WGS Speakers. Anyone using them, or have an opinion?

G

guitar74

New member
I was looking at the retro 30 for a combo I have, but am a little leary because of the price point? Anyone using them or heard good/bad things?

There was some company out of Memphis that sent me some of their sound demos and the only thing I could think after seeing the guy with his Mick Thompson mask, too much gain for even my taste, and mids so scooped that I couldn't tell if the speaker had any oomph or not, was "this is the demo that made the cut?!!". All of this, and they didn't bother to mic the cab, were using the mic from the camera. Yeah, I won't be buying that one!

Oh yeah, and on their site this guy seems more like a mattress salesman than someone affiliated with guitar speakers. This isn't the WGS site, I just wish I could remember the name of the speaker company, and a link because it's more like a late '70s SNL sketch than a legit speaker manufacturer.

Have a great night,

Al
 
Re: WGS Speakers. Anyone using them, or have an opinion?

I have a pair of WGS speakers in a 2X12 cab: a Retro 30 and a Reaper HP. Nice speakers. I find them to be warmer or slightly darker than their advertised Celestion counterparts. That's not necessarily good nor bad, just different; depends on what sound you're chasing. There are sound demos on the WGS site and on YouTube as well to help guide you.
 
Re: WGS Speakers. Anyone using them, or have an opinion?

^I have the same match in a 412. I think they work great together. To my ears, the Retro has a bit more "bark" in the midrange, so to speak. The Reaper sounds a bit more open and bright by comparison. Overall, I think they have a nice fullness, while being tight in the lows, and clear sounding.
 
Re: WGS Speakers. Anyone using them, or have an opinion?

I'm using a Liberator in my DSL40C. The guy who owned it before me put it in and honestly it's not what I would have chosen but it's working just fine so I don't care to change it.
 
Re: WGS Speakers. Anyone using them, or have an opinion?

I have a 2x12 with an ET-65 and a Veteran 30 it sounds great with all of my amps. I don't know if it could handle ultra high gain down tuned metal, but everything else is good. I've only had my set for about a year, but the other guitarist in my band also has a 2x12 with I think the same set going on 4 years now with no issues, and still sounds great.
 
Re: WGS Speakers. Anyone using them, or have an opinion?

Got a Reaper 55 in my 4x12 mixed with a coupla v30s and a G12H30 and it sounds great. Little different from the Celestion, but imo, same high quality.
 
Re: WGS Speakers. Anyone using them, or have an opinion?

I think I will pull the trigger on the Retro 30. Thanks for the input.
 
Re: WGS Speakers. Anyone using them, or have an opinion?

I love their speakers. Nice folks to deal with too. I've got Green Berets. They sound awesome.
 
Re: WGS Speakers. Anyone using them, or have an opinion?

I have the WGS ET65 in a 2x12. I bought them as they are not very efficient, which means the power tubes have to work harder and that helped reduce the fizzy sound quite a bit. Very happy with them.
 
Re: WGS Speakers. Anyone using them, or have an opinion?

Own 3 right now a Vet 30 that is currently loose, a Retro 30 that resides in my BlackStar 1/12 and the ET 90 in my Zinky Velvet.
I am very pleased with all 3 and have actually preferred them to the Eminences and Celestians I also own for my 2 main gig out rigs.
Here is s the little Zinky Velvet unmiced with the ET 90. Don't be fooled here by this camera placement as this room is the lobby of a former hospital and over 3500 sq feet of open space. Running the ET 90 in the unmiced little 1/12 25 watt Velvet combo I easily filled it well with a full tone with plenty of volume to spare in the rig!
 
Last edited:
Re: WGS Speakers. Anyone using them, or have an opinion?

I own and use 2 x Retro 30s and 2 x Veteran 30s.

Previously owned:
ET-65s
British Leads

I like the V30 variants best, although I'm now looking for a low power warm sounding pair of speakers from WGS. Still undecided though...
 
Re: WGS Speakers. Anyone using them, or have an opinion?

Budget speakers. Not NEARLY as good as Celestions in any form function, way shape or manner.WGS do not have access to the time honored speaker building resources as Celestion. They will not be nearly-AGAIN- not even neraly, as good sounding , period. Wishful thinking on the part of most here. We all want something for nothing- and WGS is playing on the lack of funding resources for most budget players, but ain't gonna happen.Dream on.
 
Last edited:
Re: WGS Speakers. Anyone using them, or have an opinion?

MetalManiac said:
Budget speakers. Not NEARLY as good as Celestions in any form function, way shape or manner.WGS do not have access to the time honored speaker building resources as Celestion. They will not be nearly-AGAIN- not even neraly, as good sounding , period. Wishful thinking on the part of most here. We all want something for nothing- and WGS is playing on the lack of funding resources for most budget players, but ain't gonna happen.Dream on.
Click to expand...

How many have you played/heard, and for how long? Have you done direct A/B comparisons?
 
Re: WGS Speakers. Anyone using them, or have an opinion?

MetalManiac said:
^ no. But how could they be?
Click to expand...

So, no experience at ALL. But they're junk, eh?

I own a Heritage 30 clone and 3 green backs. They are all great. They need broken in when you get them. Once you do that, they're perfect if you get the right one tonally.
 
Re: WGS Speakers. Anyone using them, or have an opinion?

MetalManiac said:
Budget speakers. Not NEARLY as good as Celestions in any form function, way shape or manner.WGS do not have access to the time honored speaker building resources as Celestion. They will not be nearly-AGAIN- not even neraly, as good sounding , period. Wishful thinking on the part of most here. We all want something for nothing- and WGS is playing on the lack of funding resources for most budget players, but ain't gonna happen.Dream on.
Click to expand...

You do also realize most production Celestion speakers are now made in China, with no reduction in price... I'm not saying that automatically makes them junk, but I'll take British Celestion over China, and USA assembled WGS first.
 
Re: WGS Speakers. Anyone using them, or have an opinion?

Looking at Reaper 30, 55hz, Reaper 50HP, 55hz, Green Berets & Invaders.
Wattage ratings may force my hand, but I still want that crunchy early breakup.
 
Re: WGS Speakers. Anyone using them, or have an opinion?

Okay, but the tooling processes and cones and materials and computer resources to produce the best speaker- that's gotta be Celestion UK all the way, with 'deep pockets'.
WGS just cannot afford to produce as good of a speaker, it would stand to reason.

Same as Gibson and Fender USA ( and some Japanese manufacturers to a lesser extent) for an analogy- far from perfect, but have the same 'deep pockets' to produce the very best mass production guitars on earth, with the best quality of construction and best materials for premium price point guitars.

Not that WGS isn't acceptable, I'm sure it is, but Celestion has got to have a better all around sound and construction, although you will certainly pay more for it.
 
Last edited:
Re: WGS Speakers. Anyone using them, or have an opinion?

Lampy H said:
How many have you played/heard, and for how long? Have you done direct A/B comparisons?
Click to expand...

That's Jerry, he's a great guy, but he's a gear snob and he humbly admits it. Make sure to talk to him about Dumbles and Klon Centaurs. ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top