Help ME Out With A Speaker Selection Please

[JOLLY]

As some of you may know, I recently got a hell of a deal on a Blackstar Halfstack. The head is a Series One 104EL34, and the 4x12 cabinet is a HTV412. The 4x12 is a cabinet that is made for the HT Series of amps, and it comes with the cheaper Celestion Seventy 80 speakers. Now, the Series One head is I guess what you could call their top of the line head, or series, flagship, or whatever. The Series One cabinets come with Celestion Vintage 30's in them. I am not really digging the 70/80's.

I am a big proponent of matching speakers in cabinets with what amps are made for.. I have a Marshall JVM410H, and that head was designed around the GT-75 speaker. I have a 5150, and that head was designed around the Sheffield speaker. I love the way both of those amps sound with those cabinets and speakers.

The Blackstar Series One 104el34 head wich I have was designed around having Vintage 30 speakers. I figure that I might as well change the 70/80's out of my 4x12 Blackstar cabinet and put some type of Vintage 30 speakers in it.

So, I'm not really a big fan of Vintage 30's, but I figure that amp was designed around them. What would you think if I bought a couple of Warehouse Guitar Speakers Retro 30's, and a couple of their ET90's and ran those in an X pattern?

I like what I have read about the Retro 30's being somewhat a Vintage 30. I like the fact that they are supposed to be very articulate, tight, crispy, and have a big bottom end.

I also like the fact that the ET90's are supposed to big, round, creamy, and have a big bottom end.

Now, I am not a fan of speaker breakup. I love clarity from pretty much all aspects....being it pickups to speakers. I love my distortion/overdrive to come from my amp.

I am looking for a combination of AC/DC, Jackyl, early Van Halen, Metallica S&M tones.

So, what do you think about that?

First and foremost, I love you all, and I appreciate and look foward to your responses.

thanks,

Jolly

 

[JOLLY]

Re: Help ME Out With A Speaker Selection Please

I guess I forgot to write second of all.........So I guess that would be that I am getting buzzed up, and am really looking at the WGS line of speakers, and really nothing else. Thanks again!! Love ya!!

 

[Rockstar216]

Re: Help ME Out With A Speaker Selection Please

You read my mind. Me I would use all Retro 30s. Second choice is Retros and Vetran 30s in a x pattern. Third would be Retros and HP Reapers.

If your looking for clarity maybe look at some Neodymium 12" speakers.

 

[J.C.R.W]

Re: Help ME Out With A Speaker Selection Please

Don't really have much experience with WGS speakers, but looking at the specs of that Blackstar amp I would recommend some Celestion Creamback speakers. Here is a nice demo showing both the Creamback M65 & H75, gives you an idea of what flavour you would prefer:

 

[JOLLY]

Re: Help ME Out With A Speaker Selection Please

You read my mind. Me I would use all Retro 30s. Second choice is Retros and Vetran 30s in a x pattern. Third would be Retros and HP Reapers.

If your looking for clarity maybe look at some Neodymium 12" speakers.

I thought about your second choice as well. Thanks, buddy!!

 

[JOLLY]

Re: Help ME Out With A Speaker Selection Please

Don't really have much experience with WGS speakers, but looking at the specs of that Blackstar amp I would recommend some Celestion Creamback speakers. Here is a nice demo showing both the Creamback M65 & H75, gives you an idea of what flavour you would prefer:

Thanks you for your suggestion. Unfortunately, my crappy ass computer is junky and the speakers do not work.....BOO!!!!

 

[SteveAlysis]

Re: Help ME Out With A Speaker Selection Please

I would go with 4 Veteran 30's... if not try a fee ET65s. I've tried both and really like them. Still have the 65s in my Orange

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Help ME Out With A Speaker Selection Please

Here's a few options.

Free - plug your Blackstar head into every cabinet you have (Marshall/Peavey etc) and possibly swap the bottom two with the upper two in your Blackstar cab.

Economical - keep searching Craigslist and buy the popular choices one by one, just to see how you like them......Eminence Swamp Thang, Celestion V30, H30, Creamback, Lynchback, Scumback....whatever you find at bargain prices. Once you hear one you like then buy more of them. List your 70/80's for sale or trade.

Expensive - Listen for your favorite speakers on youtube clips, and buy a set of 4 new.

The honest truth is that speakers are like pickups. People's suggestions don't mean much until you own them and hear them with all your gear.

 

[XSSIVE]

Re: Help ME Out With A Speaker Selection Please

I had an all V30 loaded Splawn cab and it was picky about what went into it, as IMO most all V30 cabs can be.

I'm a big fan of the V30/H30 X pattern combo. I haven't plugged a single head into my Splawn cab with that combo and dissliked them. I've run my stock JMP, my EVH 50w, a slightly modded 5150, a Digitech GSP1101 with SS power amp modeling rig, an Engl Powerball, a Mesa Dual recto and an Orange Jim Root terror through it and its worked for all of them. I think it works so well because the V30 and H30 seem to have opposite EQ curves where the V30 has that big mid push (EQ curve like ^) the H30 has a bigger bottom and brighter top and less mids (EQ curve like v) so they both fill in the blanks of the other and you get - for the EQ curve in a way.

The EVH greenbacks have also been great in my EVH 4x12 cab with nearly everything I've run through them but they're darker and smoother with less of the aggressive bite the V30/H30 X bring. Those would be fairly similar to your sheffields so give them a shot with the blackstar to see if something in the greenback family would be good with it.

If I could keep only one cab I'd stick the V30/H30 mix from the Splawn in the EVH 4x12 and keep that so it visually matches the EVH head but sounds like the Splawn does now haha.

 

[Lampy H]

Re: Help ME Out With A Speaker Selection Please

I'm in a pretty similar situation as you, albeit with much less money involved. I myself run a Blackstar ID head into a 412. I'm looking at WGS Retros and HP Reapers. When I eventually get a Jet City head, I want another 412 with Eminence Governor and Wizard speakers.

And by the way, S&M is probably one of my favorite tones ever.

 

[JOLLY]

Re: Help ME Out With A Speaker Selection Please

Thanks to all of you so far. It's always a pleasure to see you and read your advice as well, Mike. Keep 'em coming!!

 

[mwalluk]

Re: Help ME Out With A Speaker Selection Please

Don't really have much experience with WGS speakers, but looking at the specs of that Blackstar amp I would recommend some Celestion Creamback speakers. Here is a nice demo showing both the Creamback M65 & H75, gives you an idea of what flavour you would prefer:

I have the 75w ones. Nice speakers. A mix would be fantastic

 

[Hoss]

Re: Help ME Out With A Speaker Selection Please

I love the WGS stuff bro! Good dudes and right out of Kentucky!

 

[JeffB]

Re: Help ME Out With A Speaker Selection Please

I did the WGS thing and my Green Beret is not even on the same planet as my Heritage/EVH g12m. Its ridiculous. IME you get what ya pay for with WGS.

If you want something like a v30 but without the high mid spike, just get a g12h creamback 75w or 75hz H30 heritage or anniversary. Great stuff.

 

[everdrone]

Re: Help ME Out With A Speaker Selection Please

As some of you may know, I recently got a hell of a deal on a Blackstar Halfstack. The head is a Series One 104EL34, and the 4x12 cabinet is a HTV412. The 4x12 is a cabinet that is made for the HT Series of amps, and it comes with the cheaper Celestion Seventy 80 speakers. Now, the Series One head is I guess what you could call their top of the line head, or series, flagship, or whatever. The Series One cabinets come with Celestion Vintage 30's in them. I am not really digging the 70/80's. )

I would just go with v30s, it really is the standard that amps are designed around and you cant go wrong with em! I mean, an amp designer is just paid for his ear really, and he modifies the circuit around what he hears. he is listening through v30s. so don't make it complicated IMO. it might sound good to put other speakers in outside of a band mix, but really the amp designer paid close attention to the mix in a band setting.

 

[d1dsj]

Re: Help ME Out With A Speaker Selection Please

I would just go with v30s, it really is the standard that amps are designed around and you cant go wrong with em! I mean, an amp designer is just paid for his ear really, and he modifies the circuit around what he hears. he is listening through v30s. so don't make it complicated IMO. it might sound good to put other speakers in outside of a band mix, but really the amp designer paid close attention to the mix in a band setting.

I would second this as I believe they were designed around the V30. However I really like my Cornford MK50 with G65's too although that amp was also designed for V30's!, so I can't favour either and end up rotating which I use just for fun really.

 

[XSSIVE]

Re: Help ME Out With A Speaker Selection Please

Stumbled across this the other day, may give you some ideas. Not a blackstar but at least you can hear the different characteristics of the speakers with some gain...

In the mix...


Guitar only...

 

[JeffB]

Re: Help ME Out With A Speaker Selection Please

Fwiw, If you wanna try a v30 John, I have a fairly well broken in 16ohms version sitting around that no-one is buying. If you cover shipping, you are welcome to give it a whirl to see if you like them.

 

[JOLLY]

Re: Help ME Out With A Speaker Selection Please

Fwiw, If you wanna try a v30 John, I have a fairly well broken in 16ohms version sitting around that no-one is buying. If you cover shipping, you are welcome to give it a whirl to see if you like them.

I really appreciate that offer. that is very kind of you. however, I have a friend with a vintage 30 cabinet that I can borrow if need be.

 

[UberMetalDood]

Re: Help ME Out With A Speaker Selection Please

Jolly, the Eminence Red Fangs are my favorite. It's a great price for such a great sounding alnico speaker. However, you should consider the Eminence Private Jack. You can pair it in a 4x12 with Man-O-Wars or Wizards if you want more low end, or something like a Screamin Eagle if you want a British tone with a crispy but smooth edge. Another Eminence which goes great with Blacstars is the Texas Heat. It pairs great with the Legend models. You can even go straight Eminence Legend like Soldano uses. Those are my favorite combinations so far. I've used many Celestions and the only one I kind of liked with my Blackstar was the Greenback, but it wasn't all that great by itself.

Then again, I suppose it depends on which mode you keep your Blackstar on most of the time. I liked to leave mine on full British mode all of the time (clockwise on the ISF), but if you like the left side then I think Texas Heats are the way to go.