Speaker upgrade for Blackstar and Mesa

[GreatOz]

Good day,
I play mostly blues and classic rock for music styles and I am trying to figure out what kind of speaker to replace my Celestion G12P-80 (discount 70/80).

What would you recommend as a good speaker for a Mesa Mini Rectifier 25 and a Blackstar HT5-R with those styles of music?
I kinda was leaning towards the Celestion G12M, but it is only a 25 watt speaker and if I ever get an amp that uses more than 25 watts, I risk blowing the speaker. I don't ever want an amp with more than 30 watts anyway. I do not want a 2 or 4 by 12, so only one speaker.

Thus far, I am considering the Eminence Governor, WGS Retro 30, Celestion Vintage 30, WGS Reaper HP, and WGS G12C.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,
GreatOz

 

[NecroPolo]

Re: Speaker upgrade for Blackstar and Mesa

Check this out:

 

[Lake Placid Blues]

Re: Speaker upgrade for Blackstar and Mesa

The Rectifiers are strongly associated with the Vintage 30. I like Greenbacks with medium gain, or amps run at the edge of breakup, but I think higher gain amps work better with the Vintage 30 types and for classic rock leads. Get the Mesa version. It sounds warmer. 60-70 watts power handling rating. You can buy them directly from Mesa Boogie.

https://store.mesaboogie.com/products/speaker-12-celestion-vintage-30-uk-made.html

 

[GreatOz]

Re: Speaker upgrade for Blackstar and Mesa

Definitely consider that one, I didn't know Mesa's version was warmer. I'm going to tend to prefer warmer personally. I kinda want something like a Vintage 30, just not quite as mid-heavy and a touch more bass.

Another one I hadn't considered is the WGS ET-65, which is kinda similar to a greenback, just more mid-heavy, but not quite to the level of mid-heavy that a Vintage 30 is.

 

[Lake Placid Blues]

Re: Speaker upgrade for Blackstar and Mesa

The ET65 is WGS' take on the G12-65. The G12-65 was a large dust cap speaker like the controversial G12T75. The large dust cap tends to flatten the EQ curve in the upper mids a bit and roll off the top end a bit.

The G12T75 has more treble and more bass than the G12-65 in compensation. Big bass but it's hard to dial out the treble if you don't want it.

The V30s have a lot of mids but the treble is rolled off and the bottom remains tight. You don't get the flubs. A Vintage 30 that has less mid mids and a touch more bottom is the Marshall version. It comes across as brighter than the Mesa version but it's not as bright as a GB side by side compared. These may be found used if you live in a urban area. If your in Europe you can buy these from a music store in England. https://www.guitarmania.co.uk/product/marshall-speaker-vintage-30-8-ohm/?v=7516fd43adaa

The G12H30 or G12H75 Creamback has more treble and bass than a G12M greenback. This gives the effect of more relaxed mids than the G12M. Both Greenbacks have some grit to them. Some find the grit as organic texture. Some don't.

Another speaker to consider may be the G12-80 classic lead. It gives the tight bass and sustain of the V30 without the mids bump.

You might like the Celestion V-type too.

 

[GreatOz]

Re: Speaker upgrade for Blackstar and Mesa

The ET65 is WGS' take on the G12-65. The G12-65 was a large dust cap speaker like the controversial G12T75. The large dust cap tends to flatten the EQ curve in the upper mids a bit and roll off the top end a bit.

This is exactly what I am looking for. Namely, the G12-65, not the G12T75. I wanted the mids down a bit compared to the V30, but the highs rolled off so it's not piercing.

I'll checkout out the Celestion V-Type too.

 

[VinceT]

Re: Speaker upgrade for Blackstar and Mesa

One additional factoid - when Mesa put the Minirec in combo as the Rectoverb 25, they developed the Fillmore 75 speaker specific to the amp’s EQ.

I’ve played my Rectoverb 25 through various extension cabs fitted with Eminence Red Fang alnicos (10” and 12”), Eminence Big Ben (15”), WGS Veteran 30 (12”) and NONE of them work as well with the amp than the Fillmore 75. Definitely try it out if you can.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Re: Speaker upgrade for Blackstar and Mesa

The Eminence Governor is attrocious-sounding, IMO. Yes, it eases up on the upper-mid harshness of the V30, but at the expense of hollow almost phasey-sounding mids and added fizz and scratchiness higher up. JMO. I'd take a Chinese Vintage 30 over a Governor any day of the week.