Celestion V30 versions

[ehdwuld]

so I know V30s have recently started being made in China
and they sound slightly different from the older British version
it could be just aging and breaking in
I dont know

but i hear folks on YouTube talking about the Mesa Boogie V30
is it different from the stock ones?
if so how?

 

[jeremy]

theyve been making v30s in china for years, maybe like 15 years ago if memory serves. there are at least a few versions on the v30. mesa had one version, marshall had another

 

[Rex_Rocker]

There are A TON of different V30 versions from Celestion. I have read that within the same model, they also vary tonally from year to year of production. Nolly Getwood supposedly has that experience.

And yes, the Mesa Boogie V30 is different. It is warmer and fatter than the stock V30 with more low mids.

AFAIK, the different versions from Celestion I can think of are the following:

Stock Chinese V30.
Mesa voiced V30.
Marshall Vintage.
Marshall Dave Mustaine sig speaker.
Bad Cat voiced V30.
Blackstar voiced V30.
Relic 30.

I'm sure I'm leaving out some.

Also keep in mind that 16 ohm speakers usually sound brighter than 8 ohm versions of the same speaker.

 

[ehdwuld]

so if I want the stock Chinese V30 I have to sound like the Mesa version

Can I just spray paint the cone black

by thickening the cone material it changes the way it moves
and this should darken it a bit and make it more Mesa Like

 

[PFDarkside]

I doubted the different versions but I heard some Youtube clips and I could hear the differences. I’m not sure if I care if I only have one (I only have Mesa).

 

[Rex_Rocker]

so if I want the stock Chinese V30 I have to sound like the Mesa version

Can I just spray paint the cone black

by thickening the cone material it changes the way it moves
and this should darken it a bit and make it more Mesa Like

I guess? I wouldn't do that, personally. I doubt you'll get it to sound *just* like it. "The Mesa is warmer and fatter" is almost oversimplifying it. The mids are voiced different. The high-end is voiced differently, and so are the lows. You would probably lose some efficiency as well.

Honestly, the Chinese version doesn't sound half-bad. You just have to dial the amp in differently.

 

[Bogner]

Eminence CV-75 is what you are looking for.

 

[GuitarStv]

theyve been making v30s in china for years, maybe like 15 years ago if memory serves. there are at least a few versions on the v30. mesa had one version, marshall had another

They moved production over in 2002 . . . so almost 20 years now.

 

[devastone]

You might want to check out the Avatar Hellatone 60 - https://avatarspeakers.com/shop/speakers/avatarhellatone/hellatone-60/

 

[ehdwuld]

You might want to check out the Avatar Hellatone 60 - https://avatarspeakers.com/shop/spea.../hellatone-60/

its weird how they can get the $145 V30
then Break it in
and Charge $115 for it
Weirrrrdd

when you could just pay more and break it in yourself

anyways I have a Chinese V30
I watched a YouTube video with a German guy talking to the Jensen Speaker guy
and they were talking about all the stuff that went into making speakers and
and one was the thickness of the cone material
and how you could change the Mid structure by thickening the material
or size of the Voice coil

and I was looking at the Mesa V30s and they seem to be a deeper shade of black than the stock Chinese
I was thinking they probably hit them with flat black paint when painting the cabs and that may be the difference in
the Mesa V30 and Stock V30

just wondering if anyone knew what the spec difference was

 

[JamesPaul]

its weird how they can get the $145 V30
then Break it in
and Charge $115 for it
Weirrrrdd
...

They probably charge less because it's "used" after they break it in.

 

[Edgecrusher]

just wondering if anyone knew what the spec difference was

The difference is in the cone and the doping, the mesa cone has much much more doping if you compare them. Exactly specs I dont know but it was a big thing when it happened. If you go back far enough all the V30's were the same. It was basically a modern version of the old G12H30 speaker. But the original cones werent available so they used the next closest which required the extra doping. After some time Celestion changed the spec to save some cost in production, Mesa had a deal with Celestion and when they tried to swap the speakers on them Mesa refused them and Celestion agreed to honor their deal they would make the original spec V30 for them. I know all this happened long before the move to china. If memory serves this occured in 98 or so but i could be wrong on that.

Not sure I would want to paint the cone of the speaker, If you dont get the results you want your kinda SOL.

 

[ehdwuld]

I guess now i have to research what "doping the cone " is
sounds like adding lhin layers of plyable material to it
But i will have to look it up

Thanks

 

[Bogner]

its weird how they can get the $145 V30
then Break it in
and Charge $115 for it
Weirrrrdd

when you could just pay more and break it in yourself

anyways I have a Chinese V30
I watched a YouTube video with a German guy talking to the Jensen Speaker guy
and they were talking about all the stuff that went into making speakers and
and one was the thickness of the cone material
and how you could change the Mid structure by thickening the material
or size of the Voice coil

and I was looking at the Mesa V30s and they seem to be a deeper shade of black than the stock Chinese
I was thinking they probably hit them with flat black paint when painting the cabs and that may be the difference in
the Mesa V30 and Stock V30

just wondering if anyone knew what the spec difference was

That is a fantastic video. Kristian Kohle has some other videos on speakers that are great as well. The Jensen guy dropped a lot of great information.

 

[misterwhizzy]

That is a fantastic video. Kristian Kohle has some other videos on speakers that are great as well. The Jensen guy dropped a lot of great information.

It was fascinating. Agreed 100%.

 

[AdrianSD]

ehdwuld since you're in the US I'm thinking you may want to check the WGS speakers. I have a Veteran 30 paired with a Lorantz in my Laney LT212 cabinet and the sound is great, very smooth highs, plenty of mids and big bass (closed back) without being boomy or muddy. I have tinnitus so the ice pick highs are a problem to me, but the Vet 30 does a really great job at taming those highs. The flip side is, for cleans it kind of loses a bit of sparkle, but I'm mostly using Jazz & Full Shred in the neck for cleans with a bit more presence on the amp.

 

[Gtrjunior]

ehdwuld since you're in the US I'm thinking you may want to check the WGS speakers. I have a Veteran 30 paired with a Lorantz in my Laney LT212 cabinet and the sound is great, very smooth highs, plenty of mids and big bass (closed back) without being boomy or muddy. I have tinnitus so the ice pick highs are a problem to me, but the Vet 30 does a really great job at taming those highs. The flip side is, for cleans it kind of loses a bit of sparkle, but I'm mostly using Jazz & Full Shred in the neck for cleans with a bit more presence on the amp.

I have a Vet 30 paired with an ET-65 in a 2x12. They are great speakers. I did find that they needed a break in period to settle in, but before I knew it I was loving them.

 

[NegativeEase]

I'm real curious about all the various V30 options... one of my bands is about to buy new cabs for gigging and I want the 2 guitars to meld nicely with different emphasis in tone.

 

[Bogner]

I'm real curious about all the various V30 options... one of my bands is about to buy new cabs for gigging and I want the 2 guitars to meld nicely with different emphasis in tone.

Depending on the musical style and amp being used, you may want to venture away from V-30 options altogether or for at least one of the setups. Front loaded vs. rear loaded also makes a difference. I myself am growing tired of the vintage 30 and greenback options in cabs.

 

[Edgecrusher]

I guess now i have to research what "doping the cone " is
sounds like adding lhin layers of plyable material to it
But i will have to look it up

Thanks

Doping is the coating you can see at the outer edge of most speakers it looks kinda shiny and rubbery. Its there to dampen cone cry and and keep the cone under control at loud volumes. The reason they used a bunch when they did the original V30's is because of the fabled "pre rola" celestions. During that time for the heavy duty speaker i.e the G12H30 they were replicating, they would put a wider than normal band at the outer edges, Normally its about an inch wide and in the pre rolas its about 2 and a half and then there is also a small band around the dust cap in the center.

You can dope your own speakers, ived used it in the past to repair tears, https://www.eis-inc.com/corona-dope/p-10-4702 this is the stuff i used I was told its the same thing the manufacturers use.