UK vs. Chinese Vintage 30 comparison clip

[Rogue]

Interesting. I wouldn't have thought there'd be that much difference.

I think the Chinese sounds better by itself. However, I would imagine the UK has more presence in the mix.

 

[troublehead]

The first 37 seconds sounds better to me. There is a less nasal quality and slightly more depth to the sound.

If your mic positioning is really that similar, and the first isn't the UK Vintage 30, sadness shall ensue.

+1


I'll also add that id be happy with either because with a slight eq adjustment I could make either one sound identical or work for me

The only concerns that Id have with the chinese made speakers is quality and sound. As long as both are good, I'm thinking I could care less where the speaker was made lol.

I tried that.........I can't EQ out that "honk" no matter what I do.

I can because I have a Mark series boogie amp and a little scoop of the 750 slider works magic LOL.

With that said, I have a new pair of the chinese v30's and Ive never liked v30's before until I tried these....so I'm sold.

Another thing to take into consideration is that the v30's that you get in the Marshall cabs are different then the stock celestion v30's. Marshall has there own v30 spec as does Mesa boogie! This shit starts getting nuts!
On another note, since you have already done this test, do you know what v30 you have? I can tell you that I have stayed away from v30's for years because of what I heard on your second clip. It wasn't until recently when Mike Fortin Hipped me to the fact that there are different versions!! Now I can say with 100% certainty that my v30's loaded cab is the best sounding cab I own!!

These are neither Marshall nor Mesa. The UK one has a gold basket and says "Ipswich, England" on the white sticker. It is one of the pair in my UK made Orange 2x12. The other has a silver basket and says "Made in PRC". It is the stock speaker in my Chinese made Orange 1x12. The first Orange 1x12 I bought had a defective speaker, but I got this one in an exchange.

 

[Gainfreak]

The first 37 seconds sounds better to me. There is a less nasal quality and slightly more depth to the sound.

If your mic positioning is really that similar, and the first isn't the UK Vintage 30, sadness shall ensue.

+1


I'll also add that id be happy with either because with a slight eq adjustment I could make either one sound identical or work for me

The only concerns that Id have with the chinese made speakers is quality and sound. As long as both are good, I'm thinking I could care less where the speaker was made lol.

I tried that.........I can't EQ out that "honk" no matter what I do.

I can because I have a Mark series boogie amp and a little scoop of the 750 slider works magic LOL.

With that said, I have a new pair of the chinese v30's and Ive never liked v30's before until I tried these....so I'm sold.

Another thing to take into consideration is that the v30's that you get in the Marshall cabs are different then the stock celestion v30's. Marshall has there own v30 spec as does Mesa boogie! This shit starts getting nuts!
On another note, since you have already done this test, do you know what v30 you have? I can tell you that I have stayed away from v30's for years because of what I heard on your second clip. It wasn't until recently when Mike Fortin Hipped me to the fact that there are different versions!! Now I can say with 100% certainty that my v30's loaded cab is the best sounding cab I own!!

These are neither Marshall nor Mesa. The UK one has a gold basket and says "Ipswich, England" on the white sticker. It is one of the pair in my UK made Orange 2x12. The other has a silver basket and says "Made in PRC". It is the stock speaker in my Chinese made Orange 1x12. The first Orange 1x12 I bought had a defective speaker, but I got this one in an exchange.

Great to know! Thanks!

Then it's safe to say that I dig the new Chinese ones LMAO. Hey, Maybe I'm crazy but at least now I know what I like now hahaha!

All the best!

~R~

 

[JakeAC5253]

Now wait, before you go selling the British V30, are you sure that the Chinese one was tightened sufficiently? That was the reasoning behind me knowing that clip no 1 was indeed Chinese. I knew that the cab was an Orange 1x12 and as such the stock speaker was the British and that you probably took the 'British' clip first then swapped the Chinese in after. I figured you might have left the bolts a little looser so you could swap it out more easily later, but this affects the sound also, and could be causing the 'warmth' in the first clip moreso than the speaker design itself. The actual speakers themselves shouldn't have such a noticeable difference as your clips seem to show, but how tight the speakers were relative to the cabinet itself will. Am I far off base here?

 

[Gainfreak]

Now wait, before you go selling the British V30, are you sure that the Chinese one was tightened sufficiently? That was the reasoning behind me knowing that clip no 1 was indeed Chinese. I knew that the cab was an Orange 1x12 and as such the stock speaker was the British and that you probably took the 'British' clip first then swapped the Chinese in after. I figured you might have left the bolts a little looser so you could swap it out more easily later, but this affects the sound also, and could be causing the 'warmth' in the first clip moreso than the speaker design itself. The actual speakers themselves shouldn't have such a noticeable difference as your clips seem to show, but how tight the speakers were relative to the cabinet itself will. Am I far off base here?

Even though that is a good point, I think you are off a little because My chinese V30's sound exactly like these and I have them pretty tight in my cab.
I am most defintely hearing a mid spike in the second half of the clip that Im not hearing in the first clip or my speakers.

With that said, if what we are hearing is accurate ,Im not so sure that the chinese version of the v30's can be called a v30, because they are most definitely different, unless my ears are shot LOL. (and I actually prefer the difference)

 

[JakeAC5253]

With that said, if what we are hearing is accurate ,Im not so sure that the chinese version of the v30's can be called a v30, because they are most definitely different, unless my ears are shot LOL. (and I actually prefer the difference)

That's what I was thinking as well. I'm not trying to sound biased against Chinese versions or whatever, but the British or clip no 2 sounded more "like" a V30. In general, I think if you don't like that sound, then you don't want a V30 speaker lol. The first clip that ran almost had a Greenback quality to it

 

[Shiny_Surface]

With that said, if what we are hearing is accurate ,Im not so sure that the chinese version of the v30's can be called a v30, because they are most definitely different, unless my ears are shot LOL. (and I actually prefer the difference)

Maybe they did what some amp companies do, a "silent revision".

 

[Gainfreak]

With that said, if what we are hearing is accurate ,Im not so sure that the chinese version of the v30's can be called a v30, because they are most definitely different, unless my ears are shot LOL. (and I actually prefer the difference)

That's what I was thinking as well. I'm not trying to sound biased against Chinese versions or whatever, but the British or clip no 2 sounded more "like" a V30. In general, I think if you don't like that sound, then you don't want a V30 speaker lol. The first clip that ran almost had a Greenback quality to it

I totally hear you and I agree! I'm starting to think the reason why I love my new speakers so much is because they don't sound as spikey as the second clip. The second clip most definitely had what I would call a v30 sound.
I am in total agreeance with you and I think new version of the v30 should be called something else LMAO. The v30 and 1/2 LMAO

 

[Gainfreak]

With that said, if what we are hearing is accurate ,Im not so sure that the chinese version of the v30's can be called a v30, because they are most definitely different, unless my ears are shot LOL. (and I actually prefer the difference)

Maybe they did what some amp companies do, a "silent revision".

 

[troublehead]

Mounting tightness is not a factor. Everything was kept identical. And there is no "Tom foolery". It is what it is.

 

[lolzgreg]

I would love to hear this test done with a Mesa Spec V30. I think I may need to take the speakers out of my Engl cabinet and Mesa cabinet and do a little experimentation....

The first clip sounds like my Mesa 4x12 with V30s, its got more of a breadth with less fizz, and would get very crunchy if you raised the presence.

The second half sounds more aggressive like my Engl.

All I know for sure, is that whatever is in my cabinets, I'm happy with

On that note, I'm going to find the clips I did of my Mesa Recto Cab vs my Mills Afterburner, both loaded with all V30s. You guys are going to have BIG TROUBLE telling the difference between those. I used the same amp, mic, settings, mic positioning, etc. All of my audio engineering buddies had a very hard time telling them apart, and I know which I liked best, and which I kept.

The speakers were broken in courtesy of Mike Fortin

If it is the case that Mills Acoustics use Chinese v30s in their cabinets, I suppose Mesa does to, or they're UK ones made to sound like Chinese ones

I was always under the assumption that the Mesa/Boogie Rectifier Standard cabinets used UK v30s made to their specs. Can someone correct me if I'm wrong?

 

[TheMagicEight]

Guess I was wrong. I'm used to hearing Mesa V30s though.

That's what I was thinking as well. I'm not trying to sound biased against Chinese versions or whatever, but the British or clip no 2 sounded more "like" a V30. In general, I think if you don't like that sound, then you don't want a V30 speaker lol. The first clip that ran almost had a Greenback quality to it

I remember reading somewhere that the V30 is a "failed" high-wattage greenback. Maybe now it's living up to its pedigree.

 

[thiswaythatway]

Have you noticed that Mesa used to sell their cabs with V30's rated at 70 watts. But now i see them rated at 60 watts. Did Mesa stop using their version of the V30?

I think their 4x12 used to come labeled as 280 watts, but now they're 240 watts. At least i think this is the case. I may be wrong though, i don't know.

 

[thiswaythatway]

Guess I was wrong. I'm used to hearing Mesa V30s though.

That's what I was thinking as well. I'm not trying to sound biased against Chinese versions or whatever, but the British or clip no 2 sounded more "like" a V30. In general, I think if you don't like that sound, then you don't want a V30 speaker lol. The first clip that ran almost had a Greenback quality to it

I remember reading somewhere that the V30 is a "failed" high-wattage greenback. Maybe now it's living up to its pedigree.

Sounds like classic TGP material. There's general bias against V30's on TGP. But remember, the guys bashing them are probably too old to even carry their guitars by themselves and anything that doesn's sound like Politician isn't acceptable.

 

[Gainfreak]

I would love to hear this test done with a Mesa Spec V30. I think I may need to take the speakers out of my Engl cabinet and Mesa cabinet and do a little experimentation....

The first clip sounds like my Mesa 4x12 with V30s, its got more of a breadth with less fizz, and would get very crunchy if you raised the presence.

The second half sounds more aggressive like my Engl.

All I know for sure, is that whatever is in my cabinets, I'm happy with

On that note, I'm going to find the clips I did of my Mesa Recto Cab vs my Mills Afterburner, both loaded with all V30s. You guys are going to have BIG TROUBLE telling the difference between those. I used the same amp, mic, settings, mic positioning, etc. All of my audio engineering buddies had a very hard time telling them apart, and I know which I liked best, and which I kept.

The speakers were broken in courtesy of Mike Fortin

If it is the case that Mills Acoustics use Chinese v30s in their cabinets, I suppose Mesa does to, or they're UK ones made to sound like Chinese ones

I was always under the assumption that the Mesa/Boogie Rectifier Standard cabinets used UK v30s made to their specs. Can someone correct me if I'm wrong?

You are correct sir!!
Here is the breakdown from what Ive been told:

Marshall v30 = There own Spec
Mesa Boogie v30= There own spec
Celestion V30 = The normal Spec.

Add in revisions over the years

 

[thegame]

For fuck's sake, here is the definitive V30 thread :

https://www.thegearpage.net/board/showth ... p?t=851486

MGShindel really knows his shindel.

 

[TheMagicEight]

Guess I was wrong. I'm used to hearing Mesa V30s though.

That's what I was thinking as well. I'm not trying to sound biased against Chinese versions or whatever, but the British or clip no 2 sounded more "like" a V30. In general, I think if you don't like that sound, then you don't want a V30 speaker lol. The first clip that ran almost had a Greenback quality to it

I remember reading somewhere that the V30 is a "failed" high-wattage greenback. Maybe now it's living up to its pedigree.

Sounds like classic TGP material. There's general bias against V30's on TGP. But remember, the guys bashing them are probably too old to even carry their guitars by themselves and anything that doesn's sound like Politician isn't acceptable.

Just meant that original V30s - regardless of whether you like them or not (I don't dislike them) - didn't replicate greenback tones, and that now they're moving closer. No bias against them, hence failed in quotes.

 

[Gainfreak]

For fuck's sake, here is the definitive V30 thread :

https://www.thegearpage.net/board/showth ... p?t=851486

MGShindel really knows his shindel.

Awesome, you showed us a thread which basically confirms what my ears were telling me and it seems as if my information is correct for the most part

Hope all is well "G"

 

[killertone]

Dude, fuck all of that bullshit!

I liked clip 1 better and was prepared for whatever version it was, plain and simple. Bottom line is that it doesn't matter to me because I am stoked with all of my cabs, 2 of which have PRC V30s and 2 of which have UK V30s. It's all good.

 

[sombersoul]

I must admit, I liked the first recording better for the reasons some others have described before me. But this is because I always prefer a broader, fuller sound to a thinner one. On the other hand, the second clip sounds like a blanket has been taken off. It's all a matter of taste.

Do the Orange PPC 212 cabs come with UK V30s? I used to own one which still stands at our rehearsal place. I'm currently playing through a Diezel 212, which has the UK V30s.

Interesting stuff! Thanks for the comparison!