Peter Frampton - I'll Give You Money (Live in Detroit) - YouTube Marshall Vintage 30's with a Plexi. What a tone.
Wow, I thought I was alone. After hearing for years how great vintage 30s were I bought a set and replaced the speakers in one of my 1960a cabs. Honestly, it is not a pleasant job. I was shocked at how quickly and massively I hated them. I still have that cab with those speakers in it. I don't think I have plugged it in for about 10 years. I may even have used the speaker jack (the switchable mono/stero) jack in another cab and just left it like that (no jack) as I know I will never use it. lol. AND I am a metal guy to the bone.
I am familiar with the differences between Vintage 30's. I've played different V30 equipped cabs and the one that I got along best with were older UK made V30's from the late 90's. Still, I prefer nearly every other guitar speaker to them.
V30’s are great but not all speakers work well with all amps. Marshall’s don’t sound that great with V30’s and G12’s, Green backs etc.. don’t sound great with a lot of amps other than Marshall. We’re all chasing “that tone” and speakers are just another variable component to change to attain it.
Although not my fave (that would be Greenbacks) They are a great sounding speaker, share qualities with other well loved Celestions. They're high enough wattage (65) for some things Greenbacks might not be good for, have the Mids 75s might lack for some people's ears, not too articulate like an EV. but more than a Jensen. They're just a great speaker for all occasions. In a 1x12 combo situation, I would break my "always Greenbacks" rule for a Vintage 30.
As above, they cut through a loud, bottom heavy mix. It seems to me they are voiced for a mix, not a solo performance. They also accentuate the Marshall’s strength in the mids. It’s easy, though, if you don’t like them use something else. There are so many choices...
They do one particular thing very well. They emphasize upper-mid, low-treble frequencies and somewhat roll-off frequencies above 2K. In isolation, they may sound harsh. And I used to HATE them. But I find that if I mix them with more 'rounded' frequency response speakers, they're great. I have an 8 ohm V30 in a cab with 2 Weber Hemp Blue Dogs. (Yes, a 3x12), with one hole plugged. Best sounding cab I've ever had. I have 2 in a 4x12 in an x-pattern with one Creamback 75 and one Weber Hemp Blue Dog. Also killer sounding. I understand why the tuned down crowd loves them. Bottom line: they do one thing. But they do it one thing really well.
They seem to suit certain amps more than others. Of my current amps, the Boogie V25 and DSL20HR dig the V30 in my closed back Mesa 1x12. Other amps prefer my 2x12 cab with greenbacks. If you are multitracking guitars in a home studio try using the V30 on one part, greenbacks on another. Better separation and easier mixing.
well - that’s like comparing metal trash can to a Ludwig drum and yeah i am not a fan if the T75’s and until i got an EVH 5153 cab i never knew why my sound was so bad. i also am not a fan of the v30’s for classic rock, blues, 80’s hair metal but for chug they work because you can tune down and the mids still go through
I'm kind of amazed (alarmed?) at most of the comparison criteria stated by the commenters in this thread. Why don't you simply go to the Celestion web site and download the tech sheet for the Vintage 30 and check the frequency response curve and compare it to the other Celestions in question. You could then look at the frequency response curves for any number of Eminence speakers and check to see what the advantages and limitation of the speakers in question are. Also, it seems to me that most musicians respond first to the perceived "loudness" of speakers being compared. Simply check the efficiency of the speakers in question -- i.e., how much sound pressure level each puts out for a 1 watt input compared to another. In the good old days of "searching for LOUDness", we used to swap out stock 12" low-efficiency speakers (Jensen, Utah, low-end Celestion, etc. ) for JBl 120's or EV or Peavey Scorpions, we found that the name brand (expensive) 12s were 3 to 6 db louder with the same wattage input. All of a sudden your 40-watt Fender sounded like an 85-watt Fender or TWO 100 watt-smps played through low-efficency speakers. I know that if you like blue Cadillacs and I like red cadillacs that it's all a matter of taste, but still, one speaker can be shown to be superior to another via a variety of comparison factors. That's what spec sheets are for!!!! Good luck with your search for speaker "tone", Marc
Not sure if you meant to quote my post... but I was stating I believe Slash uses V30s in his current rig in response to a post about his gear.
