Celestion V30 Replacement

EET_FUK

EET_FUK

New member
So I really like Vintage 30s. They sound and feel great to me when paired up with the right amp. However, they don't don't always work with every amp. They have that upper mid thing going on that doesn't always go over well with brighter amps.

So my question is, what is a nice speaker that has that same tightness in the lows, still has a nice clarity and good attack like the V30, but has more of a low mid focus to it? Something to fill out a bright amp, but still be tight in the bass.

I'm looking for something in the higher efficiency range, so preferably nothing like a Greenback or Alnico Blue or something more gravitated towards early-breakup, classic rock and blues stuff.

I don't play super low tuned, doom-y sludge stuff, but I do a lot of palm-muted riffing in E. Think Metallica, although I do NOT scoop my mids. So keep that in mind as well.

Thanks a lot for your help guys.
 
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Re: Celestion V30 Replacement

Mesa's OEM V30. It has less upper mids and more middle mids than an off the shelf V30.
 
Re: Celestion V30 Replacement

WGS Veteran 30, since you're probably wanting something in the V30 range, but slightly different. An H30 70th Ann. is also a good contender.

One thing the V30 also has going for it is is a nice firm bass, which you lose a little when going in the Greenback direction. I'm using a Creamback 65/V30 combo right now and it sounds great, but the V30 overpowers it a bit.
But the Creamback is sweeter and woodier, so I may end up with two Creamback 65's or Creamback 65/Creamback 75 combo.
 
Re: Celestion V30 Replacement

Eminence's take opn the V30 is the Governor but it is a bit smoother in the top end just like the WGS Veteran 30. I have the Governor but I am replacing it with a V30 because I'm looking for that high mid sizzle.
 
Re: Celestion V30 Replacement

The g12h30 anni will take care of the tone issue, but probably will not be tight enough for serious chugga chugga in the low end.

Besides what others have suggested, try a Classic Lead 80 from Celestion. Very tight, most neutral sounding speaker they make.
 
Re: Celestion V30 Replacement

I am going to buck the trend and say Eminence Wizard: tight bass, mids for days, rolled off high freqs.
 
Re: Celestion V30 Replacement

yeah try out a mesa cab (with mesa spec V30s) in the music shop. the upper mids are shifted down to lower mids.
 
Re: Celestion V30 Replacement

Oh. My V30s came from a Mesa cab. No wonder I never thought they were bright or spiky.
 
Re: Celestion V30 Replacement

Little Pigbacon said:
Oh. My V30s came from a Mesa cab. No wonder I never thought they were bright or spiky.
Click to expand...

I had that problem too. My first good cab was a Mesa cab and I could never figure out why I didn't hear these harsh upper mids everyone else was complaining about.
 
Re: Celestion V30 Replacement

Might want to look hard at the WGS Retro 30. The retro is not as scooped as the Vet 30 + is tighter deeper and fuller. Tighter and deeper than a Vin 30 but smoother overall without that icepicky high mid spike.
 
Re: Celestion V30 Replacement

Replacing 1 in a 2x12, 2 in a 4x12, or everything goes?

For lomid-range punch that'll thump you in the chest so hard you hear it in your bones not your ears, yet without the boominess of a gt75, try:

* G12-65 : old 80s one OR heritage reissue, just pleeeeease don't pay celestion $165 a pop for em - go used, buy a jcm800 cab from the 80s or something (note: it was a transitional period, some of them have 65's, others have 70's) , cuz the celestion people are getting hella spoiled already and these prices are ridiculous.
nice mix with v30 in separate cabs, don't know about the same cab... lower efficiency might or might not be a problem, but do know the 65 is like 4db lower.

* Classic Lead 80 / MESA Black Shadow C90 - can be found nice n cheap (got mine @ $55, so new it wasn't even broken in yet).
high efficiency like the v30. people claim they're kinda dark alone, only ever ran mine paired with a V30, and together it really balanced things out... imho, waaaay better than the gt75 for pairing/xpattern with v30

*maybe H30's? if your amp's wattage isn't too high - really shouldn't feed anything more than 60 watts into a 2x12 with one H30, need 4x12 to safely run 100 or 120 watters


Notes:
a) suggestions for _mixing_ 50/50 with V30s, alone they're quite different beasts
b) ymmv
c) no personal experience with h30.
speakers owned: 65's (like), v30 (like, but not alone), c90 (like with v30), bugera stock 70w (dumped), celestion gt75's (dumped. awesome resale value in marshall cabs, but that's all i liked about em)
 
Re: Celestion V30 Replacement

WGS definitely interest me. Do they have any takes on classic Eminence speakers as well?
 
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