Plexi through V30s. Yay or nay?

H

heavision

Member
Recently played my Bray 4550 through my 412 that has GBs and V30s. Killer tone. Busted out my SL68, tried it through same cab. Penis became erect.

I bring this up because I’ve heard guys—some whose opinions I respect—say plexis and V30s don’t get along so well sometimes. Not my experience so far.

Spent an hour or two with each amp through that cab; holy shit! Punchy, clear, detailed, growl—killer. I was hearing GBs too of course.

I’m considering getting a couple Scumback M75s to pair with V30s in this cab. I have another 412 with SBs, really dig ‘em.

Anyways, I’m really curious about other people’s experiences with plexis and V30s. Bring it.
 
My Bogner Helios, when I’m running it in Plexi/70s mode, sounds excellent through a Friedman 4x12 with Greenbacks and V30s.
It’s all personal taste.(or, hearing)
 
I typically don't like ANY Marshall w/V30s, other than a Jubilee.....but the exception is the hard to find early Marshall Vintage speakers from the 80s. If you mix a newer V30(Mesa, Marshall Vintage, off the shelf Celestion V30) with GBs, or T75s, or 65s I'd say you would be better off.
 
I like V30s, I have 4 cabs with variations of them and I think they sound great with any Marshall. If you just don’t like a speaker you don’t like a speaker, I get that—I can’t stand g12t75s in any cab with any amp. But I definitely would not say V30s ‘don’t mix’ with Marshalls, that’s not my experience at all. They aren’t always the best alone, and lately I’ve gravitated more towards cabs with them in a mix. Plus, I think every cab sounds different in different rooms so theres that.

I can relate to @heavision and his boner tone with V30s :rawk:
 
Had an Egnater 4x12 w V30s that sounded fantastic. Sold it for an older matching Marshall 4x12, but do miss the Egnater cab—it sounded great with my Plexi. If you like V30s, you’ll probably dig it.
 
tallcoolone said:
I like V30s, I have 4 cabs with variations of them and I think they sound great with any Marshall. If you just don’t like a speaker you don’t like a speaker, I get that—I can’t stand g12t75s in any cab with any amp. But I definitely would not say V30s ‘don’t mix’ with Marshalls, that’s not my experience at all. They aren’t always the best alone, and lately I’ve gravitated more towards cabs with them in a mix. Plus, I think every cab sounds different in different rooms so theres that.

I can relate to @heavision and his boner tone with V30s :rawk:
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I've tried 800s, NMVs, Modded Marshalls with Mesa cabs, Fender Tonemaster cabs and 1 Rivera V30 cab(really great underrated cab btw) and it was too much 'mids on mids' for me, even when dropping the mids to 0 on the amp. So V30s and those amps just isn't a good mix for ME.
YMMV, of course. Mixing them with others works MUCH better to my ears.

But, Jubilees are GREAT with ANY version V30 IMO and of course, the 80s Marshall Vintage speaker is closer to a G12 65 than the later version V30s, but better to my ears.
Again, just my opinion/experience with the V30/Marshall combo.
Mesas might be the one amp brand that EVERY Model loves V30s.
 
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heavision said:
Recently played my Bray 4550 through my 412 that has GBs and V30s. Killer tone. Busted out my SL68, tried it through same cab. Penis became erect.

I bring this up because I’ve heard guys—some whose opinions I respect—say plexis and V30s don’t get along so well sometimes. Not my experience so far.

Spent an hour or two with each amp through that cab; holy shit! Punchy, clear, detailed, growl—killer. I was hearing GBs too of course.

I’m considering getting a couple Scumback M75s to pair with V30s in this cab. I have another 412 with SBs, really dig ‘em.

Anyways, I’m really curious about other people’s experiences with plexis and V30s. Bring it.
Click to expand...
Since you dig the tone of V30s WITH GBs, try the V30s alone.....that will tell you if you need to mix them at all.
 
Not for me. I like V30 but not with my 69 Plexi panel 100w.
I like G12H30-55hz.
I like G12M 25 GB as well for most marshall sounds.
i have a 2/12 GB cab for my mini Jube that i love.
 
Racerxrated said:
I've tried 800s, NMVs, Modded Marshalls with Mesa cabs, Fender Tonemaster cabs and 1 Rivera V30 cab(really great underrated cab btw) and it was too much 'mids on mids' for me, even when dropping the mids to 0 on the amp. So V30s and those amps just isn't a good mix for ME.
YMMV, of course. Mixing them with others works MUCH better to my ears.

But, Jubilees are GREAT with ANY version V30 IMO and of course, the 80s Marshall Vintage speaker is closer to a G12 65 than the later version V30s, but better to my ears.
Again, just my opinion/experience with the V30/Marshall combo.
Mesas might be the one amp brand that EVERY Model loves V30s.
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Yeah we are looking for different tones—the only amp I drop the mids past noon is a Mesa Mark. I like a little ‘honk’ lol. Why I’m not a fan of those g12t75s—too scooped. For some they are perfect. Marshall settings for me are usually all noon with treble and presence up a bit but I’ve never owned a Jub. I hear they are pretty dark/warm for a Marshall?

My current fave combo is prob g12h30 top/V30 bottom 1960. Got a 16ohm B and an 8ohm A and they cut like a bastid, and are LOUD. Not the best choice for a bright Marshall at home alone tho. M75 greenbacks a little fuzzier and not as aggressive. Full V30 cab is pretty honky as you say but worked great with the Fuchs OD100 last few gigs. 75w creambacks are cool, kind of like louder punchier GBs to my ears.

As you say YMMV
 
It's hard to understate how important the specific year/spec the speakers are is when talking about this. Other stuff matters of course like cab construction and such but just for a thought experiment here:

2020 Marshall 1987x + 2020 Marshall 1960AV (4x V30) cab
vs
2020 Marshall 1987x + 1990 Marshall V30 cab

Those are going to sound extremely different, even though at face value it looks very similar. To matters worse, "V30" encompasses quite a few variations in spec. I'm not an expert on all of the different ones but my '96 Fender Tonemaster V30's sound noticeably different from my '03 Mesa V30's which sound very different from my 2012 V30's. Even if I put them all through the same cab - very different sounding. So the wrong combination of specific type and year of V30, plus different cab construction means that a bright amp like a 1987x might emphasize unpleasant frequencies.

Why I’m not a fan of those g12t75s—too scooped.
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Another example here that I know a little it more about. I hear this all the time but it's yet another spec difference. I have an '86 Marshall cab with '86 G12T75's with the old logo and vents on the back. They are dark, thick, low mid-heavy speakers - not at all scooped by any stretch of imagination. In contrast, I have some 2014 G12T75's which are much brighter and therefore scooped sounding. This isn't a difference between speaker break in either, although that can be a factor. The specifications changed.

So while we "normal" people just get the friendly names - V30, T75, Redback, Greenback, etc - there are changes in cone construction, glue, voice coils, and other stuff behind the scenes that your average player doesn't necessarily know about. It's certainly not as "cool" to talk about but check out this list of different G12T75's I lifted from another site:

T3478 G12T-75 Ceramic 8 Ohm cone stamp - 444
T3781 G12T-75 Ceramic 8 Ohm 75w, 85Hz, 97dB, 1.75" coil, cone stamp - 1777
T3760 G12T-75 Ceramic 16 Ohm 75w, 85Hz, 97dB, 1.75" coil, cone stamp - 1777
T3880 G12T-75 Ceramic 16 Ohm Smooth cone. Cone stamp 6559.
T3947 G12T-75 Ceramic 16 Ohm cone stamp - 444
T4573 G12T-75 Ceramic 16 Ohm Orange. 75w. 1777 cone.

That's 4 different construction codes just for 16 ohm G12T75's, two of them with completely different cones. So you may try some "T4573" T75's and think they sound like crap. But "T3880" is going to sound so different you may as well not even call it a T75 anymore. And this is just what we know of online, for all we know there could be 20 different specifications tied to the "T75" name.

It's better to think of stuff like V30 or T75 as a series which contains multiple types. In the same way the Type R, Si, EX-L, EX, and LX are all "Honda Civics," someone who has only driven a Type R might think all Civics are track beasts. But online you wouldn't recommend a Type R to someone in the same breath as an LX Civic because they are very different cars for different purposes. Not a perfect example but I think it illustrates my point.

My 80s era T75's sound closer to my modern G12-65 than a modern T75. I was extremely wary of buying that cab because I kept reading about how scooped and crappy T75's were, but I took the risk, got it home and started playing and was really confused by how dark they were actually, at first I thought something was wrong with the cab. It ended up being a pleasant surprise because I was looking for a more vintage classic rock sound and the cab nails it.
 
For higher gain stuff, I prefer V30s with every Marshall I've had, including old Plexis. For more midgain crunch stuff, I much prefer the G12M, though. I've tried mixing speakers but always go back to keeping them all the same.
 
TotallyRadGuitars said:
It's hard to understate how important the specific year/spec the speakers are is when talking about this. Other stuff matters of course like cab construction and such but just for a thought experiment here:

2020 Marshall 1987x + 2020 Marshall 1960AV (4x V30) cab
vs
2020 Marshall 1987x + 1990 Marshall V30 cab

Those are going to sound extremely different, even though at face value it looks very similar. To matters worse, "V30" encompasses quite a few variations in spec. I'm not an expert on all of the different ones but my '96 Fender Tonemaster V30's sound noticeably different from my '03 Mesa V30's which sound very different from my 2012 V30's. Even if I put them all through the same cab - very different sounding. So the wrong combination of specific type and year of V30, plus different cab construction means that a bright amp like a 1987x might emphasize unpleasant frequencies.


Another example here that I know a little it more about. I hear this all the time but it's yet another spec difference. I have an '86 Marshall cab with '86 G12T75's with the old logo and vents on the back. They are dark, thick, low mid-heavy speakers - not at all scooped by any stretch of imagination. In contrast, I have some 2014 G12T75's which are much brighter and therefore scooped sounding. This isn't a difference between speaker break in either, although that can be a factor. The specifications changed.

So while we "normal" people just get the friendly names - V30, T75, Redback, Greenback, etc - there are changes in cone construction, glue, voice coils, and other stuff behind the scenes that your average player doesn't necessarily know about. It's certainly not as "cool" to talk about but check out this list of different G12T75's I lifted from another site:

T3478 G12T-75 Ceramic 8 Ohm cone stamp - 444
T3781 G12T-75 Ceramic 8 Ohm 75w, 85Hz, 97dB, 1.75" coil, cone stamp - 1777
T3760 G12T-75 Ceramic 16 Ohm 75w, 85Hz, 97dB, 1.75" coil, cone stamp - 1777
T3880 G12T-75 Ceramic 16 Ohm Smooth cone. Cone stamp 6559.
T3947 G12T-75 Ceramic 16 Ohm cone stamp - 444
T4573 G12T-75 Ceramic 16 Ohm Orange. 75w. 1777 cone.

That's 4 different construction codes just for 16 ohm G12T75's, two of them with completely different cones. So you may try some "T4573" T75's and think they sound like crap. But "T3880" is going to sound so different you may as well not even call it a T75 anymore. And this is just what we know of online, for all we know there could be 20 different specifications tied to the "T75" name.

It's better to think of stuff like V30 or T75 as a series which contains multiple types. In the same way the Type R, Si, EX-L, EX, and LX are all "Honda Civics," someone who has only driven a Type R might think all Civics are track beasts. But online you wouldn't recommend a Type R to someone in the same breath as an LX Civic because they are very different cars for different purposes. Not a perfect example but I think it illustrates my point.

My 80s era T75's sound closer to my modern G12-65 than a modern T75. I was extremely wary of buying that cab because I kept reading about how scooped and crappy T75's were, but I took the risk, got it home and started playing and was really confused by how dark they were actually, at first I thought something was wrong with the cab. It ended up being a pleasant surprise because I was looking for a more vintage classic rock sound and the cab nails it.
Click to expand...
This. SOOO many different variables, most importantly the obvious differences with V30 starting with the first ever V30s, the 80s Marshall versions, then the early 90s Celestion off the shelf versions, the Mesa, the next version Marshall version that is noticeably brighter, the Mode 4 60L version, Bogner version, Chinese built versions....and so on. Then the cab differences....it just goes on and on. Some have the same T codes, like the 80s Marshall Vintages vs the versions today, same cone 444 BUT they are FAR different sounding. Like not even RELATED to each other different sounding. Lol
 
heavision said:
Recently played my Bray 4550 through my 412 that has GBs and V30s. Killer tone. Busted out my SL68, tried it through same cab. Penis became erect.

I bring this up because I’ve heard guys—some whose opinions I respect—say plexis and V30s don’t get along so well sometimes. Not my experience so far.

Spent an hour or two with each amp through that cab; holy shit! Punchy, clear, detailed, growl—killer. I was hearing GBs too of course.

I’m considering getting a couple Scumback M75s to pair with V30s in this cab. I have another 412 with SBs, really dig ‘em.

Anyways, I’m really curious about other people’s experiences with plexis and V30s. Bring it.
Click to expand...
 

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