Current status of WGS speakers?

[MadAsAHatter]

I haven't tried a new WGS speaker since back when they first became popular and you could get them for $50 new; so near 10 years ago. I even still have a couple Retro 30's an ET65 & ET90 hanging around. My experience back then was of the ones I tried, they all sounded really good to an extent. They had a tone I liked and up to about medium volume it was WOW! this is a great speaker regardless of the price. But once I turned it up to band volumes that all just fell apart. They became mushy, inarticulate and undefined. To refresh my hearing I gave the ones I still have another go. It was pretty much the same thing as before. I could see where bedroom players would love them because they performed really well at that volume level. When you hit volumes needed for live situations WGS was a big ole nope for me. For comparisons sake it's the complete opposite with my Celestion and Webber speakers. They love volume. The more volume you give them the better they sound.

I've been a Madison Square Bedroom player for while, but still crank things up on a regular basis. I wouldn't mind giving WGS another chance if performance is better than before. So have things changed in the last decade with new production WGS speakers? Can they preform well under high volume or do they still turn to mush past moderate levels?

 

[Mike Oxhuge]

Interesting. I had an ET65 16 ohm that loved getting full volume punishment from a 4104. Maybe different ohm ratings or earlier/later production models were better?

 

[Hiwatts-n-Gibsons]

I haven't tried a new WGS speaker since back when they first became popular and you could get them for $50 new; so near 10 years ago. I even still have a couple Retro 30's an ET65 & ET90 hanging around. My experience back then was of the ones I tried, they all sounded really good to an extent. They had a tone I liked and up to about medium volume it was WOW! this is a great speaker regardless of the price. But once I turned it up to band volumes that all just fell apart. They became mushy, inarticulate and undefined. To refresh my hearing I gave the ones I still have another go. It was pretty much the same thing as before. I could see where bedroom players would love them because they performed really well at that volume level. When you hit volumes needed for live situations WGS was a big ole nope for me. For comparisons sake it's the complete opposite with my Celestion and Webber speakers. They love volume. The more volume you give them the better they sound.

I've been a Madison Square Bedroom player for while, but still crank things up on a regular basis. I wouldn't mind giving WGS another chance if performance is better than before. So have things changed in the last decade with new production WGS speakers? Can they preform well under high volume or do they still turn to mush past moderate levels?

My experience with the Vet 30 and ET65 was the mostly the same as yours. I do have to say that was mostly with high gain though. My favorite use for that pair was in an open back 2x12 for clean and roots type tones. It had a warm and sweet vintage tone to it. Under highgain in closed or open back cabs they flattened out and turned to mush at high volumes.

I had much better luck with the pair of ET90's I had. Those retained quite a bit more punch and articulation at high volumes.

I do plan on eventually giving their Blackhawk HP alnico a spin. They get pretty stellar reviews, and I love high powered alnico speakers. I've currently got a pair of 100 watt Fane alnicos, and a quad of vintage alnico EV SRO's.

 

[MadAsAHatter]

I do plan on eventually giving their Blackhawk HP alnico a spin. They get pretty stellar reviews, and I love high powered alnico speakers.

If you like high powered Alnico's, have you looked at Weber's British Alnico line? They have several that you can choose anywhere from 15-100 watts. They have what amounts to an Alnico version of a G12H30 (55Hz cone) that can be made at 100 watts. I'm interested in that one.

https://www.tedweber.com/speakers/british-series/12-models-4/alnico-9/

 

[DrewJD82]

I have no clue when they were made, but my dad ended up buying a storage unit that was fucking filled with speakers and when his hoarding got him thrown out of his place, I grabbed a few handfuls and tossed them in my kitchen. I’ve had the Retro 30’s in a 2x12 for a while and dug them, but there’s some British Legends in this pile I want to check out, as well as a bunch more Retro 30’s and one or two other types.

Anyone try those British Legends before?

 

[Hiwatts-n-Gibsons]

If you like high powered Alnico's, have you looked at Weber's British Alnico line? They have several that you can choose anywhere from 15-100 watts. They have what amounts to an Alnico version of a G12H30 (55Hz cone) that can be made at 100 watts. I'm interested in that one.

https://www.tedweber.com/speakers/british-series/12-models-4/alnico-9/

I have had one Weber speaker so far, their G12H30 (55 hz) clone and tbt while it was a good speaker, it wasn't great. Tbt it kinda reminded me of the WGS speakers in that when pushed it lacked balls and punch. To me it sounded more like a Greenback than it does my two Heritage G12H30 (55hz). The Celestions have far bigger and puncher lows, better clarity, and can handle way more.high volume abuse.

Also the fact that none of their EV clones have cast frames, yet they try to claim they get the same tones is ludicrous. Then there's the fact that most of their speakers have far lower sensitivity ratings than the speakers they claim.to emulate/duplicate, and I have a love for high sensitivity speakers. Most of my favorites land in the ~100-103db range. They just feel more responsive and present.

Between those factors it has kinda turned me off to trying more of their speakers.

I most likely plan on having Weber recone my Coffee Can EV SRO15 eventually, and have another with the OG cone to compare it to.

 

[MadAsAHatter]

I have had one Weber speaker so far, their G12H30 (55 hz) clone and tbt while it was a good speaker, it wasn't great. Tbt it kinda reminded me of the WGS speakers in that when pushed it lacked balls and punch. To me it sounded more like a Greenback than it does my two Heritage G12H30 (55hz). The Celestions have far bigger and puncher lows, better clarity, and can handle way more.high volume abuse.

Also the fact that none of their EV clones have cast frames, yet they try to claim they get the same tones is ludicrous. Then there's the fact that most of their speakers have far lower sensitivity ratings than the speakers they claim.to emulate/duplicate, and I have a love for high sensitivity speakers. Most of my favorites land in the ~100-103db range. They just feel more responsive and present.

Between those factors it has kinda turned me off to trying more of their speakers.

So far I've just tried their Grey Wolf, Silver Wolf and Alnico Blue Dog 15". It's not listed but they do sound like they have a lower SPL rating, maybe 98 or 99 dB. But those sound really good when pushed. Not quite as articulate as Celestions at high volume but nowhere near sounding like mush. Much better than my experience with WGS.

 

[D-Rock]

Back in 2005 ish era I had Retro 30s, ET65s, BL80s and Vet30s. All 16 ohm
I still use the Vet30s almost daily as they are wicked sounding. I remember selling the others based only on tone preference.
My Vet30s sound great at extremely high volume. The low mids are meaty and kinda dark, there's no shhhh or kawww high mid sound like a Vintage 30. The highs aren't super present but still spicy. Big fat lows that never get overwhelmed.
They are old label mind you dated 2005, with primer gray baskets. Which I had heard and read are better than newer production. I can't say because I've never owned a new label speaker from them.

 

[Mike Oxhuge]

Back in 2005 ish era I had Retro 30s, ET65s, BL80s and Vet30s. All 16 ohm
I still use the Vet30s almost daily as the are wicked sounding. I remember selling the others based only on tone preference.
My Vet30s sound great at extremely high volume. The low mids are meaty and kinda dark, there's no shhhh or kawww high mid sound like a Vintage 30. The highs are mild but spicy. Big fat lows that never get overwhelmed.
They are old label mind you dated 2005, with primer gray baskets. Which I had heard and read are better than newer production. I can't say because I've never owned a new label speaker from them.

View attachment 423442

Yeah my ET65 which is only one I ever tried was like these.

 

[EyesOfTheSouth!]

I hoard speakers of all brands. Most WGS are OK….:.not great. But I’ve never heard the mush at volume thing. My issue was that a few models had a “cloud” of noise around notes/chords regardless of volume.

My favorite standard model is the Invader. But the new 65 watt Invader HV is outstanding. It has a vented magnet and I was blasting a pair last weekend and no mush to be found.

Their spin off company Amperian takes things a step further. A line of high watt, vented magnet speakers in either 55hz or 75hz with the choice of M or H magnets. These are my favorite speakers ever in 2x12 cabs. My favorites being the Explorer 65, Explorer 60, and Revolution 60. The Revolution 65 isn’t bad, but a little too much high mid/presence zing for me. The entire line is its own thing and not meant to be copies or improved Celestions.

I can’t believe Amperian doesn’t get talked about. I’ll never take the UK greenbacks out of my 4x12, but I have three 2x12’s with Amperians and the 65 watt Invader HV mixed in here and there.

 

[mentoneman]

i’ve enjoyed my et65/invader 50 x pattern mahalo 4x12. generally more evenly brighter and less gooey lows than v30s or gh30s.

i replaced an altec 417 (aka aluminum ear spear) with a blackhawk HP in my friend’s III greenstripe combo. smooth attack with a bit of brown growl and like a more sensitive lower wattage EV 12L with a celestion top end twist.

i’d still love a straight 4x12 loaded with low wattage celestions/scumback/mojotone type speakers.
and a pair of barefaced 1x12s or 1x10s for my wdw rig.

 

[JLR]

Like my ET65's in a 2x12. Have vintage 65 and 75's Celestions that I much prefer. WGS Invador is a great speaker. Sold off Veteran 30's last year that I dint care for. Bought a used Avatar 2x12 cab with them in it for $200 so no complaints. I bought all my WGS speakers years ago when the pricing was great. Overall I think they're good speakers but spending a few more $ for the speakers they claim to be modeled after is the better choice imo.

 

[mentoneman]

this vid does a great job of demonstrating the differences between what barefaced cabs sound like versus conventional cabs. in this case they are comparing their FRFR cabs versus a tonex cab but i heard the same differences when AB ing their passive 1x12s with my standard orange and EVH 1x12s.

 

[Greazygeo]

I have a set of British Leads in one of my 2-12 cabs I use live. They give up a little at 5 on my Wizard. That is LOUD though, I don’t see how anyone could play that loud at home. They sound really good. Also have an ET65 I put in a Fender Concert II combo recently. Took it to band practice. Competing with a 700 watt Aguilar bass stack and a LOD bassist, it kept up fine.

 

[EyesOfTheSouth!]

Just had my Splawn 2x12 open

Here is the new H mag, 65 watt Invader paired with their Amperian Explorer 65 (both vented). My Zilla cab has the Amperian Revolution 60 and Explorer 60 (both M magnets).

 

[Dale B]

The only one I would like to try that they make is the Fat Jimmy GB 65 watt clone. Amparian speakers are made by WGS too.

 

[Dale B]

Just had my Splawn 2x12 open

Here is the new H mag, 65 watt Invader paired with their Amperian Explorer 65 (both vented). My Zilla cab has the Amperian Revolution 60 and Explorer 60 (both M magnets).

I bet those sound pretty good.

 

[chumbucket]

I remember the tan pants guys raving about the ET-65 and how it sounded just like a G12-65. Well, it doesn't. I broke them in for a weekend and did some A/B testing and packed them back up, and returned them to WGS for a refund. I've never wanted to try out any of their other speakers since.

 

[Mr. Willy]

I have a pair of Veteran 30’s in a box in my basement. They are limp, stale speakers with no character, teeth, or balls. I replaced them with Mesa V30’s and have never looked back.

 

[Smash]

I haven't tried a new WGS speaker since back when they first became popular and you could get them for $50 new; so near 10 years ago. I even still have a couple Retro 30's an ET65 & ET90 hanging around. My experience back then was of the ones I tried, they all sounded really good to an extent. They had a tone I liked and up to about medium volume it was WOW! this is a great speaker regardless of the price. But once I turned it up to band volumes that all just fell apart. They became mushy, inarticulate and undefined. To refresh my hearing I gave the ones I still have another go. It was pretty much the same thing as before. I could see where bedroom players would love them because they performed really well at that volume level. When you hit volumes needed for live situations WGS was a big ole nope for me. For comparisons sake it's the complete opposite with my Celestion and Webber speakers. They love volume. The more volume you give them the better they sound.

I've been a Madison Square Bedroom player for while, but still crank things up on a regular basis. I wouldn't mind giving WGS another chance if performance is better than before. So have things changed in the last decade with new production WGS speakers? Can they preform well under high volume or do they still turn to mush past moderate levels?

This will save a lot of us a lot of time and money. High volume is where a speaker needs to sound its best