High Gain Guitar Speaker Shootout - What a Blast! 🎸🤘

  • Thread starter Thread starter Charvel1975
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Charvel1975

Charvel1975

Active member
Hi everyone! 👋


I just had to share the incredible experience my friend and I had yesterday during our LOUD high gain guitar speaker shootout! We cranked up my 1995 Mesa Tremoverb (on the Red Channel – Modern High Gain/Silicon Diodes/Bold) and the Peavey 6505+ (Red Lead Channel) heads, and let me tell you, it was a total blast! This was our first time ever doing a speaker shootout, and we had an absolute ball! 😊


For the tests, I used my friend's stunning Ibanez Steve Vai Signature Premium JEM7VP - White, which sounded phenomenal through all the setups. I really wish we could have recorded the samples to share with you all, but I’ll do my best to remember the speakers and cabs we tested:


  1. Mesa Tremoverb 2x12 closed back cab with stock Celestion Vintage 30’s
  2. Marshall 1960A 4x12 closed back cab with 2 stock Celestion G12T75’s and 2 WGS Retro 30’s in X-Pattern
  3. Marshall MX 1x12 closed back cab with Celestion Creamback 65
  4. Peavey 1x12 cab with Celestion Vintage Series G12H 30 W 70th Anniversary Special Edition
  5. Peavey 1x12 cab with Celestion Greenback
  6. EVH 5150III 1x12 cab with Celestion V-Type
  7. Harley Benton Vertical 2X12 closed back with Celestion Vintage 30’s
  8. Harley Benton Vertical 4X12 closed back with Celestion Vintage 30’s
  9. Bugera 4x12 cab with 2 Jensen and 2 Bugera speakers (Their clone of the Celestion G12K100)
  10. Bugera 4x12 cab with 2 Celestion Vintage 30’s on top and 2 Celestion G12K100’s on the bottom

After testing all these combinations, I have to say, my Tremoverb head sounded best with its own cab, but the Celestion Vintage Series G12H 30 W 70th Anniversary Special Edition and the Greenback speakers really impressed me too! The Peavey 6505+ head was a powerhouse through pretty much every cab we tried, and it was fascinating to hear how each speaker and cab brought its own unique flavor to the tone.


It was such a rewarding experience to hear the differences and nuances in sound, and I can’t wait to do it again! If you’ve ever thought about doing a speaker shootout, I highly recommend it! It’s a great way to discover what works best for your rig and to have a ton of fun in the process.


What are your favorite speakers for high gain tones? Have you done any shootouts yourself? Let’s hear your thoughts! 🎶🔥


Cheers!
 
I've come to the conclusion that as long as I stick to old EV's, old Fanes, and high sensitivity H magnet Celestions am almost always happy with the results. I've also had good luck with some Eminence speakers too. Wizards, Texas Heats, and Cannabis Rex speakers have all sounded good to me.

But if I had to pick one cab it would be my Avatar 4x12 loaded with two alnico EV SRO12's and two Fane Medusa 30's. The cleans are deep, clear, and have gorgeous chime and sparkle. The mid gain tones rip with vintage grind and bark, and the high gain tones are articulate, punchy, and have serious teeth to them with incredible midrange grind. It never flattens out to mush. What you put in gets spit out with authority.

It has paired incredibly well with every amp I have used it with. So far that includes a; Mesa Tremoverb running EL34s, Reeves Custom 100, Hiwatt Custom 100, Hi-Tone Custom 100, Magnatone Panoramic, Matamp GT150, Ampeg VT22, and a Dr Z Rt 66.
 
Hiwatts-n-Gibsons said:
I've come to the conclusion that as long as I stick to old EV's, old Fanes, and high sensitivity H magnet Celestions am almost always happy with the results. I've also had good luck with some Eminence speakers too. Wizards, Texas Heats, and Cannabis Rex speakers have all sounded good to me.

But if I had to pick one cab it would be my Avatar 4x12 loaded with two alnico EV SRO12's and two Fane Medusa 30's. The cleans are deep, clear, and have gorgeous chime and sparkle. The mid gain tones rip with vintage grind and bark, and the high gain tones are articulate, punchy, and have serious teeth to them with incredible midrange grind. It never flattens out to mush. What you put in gets spit out with authority.

It has paired incredibly well with every amp I have used it with. So far that includes a; Mesa Tremoverb running EL34s, Reeves Custom 100, Hiwatt Custom 100, Hi-Tone Custom 100, Magnatone Panoramic, Matamp GT150, Ampeg VT22, and a Dr Z Rt 66.
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Nice!!
 
jchrisf said:
Are the Vintage 30s in the Tremoverb cab regular Celestions or a special Mesa edition?
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They're the stock Celestion Vintage 30's that came in my 1995 Mesa Tremoverb 2x12 combo. From Mesa's site: The Vintage 30's we get - specially selected by agreement with Celestion.
 
Redbacks win all shootouts we have done with fanes being great also and i think h70s
 
Smash said:
Redbacks are like a more balanced h30. They just fill the spectrum
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Do you stick with quads or do you mix and match? Ive got a redback/v30 mix in a 2x12 that I like. Lots of balls and plenty of punch/articulation
 
This wasn't really a speaker shootout,,,,it was a cab shootout.
To be a speaker shootout you would have to compare different speakers within the same or very similar cabs, although close-miking does negate a good deal of the differences, while comparing in-the-room tone is all about the cab/speaker synergy.

Also these speakers were obviously of both ohm ratings, like the mesa V30s are 16ohm versions, not the 8ohm "standard mesa V30s" that have been on a million albums.
 
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Speakers are by far the fastest and easiest way to 'mod' your rig. Narrowing down what you like best, and finding/keeping your favorites is key. But, we all hear things differently. 80s Marshall Vintages, Older greenbacks(H25s) mixed with 6402s, and Altec 417Bs are my current 4x12s.
They (along with original G12 65s) are my favorites with Marshall circuits.
 
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