When exactly did Celestion change V30's for the worse?

Gentlemen, this is worth a watch. TLDR- a lot of engineers apparently consider 2000-03 the prime years for Mesa V30s. Earlier is too dark, later just... changes. Fizzier as time goes on.


I recently tested my 2001 vs 2006 traditional cabs. Not shown here, however I will say for cleans & leads my 2006 OS cab is still my #1. The change in tone just works.
 
GJgo said:
Gentlemen, this is worth a watch. TLDR- a lot of engineers apparently consider 2000-03 the prime years for Mesa V30s. Earlier is too dark, later just... changes. Fizzier as time goes on.


I recently tested my 2001 vs 2006 traditional cabs. Not shown here, however I will say for cleans & leads my 2006 OS cab is still my #1. The change in tone just works.
Click to expand...



This is a great video, and i love Nolly. Here’s the thing: Speakers are an absolute crapshoot/lottery, they just are. Nolly has spent more time than most, but there are people I respect just as much who have done just as much nerding out on this as Nolly has; the consensus is, speakers really are a lottery. For every engineer that prefers the 01-03 Mesa speakers, I can name you a handful of engineers who recorded huge records with 2008 and upwards Mesa cabs on everything: a good sounding speaker is a good sounding speaker. I have Marshall vintages from 92-2005, and I haven’t found personally In the 30 or so I’ve owned, to take on certain characteristics during certain years. With that said, Nolly is fantastic, and made arguably one of if not the best in my opinion, impulse responses of his favorite Mesa cabs with GGD, definitely check that out.
 
GJgo said:
Gentlemen, this is worth a watch. TLDR- a lot of engineers apparently consider 2000-03 the prime years for Mesa V30s. Earlier is too dark, later just... changes. Fizzier as time goes on.


I recently tested my 2001 vs 2006 traditional cabs. Not shown here, however I will say for cleans & leads my 2006 OS cab is still my #1. The change in tone just works.
Click to expand...

I knew this video before and it kind of changed my perspective on all that made in England vs China view. It seems like it`s rather the in variations cone material that change the sound. At least this is speculated in the Video.
I owned 3 Mesa 4x12 after I knew this, one from mid 90ies, one is a late 2001 and a mid 2004. The 2001 has def. the tight bottom end and less spikes in the high end. It`s a keeper

I can`t imagine how Mesa is fine with all their cabs sounding vastly different because their speaker provider can`t make a constant sounding product. It even made me think, that the early 2000 Rectifier were voiced for the early 2000 V30 and that`s why the sound boomy and fizzy compared to the older 2 channel RevG.

Here is another video that shows the difference

 
I had a Rivera K412. Chinese V30s. I also had a 2001 Mesa Traditional. Both cabs were slants, and sounded EXACTLY the SAME. Two completely different V30s; one oem Mesa made in England and the other mic. Like VES said, really is a crapshoot
 
BesaMoogie said:
I knew this video before and it kind of changed my perspective on all that made in England vs China view. It seems like it`s rather the in variations cone material that change the sound. At least this is speculated in the Video.
I owned 3 Mesa 4x12 after I knew this, one from mid 90ies, one is a late 2001 and a mid 2004. The 2001 has def. the tight bottom end and less spikes in the high end. It`s a keeper

I can`t imagine how Mesa is fine with all their cabs sounding vastly different because their speaker provider can`t make a constant sounding product. It even made me think, that the early 2000 Rectifier were voiced for the early 2000 V30 and that`s why the sound boomy and fizzy compared to the older 2 channel RevG.

Here is another video that shows the difference

Click to expand...




It’s literally the nature of ALL speakers and their design man. Mesa has no control over this, they know that there are differences, even in the same cabinet. Which is why I always mic up my cabs dead center on each cone to get an idea of the tonality. My v30s in all my Mesa cabs are very different, it’s just the way it is. That’s why if you find a good one ( like you did) you hold on to it!
 
It doesn't matter who made the speakers or cab. Every single individual one is going to sound different.

Same with guitars and amps.

There isn't any consistency in any of this stuff. It's just basic physics.
It would be like expecting all blondes to be the same. It just isn't.
 
Monomyth said:
I own a lot of cabs with various years of v30s and to my ears the absolute best ones are the marshall vintage, I’ve sold off my Chinese v30s years ago because there is a major difference, I do like the Chinese greenbacks better than the English ones though, I’m also a big fan of the g12h anniversary and g12k100
Click to expand...
I notice that the chinese V30's have got more upper mids to them, so they probably do cut better in a mix, but the UK v30's are more balanced sounding.
 
VESmedic said:
This is a great video, and i love Nolly. Here’s the thing: Speakers are an absolute crapshoot/lottery, they just are. Nolly has spent more time than most, but there are people I respect just as much who have done just as much nerding out on this as Nolly has; the consensus is, speakers really are a lottery. For every engineer that prefers the 01-03 Mesa speakers, I can name you a handful of engineers who recorded huge records with 2008 and upwards Mesa cabs on everything: a good sounding speaker is a good sounding speaker. I have Marshall vintages from 92-2005, and I haven’t found personally In the 30 or so I’ve owned, to take on certain characteristics during certain years. With that said, Nolly is fantastic, and made arguably one of if not the best in my opinion, impulse responses of his favorite Mesa cabs with GGD, definitely check that out.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the kind words! I think maybe some of the nuance of what I was saying got lost in the edit, I want to be clear that there are great sounds to be had from good examples of V30s from all periods and origins. However, there are most definitely these global shifts in voicing with various eras of cone, and if you're chasing the sound from a V30 made in - say - 2000, you're simply not going to get it from a V30 made in 2004, or 1999 for that matter.
 
Nolly said:
Weird, I didn't think Mesa made any straight 4x12s until circa 2005...
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My 2001 in the vid I linked above is an all original 2001 straight traditional. Grey piping. Note the handles and input jack plate are proud, where sometime between then & 2006 they started counter-sinking them into the wood. This has been a visual queue for me when shopping.

I also had a slant trad 90s one years ago, same proud handles. That cab was so dark I ended up selling it. Here's a crappy SM57 -> iPhone clip of it.

Also while I agree that no 2 units are exactly the same, having owned a lot of the same thing I also believe there are trends that are generational and these are important when looking for a specific sound.

 
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GJgo said:
My 2001 in the vid I linked above is an all original 2001 straight traditional. Grey piping. Note the handles and input jack plate are proud, where sometime between then & 2006 they started counter-sinking them into the wood. This has been a visual queue for me when shopping.

I also had a slant trad 90s one years ago, same proud handles. That cab was so dark I ended up selling it. Here's a crappy SM57 -> iPhone clip of it.

Also while I agree that no 2 units are exactly the same, having owned a lot of the same thing I also believe there are trends that are generational and these are important when looking for a specific sound.

Click to expand...


Yeah the non-recessed handles are a clear indication of a pre C2- serial cab, and to be fair your 2001 cab sounds as killer as it should so I don't doubt you on that, it's just literally the first time I've heard of a straight Mesa 4x12 pre-2005. I wonder if it was a custom build? Would you mind PM'ing me the serial (and if you've got them, the speaker date codes) ? I'd be interested to see if it falls in sync with the database of cab serial and speaker date codes I have.
 
Nolly said:
Thanks for the kind words! I think maybe some of the nuance of what I was saying got lost in the edit, I want to be clear that there are great sounds to be had from good examples of V30s from all periods and origins. However, there are most definitely these global shifts in voicing with various eras of cone, and if you're chasing the sound from a V30 made in - say - 2000, you're simply not going to get it from a V30 made in 2004, or 1999 for that matter.
Click to expand...


Thanks Nolly, I think your video really opened peoples eyes on something that really will help them in their tone search. So many people chasing a certain sound etc, and getting frustrated not being able to obtain it, and you really shed light on a part of the signal chain that gets neglected by many people. Do you have any plans to do anything else with GGD like this?
 
VESmedic said:
Thanks Nolly, I think your video really opened peoples eyes on something that really will help them in their tone search. So many people chasing a certain sound etc, and getting frustrated not being able to obtain it, and you really shed light on a part of the signal chain that gets neglected by many people. Do you have any plans to do anything else with GGD like this?
Click to expand...
Thanks mate! Do you mean more video interview/podcasty type things via GGD? Or more IR packs like Cali? We're actually due to release a Marshall/greenback cab plugin in about T-15mins now h
 
Nolly said:
Thanks mate! Do you mean more video interview/podcasty type things via GGD? Or more IR packs like Cali? We're actually due to release a Marshall/greenback cab plugin in about T-15mins now h
Click to expand...


Ha! Awesome! Similar layout as the oversized Cali GUI? I guess I’ll find out in 15 minutes haha
 
VESmedic said:
Instant buy for me of course, thanks! There isnt really any fantastic greenback IR’s out there in my opinion, so this is great!
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Thanks so much for the support! I think the "Rich" cab is the most suited to heavy stuff (UK-made 2003 reissues), and I have to say the MD441 stood out to me as an amazing pairing with the greenback's more extended high end and less midrange compared to a V30. I pretty much use the 441 in place of a 57 when using Goldstack. Also don't overlook the "master EQ" as it will notch out the worst offending resonances/shrieks, which the Marshall/Greenback cabs are a lot more prone to than Mesa/V30 cabs are.
 
Nolly said:
Yeah the non-recessed handles are a clear indication of a pre C2- serial cab, and to be fair your 2001 cab sounds as killer as it should so I don't doubt you on that, it's just literally the first time I've heard of a straight Mesa 4x12 pre-2005. I wonder if it was a custom build? Would you mind PM'ing me the serial (and if you've got them, the speaker date codes) ? I'd be interested to see if it falls in sync with the database of cab serial and speaker date codes I have.
Click to expand...
I have an 4x12 OS that has a straight enclosure but the grill cloth is actually slanted, if my explanation makes any sense ;)
I actually have a small list of cab serial and speaker date codes I gathered from my cabs as well as all over the net if you are interested.
 
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