Celestion Classic Lead 80

  • Thread starter Thread starter Mr. Willy
  • Start date Start date
Mr. Willy

Mr. Willy

Well-known member
Talk to me about this speaker. I just got an SLO and I don't think she plays well with the V30's I've got in my cab. It seems from the specs that the Classic Lead 80 would work well with the SLO because of the high end roll off. Any of you have experience with this speaker? Thanks!
 
They sound great with the SLO. I heard them about a year ago in a 2X12 and they sounded awesome with the SLO!! No harsh high end!! I also have a pair of British CL80s that are paired with the G12H30 70th Annys in a Cameron cab and it tamed the top end of the full quad that the G12H30s delivered.
 
I like V30's a lot but they emphasize the upper mids and the SLO already has tons of upper mids. It's like they're fighting for that frequency and really pushing it. I've also got two Greenbacks I might try. Right now I've got 2 V30's and 2 Retro 30's in an x pattern. I'll probably put the Retro's on bottoms and the Greenies on top and see how the SLO plays with that combo.
 
Mr. Willy":300yixwk said:
I like V30's a lot but they emphasize the upper mids and the SLO already has tons of upper mids. It's like they're fighting for that frequency and really pushing it. I've also got two Greenbacks I might try. Right now I've got 2 V30's and 2 Retro 30's in an x pattern. I'll probably put the Retro's on bottoms and the Greenies on top and see how the SLO plays with that combo.

That should work!!!
 
Like metalmaniac, I had a good experience with it. No direct experience on the SLO part though. I paired mine with a G12H30 in an Avatar 212 closed back cab. They seemed to compliment each other nicely. The CL80 should be a bit more transparent than others with more low end emphasis. I sold that cab to a friend and ended up getting a Splawn 212 cab with Small Blocks that I like equally. Splawn makes great cabs for the money BTW.
 
love them, one of my all time favorite celestions. Warm, balanced speaker that doesn't rip your head off on stage, really mix well with other speakers to. I think 4 in a 4x12 may be a little to flat with certain amps though. I like paired with h30 anny, i also heard sounds cool with v30 but not sure how that will work with an SLO....
 
duesentrieb":204rqaaf said:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oxV-idemTs

Both those sound good. The Lead 80 does seem more transparent...like it has warm top but still has teeth.
 
My favorite Celestion speaker. Balanced, smooth but can still punch really hard. Not harsh at all, but not muddy. Works great with high gainers. The Mesa Black Shadow C90 speaker is very close to the Classic Lead 80.
 
Yes, they are awesome speakers! They do seem to have a smoother top end than a lot of other celestions, but they are not dark at all. They cut.
 
I like CL80's, nice choice for modern high gain amps. They sound really nice when pushed.
 
Yup, do it!! They have a similar frequency response to eminence legend V12s, but with the celestion character. Pretty sure soldano uses V12s in his cabs.
 
I have the MC90's in my Mesa Thieles, which is an English-made CL80 that is made exclusively for Mesa. Don't know whats done, but it's modified to add warmth and rated 10 more watts. I love them! Paired with the G12H30's in my EVH cab, its ferocious sounding!
 
I had V30's in my THD cab and swapped them out for CL80's. What people said in posts above are true. More bottom and transparency than the V30's. V30's just had a high mid spike that did not work for me. The CL80's do not have that.
 
Lots of love for the classic lead. Hmmm...may need to trade someone for some English V30's. I wonder how they'd mate with greenbacks. The greenbacks that came in my bogner are English made. Don't know if they're 96 or 97db. Wonder if the classic leads would overpower the greenies...
 
Something to consider if you are interested in greenbacks would be creambacks or Splawn Small Blocks. Just sayin.
 
Just picked up a rivera Q212 that has a pair of english cl 80's ....sounds great at low volume..have not had a chance to pump real volume into them yet, but I will soon!
 
c80's can be icepicky until broken in...and they take a bit longer to break in it seems than other speakers.

after they're broken in though, i think they're the best speaker i own. really transparent, nice highs, transparent mids and really strong lows.
 
Back
Top