Celestion G12K-100's are one of the best speakers around. Try to say I'm wrong.

IME K100's aren't bad, especially for a non-vintage speakers, but need sufficient volume to work well. I've had a few cabs with them mixed with V30's and was a pretty good balance imo. They sound big, but not as big as Fane's or JBL's with similar wattage ratings. Like Zen said, if you like K100's, I'd recommend checking out the vintage K85's. They have more character/tone/rawness imo. I tend to prefer vintage gear more often than not for the rawness and more complex/nuanced tone and IME speakers and pickups are to me the biggest area where I find newer stuff to really fall short vs vintage. I guess actually tubes would be the biggest, but still
 
ZEN Amps said:
I have a K85 in a 70's Orange 4x12 that I actually quite like for recording. Clip here about 4mins in: Wizard MTL - ZEN Amp Vault Ep11

They're supposed to be very similar to the K100 but it sounds better to my ear, more life and quite a cool alternative to a V30 or T75.
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I agree. For my taste, I prefer the old K85's to T75's (even the vented ones), but depends what kind of sound you're going for. Something about the K85's give me an instant Metallica vibe, even though I never heard of them using those
 
braintheory said:
IME K100's aren't bad, especially for a non-vintage speakers, but need sufficient volume to work well. I've had a few cabs with them mixed with V30's and was a pretty good balance imo. They sound big, but not as big as Fane's or JBL's with similar wattage ratings. Like Zen said, if you like K100's, I'd recommend checking out the vintage K85's. They have more character/tone/rawness imo. I tend to prefer vintage gear more often than not for the rawness and more complex/nuanced tone and IME speakers and pickups are to me the biggest area where I find newer stuff to really fall short vs vintage. I guess actually tubes would be the biggest, but still
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I been thinking about Fane 70s but really don’t know what they found like . I just want something different
 
I put two in my Mesa 412 in a x-pattern with the stock V30s. Darkened it up noticeably but is well balanced. I like the combo for my Herbert.
 
i have a pair of g12k-85 s from my trusty 80s Peavey hardwood vertical 2x12 cab, they arent in there right now but they arent going anywhere
 
ZEN Amps said:
I have a K85 in a 70's Orange 4x12 that I actually quite like for recording. Clip here about 4mins in: Wizard MTL - ZEN Amp Vault Ep11

They're supposed to be very similar to the K100 but it sounds better to my ear, more life and quite a cool alternative to a V30 or T75.
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Haven't had the pleasure of playing through K85's. My understanding is Celestion retested them and determined they could handle 100 watts so changed the number. So it should be the same speaker. That says nothing about changes in manufacturing through the years which may have affected the tone; like for example UK vs China V30's. I'll need to keep my eye out for a pair of K85's
 
For a modern high powered Celestion, the Redback sounds, and sounds like it feels, much better than the K100. I've yet to try a Redback but literally every A/B clip I've heard, as well as dozens of first hand accounts, seem to bear this out.
 
thegame said:
For a modern high powered Celestion, the Redback sounds, and sounds like it feels, much better than the K100. I've yet to try a Redback but literally every A/B clip I've heard, as well as dozens of first hand accounts, seem to bear this out.
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Yeah I like the Redback too, smoother than your typical H but still has some cut. Reminds me of the higher wattage Scumback H series.

While we're talking speakers, the Classic Lead 80 is another cool one that doesn't get a lot of attention. Not for everyone, or everything, but has its place in the lineup.
 
ZEN Amps said:
Yeah I like the Redback too, smoother than your typical H but still has some cut. Reminds me of the higher wattage Scumback H series.

While we're talking speakers, the Classic Lead 80 is another cool one that doesn't get a lot of attention. Not for everyone, or everything, but has its place in the lineup.
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I’ve not tried redbacks yet, but seems like they can be cool. In general, I don’t like as much celestions for higher powered speakers. To me their forte is more in their mids, which I hear more in their lower wattage stuff. Imo JBL’s or Fane do better at high powered speakers since IME they have better lows and highs, move more air and celestions have better mids, so to me at least mixing those often gave me a good blend playing to their respective strengths
 
they're great with Diezel's...when I bought my vh4 years ago, I tried it and a herbert(wish I would have bought the herbert)...buddy had them hooked up to a diezel with those and the other to a mesa oversize with v30's....flub city with the mesa cab on both heads with volume. Diezel cab was killer with both heads. That's the only time I ever played them....
 
MadAsAHatter said:
Haven't had the pleasure of playing through K85's. My understanding is Celestion retested them and determined they could handle 100 watts so changed the number. So it should be the same speaker. That says nothing about changes in manufacturing through the years which may have affected the tone; like for example UK vs China V30's. I'll need to keep my eye out for a pair of K85's
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One lesson I learned the hard way in gear is to never listen when guys says it “should be the same” lol, especially if it’s one of those more technical guys saying that who may or may not be actually using his ears to judge. IME the K85’s and K100’s sound pretty different. The main difference that always sticks out to me in these types of comparison is the relative rawness/liveliness I hear in older speakers vs newer ones that come off comparatively a bit flat or sorta sterile to me (not as expressive I feel)
 
ZEN Amps said:
While we're talking speakers, the Classic Lead 80 is another cool one that doesn't get a lot of attention. Not for everyone, or everything, but has its place in the lineup.
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I've owned most (and tried the rest) of just about every iteration and derivitive of 80w Celestion there ever was. CL80, Mesa C90, Century 80w (Neo), Silver Series V12-80, Rola G12-80 w/1777 cone, Rola G12-80 w/444 cone. The last one, Rola G12-80 444 cone is by far the richest, chunkiest, most midrange dominant and pleasing species of this 80w gene pool. Well worth seeking out and I believe it would easily supplant both the K85 and CL80 in your recording cabs.
 
Techdeth said:
I been thinking about Fane 70s but really don’t know what they found like . I just want something different
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Well they are different. You’d have to try them to see if they’re your thing or not. I’d recommend F90’s if you stick to non-vintage Fane’s. The American speakers will be more different
 
braintheory said:
One lesson I learned the hard way in gear is to never listen when guys says it “should be the same” lol, especially if it’s one of those more technical guys saying that who may or may not be actually using his ears to judge. IME the K85’s and K100’s sound pretty different. The main difference that always sticks out to me in these types of comparison is the relative rawness/liveliness I hear in older speakers vs newer ones that come off comparatively a bit flat or sorta sterile to me (not as expressive I feel)
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I don't put too much stock in tech specs either. Just because it performed one way in a controlled environment doesn't mean it'll be the same in the real world.

I don't doubt you that K85's sound different than K100's even though Celestion said all they did was change the label. But I wonder how much age and use contributes to those differences. A decade's difference has to make some impact.

ZEN Amps said:
Yeah I like the Redback too, smoother than your typical H but still has some cut. Reminds me of the higher wattage Scumback H series.

While we're talking speakers, the Classic Lead 80 is another cool one that doesn't get a lot of attention. Not for everyone, or everything, but has its place in the lineup.
Click to expand...

I've been liking the clips I'm hearing of Redbacks. That's why I was looking at pairing them with some K100's. Plus I need the extra wattage.
 
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