V30's are so inconsistent.........

[troublehead]

They are still me favorite speaker. But I find they all sound very different from speaker to speaker.

I have a Hellatone 60, a pair of Mesa V30's, a regular Chinese V30 and each one sounds very noticeably different. I always thought it was due to varying degrees of age/wear. However, I just got a brand new Orange PPC212 and the 2 speakers sound very different when I cover each side of the cab and listen individually. One speaker is deeper/looser and has more extreme high end/presence. The other is tighter/more focused and has more overall mids/treble (but not the extreme presence fatigue of the other). I did this test because I'm about to replace one with a GT-75 and I wanted to leave the "better" speaker in the cab.

I've used tons of speakers and never really notice this in other models. I wonder why this is so ??? Its aggravating.

 

[some dude]

The Mesa V30s are tuned a little different from an off the shelf (Chinese) V30. From what I've read, they're a little darker/smoother than a standard issue V30, plus they use a spray to help them break in faster.

Those Hellatone V30s are said to be the same speaker Mesa uses. Larger dust cap or something like that.

I've also heard that Orange uses those same speakers. Almost makes me wonder if they installed an LDC and regular version in your cab?

Everyone tweaks their cabs different. I have three different V30 cabs (two Mesa and one Orange) and all three sound different.


I wouldn't take any of this as gospel... most of it is just stuff I've read on the internet, so it could be totally out to lunch.

(although my cabs really do sound different... that much I know for a fact! )

 

[troublehead]

The Mesa V30s are tuned a little different from an off the shelf (Chinese) V30. From what I've read, they're a little darker/smoother than a standard issue V30, plus they use a spray to help them break in faster.

Those Hellatone V30s are said to be the same speaker Mesa uses. Larger dust cap or something like that.

I've also heard that Orange uses those same speakers. Almost makes me wonder if they installed an LDC and regular version in your cab?

Everyone tweaks their cabs different. I have three different V30 cabs (two Mesa and one Orange) and all three sound different.


I wouldn't take any of this as gospel... most of it is just stuff I've read on the internet, so it could be totally out to lunch.

(although my cabs really do sound different... that much I know for a fact! )

I know the Mesas "supposedly" are different.......MIE, etc. But even that pair sounds different. And the Hellatone is a regular Chinese V30. You are thinking of the Hellatone 60L that has the LDC. The speakers in my Orange are both MIE V30's (to my surprise). I thought only Mesa was using these. And they all sound different.........some very drastically. FWIW, my regular Chinese (not the Hellatone one) sounds the best of the lot

 

[some dude]

FWIW, my regular Chinese (not the Hellatone one) sounds the best of the lot

Funny how that works, eh?

I've kind of figured over time that certain cabs favour certain amps better than others. So a cab that sounds great with one amp will sound awful with another. I see no reason why this can't be extended to cover speakers as well. This is one of the reasons I try not to make absolute statements with regard to tone/equipment anymore.

 

[tnourse]

I like the Hellatone 60 and the Warehouse Veteran much better than actual V30's.

 

[troublehead]

I like the Hellatone 60 and the Warehouse Veteran much better than actual V30's.

The Hellatone 60 is an"actual" V30. There is no magic treatment other than loud music put through it for 15-20 hours. I got this straight from Dave at Avatar.

 

[thegame]

You are thinking of the Hellatone 60L that has the LDC.

No, the 60L has the same sized dustcap. Its the material thats different (thicker, less porous).

 

[ericsabbath]

I always have the impression that mesa v30's sound more nasal and mid heavy (had 5 of them, and played at least other 6 of these in mesa cabs)
the chinese ones can be a bit thin and harsh straight out of the box, but they tend to sound better and less fatigant than the mesas later
I'm just not too confident they last as much as the british ones
guitar speakers in general aren't much reliable, specially celestions
my friends chinese v30 just died for apparently no reason
no sound at all

 

[ericsabbath]

I know the Mesas "supposedly" are different.......MIE, etc. But even that pair sounds different. And the Hellatone is a regular Chinese V30. You are thinking of the Hellatone 60L that has the LDC. The speakers in my Orange are both MIE V30's (to my surprise). I thought only Mesa was using these. And they all sound different.........some very drastically. FWIW, my regular Chinese (not the Hellatone one) sounds the best of the lot

you can tell they're different by the factory model code
I've never seen the mesa model being used by any other brand
but they do make v30's in the uk factory for other brands
there's no apparent structural difference, so I guess the only difference is the cone doping treatment
maybe the mesa has a lighter doping to keep more lows

 

[D-Rock]

I know the Mesas "supposedly" are different.......MIE, etc. But even that pair sounds different. And the Hellatone is a regular Chinese V30. You are thinking of the Hellatone 60L that has the LDC. The speakers in my Orange are both MIE V30's (to my surprise). I thought only Mesa was using these. And they all sound different.........some very drastically. FWIW, my regular Chinese (not the Hellatone one) sounds the best of the lot

you can tell they're different by the factory model code

I think this is the only way you tell Chinese from UK made V30's too.(?) All non H series Celestions made in the last 6 years are out of China from what I know...

 

[Random Hero]

I think the Mesa V30s are pretty grim. Tinny and metallic top end and I found the midrange to be pulled back slightly. Much preferred the V30s in my old Bogner cab although overall V30s aren't my favourite speaker...

 

[the4thlast1]

Cab construction makes a huge difference here.... I cant really explain how the O.P. is hearing differences within the same cab from speaker to speaker though, that seems strange. I believe it though.
Another issue from cab to cab judgment is that unless you know exactly how broken in your speakers are then its hard to do a fair comparison. Ive heard v30's sound like a harsh mess when they are new and other broken in ones sound awesome.

 

[steve_k]

They tend to drop their Moogoo Gai Pan in the cones on the assembly line now.....

I just opened up one of my fairly new Mills 212's that I was going to use for a WDW rig. Bought two of them. I was going to rob the speakers to run with some H30's in the big cab. Well fuck me runnin, what did I find? Damn chink V30's in there .

FAIL....not happy.


Steve

 

[Jay Strange]

Just play the snot out of them for long periods of time.
IMHO, after 30 minutes of healthy volume and the right application V30's are hard to beat,
especially in a 2 guitar band.
I know what your saying cuz I had the same thing happen when I added 2 V30's to replace 75's,
the newer ones(Hellatones) didn't sound right. But after puttin' the levy on'em for a while
all is fine after 30 minutes of stage volume.

 

[petejt]

I'm really getting fed up with V30s, even "Mesa/Boogie" V30s.