Celestion IS the greatest speaker manufacturer in the world.

idsnowdog

Imperator of Indignation
Recently I had a few questions for Celestion regarding OEM speakers that I was thinking of buying. In each case I contacted Dr. Decibel the Celestion help line and received a reply within 24hrs. I also asked if I could purchase two Powered by Celestion badges for my cabs and they said it would be their honor and they provided them free of charge. Celestion is a shinning example of how customer service should be done!
 
Last edited:
Dr. Decibel (and Celestion) is awesome. He laid down the deep infomation about ohmage when I was comparing vintage to modern offerings.
 
I have been working with them closely for about 10 years now and every interaction is a joy.
 
I think the Chinese stuff sounds great

The Chinese stuff has an unfair reputation. This is 2020. I say, give the modern market a chance to prove itself. I had one Celestion speaker from China about 7 years ago now, it was not the worst speaker I had ever heard. In fact, to be fair, it was not bad. I did replace it, the amp did sound better, but the Chinese Celestion was not bad.

Disclaimer: I have no beef with Celestion. They make a fine speaker. I have used many of them. They are a legendary company. I just have a lot of luck with finding tones I love through Eminence speakers for both guitar and bass. Eminence is a serious player, but Celestion started this sh!t and they deserve their credit.
 
I have seen many comparisons on Youtube where they are comparing the same Chinese vs English made speakers but that's a poor comparison because one speaker is 20-30 years old while the other is new and not broken in. If both were brand new the comparison would be more valid.
 
Last edited:
What people fail to take into consideration is Chinese manufacturers build to the specs requested by the client. Some want the least expensive materials and manufacturing processes. Others want the highest quality. Case in point Eventide pedals are made in China, there is nothing cheap about their construction. You might want to look at the bottom of your gear and look at the country of origin.
 
Indeed. Couldn't have said it better. We all want a bad guy, but Chinese made stuff is not the bad guy. Our preconceived attitudes are the bad guy. Chinese stuff is made exactly how it is drawn up. The investor/owner is responsible for the quality.
 
Before the Chinese it was the Japanese' turn to be our societal scapegoat. The simple fact is industries rise, fall and migrate constantly. It's market economics at it's most basic but it becomes the grist for political and cultural revanchism. By golly my father worked in this here coal mine, and his father before him and those evil (insert nationality) _____ done stole my wonderful mining job and my chance to die early from black lung disease. Never mind that the mine was depleted, no longer safe, or profitable it's those darned _____ that took our jobs! So we need to reclaim those wonderful days of multi-generational poverty and exploitation. A great deal of the industries that left are purely exploitative and those jobs will continue to migrate because the people who run them can find labor that's cheaper than the cost of automation.
 
Last edited:
What people fail to take into consideration is Chinese manufacturers build to the specs requested by the client. Some want the least expensive materials and manufacturing processes. Others want the highest quality. Case in point Eventide pedals are made in China, there is nothing cheap about their construction. You might want to look at the bottom of your gear and look at the country of origin.

^ THIS. I ordered two custom runs of CTS pots and they would only build exactly what was in the drawings and written in the contract. No assumptions or going 'above and beyond', just 'doing the job, as specified.'
 
^ THIS. I ordered two custom runs of CTS pots and they would only build exactly what was in the drawings and written in the contract. No assumptions or going 'above and beyond', just 'doing the job, as specified.'
And if the quality of the product slips and the manufacturer has implemented unauthorized cost saving measures that's a quality control and customer relations problem for the re-seller. The re-seller needs to establish stricter quality control or they need to find a new supplier. All are market forces you face no matter where it's made.
 
The UK made vs Chinese made Celestion discussion has been brought up many times on a Marshall forum I visit. The conclusion is they are the same. The speaker construction process involves many machines. Workers basically supply and remove parts to and from machines.

The QA needs to be strong too in terms of materials and their supply chain.
 
I'm going to try to steer this back onto topic. I had an Eminence Governor and a Celestion Vintage 30 side by side in the same 2x12 cabinet. I miced up the Vintage 30 and listened, then I did the same to the Governor in about the same spot on the cone. The Vintage 30 sounded just about like I'd expect, but I was surprised by the Governor, expecting it to sound cheaper and significantly worse. The highs on the Celestion were much sweeter and more sparkly, but the mids of the Eminence were crunchier, and the lows were firmer. They both sound great, but I think the highs on the Vintage 30 make it the one that's preferable, just because there was no frequency range in the Celestion that had any harshness at all.
 
Back
Top