Celestion Vintage 30 Alternatives

the other John Browne

the other John Browne

Well-known member
How do you do, fellow kids?

As my Vintage 30 quest is slowly coming to an end, I'm already down the next rabbit hole - Vintage 30s not made by Celestion and V30 alternatives! So far I've lined up:

Popular speakers with similar flavours:
- WGS Veteran 30
- WGS Retro 30
- Mojotone BV30V
- Eminence Governor
- Fane / David Laboga Mamzer 30

Popular speakers supposedly in the same tonal ball park:
- Fane F70
- Eminence Legend V128
- Jensen Nighthawk

Popular alternatives:
- Eminence DV77
- Hesu Demon

Are there any other obvious choices? Anything I am missing? I know Ted Weber makes a few but they are hard to get in Europe.
 
I look forward to this new chapter in the series. I know people compare the Celestion G12H75 Creambacks to V30's but I don't know if they share much in common besides the same cone and magnet size. Maybe could be worth throwing in there even though it's just another Celestion, not necessarily an "alternative."

Maybe Mesa Fillmore 75's?

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I'd love to see a deep dive like you did for V30's for the G12T75's. Probably not as extensive as V30's but there are a lot of different versions and it is one of the most misunderstood speakers I see talked about online, and they are pretty common as stock speakers.
 
I had a pair of cv-75’s that i thought sounded like v30’s, but it might have just been that cab. Currently looking for neo speakers like v30’s myself.
 
TotallyRadGuitars said:
I look forward to this new chapter in the series. I know people compare the Celestion G12H75 Creambacks to V30's but I don't know if they share much in common besides the same cone and magnet size. Maybe could be worth throwing in there even though it's just another Celestion, not necessarily an "alternative."

Maybe Mesa Fillmore 75's?

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I'd love to see a deep dive like you did for V30's for the G12T75's. Probably not as extensive as V30's but there are a lot of different versions and it is one of the most misunderstood speakers I see talked about online, and they are pretty common as stock speakers.
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I own some G12H-75 creamback. They are definitely in the H greenback family. They don't sound like Vintage 30 to me at all. The H is much brighter and doesn't have the V30 midrange hump. These two speakers mix together very well. I have a 4x12 with this pair. Might be my favorite 4x12.

But it would be interesting to see a comparison done.
 
I have the WGS Retro 30 speakers in a 2x12 cabinet, I can tell you they're different then the V30s. Definitely have a deeper low end and roll off highs. I find they didn't cut as well as the V30s. However, the Retros are to me ALOT easier to mic and get a good FOH out of them without sounding harsh.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Good luck.
 
They don't sound like V30's at all, but I love the H75 Creambacks. They sound incredible with almost every amp I've plugged into them, and give a nice "vintage" characteristic to most amps that's a nice contrast from the more "modern" V30 sound.

If you're hell bent on a V30 but different, I'd look to get some of the OG Celestion G12 Vintage speakers from the original Jubilee cabs. The 8ohm versions are absolutely incredible. My main 4x12 is an '87 Jubilee cab with 8ohm G12 Vintage speakers wired at 8ohms and they sound nothing like modern production V30s.
 
the other John Browne said:
How do you do, fellow kids?

As my Vintage 30 quest is slowly coming to an end, I'm already down the next rabbit hole - Vintage 30s not made by Celestion and V30 alternatives! So far I've lined up:

Popular speakers with similar flavours:
- WGS Veteran 30
- WGS Retro 30
- Mojotone BV30V
- Eminence Governor
- Fane / David Laboga Mamzer 30
......
Click to expand...

I have used Vet 30s mixed in a 2x12 with an Invader 50 and alone in an oversized cabinet.


I find the Vet30 really works well with my Marshall but not so well with my Vox or Fender styled amps.

The invader 50 has a cool low mid thing going on and works well with the upper mid grunty of the Vet.

The cabinet sounded great with only invader 50s in it as well.

The Vet on its own is definitely very hit or miss.

Excited to hear a lot of speaker testing tho!
 
I think Eminence also has a "Legend" line of speakers that are supposed to imitate various legendary speakers. A quick search seems to indicate that the V12 is likely the counterpart to the V30? I haven't tried those, but I've tried an earlier Legend-type that they made as an OEM model for Carvin, the 100W British Series BR12 in 8 Ω, and to my ears those sounded similar to but better than the V30. I don't think I did a direct side-by-side comparison though, so who knows.
 
You mentioned the Jensen Nighthawk. It is not really close to a V30……..but it’s my favorite speaker for high gain British tones.
 
I have a V1216 that came in my Krank cab. I couldn't give that speaker away if I wanted to, LOL. It's OK by in the room standards, but the mic just HATES it.
 
I really don't make a V30 type speaker. I make more vintage sounding speakers, the V30 is a little too modern for my speaker line. Seems like you have a lot of the options covered in your first post. Good luck with your search!
 
hellzington said:
They don't sound like V30's at all, but I love the H75 Creambacks. They sound incredible with almost every amp I've plugged into them, and give a nice "vintage" characteristic to most amps that's a nice contrast from the more "modern" V30 sound.

If you're hell bent on a V30 but different, I'd look to get some of the OG Celestion G12 Vintage speakers from the original Jubilee cabs. The 8ohm versions are absolutely incredible. My main 4x12 is an '87 Jubilee cab with 8ohm G12 Vintage speakers wired at 8ohms and they sound nothing like modern production V30s.
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Haven't tried the H75s but you're spot on with the 80s 8 ohm Vintage description. I'd say they are more similar to a T3120 G12 65 than any version of a V30...but the highs are softer, mids are perfect not spiky and the low end is super tight. I have a stock original 8 ohm cab from 1989, and a early 800 cab I've loaded up with 87 vintages.
I love 65s but I've sold my 1979 cab with them, and traded my 72 Pulsonic cab for a 72 JMP 50 since I never play any other cab anymore. Lol
 
Racerxrated said:
Haven't tried the H75s but you're spot on with the 80s 8 ohm Vintage description. I'd say they are more similar to a T3120 G12 65 than any version of a V30...but the highs are softer, mids are perfect not spiky and the low end is super tight. I have a stock original 8 ohm cab from 1989, and a early 800 cab I've loaded up with 87 vintages.
I love 65s but I've sold my 1979 cab with them, and traded my 72 Pulsonic cab for a 72 JMP 50 since I never play any other cab anymore. Lol
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Care to comment on the 8ohm cab “Mesa spec’d” v30’s?
 
mchn13 said:
I had a pair of cv-75’s that i thought sounded like v30’s, but it might have just been that cab. Currently looking for neo speakers like v30’s myself.
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I have a quad of Chinese made CV75 (labeled as Jet City Vintage), that sound a lot like V30 without the mid spike. Really fond of how that cab sounds. Much better tone with those than I ever got with Eminence Legends (as a V30 alternative that is)
 
I just bought (2) brand new Vintage 30’s from Avatar speakers and they are the best vintage 30’s I’ve heard. They just seem more balanced and no frequency spikes at all. I don’t know what’s changed, but I’m digging them!
 
denialist said:
Care to comment on the 8ohm cab “Mesa spec’d” v30’s?
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Those are darker than any other version, in my experience but not a dark speaker compared to other types. I used to have a diamond plate Recto cab years ago; that didn't sound very good with a JCM 800 I had at the time. But they are great with Mesas, Naylors, SLOs. I did have a Mesa cab when I got my 89 Marshall Vintage cab, and the Mesa was a good bit darker.
V30s to me are very amp dependent; amps with lots of mids like a Marshall can be overbearing with certain V30s. Too many mids on mids.
 
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