Chinese Celestions in Friedman 4x12...
- Thread starter Danjel
- Start date
Adambomb
Member
This is one subject I've only seen the Friedman crowd be bothered by or bring up in posts. Im not speaking for Dave just a few IMHO facts. As far as I know there are no wholesale "English 25 watt Greenback RI" (ones Friedman likes best) that are English made since 2002, like 15 years correct me if I'm wrong. I imagine that there are several people in the last decade to think their Celestion V30s or Greenbacks are made with pride in England, but in reality probably 95% were assembled in China but with the same parts England used for years and still uses. Most all the bigger boutique companies use the same speakers as Friedman.
I worked for WGS Speakers in Paducah KY for 3 years and have demo'd near all of the variants of speakers. I'll stand by my ears over anything else. The Chinese Greenbacks might be my favorite current 25 watt speaker for high gain Plexi tones, but I haven't AB'd others for couple years.
Trust your ears and not labels or brand names. The Friedman 4x12 is about the best cab I've heard, but that won't stop me from trying some Creambacks or G12H30s in there.
I worked for WGS Speakers in Paducah KY for 3 years and have demo'd near all of the variants of speakers. I'll stand by my ears over anything else. The Chinese Greenbacks might be my favorite current 25 watt speaker for high gain Plexi tones, but I haven't AB'd others for couple years.
Trust your ears and not labels or brand names. The Friedman 4x12 is about the best cab I've heard, but that won't stop me from trying some Creambacks or G12H30s in there.
RACKSYSTEMS
Well-known member
Well because standard v-30 speakers are made in China period. The only v-30 speakers made in the U.K. Are for Boogie exclusively, the best sounding greenback is the standard one and that is only made in china also. All the creambacks we use are made in the U.K..
sytharnia1560
Well-known member
RACKSYSTEMS":14igsgyu said:
yep pretty hard to put new english made greenbacks in if they don't make them there anymore
Racerxrated
Well-known member
Celestion Heritage, Boogie and Marshall V30s are all made in England. My Rivera 4X12 has Chinese V30s, and sounds amazing.
What would be the difference between Mesas V30s and the Marshall V30s made in China then? I have both and there IS a massive difference. The Marshall V30s (made in China) have a way more nasal tone compared to the very clear Mesa version.
I have compared them in three different cabs, and the differences are still very clear to me.
I have compared them in three different cabs, and the differences are still very clear to me.
NewWorldMan
Well-known member
Danjel":2bx7l62k said:
What Marshall V30s (aka, "Marshall Vintage") speakers do you have that are made in China? They're still made in the UK the last time I checked.
The Mesa V30 and Marshall "Vintage" (V30) are very different sounding speakers. The Mesa versions seem to be a little less spiked in the mids, and the Marshall versions are a lot brighter on the top end. As far as the previously UK made Celestion V30 and the newer Chinese made Celestion V30s, I've played and used both, and I probably couldn't pick which is which in a blind test. However, those are different speakers than the Mesa/Marshall versions.
Just keep in mind that when you're talking about Mesa V30, Marshall "Vintage" (V30), and off the shelf Celestion V30s, you're actually talking about 3 different speakers, the Celestion V30 of which has 2 different production countries (but sound pretty much identical IMO).
CrazyNutz
Well-known member
I had a set of English made G12 M Greenbacks, from a marshall 1960AX, and a set of Chinese G12 M Greenbacks.
The Chinese G12 M Sounds way better, and warmer. The English G12 M sound too bright.
Now about the Chinese v30's, they sound fine. One of the problems with the v30 English vs Chinese comparisons is they are almost always using a Mesa English v30. Mesa V30's are not standard v30's, they are made by celestion specifically for mesa. They do sound a little better, however I'm now prettyconvinced it has nothing to do with where they are made.
BTW, most of the other high end and/or boutique amp builders use Chinese Celestions too.
The Chinese G12 M Sounds way better, and warmer. The English G12 M sound too bright.
Now about the Chinese v30's, they sound fine. One of the problems with the v30 English vs Chinese comparisons is they are almost always using a Mesa English v30. Mesa V30's are not standard v30's, they are made by celestion specifically for mesa. They do sound a little better, however I'm now prettyconvinced it has nothing to do with where they are made.
BTW, most of the other high end and/or boutique amp builders use Chinese Celestions too.
CrazyNutz
Well-known member
Danjel":pz402097 said:
The Mesa v30's are made to Mesa's spec, they are special.
The Marshall v30's are made to Marshall's spec., they too are special, and they are English made as well.
The standard v30's are all made in china.
These are all purposely voice slightly different.
Del Rei
Member
Danjel":1mxpfo8j said:
Really?
Or because they all sounds different from each other when comparing side by side?
Hey, man... It doesn't matter. Celestion do not have a decent quality control.
I myself made a comparison between 2 V30 and they are completely DIFFERENT speakers:
And there is this comparison between 2 Marshall cabs where the only difference should be the tolex:
So... Really, WHY does anyone care about chinese or UK speakers....?
If you want quality control, forget Celestion speakers.
I mean, they sound good, but never the same.
CrazyNutz
Well-known member
Del Rei":15kim0cn said:
Damn your 2012 v30 sound great, as does the 2536 cab.
However I've heard these same disparities from broken-in speakers vs not broken-in. Don't let the age of the speaker/cab throw you off, many people buy new cab's and play them at bedroom volumes, then leave them collecting dust in a corner for 10 years before finally selling it off.
Depending on the day, my mood and the barometric pressure I sometimes think my Chinese made Greenbacks sound better than the old ones in my Marshall cab. If something sounds good, it sounds good. Doesn't matter where it was made. Would it be nice to have bragging rights that my speakers were made in the "historically correct" location? Sure, but it's not that important.
CrazyNutz
Well-known member
bdm":354b9ang said:
Don't get me wrong I don't care where my speakers are made
. I had a set of English G12M Greenbacks from a marshall ax cab, and my Chinese G12M Greenbacks sounded far better, so I off loaded the English ones to someone who puts more value on where they are made vs how they sound (which is most people)
krueger
Well-known member
OK, I have to chime in here....what idiot posts such a thing without doing research on Celestion speakers in the first place. Not to start a war, but maybe do a little research first before you post something that can be take negative to one of the most talented amp builders page. Seriously!
krueger":sj91edn5 said:
Relax there... who are you calling an idiot?
What are you raging about? That I hear a difference between the two different speakers or that there are (at least) three different versions of the "same named speakers". Celestion V30, Marshall V30 and MESA V30...
What I have learned here is that the Marshall "Vintahge 30s" are infact made in UK. Ok, sorry, that one is on me, but dont go raging on me about the difference I hear. Please, sit yourself down, Sir!
I wansn't trying to make Friedman look bad. I own two BE100s as well as the 4x12 (V30/25 W Greenbacks) that goes with it, and I will most likely never ever sell them. I am a HUGE fan.
My post wasn't derogatorily meant, I was curious about the differences of the speakers and why he chose them.
CrazyNutz
Well-known member
HeHe. C'mon fellas, chill 
This topic has been around for years.
The conclusion comes to this. The Mesa v30, the Marshall v30 (Actually officially called just Vintage, no 30 tacked on), and the Standard v30 ARE ALL VOICED differently.
Therefor we cannot reliably say they sound different because of where they are made.
Personally I prefer the Mesa v30. I own 6 Chinese v30s, and 4 mesa v30s. To me the mesa's sound better, they are warmer, less fizzy, and the top end is much more pleasant.
Somewhere floating around on the internet is a statement from Mesa. It states if I remember correctly, sometime in the 90's mesa received a new shipment of v30's (all English made still) they noticed they sounded different from the v30's they were getting. They contacted Celestion and said WTF? Celestion said they made some changes (Glue? Paper? IDK) . Mesa said, we don't like them we wan't it the old way. Celestion not wanting to lose a large customer complied with their wishes.
You can buy Mesa v30's direct from Mesa: https://store.mesaboogie.com/products/s ... dance.html
notice the part where it says "custom made for MESA in Ipswich, England"
This topic has been around for years.
The conclusion comes to this. The Mesa v30, the Marshall v30 (Actually officially called just Vintage, no 30 tacked on), and the Standard v30 ARE ALL VOICED differently.
Therefor we cannot reliably say they sound different because of where they are made.
Personally I prefer the Mesa v30. I own 6 Chinese v30s, and 4 mesa v30s. To me the mesa's sound better, they are warmer, less fizzy, and the top end is much more pleasant.
Somewhere floating around on the internet is a statement from Mesa. It states if I remember correctly, sometime in the 90's mesa received a new shipment of v30's (all English made still) they noticed they sounded different from the v30's they were getting. They contacted Celestion and said WTF? Celestion said they made some changes (Glue? Paper? IDK) . Mesa said, we don't like them we wan't it the old way. Celestion not wanting to lose a large customer complied with their wishes.
You can buy Mesa v30's direct from Mesa: https://store.mesaboogie.com/products/s ... dance.html
notice the part where it says "custom made for MESA in Ipswich, England"