Marshall Celestion G12 Vintage??

[john1221]

Hey all. I believe the Vintage line of Marshall cabs as well as the Jubilees use the G12 16ohm Celestion Vintage speakers under Marshall branding. I've hear they are just V30's but suitable for Marshall flavors, and of course, under Marshall branding. My question is, are these UK made like Mesa's version of V30's? Or are they China-made? Not that it really matters but I am trying to get my speaker knowledge straight because it get's quite confusing. Also, does anyone have experience with the Marshall G12 vintages and the G12-65's they used in the 80s? There is a JCM 800 cab my friend is willing to sell me with those speakers, but for the same price, I could get a 1960bv brand new here in the states. Thanks for any input

 

[Eigen]

G12 Vintages are UK made. I had one in an old 2554 I used to have, was a great sounding amp. As far as the older V30s vs newer ones, no clue. That said I prefer G12-65's to V30s, so if the JCM cab is old enough to have the 65's installed that is the one I would personally go for.

However, I would say it depends on the amp you will use the cab with, if its a Silver Jubilee, go with the V30's

 

[javierfranki]

the celestion marshall g12 vintage is like a "special v30",is the first v30 design made for marshall jubilee.Its a 65w speaker,lmore open than standard new v30´s.
the celestion g12-65 is a different speaker used in some jcm800 era cabinets. It is more "dark" speaker,and sometimes the people love for taming bright amps.

 

[VESmedic]

They are extremely , extremely different despite what internet folklore will tell you . Think of the Marshall vintages as the “original” V30 design, because that’s essentially what they are. Marshall wanted the original voicing/speaker in their cabs, and that’s what in them to do this day. To truly compare them to a V30, remember they are 16 ohms( in the AV and BV Cabs anyways) so you need to compare them to 16 ohm V30s. The 8 ohm version from the early jubilee cabs are rare, but sound fantastic as well. Darker, more mid forward, just like 8 ohm speakers always are.


On that note, all speakers, even the same model in the same cab will sound vastly different. I’ve been through 12 G12 vintages from 92-94 recently, and they are all vastly different. The 92’s are darker, the 94’s are totally different with a big gnarly midrange grind. Speakers are a lottery at the end of the day.

 

[spacerocker]

Don't worry about the differences between UK Made Vintage 30s (Marshall G12 Vintage) and the Chinese made V30s!.....

Yes the G12 is made in the UK, and yes, its design is apparently unchanged from the original Vintage 30 speaker.

My understanding is that one or two components in the Chinese V30 may have different part numbers...


But what does this mean in practice? What are the tonal differences? Most people who have a strong opinion on this will not have had the chance to test these speakers back to back...they might have heard one or the other in a great sounding cab, but won't have been able to conduct a true back-to-back test.....

By chance (more than anything) I have a 1936 Cab with one 16 Ohm Chinese V30 and one 16 Ohm Marshall G12 Vintage in. I can switch between 1 or the other, or have both running at once (which is obviously how I use the cab in reality....)

The tonal difference between the Chinese made V30 and the Marshall G12 Vintage is very, very small! They both have the same "V30" Flavour, but the Marshall branded speaker is slightly warmer in tone. In contrast, the Chinese V30s are slightly brighter, clearer, more articulate and more aggressive sounding. Of the two I prefer the tone of the Chinese made speaker, but the differences are pretty subtle. I doubt whether I could tell which was which if I heard them in isolation.....There really is nothing particularly special about the Marshall G12 Vintage.....

 

[VESmedic]

Don't worry about the differences between UK Made Vintage 30s (Marshall G12 Vintage) and the Chinese made V30s!.....

Yes the G12 is made in the UK, and yes, its design is apparently unchanged from the original Vintage 30 speaker.

My understanding is that one or two components in the Chinese V30 may have different part numbers...


But what does this mean in practice? What are the tonal differences? Most people who have a strong opinion on this will not have had the chance to test these speakers back to back...they might have heard one or the other in a great sounding cab, but won't have been able to conduct a true back-to-back test.....

By chance (more than anything) I have a 1936 Cab with one 16 Ohm Chinese V30 and one 16 Ohm Marshall G12 Vintage in. I can switch between 1 or the other, or have both running at once (which is obviously how I use the cab in reality....)

The tonal difference between the Chinese made V30 and the Marshall G12 Vintage is very, very small! They both have the same "V30" Flavour, but the Marshall branded speaker is slightly warmer in tone. In contrast, the Chinese V30s are slightly brighter, clearer, more articulate and more aggressive sounding. Of the two I prefer the tone of the Chinese made speaker, but the differences are pretty subtle. I doubt whether I could tell which was which if I heard them in isolation.....There really is nothing particularly special about the Marshall G12 Vintage.....

I couldn’t disagree more with you if I tried…..


As someone who has 8 4x12s with Marshall vintage speakers( from a lot of different years between 1991 and present) , Chinese V30s, creambacks, and Mesa V30s, 75s, EVH speakers, I’m sorry but you are flat out wrong. This isn’t even an opinion. Do you mic up your cabs? Or are you one of those “ in the room guys” only? Have you EVER mic’d any of these up YOURSELF to see for your own self the differences between them? If you truly think Marshall vintage speakers and Chinese V30s “aren’t that different”, then you are either deaf, or have not listened in the least how I am describing. Never have I ever heard anyone who mic’s up amps regularly such as myself, ever say anything close to these type of statements. It’s always people making these kinds of statements who actually have never done the real tests, because people who have, can hear the obvious differences.

On that note, I’d be more than happy to post close micd actual clips of all these speakers in question appropriately with solid conversion, unlike many of the ridiculousness that is on YouTube.