clean but doesn’t get harsh on high gain sounds like many others do. Is someone who mixes I recognize that the guitar sweet spots are really the mids. In most mixes You typically roll off Lows and the highs on electric guitar. One thing with both the EV 12L and Altec is that they are high wattage speakers so they don’t break up as easily. This could be good or bad depending on what you were going for. I did Also noticed that when I switched them out the Altec was a little less loud than the EV. For me that’s actually a good thing because even with 30 Watt amps i’m still barely turning it up before it’s “too loud“. I think so far with all the trials I’ve had with speakers and cabs Altec 417 8H Series II has worked the best overall. It works well with Clean as well as very high gain and everything in between Andy biggest thing I like about it is the fact that the highest are not ice picky or harsh even if I go into a high gain boosted lead. Since it handles such high wattage you have to push it a bit to get into the sweet spot. As an experiment on my tone king Imperial 31 amp I ran it through the Altec one by 12 and that didn’t work as well. The tone king 33 speaker is it not only a 30 W speaker which broke up much sooner than the outlet but worked better for the amp. I’ll check with the tone king was a bit to “hard“ but I guess if I ever needed to use that amp and get more headroom that would be one solution because with the tone king since it’s only 30 W with a 30 W speaker your cleans do start crunching up if you get louder they live band. But the mezzabarba skill 30 head and the Altec for 17 seems like a good combination I could be playing in the loud seven piece 80s bands and the clean Chorus type parts stay super clean but then I can go to the high gain and do a screaming Van Halen lead and it’s not harsh. I did have a 412 with all Altecs which sounded great but was 100 pounds and totally impractical to use live. I am still curious about the Barefaced Cabs because the concept of The sound not changing drastically depending on listening position is very cool. I could set the amp to get a great sound right in front of it but then when I’m standing up at a gig the speaker is basically pointed at my legs and loses a lot of clarity which affects the “feel“ of the guitar.
The G12 H Anniversary is the best all around sounding IMO. Oozes classic rock and Paul Kossoff. Vintage 30s are great in 212s and paired with the G75s in a 412. Classic Lead is killer too and props to the Creamback 65
I find them a little high pitched in frequency yes too bright as he said.. creamback, white alnico and copperback...mixed various mid and low end speakers texas heat, swamp thang, blackbird alnico and a 4 ohm celestion 100 hot and now it's not high pitches and may not be for everyone...grungy and thick
I have two Cabs. My first cab is a marshal 2x12 with a mixture of vintage 30 and a heritage 30 which I use with my Marshall jvm. I have a barefaced 1x12 with a cream back 75 which I use with a victory v40. I play blues funk soul and blues in an 8 piece band. When playing the guitar bass and drums are mainly without mic and only the horns keys and vocals go via a pa unless in a massive venue. The 1x12 (as I change what I take) with the cream back I find has more bottom end than my 2x12 even with the bass cut engaged on the cabinet , sometimes I would say too much bass on occasions when it’s stood on a hard floors stage. Great can though, really love it.
I like the vintage 30 in my 40c. Had to change the pre amp tubes and remove the c29 cap. Made the speaker perform a lot better. Sucks the greenbacks are only 30w.
Thanks a lot for the information! I like to play baritone and love the lower sounds of the celestion blue and the v30. I would like to combine these with the celestion cream back 65 or 75, but they are very different in their performance... I thought about of 3 or 4 cabs in serial and parallel connection. The reason for this is, that I like to use distortion, overdrive and fuzz pedals and I love the tight sound and the low end of the celestion blue and the v30 speaker. The cream back gives me the sounds for my lead parts. I play my guitars clean and with distortion and I play different kind of music from blues to metal and other things. If I want to use this different speakers together I think I will get a problem with the loudness of the different speaker types. Is there a way how I can reduce this problem? For an example: 2 celestion blue in serial and a v30 and a cream back in parallel connection.???
Let's see my experience is with Celestion 70/80, Hot 100, G 12M, G12H30 Anniversary, and Marshall Vintage 12. They all work great for different purposes. I think I am not in love with the 100db sensitivity for some stuff. Something about pushing the power amp a little more. Also I feel like resonant frequency plays a good part in the overall character of the speaker. 70/80 sounds really good with solid state or clean pedal platform. Hot 100 is good for cleans and modern metal, G 12 M - great for classic rock sound, not for cleans unless you like dirty cleans, G12H30 is very bright and in your face - sounds great in alot of situations, but man that thing can wear out the ear drums a little sometimes - great for bluesy clean and hard rock/metal. Marshall Vintage 12 is darker than G12H30, brighter than Marshall Lead 80, and really brings the classic rock sound out of my DSL 20 and Blockhead 5150 in an old ADA cab. I have a few widely different types of amp I use from a small solidstate amps to large tube amps. These speakers all can bring out different qualities of an amp.
Very informative and interesting. I was wondering though how you would describe the Anniversary, both within the group which it's placed in this video, and compared to the other groups.
What a fantastic video. I've long been confused with Celestions colours, letters and numbers. This has cleared it right up for me. I've recently been trying out some speaker options, I purchased a 5153 with matching closed back 1x12, I usually play with V30's but I was excited to try the G12h. Only a previous owner changed it out for an eminence Man-o-war that I can only describe as terrible. So I took 3 different v30's out my Marshall and Mesa cabs respectively and a Chinese V30 and trialled them in the 1x12. They all sounded much closer to what I'm used to hearing obviously but I was surprised at the tonal shift going from 4x12 to a 1x12 enclosure. You touch on it in the video where you describe the effects a 4x12 makes to the top end output, and how something like a H-heritage is great at lower volumes etc, it made me wonder... Is there another celestion speaker that by itself in a 1x12 sounds more like, or has more of the characteristics that V30's do in a 4x12? (if that makes sense) Thanks!
Wow! what a cool break down and description of C speakers! I've had greenbacks, creambacks, VTs, and V30s. Out of these, I'm going to have to say the V30's sounded best for my preferred sound. 2x12 cabs with 2 1x12 cabs. If like to try the 250 coppers. They sound right up my alley. :o)
Highly educational! I'm just now setting off down this rabbit hole and demystifying guitar loudspeakers has been requiring much time input, which is cool. Back when I gigged in the late 80s and early half of the 90s, my main Thiele 2x12 slant had EV 100watt speakers. In my current researching I am finding my preference is Celestion H heavy magnet builds. Alnicos are very impressive sounding, thanks for the explanation on that! I don't own any of the speakers in your presentation. At a friend's house in 2019 we put a bunch of his cabs through some paces and the speaker which really stood out as sounding great was a pair NEO Creamback in a Germino 2x12. I believe most of the other cabs had V30s, but I'm not certain. I currently have a couple Tech 21 PE60s with Seventy 80, a SS Princeton with the typical Fender blue OEM and a couple Fender CyberTwins with G12T-100 set up in a big multiAmp WDW setup. With a VHT 2562 incoming I'm looking to do some speaker experiments to go alongside building an all tube WDW setup. Your video has me interested in the NEO 250, which is a surprise. I've watched a bunch of vids today on Celestion comparisons and the A-Type and Creamback H have stood out to me...my research continues and my cart is growing.
I honestly have used just about all of these expect the really loud 100+ watts but I still love the alnico blue the best is really think it is the nicest sound more the the other alnico’s, I also have vintage 30s in a lot of amps and I just started using v-types I really like them a lot
Thankyou great video.question?I got a jcm 8oo with lead cab with gt1275 love them,then I run a fender reverb amp wet dry.i love the tone,if I had a cream back cab and ran it with the gt1275,would it sound as good as the fender?I'm guessing not?
I came here looking for more information on my Marshall Heritage G12's ... RUclips videos on these are scarce & many are basically useless in my 'umble ! Looks like they're great for those 80's sounding cabinets Any chance you could expound the virtues of these Speakers in another Video Barefaced Audio, I for one would appreciate that Great video & interesting history lesson too ..... Keep up the good work Joe from Tasmania / Australia
I have a hand wired Fender '64 Deluxe Reverb. I mostly play at low to medium volume and I don't really play much heavy stuff, mostly clean to medium distortion. I play mostly contemporary christian stuff in a worship band at church. My Deluxe Reverb is 22 watts so how much power the speaker has is not a concern. I don't care about how much it weighs so that's not a concern. I'm leaning toward the Creamback G12-M. I'm really not sure, what do you think ?
great long story, thank you. I love Greenbacks and G12H30 Anniversaries and lately I have been testing Alnico Creambacks. I am not completely sold on them yet, they seem a little 'stiff' compared to my usual Greenback/G12H30 2x12 closed cab setup but they are big and glorious and smooth sounding so I'll keep on using them to see if they get even 'softer' when broken in. The V-type is actually pretty interesting too, I just bought a Laney GH30R with a V-type in and it sounded really good. I had an 8 Ohms Alnico Creamback lying around waiting for a combo so I put that into the Laney instead but I'm not sure the difference in sound is big enough to justify the huge price difference! I really don't like the aggressive upper midrange honk of the V30 but the V-type is much more 'neutral' Celestion close to a G12H30 and even cheaper.
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This video should be on Celestion's page, the knowledge and clarity in this video alone is worth the price of several amps and cabs.
Ladies and gentlemen we have a bingo
Absolutely agree 👍
Well done...However, is it my imagination, or did you skip the G-12H Anniversary ? ...& if on purpose, why ?
Unbelievable a video of a 23 minute video that has basically answered the question everyone wants to know about celestion guitar speakers. The only bit missing is where the Seventy 80 speakers sit because they’re common in a lot of affordable cabs and combos so giving reasons why you would want to change that kind of speaker would be helpful.
I have started using redback speakers because I wanted to run a 100watt amp through a 1x12 cab it sounds fantastic and it replaced the Vintage 30 in there which I really didn’t like the sound. But your explanation has made me understand why I really like the redback is because it’s in the ballpark of the era of music I like to listen to.
Excellent work this definitely needs to be on the celestion website.👍
One of the most comprehensive and informative speaker overviews I've come across. Amazing amount of info packed into 20 minutes.
I'm seriously sleep deprived and a bit dehydrated this morning, yet I'm at the edge of the seat; thank you so much for explaining what previously was an impenetrable mess to me!
You hardly mentioned my personal favorite-the G12H30!
I like the fact that you used a drum stick for your pointer stick.
Very interesting video. Subscribed off this. I have a very bad HH amps habit, it started when I was a teenager and needed a large cheap amp for gigging. I picked up a VS Musician Reverb from Crack Converters and it was loaded with a Celestion silverback and, a Rola Celestion Goldback.
The sound I could get from those speakers and that amp was unbelievable! Totally unique in a sea of Marshall and Peavey users.
I became a total convert to the Goldback in particular. It could handle extreme distortion and cleans so well, but one night we were playing a pretty rough venue as a replacement for a cancelled band and their fans did not like us.
My amp got a Zippo lighter straight through the speaker grille and through the cone of my Goldback. I sent it to a company in London for repair and the company went out of business. I never got my speaker back, sadly.
I replaced it with an old Vox blueback I had lurking on a shelf which, while being quite unique, certainly didn't give me the same sound as I had with the old Goldback.
One day I'll find another vintage Goldback to replace the lost one. I still think that the metal world is overlooking the Goldback as a viable metal speaker, both for distortion and cleans. I don't know if it would cope with modern metal but it certainly does 70's and 80's metal and 80's Thrash with the right pedal in the FX loop.
Thanks for the subscribe!
I purchased a reality 112FR today and then watched this video to understand different celestion speakers and its absolutely fantastic, not only do you know your stuff, you are a born teacher, very clear and concise. Thanks mate
Excellent, educational, very well presented - THANK YOU!
I won't be able to buy right away but you just made a customer, sir - I recently bought an amp/speaker switcher and was planning on spending time over the next while buying(and eventually selling) and shooting out speakers for my own edification, and this helped focus me on the path, for lack of a better term, my purchases should take for Celestions. Many thanks!
this is the best explanation on youtube ever!
ive swapped the stock speaker on a hot rod deluxe mk 3 to an alnico cream 90w and it turned out amazing, this was at my work on live gigs at a backline company so the amp is gigged with many guitar players and different styles and they all love it since it took the harshness away. at home i'm using 2 greenback heritage 20w with my 1974x and i love them
thanks for an amazing and insightful video.
btw here is my free tube tip: whatever amp you have it doesn't matter swap v1 to a vintage mullard it's under 100$ tested on ebay
enjoy
This video... is priceless!!!! Best damn explanation of Celestion speakers I've ever heard. Actually... one of the best explanations of guitar speakers... period. I wish you would do a video like this but with audio examples. It would honestly be my "greatest day of my life" dream to be able to have a single amp head, in the center of a room, with... 10-15 1x12 cabinets placed around the amp in an arch... with some kind of switchable junction box that allows me to run the head into each 12" speaker, one at a time. I've seen a lot of "shoot out" videos on RUclips that show... one or two Celestions A/B'd. But... the audio is usually rubbish, and it is usually not a very good comparison. Like... Neo 250 vs. AlNiCo Blue. If I had $100,000 to spend on Celestions, I'd buy one of each and make my dream video. Ha!!! Anyway... I digress like mad. Thanks man!!! Excellent excellent video!!!
Great information but I didn't catch the G12H Anniversary...did I miss that?
I picked up a HH 100w power amp some years ago that had been made into a home made 1x12 (might be a 15? Can't remember, been ages now) cabinet with a Celestion G12T-75 speaker. It was picked up as a "bass power amp" so I used it with a Behringer BDi21 in front of it and it was quite a serious but of kit. Incredibly loud for 100w.
Now you've said what you have about that speaker being a good metal guitar speaker, I will give it a bash with one of my guitars and one of my metal preamp pedals. Let's see what happens, thanks for the inspiration. 🤘
Great video. Thoroughly agree with everything stated. I only have experience with the gold, 25w greenback, v-type, neo creamback, vintage 30 and G12T-75.
I would add that the gold works really well in a deluxe reverb, 25w greenbacks seem to balance out only in a 4x12 and can sound harsh with high gain (but weirdly fine for fuzz), vintage 30s sound good in 1x12, 2x12 and 4x12 and produce decent cleans given how good they are for high gain but as many would agree the upper mids can be fatiguing.
V-types are excellent for the price and provide a good balance for 'jack of all trades' amps like the DSL40CR.
G12T-75s sound good in the Marshall 1960A cab with high gain but quite scooped in a mix and not great for cleans.
The seventy 80 deserves all the hate it gets, the neo creamback has a bit too fast of a response and the G12 Neo Century Vintage is similar and overly bright (as seems to be the case for the newish Neo V type that there are about two demos of on all of RUclips).
Need to get my hands on a blue, G12H anniversary and a G12H (55) (or four..) at some stage as well.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge!
Didn’t know anything about speakers and how they effect my sound before this video, other than that celestion is the standard. Just bought my first boutique amp head and have decided to build my own cab. This video is awesome and made everything in the decision process so much easier. Explaining in an understandable matter, while not compensating or cutting out technicality and information. Awesome video 👍.
Great Video! A lifetime worth of very useful info in less than thirty minutes! Just as useful as "the talk" (birds & bees) me Pop gave me fifty years ago....
This was very useful. I've mostly known Vintage 30s or whatever my combos came with.
Watching Johan Segeborn and his great experiments/demos on vintage cabinets have me asking myself some questions about sound level, smoothness, etc ..
Looking into the idea of running in stereo a pair of Monoprice/HB 15w tube combos, much like Budda Guedes, and realizing that I have some more to learn of what would work well.
Now I need to learn more of your products, since you do have a the clearest explanation of Celestions I've seen, which tells me you know your products and that is something I can stand behind.
Brilliantly explained, 10/10. It's rare to get an easy to follow but still informative video. I was actually excited learning this all. Celestion should be promoting this. Thanks
Good explanations! You have summarized in a few minutes what took me years to understand.
The video I didn't know I needed but not can't live without. Excellent explanations.
Dude, this vid has given me a totally different perspective. I've been trying for a early 2000s v30-ish speaker quest. But I play at bedroom levels heavily attenuated. Now I kinda realize all the youtube vids with speaker sounds bites blasting their cabinets with 100w amps arent really what my setup needs or can replicate. Thank you very much.
I will have to watch this a few times to fully retain all the info here. Great video.
I have been looking for explanations like these. Yours are amazing! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge!
It’s an excellent video, but the only one I wanted to know about is the G12H-Anniversary, and how much of a Greenback it is? What greenback is the closest of the Anniversary? Or how close it could be from the old Marshall 4x12”?
Fantastic video. I was looking for a kind like that for years. Thank you!
A really informative video, that’s cleared up a lot of uncertainty in my mind
Fantastic and informative presentation. Thoroughly enjoyable plus the admission..”I’ve been there” re metal. This made my day. Thank you.
Have to stop the video half way through just to say a big tahnk you!!!
I've been looking for information on speakers as I just got myself a cab and want to change it to better for my tubemeister deluxe 20 head. Such valuable information to me right now.
Have tested in detail AlNiCo Blue/silver, V30, G12M Greenback+ Creamback, G12H-30 Anniversary, G12-65, G12T-75 and -100. Best combination by my ear is AlNiCo and ceramic in combo. Playing rock/blues/americano/pop-reverby-stuff I use a vintage silver + G12H-30 in a 212 cab. For 112 I have not really decided. Have earlier used G12-65 and G12-100. Also tried 1x G12H-30. Now I use another AlNiCo silver VOX speaker, but with only 17W power rating it has limited volume. Looking for best >50W solution - Possible Creamback, but need to get a better overview of the Jensen/american voicings. Maybe a A-type is good second option? Most likely will end up with a Alnico Gold :D
Awesome! Best video on guitar speakers I've ever seen
Everyone's praise of the detailed and informative nature of this video is spot-on. I agree on the V30 and V-Type analyses completely. I mix them and they sound amazing.
I have a Greenback, a Creamback, and an Alnico Cream. One of each. They each have their place. The Cream and Creamback each work great in a 1x12. The Greenback needs to be in a cranked 4x12 to sound good.
I’m pairing a G12H30 70th Anniversary with a G12H-30 (55 Hz) in a 50 watt Ampeg Reverberocket 212 open-backed combo. Sounds great! Nice creamy mids with present lows and sweet highs with a bit of distortion from the Anniversary while the 55 Hz G12H is a basic straightforward balance across the frequencies Speaker that runs a bit cleaner and keeps the combo from sounding too gritty. Love it!
Great review! Really cleared up everything you need to know when selecting a Celestion speaker.
I'd love to see a comparison of the neo creamback and neo V type.
Arghh. You didn't even talk about the Anniversary G12H ! I have one and it's actually sitting in a box at the moment. Was hoping you'd give me a clue as to proper application. I'm going to assume that, given it's position on the chart, that it's more of a lead guitar voiced speaker. But I also think that a lead guitar voiced speaker would actually be better for a gainier rhythm sound? Excuse my petty criticism. Really, really wonderful video. Genius !
Excellent breakdown.
Very informative explanation of the Celestion speaker types. I've tried about a third of these speakers and my number one favorite is 25w Greenback. Second would be the G12-65. I know the Creamback 65 is supposed to be a higher wattage handling model of the 25w Greenback, but to me it sounds nothing like it. A few years ago, Celestion put out a limited-edition anniversary model with a Pulsonic cone that I only bought 2 of at the time and I wish I had bought more. It's called an G12-35X (I think) and they sound great.
I think we should do some more comparisons of the Greenback/Creamback/Redback family! Have you tried the EVH?
@BarefacedAudio I've never tried the EVH, but I have briefly tried the 20w Heritage which is supposed to be the exact same speaker. I've heard the 20w Heritage, but not with my amp which is a '72 Marshall Super Lead. I compared it to a 25w Greenback using a Bogner amp and found it noticeably darker-sounding and compressing/distorting quicker. The thing I really like about the 25w Greenback is it's vocal-sounding midrange, but I think they need to be in a 4x12 configuration to really shine. I've always wanted to try the G12H (75) Heritage, but never had the opportunity to do so.
The exact model number of the limited-edition Celestion speaker that I mentioned is G12-35XC and they were available 2017-2018. They are similar to a Greenback, but with a little more low-mid oomph. I use them in my JCM800 50w 2x12 combo. They make the open-back combo react and sound similar to a closed-back cabinet.
Alnico Blue, Alnico Gold, Vintage 30, G12M Heritage, G12M-65, G12H(55) Her, G12H(75) Her, G12H-150 Red, G12-65.
Seriously GOOD video on loudspeakers. Particularly when you explained how a single Redback will sound full like a 4x cabinet. I have all of the above speakers, but want to add a pair of 25w Greenbacks. A good 70s sound, for my 74 JMP.
i have an alnico blue and g12 h anniversary in my top hat club royal that is utter perfection. i think those two speakers were made for each other,especially in vox/marshall type circuits. i also use a alnico gold in a more fender tweed princeton type circuit( swart str) i honestly did not think it was going to work,but it sounds great,will not be changed!
Celestion Alnico Cream. Worth the price premium. I play with very tight high gain. It retains all of the definition of the distortion of my 25 watt Mesa Mark Series since the power handling is so much higher than the amp output. The alnico mag tames the harsh highs just enough to reign in any harshness and adds enough warmth to make chugging sound more organic and less sterile. Anyone who thinks alnico can't be used for metal should re examine this topic. I think I'll add a ceramic creamback when I upgrade to a 2x12 unless you have another suggestion. 50% of what I play is metal w/ the other half being jazz, fusion, neo soul, and blues. The Cream sounds great for most genres IMO and is just very clear, warm, and organic while filtering out harshness.
Agree, they are not flabby sounding at all, just big, bold and sweet and very 'firm' in the tone too.
I got a deal on 4 of them and put them into 2 2x12 closed cabs for some classic ZZ TOP rock and they are growing on me (usually play Greenbacks or G12H30)
Excellent comment
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This is great information, Cleared up many questions I had, I would like to know if there is a pdf available with all this great info. Thank you for explaining this to us.
That's a good idea!
Phenomenal video. Thanks so much! Extremely helpful
Great video.
Do you have a video comparing ceramic drivers in a Reformer 112? The Vintage 30 isn't my cup of tea so I'd love to hear the difference between a G12-65 Heritage, an M Creamback, an H Greenback Heritage 55hZ, and an A Type, for example.
This was exactly what RUclips was designed for. Right down to using a drum stick as your pointer. I would have gone to University if I could have learned useless-useful information like this.
I went to university and any stuff I learnt about this then (well actually it was more specifically learning bass playing and music) was extra-curricular. I presume having done a Mech Eng degree made it easier to learn this stuff later on! A
@@BarefacedAudio I went to music college but learnt everything I know from sound engineering and gigging in function bands in the evenings. I've run a musical instrument shop for a decade and I definitely never used anything from my further education in my day to day life. 🤷🏻♂️
Love your work... Will be buying a cab just as soon as I am working again.
I think they would have taught this in high school back in the day potentially especially if you were an A/V nerd
There is one thing I’d love to know, being a Mesa Booger … how does the 90w Celestion C12 Black Shadow fit into the map? (Specifically because I wonder what loudspeakers work well as an extension for a Boogie Mark V)
Chris
Just what I have been looking for! Thanks for taking the time to make this video ... a fantastic and fascinating explanation. Going to need to watch this a couple of times to digest, but feeling a LOT more confident about speaker upgrading or choice. Brilliant.
this video is so helpful professor drumstick!!
i like both creambáck the m and the h its the ulimative 60s and 79s tone
Great video sir. In short I prefer low wattage speakers for the reasons you state. They sound sweeter faster. They are nearer to the floor if you will and do not require revving a 12 cylinder engine to 7000 RPM to get their legs stretched. G 12 M 20 and blue most near and dear to my heart. G 12 H 75 and 55 are excellent. Definitely very different to each other and to the previously mentioned and you can tell which 60s stars wound up on those particularly the 55. 35XC is a modern classic in my opinion. Truly great.
There are a few modern Jensens that are truly exceptional but not as uniformly exceptional as Celestions are.
I must say that random old alnico speakers are a treasure hunt worth excavating. There are some truly brilliantly great sounds out there. Lurking around in old people’s living rooms. And on eBay of course.
To hear you is to hear my own self. It’s refreshing to realize that someone else in the world realizes that all of these distinctions are not just stickers and plastics and designations. These are such all different animals.
One I failed to mention is the Marshall vintage modern greenback. G12c. I think it is basically an undoped G 12 m 25. Doping really takes the sweetness out of the mid range. And notably all of my favorite speakers by Celestion are undoped.
I wonder whether you know off the top your head whether the G 12 M 20 uses a paper former.
Excellent video. Thanks!
Amazing video for a speaker novice! Thanks. Question: I just got a Laney Cub 15watt 1x12 combo with a matching 2x12 cab. all of the speakers are Celestion Rocket 50s which are no longer available. I like the sound a lot (cab speaker has mellowed out) but I def want to change them out. So back to the actual question: where do the Rocket 50s fit in sound wise?
Check out the Celestion V30 - one V30 will sound about as loud as all three Rocket 50s working in unison!
Can't say much about the Rocket 50 (assuming that's what you mean? A google search yielded nothing called a "Rocker") but they seem versatile, depends a lot on the style you're playing/tone you're hoping to reproduce! It looks like the Rocket 50 is Celestion's answer to making a 12" guitar speaker that sounds ok for as little money as possible!
Thanks. Yes meant Rocket 50, sorry darn autocorrect!
Fantastic and highly educational
Thank you, very informative and helpful!
Hi, very cool. Where are the seventy 80 ?
G12H-75 Creamback is my favourite, tight clear sound.
I mix them with V-30's in the same cab and think they sound amazing. I like the combo better than my greenback loaded cabinet.
I haven't tried an alnico. I like what I have.here in videos of the alnico's.
I have the G12H-75 as well in an oversized Avatar partial open back cab, and yes, "tight & clear" is a good description of this speaker, as well as full& round. It is a great pairing with a Soldano head.
It is also VERY loud.
I'm wondering how the G12H-75 compares to the NEO cream back.
I wish you would have explained the anniversary one because it’s in the H magnet yet it’s in 30 watts and I know it’s a very popular speaker
I think it's important to test many speakers with all the different circuits that you can to find the most compatible combinations
make sure to observe proper impedence, I can also increase or decrease volume by adding speakers or decrease speaker sensitivity to lower volume increase speaker sensitivity to raise volume different type speaker for different type tone
I use an Alnico Blue with a G12H 70th Anniversary in a /13 2x12 open-backed cab. Great combination together!
A question for a good replacement speaker. 2-12" OXFORDS 45 power watts, 8ohms, being used in a Music Man 212HD-130. The oxfords were the original speakers used.
Thank you so much!
I have the new Duchess amp pedal and I'm looking for a single 12 incher to knock dicks into the dirt. This made things so much clearer. Excellent video.
Merci et bravo pour l’historique des 12p Celestion 🔊et vos explications. Vive le Rock !🎸
Have cabs fitted with G12-K100, V30, G12-T75 and a 2x15 with Celestion G15, 2x10 with G10s. Got every Celestion IR and own a Kemper. Nice roundup vid.
Rolling off high end or paired with a dark amp and the Vintage 30 is nice allround speaker. I agree.
It depends on the entire signal chain what speaker I choose - I like to blend the low end of a 15” with the articulation of a 12” or 10”. I play lower tunings mostly.
Would love to try a Barefaced cab sometime, but have to get rid of stuff first before accumulating more gear. Wish you all the best with your channel and business.
Blue, Gold, G12H30 70th anniversary, G12M25 Greenback, V30, G12M70, G12H75 Creamback, G12H100.
I'm generally not a fan of greenbacks or V30s. I love mixing 2 different speakers in a 2x12. Based on your description of the neo 250 copperback, I want to try one. Honestly, the EVM12L and the EVM12S are my absolute favourite speakers, and I'd love to see what Celestion does in that realm. Cheers.
Absolute genius this guy
Thank you for the cool video. I have used Celestion G12H(55 Hz) and G12H(75 Hz), Celestion Gold, G12H Anniversary, G12T75, and EVH Greenbacks. Your lecture seems to explain something I was wondering: why the EVH speakers sound dark to me.
I have had the Heritage 55 hz and 75 hz in a pair of 1x12 cabs for a long time. I picked those two after trying a bunch of speakers by different brands. Recently I acquired a Marshall 1960B (? the slanted one) loaded with G12T75s. I actually thought the T75s sounded pretty good (even though they get a lot of hate online), particularly the clean sounds. However, I liked the Heritage speakers so much that I thought I wanted the 20 W version in my cab. I was told by Celestion that the EVH's are the same as the Heritage, so I got four and put them in. I have found the EVH's to be much darker and muddier sounding than the Heritage speakers and I wondered if I should have held out and found some used Heritage 20 W speakers even though Celestion claims they are the same. I almost like the T75's better, but the EVH's do convey the midrange of a greenback (which I like). Anyway, according to your video, it makes sense that the 20 W version is more bassy and less crisp than the Heritage because it has a smaller magnet than the Heritage. Now I am thinking that I may want to switch my 4x12 to V-types or something.
Anyway, thanks for the video. I almost clicked away because I didn't want to watch a 20 minute lecture, but it was pretty interesting!
As a bassist, this is the only video that's ever clearly explained the apparently-convaluted Celestion 12" speaker range - excellent job Alex, thanks! I'll look foward to a similar vid 4 the 10"ers, in due course. Have you done a similar video for the 10" & 12" bass speakers that your company get made by Eminence? Cheers - from a future 1x10" Barefaced bass cab user!
I shall do a video about the Celestion guitar 10"s and some more about our Barefaced 10CR and 12XN made by Eminence in due course! A
Great! Just found this and answering a lot of questions. Now... a comparison between 10” and 12”. A (4) 10’s cab was always a stand out to me. I don’t know what it is about it but enlighten me. Good, bad and ugly.
You can't make general statements about 10" vs 12" speakers because so many other aspects of a speaker matter more (even though they're harder/impossible to see). However, if you keep everything else the same (motor, voice coil, cone material, surround and spider materials) and just shrink the diameter of the cone then you end up with a tone that has less bottom, more mids and better treble dispersion - basically more clear and less fat. A conventional 4x10" cab won't have the dispersion benefit and will suffer from comb filtering too, as the wave fronts from the four speakers all interact.
Excellent. Thanks you.
I had used V30 for years But I was felt it was a little harsh in the top end and they were some mint things I wasn’t crazy about. The funny thing is I have a V 30 in my blues junior and it sounds great even and it’s not too bright. In my Bogner one by 12 I switched out the V30 for a Scumback J 75. That was less harsh in the highs and had more low mids which I preferred. I was also using a ported custom 1x12 with an EV 12L. With my Mezzabarba Skill 30 head which is a bright head and can go very high gain it was still a bit bright on the top. So I put in an Altec 417 and the high end harshness went away. That speaker seems to work well with clean but doesn’t get harsh on high gain sounds like many others do. Is someone who mixes I recognize that the guitar sweet spots are really the mids. In most mixes You typically roll off Lows and the highs on electric guitar. One thing with both the EV 12L and Altec is that they are high wattage speakers so they don’t break up as easily. This could be good or bad depending on what you were going for. I did Also noticed that when I switched them out the Altec was a little less loud than the EV. For me that’s actually a good thing because even with 30 Watt amps i’m still barely turning it up before it’s “too loud“. I think so far with all the trials I’ve had with speakers and cabs Altec 417 8H Series II has worked the best overall. It works well with Clean as well as very high gain and everything in between Andy biggest thing I like about it is the fact that the highest are not ice picky or harsh even if I go into a high gain boosted lead. Since it handles such high wattage you have to push it a bit to get into the sweet spot. As an experiment on my tone king Imperial 31 amp I ran it through the Altec one by 12 and that didn’t work as well. The tone king 33 speaker is it not only a 30 W speaker which broke up much sooner than the outlet but worked better for the amp. I’ll check with the tone king was a bit to “hard“ but I guess if I ever needed to use that amp and get more headroom that would be one solution because with the tone king since it’s only 30 W with a 30 W speaker your cleans do start crunching up if you get louder they live band. But the mezzabarba skill 30 head and the Altec for 17 seems like a good combination I could be playing in the loud seven piece 80s bands and the clean Chorus type parts stay super clean but then I can go to the high gain and do a screaming Van Halen lead and it’s not harsh. I did have a 412 with all Altecs which sounded great but was 100 pounds and totally impractical to use live. I am still curious about the Barefaced Cabs because the concept of The sound not changing drastically depending on listening position is very cool. I could set the amp to get a great sound right in front of it but then when I’m standing up at a gig the speaker is basically pointed at my legs and loses a lot of clarity which affects the “feel“ of the guitar.
The G12 H Anniversary is the best all around sounding IMO. Oozes classic rock and Paul Kossoff. Vintage 30s are great in 212s and paired with the G75s in a 412. Classic Lead is killer too and props to the Creamback 65
I find them a little high pitched in frequency yes too bright as he said.. creamback, white alnico and copperback...mixed various mid and low end speakers texas heat, swamp thang, blackbird alnico and a 4 ohm celestion 100 hot and now it's not high pitches and may not be for everyone...grungy and thick
I have two Cabs. My first cab is a marshal 2x12 with a mixture of vintage 30 and a heritage 30 which I use with my Marshall jvm. I have a barefaced 1x12 with a cream back 75 which I use with a victory v40. I play blues funk soul and blues in an 8 piece band. When playing the guitar bass and drums are mainly without mic and only the horns keys and vocals go via a pa unless in a massive venue. The 1x12 (as I change what I take) with the cream back I find has more bottom end than my 2x12 even with the bass cut engaged on the cabinet , sometimes I would say too much bass on occasions when it’s stood on a hard floors stage. Great can though, really love it.
I like the vintage 30 in my 40c. Had to change the pre amp tubes and remove the c29 cap. Made the speaker perform a lot better. Sucks the greenbacks are only 30w.
Thank you for your thoughts on the subject, interesting viewpoint.
Thanks a lot for the information! I like to play baritone and love the lower sounds of the celestion blue and the v30. I would like to combine these with the celestion cream back 65 or 75, but they are very different in their performance... I thought about of 3 or 4 cabs in serial and parallel connection. The reason for this is, that I like to use distortion, overdrive and fuzz pedals and I love the tight sound and the low end of the celestion blue and the v30 speaker. The cream back gives me the sounds for my lead parts. I play my guitars clean and with distortion and I play different kind of music from blues to metal and other things. If I want to use this different speakers together I think I will get a problem with the loudness of the different speaker types.
Is there a way how I can reduce this problem? For an example: 2 celestion blue in serial and a v30 and a cream back in parallel connection.???
Are you thinking in terms of sensitivity or power handling? All speakers running at once off one amp?
@@BarefacedAudio I think power handling could be a problem... I want to use only one amp (Amp1 Mercury, Bluguitar) and all speakers at once...
Fantastic video! Very informative!
Very helpful!
Just saw this. Very helpful, thanks.
Fantastic video; perfect breakdown. Thanks for the upload.
Let's see my experience is with Celestion 70/80, Hot 100, G 12M, G12H30 Anniversary, and Marshall Vintage 12. They all work great for different purposes. I think I am not in love with the 100db sensitivity for some stuff. Something about pushing the power amp a little more. Also I feel like resonant frequency plays a good part in the overall character of the speaker. 70/80 sounds really good with solid state or clean pedal platform. Hot 100 is good for cleans and modern metal, G 12 M - great for classic rock sound, not for cleans unless you like dirty cleans, G12H30 is very bright and in your face - sounds great in alot of situations, but man that thing can wear out the ear drums a little sometimes - great for bluesy clean and hard rock/metal. Marshall Vintage 12 is darker than G12H30, brighter than Marshall Lead 80, and really brings the classic rock sound out of my DSL 20 and Blockhead 5150 in an old ADA cab. I have a few widely different types of amp I use from a small solidstate amps to large tube amps. These speakers all can bring out different qualities of an amp.
Very informative and interesting. I was wondering though how you would describe the Anniversary, both within the group which it's placed in this video, and compared to the other groups.
I've done a new video which talks about that driver (and the rest): ruclips.net/video/nC-0tgcluUE/видео.html
@@BarefacedAudio - thanks.
Nice, informative.
What a fantastic video. I've long been confused with Celestions colours, letters and numbers. This has cleared it right up for me.
I've recently been trying out some speaker options, I purchased a 5153 with matching closed back 1x12, I usually play with V30's but I was excited to try the G12h. Only a previous owner changed it out for an eminence Man-o-war that I can only describe as terrible. So I took 3 different v30's out my Marshall and Mesa cabs respectively and a Chinese V30 and trialled them in the 1x12. They all sounded much closer to what I'm used to hearing obviously but I was surprised at the tonal shift going from 4x12 to a 1x12 enclosure. You touch on it in the video where you describe the effects a 4x12 makes to the top end output, and how something like a H-heritage is great at lower volumes etc, it made me wonder...
Is there another celestion speaker that by itself in a 1x12 sounds more like, or has more of the characteristics that V30's do in a 4x12? (if that makes sense)
Thanks!
Wow! what a cool break down and description of C speakers! I've had greenbacks, creambacks, VTs, and V30s. Out of these, I'm going to have to say the V30's sounded best for my preferred sound. 2x12 cabs with 2 1x12 cabs. If like to try the 250 coppers. They sound right up my alley. :o)
Thanks for you point of view!
I'm from México and I can't find here your productos, what can I do?
We sell direct to Mexico, as with almost all countries (a few aren’t possible due to war etc)
Highly educational! I'm just now setting off down this rabbit hole and demystifying guitar loudspeakers has been requiring much time input, which is cool.
Back when I gigged in the late 80s and early half of the 90s, my main Thiele 2x12 slant had EV 100watt speakers. In my current researching I am finding my preference is Celestion H heavy magnet builds. Alnicos are very impressive sounding, thanks for the explanation on that!
I don't own any of the speakers in your presentation. At a friend's house in 2019 we put a bunch of his cabs through some paces and the speaker which really stood out as sounding great was a pair NEO Creamback in a Germino 2x12. I believe most of the other cabs had V30s, but I'm not certain. I currently have a couple Tech 21 PE60s with Seventy 80, a SS Princeton with the typical Fender blue OEM and a couple Fender CyberTwins with G12T-100 set up in a big multiAmp WDW setup. With a VHT 2562 incoming I'm looking to do some speaker experiments to go alongside building an all tube WDW setup.
Your video has me interested in the NEO 250, which is a surprise. I've watched a bunch of vids today on Celestion comparisons and the A-Type and Creamback H have stood out to me...my research continues and my cart is growing.
well, I bought four EVM 12L
Which Celestion would be the one with the less bass content for mounting on a very bassy Marshall 4x12?
I honestly have used just about all of these expect the really loud 100+ watts but I still love the alnico blue the best is really think it is the nicest sound more the the other alnico’s, I also have vintage 30s in a lot of amps and I just started using v-types I really like them a lot
Excelent descriptions. Thanks!
Great video!!
Thankyou great video.question?I got a jcm 8oo with lead cab with gt1275 love them,then I run a fender reverb amp wet dry.i love the tone,if I had a cream back cab and ran it with the gt1275,would it sound as good as the fender?I'm guessing not?
Great video ... very informative.
15:55 “em-bigening” is not the only new thing I learned today but definitely the befunnerest.
A type indeed sounds great, I might be pairing it with a M greenback, or on its own. Really informative video.
I came here looking for more information on my Marshall Heritage G12's
... RUclips videos on these are scarce & many are basically useless in my 'umble !
Looks like they're great for those 80's sounding cabinets
Any chance you could expound the virtues of these Speakers in another Video Barefaced Audio, I for one would appreciate that
Great video & interesting history lesson too ..... Keep up the good work
Joe from Tasmania / Australia
I have a hand wired Fender '64 Deluxe Reverb. I mostly play at low to medium volume and I don't really play much heavy stuff, mostly clean to medium distortion. I play mostly contemporary christian stuff in a worship band at church. My Deluxe Reverb is 22 watts so how much power the speaker has is not a concern. I don't care about how much it weighs so that's not a concern. I'm leaning toward the Creamback G12-M. I'm really not sure, what do you think ?
great long story, thank you.
I love Greenbacks and G12H30 Anniversaries and lately I have been testing Alnico Creambacks. I am not completely sold on them yet, they seem a little 'stiff' compared to my usual Greenback/G12H30 2x12 closed cab setup but they are big and glorious and smooth sounding so I'll keep on using them to see if they get even 'softer' when broken in.
The V-type is actually pretty interesting too, I just bought a Laney GH30R with a V-type in and it sounded really good. I had an 8 Ohms Alnico Creamback lying around waiting for a combo so I put that into the Laney instead but I'm not sure the difference in sound is big enough to justify the huge price difference! I really don't like the aggressive upper midrange honk of the V30 but the V-type is much more 'neutral' Celestion close to a G12H30 and even cheaper.