Anybody bought Vintage 30s recently?

[BesaMoogie]

I'd be willing to bet that if you took let's say a dozen random V30's produced in any given year, you'd find just as much variance as the speakers from comparison videos like the one earlier in the thread.

Videos like that imply things like "every 2001 V30 speaker sounds EXACTLY like THIS 2001 V30, while every 2006 V30 sounds EXACTLY like THIS 2006 V30." and that's just not true. Basically you'll find just as many differences between batches of speakers every time a new batches are made.

You can prove this yourself if you have all-like speakers in a 4x12 cab, or even a 2x12 cab. Or even two 1x12 cabs of the same type. Just mic each speaker individually and you'll be shocked how different they all sound from each other.

Maybe there might be very subtle traceable differences over years, but from one speaker to the next, the differences are going to be pronounced enough to make a difference.

There is an about an hour long discussion of a guy called Nolly (he`s a producer) who actually brought this thing up. He hounted many speakers from different timeperiods down a came to the conclusion, that Mesa speakers from about 2000 till 2002 do have a distinct sound to them.
Of course there are always differences from one speaker to the next, but in the video it`s a whole new layer of frequencies (fizz) in the tone.

 

[LPMojoGL]

Celestion has not updated the V30. Glenn Fricker posted that video and was completely incorrect about it, and has since issued a correction video retracting his statement.

The biggest issue at play here is that speakers are just inherently inconsistent. Like, even more inconsistent than Les Pauls. It really just is luck of the draw with them.

I've found this through the years.
Recently with g12-65s from 79 80.
They all sounded like g12-65s. Some were louder brighter, some quieter darker.

In the past I've compared UK, Mesa, Marshall, Chinese and Hellatone V30s.
They all sounded like V30s.
Some were better than others.
No model seemed best.
One Hellatone was a fav.
One UK sounded the worst.
Mesa Marshall and Chinese slightly varied.
I prefer 16 ohm.

 

[TheGreatGreen]

You didn't watch the video, did you? They did do that. They mic'd all four speakers. Yes, there was variations between all four speakers, but they sounded more similar to each other than comparing them to the other cab.

Yep I watched the video. I think it could be the case that each set of speakers in the same cabs sounding similar could have more to do with them being made in the same batches.

I still don't think I'm totally convinced that the variance between batches, even within single years, couldn't produce speakers with just as much of a tonal variance as the speakers in the 2001 vs 2008 cabs.

Again, I'm not saying there aren't broad trends that happen over years, I'm just saying that as an individual buyer when dealing with individual cabs, I think these rules of thumb ("early 2000's V30's are big and warm while modern V30's are ice picky and thin") are probably not specifically applicable enough for every cab produced in those periods to solely base purchasing decisions on.

 

[thegame]

All speakers vary but there are lines of variance that don't really intersect. E.g. Mesa V30s vary somewhat from each other but can't be mistaken for the Marshall ones, which naturally vary amongst themselves. Also the cabinet itself can highlight, mask or shift the differences as some speakers simply gel better in certain cabs. It's an almost endless rabbit hole.

 

[Bardagh]

Wait a minute, hold the boat...I just want to be sure I've got this straight.

Are you telling me that Glenn Fricker got something wrong?

 

[Racerxrated]

He's missing the original V30, the 8 ohm Marshall Vintage..which sounds FAR different than any V30 that came after it, when they stopped making the original 8ohm version in 1989. I've had a 1992 Fender Tonemaster cab, 1991 Marshall Vintage cab with the way brighter 16 ohm version, multiple Mesa V30 cabs....none even remotely resemble the 80s 8 ohm Vintage.

 

[Rex Rocker]

Yep I watched the video. I think it could be the case that each set of speakers in the same cabs sounding similar could have more to do with them being made in the same batches.

I still don't think I'm totally convinced that the variance between batches, even within single years, couldn't produce speakers with just as much of a tonal variance as the speakers in the 2001 vs 2008 cabs.

Again, I'm not saying there aren't broad trends that happen over years, I'm just saying that as an individual buyer when dealing with individual cabs, I think these rules of thumb ("early 2000's V30's are big and warm while modern V30's are ice picky and thin") are probably not specifically applicable enough for every cab produced in those periods to solely base purchasing decisions on.

I do get your point. And I agree. But also I highly suspect Celestion's batches are so big that they probably encompass quite a few cabinets for months, if not years. Especially if we're talking about the standard V30. Not the Mesa-exclusive one.