Vintage 30 love anybody?

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Mr. Willy

Mr. Willy

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There's lots of talk around here about Scumbacks, Warehouse, Greenbacks, etc. Anyone still like the V30? I've got a pair from China and a pair from England and they all sound great. The British ones sound better, but that could be because they're more broken in. I love the way the 30's cut through the mix. Anyone else? :confused:
 
I recently got a Mesa Recto 2x12 cab with V30's in it. Sounds great.
 
Doesn't Celestion make a different V30 for Mesa than the stock version or is that a myth?
 
I heard that Mesa 'hand-picked' them, but that is just the rumor I was told. The ones in my Trem O Verb combo sounded better than the two I got from Avatar (Hellatones.) The latter don't sound bad, but definitely not as smooth as the ones in the Mesa. I think that is why I like the Veteran 30's over this particular pair of V30's, they have that slightly smoother sound I remember.
 
I could not be happier with mine! I like Greenbacks for some things, but they can't handle the low end like vintage 30's.
 
I have Brit V30s in an Orange 4x12, "Mesa" V30s in Recto 2x12 and I used to own a Recto 4x12. I've found the Mesa V30s sound a lot smoother than the V30s in the Orange 4x12 but I've never been sure how much of that is due to the speaker and how much is due to the cab.

I actually really disliked V30s for a few years... it started shortly after I traded my Recto 4x12 for the Orange 4x12 and my dislike went away after I bought the Recto 2x12. My Orange 4x12 now sits in a corner and is probably going to be replaced with a Stiletto cab.

I do know that when Celestion moved manufacturing to China their production of Mesa's speakers remained in the UK, and I do remember reading a magazine article years back with a sidebar saying that Mesa's V30s were slightly different than standard production V30s. It's the same thing with the MC-90... it's not a standard production Classic Lead 80.
 
Vintage 30s have too much sizzle in them for what I've been playing lately, but I might need to get another Vintage 30 loaded cabinet soon since I may be starting a street rock band and will need a more traditional Marshall kind of tone than I can get from the VH140C/Vader package. I think there are better options out there for people who play heavy/extreme metal than Vintage 30s. I've never played through any Scumbacks though.
 
Love 'em in my bogner cab which is about 9 years old now and has lots of hours on it. :thumbsup:
 
I've been playing through a Mesa 212 with English v30's for a couple years. Recently switched to my old Carvin 412 with vintage Carvin 100w speakers and I realize now that my ears have been fatigued from the 30's and that's why I get sick of my gear right away. The 412 is front loaded too and seems to disperse the sound into the room more evenly.

Just talked to the Warehouse guys about ordering an ET-65 to mix with the v30. Should take some of the honky, sharp mids out of my sound. I like the v30's for the "cut" they have in a mix, but I feel that H30's are far better, don't fatigue the ears and still cut through. My next 412 will be loaded with H30's.
 
I love them in my Recto cab. Best cab design to use with V30's IMO, complements the tone very well.
 
Mr. Willy":353yl84y said:
Doesn't Celestion make a different V30 for Mesa than the stock version or is that a myth?
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Well some people will swear that is the case, but when I was in the Hollywood Mesa store last month, I asked about this. All three guys said they couldn't understand where that rumor came from; according to them, the Celestion V30s they use are no different than from any other cab company.
 
Powered by the right flavor of amp, they can sound supreme...

I love mine in my 4x12 Bogner cab powered by the 20thA XTC. They rip. I've had other heads and cab combos with them, sometimes they were okay, sometimes they sucked. But in this particular application, they kick ass. They cut through, but what I really love is their high volume feel and sound. They're really really aggressive and ballsy.

V.
 
I really like the V30´s... I have four of them in a mid-90´s Rivera 4x12", and they sound great. They may seem a bit harsh when played on their own, but I´ve noticed that those characteristics are very beneficial in a mix or with a band. I´d probably look elsewhere for more classic or very modern tones, or if I wanted something really smooth, but for my hard rock tastes they work very well.
 
I did have a quad of Warehouse Vet 30's in my Bogner. It sounded good, but it was a bit too soft around the edges. I really missed the bite the Celetions had. I'm now running 2 Vet 30's and 2 Vintage 30's in an X pattern and I love it. Got some bite back. I'm very curious how 2 K100's would sound mixed with the V30's. My buddy has that combo in his Bogner 4x12 and it sounds massive and focused.
 
I just bought my Mesa Recto 2x12 cab about 3 weeks ago brand new to use with my 5150 III. I'm using it for smaller shows where there's really not enough room for my 5150 III cab. I did my first show last Saturday night with the 5150 III and the Mesa 2x12 cab. Man it sounded great. I was really pleasently surprised with the Mesa cab. After hearing it at soundcheck the opening bands guitar player decide to use it instead of bringing in his Mesa 4x12 Recto cab. Anyway I'm really pleased with the V30's in the 2x12. They are brand new and are only gonna sound better with more use. Problem is that I almost always use the 5150 III cab. I'll only use the Mesa 2x12 when there's not enough room and most of the time there's room for a 4x12.
 
I run two Mesa V30's and two G12K100's in an "X" in my Diezel cab and couldn't be happier. V30's have that bite or crunch that most other speakers don't do.
 
I have 2 Egnater/Mojo 4x12 cabs with V30's and I love em. What I really like about them is the projection, I can stand in front of them or move of the the sides and they really fill up the room.
They are very nicely broken in though.
 
Mr. Willy":2efi2y0x said:
There's lots of talk around here about Scumbacks, Warehouse, Greenbacks, etc. Anyone still like the V30? I've got a pair from China and a pair from England and they all sound great. The British ones sound better, but that could be because they're more broken in. I love the way the 30's cut through the mix. Anyone else? :confused:
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hell yeah - i love my 30's. i've got some 2002 marshall vintage 30's in my '60AV. nicely broken in and great for clean/low/mid/highgain. i've just used them for so long that i've learned to love them lol.
and they are good for cutting.

i have another empty cab that i plan on mixing some other type of speaker in with 2 of them out this cab though. and then some other different speakers in this one - for variety, the spice of life lol.

though i'll have to be honest - i'd really be interested to hear my amp through other speakers. it's been modded and i've never heard it through other cabs or other speakers. i'd just be curious what it sounded like.
 
Dehumanize":7v6wojv7 said:
Vintage 30s have too much sizzle in them for what I've been playing lately, but I might need to get another Vintage 30 loaded cabinet soon since I may be starting a street rock band and will need a more traditional Marshall kind of tone than I can get from the VH140C/Vader package. I think there are better options out there for people who play heavy/extreme metal than Vintage 30s. I've never played through any Scumbacks though.
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Almost everything out of Sneap's and Nordström's studios used V30s. The Mesa Recto cab is probably the #1 most popular cab for recorded metal tones, followed by the Engl. A lot of people say the Vader cab is not the best when miked up, too. V30s are really some of the best speakers out there for metal.
 
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