Celestion Vintage 30s

[thegame]

There is absolutely a difference in sound between all of the 8 ohm & 16 ohm speakers I have compared. I am sure running the amp on different ohm's had effect on the sound also.

I agree 8 and 16 ohm speakers sound different. I know Mesa, Bogner and Celestion themselves agree. I've seen one particular rinky dink amp builder on TGP repeatedly deny this, when this topic comes up there once every 3 days or so.

 

[chrisrocksusa]

So are WGS Vet30's closer to the Mesa oem since they both have a more relaxed top end?

I actually liked the WSG

 

[metalmaniac93]

The black frame V30s were an OEM speaker. These came from an old Ampeg cab from the early 90s. When did they change the baskets from the old one to the new one? I wonder if these are the old basket, considering they are the 444 basket, or if they were made after the production switch. Anybody know how to date these and/or when the production switch was?

According to most in 2001 and others 1999? Who knows?

http://www.unclespot.com/celestion_date_codes.html

 

[sleeperaxe]

V30s are great for scooped tones, IMO, but I've always thought they really lack the mids required for a more classic tone. YMMV.

 

[50MkII]

I have a Marshall Vintage speaker 16ohm speaker for sale. Shameless plug. Back to the V30 magic act channel.

 

[metalmaniac93]

I have a Marshall Vintage speaker 16ohm speaker. Shameless plug. Back to the V30 magic act channel.

I just bought two used British 16 ohm speakers preparing for my KK++ since Dan recommends V30s for the KK++ plus I have two Chinese ones from my Bogner 2X12OS cab laying around. I hope I can get into the V30s again.

 

[guitarobert]

Pay no mind to the magnet stickers. It's the small white sticker on the side and it's code that matters.

T3903 Standard 8 ohm (PC)
T3904 Standard 16 ohm (PC)
T3987 Marshall OEM 16 ohm (UK)
T4416 Mesa OEM 16 ohm (UK)
T4335 Mesa OEM 8 ohm (UK)

To add to the mystery, there is one more T number that was made. T5321. This is what was on the label for the Hellatone 60L speakers I had. Supposedly they were V30s (16ohms) that had been made as an OEM speaker for some company.

 

[_actual time_]

To add to the mystery, there is one more T number that was made. T5321. This is what was on the label for the Hellatone 60L speakers I had. Supposedly they were V30s (16ohms) that had been made as an OEM speaker for some company.

yep. they are or were OEM for one model of the Marshall Mode Four cabs. the Celestion label on them says "Vintage 30MF." the T number is the same on those and the Hellatone 60Ls.

they sound great IMO--a tiny bit more scooped and less harsh than regular V30s. hard to find now though.

 

[jkkkjkhk]

Sorry to bump an old thread but I wanted to get some clarification. So there's the original Celestion Vintage 30 from the 80s, then Celestion changed it and Mesa didn't like the change so they special ordered their OEM V30s to be basically back to the original design? Has anyone done comparisons of early v30's with newer ones?

 

[maddnotez]

Sorry to bump an old thread but I wanted to get some clarification. So there's the original Celestion Vintage 30 from the 80s, then Celestion changed it and Mesa didn't like the change so they special ordered their OEM V30s to be basically back to the original design? Has anyone done comparisons of early v30's with newer ones?

Not sure why the change from Mesa. My guess is labor cost.

Also. any big company can probably spec their own to taste if they are big enough and bring in enough $$$$.

And yes, there are comparisons available.

In this vid the Mesas sound alot better to me. Louder, more punch and more in your face.

I have the Chinese version, which I liked better than the regular UK version however. I would like a Mesa Trad cab with Mesa V30

 

[glassjaw7]

Sorry to bump an old thread but I wanted to get some clarification. So there's the original Celestion Vintage 30 from the 80s, then Celestion changed it and Mesa didn't like the change so they special ordered their OEM V30s to be basically back to the original design? Has anyone done comparisons of early v30's with newer ones?

Not exactly what you're asking for but there is a clip around here somewhere that compares the Mesa V30 to the current standard Chinese V30 and there is a huge difference.

There's this one too:

 

[siggy14]

Intersting most Mesa Amps I have owned has had the 16 ohm tap, only some newer amps do not because of space limitation such as the Mini head.

 

[glassjaw7]

Here's another:

http://www.netmusicians.org/index.php?s ... value=9862

 

[jkkkjkhk]

Wow, pretty big difference. There's definitely things I like about both, can't say which I like more.

 

[FourT6and2]

Here's another:

http://www.netmusicians.org/index.php?s ... value=9862

That was uploaded in 2011. The author never revealed which was which. But I'm willing to bet the first one was the Mesa/UK V30. Pretty big difference between the two. The second one had this annoying, raspy fizz sort of underneath the whole thing. The first one had a nice round top end and sounded more muscular and musical.

And considering the amp was a Marshall-based "Plexi" type of thing. I'd say V30s do a good job for classic rock!

 

[Racerxrated]

I had a Mesa oversize cab with the plating, and I still like an older standard british V30 better. When I had my Jubilee the Mesa sounded good but when I got the Fender cab from 96 or so that cab sounded best to me. It all just depends on the amp..not a big fan of the Marshall Vintages though.

 

[FourT6and2]

I had a Mesa oversize cab with the plating, and I still like an older standard british V30 better. When I had my Jubilee the Mesa sounded good but when I got the Fender cab from 96 or so that cab sounded best to me. It all just depends on the amp..not a big fan of the Marshall Vintages though.

How do you know it was the speakers, though, if you were comparing different cabs?

 

[Racerxrated]

Because the Mesa cab is loaded with the Mesa proprietary V30 and the Tonemaster cab was loaded with English made standard V30s from 96, or so the date codes told me. The Mesa V30s are different than the standard V30..this has been discussed previously. I get that the cabs are of course a part of the equation..the Tonemaster is basically a clone of a '60s undersized Marshall B cab. And they're front loaded. But the difference in tone was pretty dramatic. The Mesa sounded good, but the Fender to me was better with the Jubilee. Lots of variables to consider though..

 

[4Eyes]

here is another comparison, recorded by my friend long time ago:

not best conditions - speakers were in different cabinets. 1. is China in 1x12 home made cab, 2. is UK in mesa recto 2x12 horizontal cab. 3 guitar tracks (panned left, center, right) in 3 different mic positions against cone, there is dead center of the speaker marked on both cabs for most accurate mic positioning.

personally, from those samples, I prefer MiChina V30 in 1x12, but both sound OK to me. lot of cabs use MiChina V30s and they sound great, it's matter of taste.

 

[FourT6and2]

Because the Mesa cab is loaded with the Mesa proprietary V30 and the Tonemaster cab was loaded with English made standard V30s from 96, or so the date codes told me. The Mesa V30s are different than the standard V30..this has been discussed previously. I get that the cabs are of course a part of the equation..the Tonemaster is basically a clone of a '60s undersized Marshall B cab. And they're front loaded. But the difference in tone was pretty dramatic. The Mesa sounded good, but the Fender to me was better with the Jubilee. Lots of variables to consider though..

What I'm saying is... your comparison isn't valid. Compare different speakers in the same cab. Or compare the same speakers in different cabs. You can't compare different speakers in different cabs and conclude one sounds better than the other. Different cab dimensions and front-mount vs rear-mount will make the same set of speakers sound drastically different. So you can't really compare different speakers, no less.