Talk to me about speakers

[JTyson]

So I've been messing with micing setups on different cabs, and while I have always heard a difference between the regular G12M70's and the V30's ( I like the V30's much better, the 70's sound scooped ) I did not realize how much I hated the 70's until I recorded them last week. THEY SUCK no mids, not very articulate, not really anything good I can think of. So what is the killer replacement for them??

 

[thiswaythatway]

 

[JTyson]

Thats a bit harsh, doncha think?

 

[blackba]

I have had one G12M70 and like you I grew to dislike it alot. I would recommend the Classic Lead 80 if you want a pretty balanced clean speaker, mixes well with a V30 too. If you just want a much better version of the G12M70, then go with the G12T-75. Either will be an upgrade....

 

[thegame]

G12M-70 is THE worst Celestion I've ever heard.

If you like V30s, get a Hellatone 60L. A tweaked V30 with deeper bass, less breakup, less spike.

 

[glpg80]

g12H30 greenbacks - ala danyeo's post

 

[nbarts]

EVM12Ls in a front loaded cab for metal.

EVM12Ls in a rear loaded cab for things with less aggression.

 

[Ventura]

I'm going apeshit with my Celestion Gold's as of late.... I F*CKIN LOVE THEIR TONE!!!!!!!!!!

I know that's an "out there" recommendation.... But they're just absolute CANDY to my ears.

V.

 

[stephen sawall]

I can not recommend the combination of the Vintage 30 and H30 enough. They just sound great together to me.

A friend of mine brought over a 70 ..... I think it is the worst speaker they ever made ???

 

[glpg80]

I can not recommend the combination of the Vintage 30 and H30 enough. They just sound great together to me.

A friend of mine brought over a 70 ..... I think it is the worst speaker they ever made ???

hey steve, have you tried the celestion 85's? i have, a 70 would have to be pretty bad to beat that i think!

v30's and h30's are an awsome combination. a great mix, nothing better IMHO

 

[TheMagicEight]

I'm going apeshit with my Celestion Gold's as of late.... I F*CKIN LOVE THEIR TONE!!!!!!!!!!

I know that's an "out there" recommendation.... But they're just absolute CANDY to my ears.

V.

+1 if you've got the money. Have only played the Blue (lower wattage version), but that speaker was unbelievable. Excellent midrange, detailed and complex high end, and - surprisingly - great bass response.

Here's a rundown of the other speakers I have experience with:

G12T-75: Sounds good if you liked scooped. Don't work well live if there's another player with mid-heavy speakers. Need lots of volume for them to sound their best. Can sound great, but not for everything.

V30: Can sound very good. Without enough volume, it sounds like there's a sonic "film" over the speakers cutting out some highs. Mid heavy, and with enough volume, detailed high end. Good bass response. Sound like "plastic" if they're not set up properly.

G12M Greenback: My favorite speakers I've ever heard or played. Nice, complex and aggressive midrange as if nothing is being held back. Very detailed high end and if not bombarded with bass, good bass response. These are my go-to speakers for just about anything because they can sound phenomenal from blues to metal and everywhere in the middle. Only drawback is their 25w rating.

G12H-30: Similar to the G12M but with a different high end. To my ears, a little too much treble, but they can sound excellent. In terms of sound, they're on par with V30s for me, but sound better at low volumes. To the V30's credit, its higher wattage rating makes it more practical in many situations.


@danyeo - Thanks man; that made me crack up!

 

[stephen sawall]

I can not recommend the combination of the Vintage 30 and H30 enough. They just sound great together to me.

A friend of mine brought over a 70 ..... I think it is the worst speaker they ever made ???

hey steve, have you tried the celestion 85's? i have, a 70 would have to be pretty bad to beat that i think!

v30's and h30's are an awsome combination. a great mix, nothing better IMHO

I am sitting about two feet from a pair of 85's. With the red channel on my Tremoverb I can get the most aggressive sound I have ever heard with the 85.
I use the 85 mixed with other speaker for the great bass they produce. By themselves they are kind of limited to what styles of playing they do best.

 

[glpg80]

I can not recommend the combination of the Vintage 30 and H30 enough. They just sound great together to me.

A friend of mine brought over a 70 ..... I think it is the worst speaker they ever made ???

hey steve, have you tried the celestion 85's? i have, a 70 would have to be pretty bad to beat that i think!

v30's and h30's are an awsome combination. a great mix, nothing better IMHO

I am sitting about two feet from a pair of 85's. With the red channel on my Tremoverb I can get the most aggressive sound I have ever heard with the 85.
I use the 85 mixed with other speaker for the great bass they produce. By themselves they are kind of limited to what styles of playing they do best.

they are aggressive indeed - not very well known. most talk about the 80's, but the 85's were made for a little while.

its like another level of 75's - i could not dial out the harshness that those speakers have at loud volumes, but they hold together well headroom wise and have gobs of that low end reproduction capability - it was just too much for me. in what way would you compare them to 70's? the thing i did not like at all was the harshness and shrill type character never goes away or smoothes out - i like how the H30's handle their highs and still have low end capability that is solid. V30's have a more even breakup that i like. but the 85's were very harsh sounding to my ears. im talking at gig levels is when i played them. i really dont remember how they sounded below that level.

they could be used in conjunction with a dark amplifier and it would probably balance out well now that i think about it. have you tried to record them? they cant be easy to handle recording wise at all.

 

[stephen sawall]

I do not think of the 85 as harsh .... it has way less midrange than a Greenback, H30, Vintage 30, etc. It is much more like the 100 with a lot better midrange voice for my taste.
Like I said I do not use them by themselves and mix them with Greenback's, H30's, Vintage 30's all the time. I have a pair of each and five Vintage 30's.
(One of the Vintage 30's is in my Mesa Mark IV combo.)
If I remove the 85 from this combination it sounds like someone turned off the sub-woofer.
When I record I like to use a room mic and a 57 on a Vintage 30. I very much like the V30 with a 57 and it is always the speaker that I mic when playing live.
I also have a pair of old EVL 200 watt speakers that I need to get out of storage.

The 70 is like none of these speaker ..... more like a 65 maybe. With a lack of bottom. Like any of these speakers .... you need to play on them to really see what they do.

 

[JTyson]

Mmmmm.... good stuff. Thanks guys I will ponder this a bit. It was strange to me that the differences I heard were X10 once I found the sweet spots for recording. I ended up with a micing setup very similar to Pete's that he showed a pic of when they were recording their new album. It is VERY effective, you guys should try it. The 421/57 combo is absolutely DEADLY. Sadly, I have a number of cabs loaded with those crappy 70's I guess thats why I got them so cheap

 

[Ventura]

Look, maybe I'm off my tits in the psychological department, but I am not lying here... There's seemingly NO COMPROMISE with the alnico Golds. I'm BLOWN AWAY with them. Ya ya, they're pricey - sure - great - too bad - if I was to add up ALL the alterations and bought gear and swapped gear and new this and sold that, I coulda bought an 8 pack of these puppies brand new. They are the tone. In my soon-to-be arriving Bogner 20thA, I plan on swapping out 2 of the V30's for these Golds immediately. They're just hands down, bloody awesome.

50W rating, btw. Please tell me you're reading this....you won't go back after trying them.

Peace,
V.

PS - however, I completely understand, to each his own. I'm pretty sure I've found my benchmark of tone with the Golds

 

[D-Rock]

I can basically make almost any speaker work for me. I currently use G12T-75, V30's and WGS Retro 30's. (a much better V30 copy)

T75's mid scooped? Meh, they definitely lack high mids, but they do have some low mids. Which I believe get lost because of the 75's thick lowend. As a result, players say they have no mids

Like I said, I can still make them work just fine because regardless of the level of mids a speaker has, my amps also have midrange dials for adjusting

I also really like treble. (Oh my God! What did he just say????)
I think I'm also pretty damn good at sculpting the highs coming from an amp or speaker. T75's, V30's, no problem.

 

[TheMagicEight]

I can basically make almost any speaker work for me. I currently use G12T-75, V30's and WGS Retro 30's. (a much better V30 copy)

T75's mid scooped? Meh, they definitely lack high mids, but they do have some low mids. Which I believe get lost because of the 75's thick lowend. As a result, players say they have no mids

Like I said, I can still make them work just fine because regardless of the level of mids a speaker has, my amps also have midrange dials for adjusting

I also really like treble. (Oh my God! What did he just say????)
I think I'm also pretty damn good at sculpting the highs coming from an amp or speaker. T75's, V30's, no problem.

I agree with you; it's possible to make most speakers work in one way or another. At the same time, there's definitely a difference between making something work and having the tone you want.

For me, the G12T-75s aren't what I should be using. My bandmate uses V30s which destroy my G12T-75s, and if I turn up middle or presence any more than I've already got it, my sound becomes thin. Sure, I can always turn up the volume, but they're just not the speakers for me.

 

[D-Rock]

I can basically make almost any speaker work for me. I currently use G12T-75, V30's and WGS Retro 30's. (a much better V30 copy)

T75's mid scooped? Meh, they definitely lack high mids, but they do have some low mids. Which I believe get lost because of the 75's thick lowend. As a result, players say they have no mids

Like I said, I can still make them work just fine because regardless of the level of mids a speaker has, my amps also have midrange dials for adjusting

I also really like treble. (Oh my God! What did he just say????)
I think I'm also pretty damn good at sculpting the highs coming from an amp or speaker. T75's, V30's, no problem.

I agree with you; it's possible to make most speakers work in one way or another. At the same time, there's definitely a difference between making something work and having the tone you want.

For me, the G12T-75s aren't what I should be using. My bandmate uses V30s which destroy my G12T-75s, and if I turn up middle or presence any more than I've already got it, my sound becomes thin. Sure, I can always turn up the volume, but they're just not the speakers for me.

Four 75's can be very difficult. The contrast between them and V30's is staggering. I pulled two 75's and put in two V30 clones and sonically, they work great together. But in a band situation, going against a V30 cab with a T75 cab is like bringing a knife to a gun fight.

 

[JTyson]

I like V30's, and have 2 cabs loaded with them, its the other 4 cabs I hate. I'm probably gonna buy some pairs initially, and work my way through them mixing some till I find exactly what I'm after. You guys have given me some good ideas, I appreciate the help