Celestion Vintage 30's are horrible...

[poweredbysoul]

Re: Celestion Vintage 30's are horrible...

I'll ad as well that I really liked the tone of the Mesa Black Shadow C90 speaker as well. Which I was using in a lone star cab.
HATED the G12T75's!!!!
The G12H30 is also a very cool sounding speaker.
But in a full band ensemble the Vintage 30's with the right amp rock!@!!

[jeremy]

Re: Celestion Vintage 30's are horrible...

i like the g12h, g12m, and blue of the celestion offerings.
cannabis rex and red fang of the eminence line
tone tubby alnicos are great too.

there are lots of good speakers, depends on what the rest of the rig looks like

[B2D]

Re: Celestion Vintage 30's are horrible...

Vintage 30's aren't bad, just misunderstood.

In all honesty, the Vintage 30 is not my first choice for dirty tones, but I do like them for cleans OR if I have them blended with another speaker for guitar tones.

Hell, I don't even like new Vintage 30's for a "V30" sound. The Governor by Eminence sounds almost just like a V30 to my ears EXCEPT for that nasally upper midrange spike, which is my main complaint about the V30. It's like Emi managed to dial out everything I didn't like about V30s and accentuated all the positive aspects of one. The Governors have a warm, syrupy sound for cleans that I dig and a bark-y but not overbearing mid sound.

Old V30s that have been worn in over several years... different story. Smooth and creamy. Of course I still wouldn't use 'em for modern heavy tones. They're best for a more classic rock sound.

Newer G12t75s sound very brittle and bright to me until you break them in. The best G12T75s I've ever heard were about 15 years old and sounded very nice, bright but not strident with full, tight lows. I just wished they were a little more efficient and louder.

A good G12T75 blended with a Governor gives me lots of full lows and high end shimmer, and the Governor adds a nice percussive midrange voicing to the sound. It's a very well-rounded tone that brings out a fuller spectrum of the amp you're using, and I like that.

I also like Emi Man-O-Wars and use those as well... they're like a T75 but darker and with less highs. Louder, too.

[ksmith63]

Re: Celestion Vintage 30's are horrible...

What kind of amps are you guys using?

Budda Superdrive 80 (one with 6l6s). The cab is my Randall Isolation 12, sounded bad even with the top off. Actually it sounded ok clean with the neck pickup. FWIW the "budda" eminence speakers are based on the vintage 30 but without the mid spike + more power handling. I absolutely love those.

My ideal tone is very thick but also defined. Our bass player follows me (at best) half the time so I can't rely on him for the low end.

[sonnyblu]

Re: Celestion Vintage 30's are horrible...

I'm in a Trio, sometimes a Quartet with a Front. So I guess I don't have to worry as much about that.
I want a fuller spectrum of tone... Guess I'm more concerned about the Low's and the High's and getting a Hendrix, Eric Johnson Chiming rhythm sound.
Seems the gain sounds always have plenty of mids for my ears...
Interesting discussion... I will try to leave one in this Stereo 4x12, on the Plexi side I guess.

[sonnyblu]

Re: Celestion Vintage 30's are horrible...

I have been playing through the same group of GT75's since 1988!
In four different Marshall 2x12's I guess you could say there broke in! lol
.

[B2D]

Re: Celestion Vintage 30's are horrible...

I have been playing through the same group of GT75's since 1988!
In four different Marshall 2x12's I guess you could say there broke in! lol
.

Oh man those must sound nice! What kind of 2x12's are they? 1936s?

[sonnyblu]

Re: Celestion Vintage 30's are horrible...

The small 24" square Jubilee 1966 cab... I'm trying to downsize by up sizing with this 4x12!

Instead hauling to two cabs and having to set them on something... just roll in a Stereo 4x12... Set both my Marshall heads on top.

I have been very pleased with the Eminence that I have also...
.

[sonnyblu]

Re: Celestion Vintage 30's are horrible...

I can't afford a Celestion Blue or even the Eminence version, or a real Tone Tubby... right now...

But, I got to stick at least one Cannabis Rex in there... on the JTM45 side I guess.

Anybody else power a Stereo 4x12 with two heads here?
.

[That90'sGuy]

Re: Celestion Vintage 30's are horrible...

They need to be broken in. Once broken in, they get a really nice and creamy sound. The voicing of the speaker will keep you out front in the band mix, which is very important (unless you're a bedroom only player).

[ksmith63]

Re: Celestion Vintage 30's are horrible...

They need to be broken in. Once broken in, they get a really nice and creamy sound. The voicing of the speaker will keep you out front in the band mix, which is very important (unless you're a bedroom only player).

It definitely cuts through the mix but I could never get rid of the nasal-ness. I had mine for 3-4 years and I still hated it....just didn't sound right no matter what I did. Maybe I should have used some fabric softener .

[phil_104]

Re: Celestion Vintage 30's are horrible...

It definitely cuts through the mix but I could never get rid of the nasal-ness. I had mine for 3-4 years and I still hated it....just didn't sound right no matter what I did. Maybe I should have used some fabric softener .

You can have it 3-4 years, but it all depends how often you play it, and how loud you play it (ex. do you play in a band in large shows, or for the mirror in your basement?)

I know sound is subjective, but I am really surprised that they are described as nasal. My biggest problem with them was that they bass could get overpowering if I was not careful.

[JB6464]

Re: Celestion Vintage 30's are horrible...

G12-65 Celestions or Warehouse Guitar Speakers ET-65's. You get the best of both . Higher wattage Greenback tones with smooth mids & highs with clarity.

[ksmith63]

Re: Celestion Vintage 30's are horrible...

You can have it 3-4 years, but it all depends how often you play it, and how loud you play it (ex. do you play in a band in large shows, or for the mirror in your basement?)

I know sound is subjective, but I am really surprised that they are described as nasal. My biggest problem with them was that they bass could get overpowering if I was not careful.

I would use it at band practice when I didn't feel like hauling the 4x12 around + it was usually hooked up with the 4x12 for 3-4 years of bedroom practice. Both were 8 ohms so it was getting 4x the amount of power each of the other speakers were. Yeah, that's not much but more than most "bedroom" power.

I don't know man, maybe I just really don't like these speakers. If they still weren't broken, I can't understand how anyone would play through them so much to do so. My tone through one was horrible. I do really like the upgraded versions from Eminence, even right out of the box.

Also Mesa seems to handpick the best vintage 30s. Maybe they get all the good ones while Randall doesn't.

[jimijames]

Re: Celestion Vintage 30's are horrible...

I think out of the box they are very harsh. Broken in, a little better. Still mid/uppermid heavy though. But then again, so is a guitar!

Yup, which is why they make you 'cut through' so well - it has a huge focus on where the guitar is supposed to sit in a mix with other instruments IMO. I'm still working on breaking mine in (I've got it in a 1x12 cab) but I like them a lot, they sound like rock guitar to me, especially under distortion.