V30: Who’s Tried UK, Mesa, China?

Just found out my used Friedman 4x12 has Celestion 70th H30s on bottom and GBs on top. I knew the cab didn’t sound right. It’s not bad at all, but it lacks the depth and punch I heard when I played a new one 3 years ago.

So now I’m lookin to put some V30s on the bottom. Just seeing who’s tried all three of these Variants and and what they prefer and why. I’m playing Friedman amps.

Thx!

I’d imagine Friedman is using stock Celestion... and if you liked the way a cab sounded with those then that’s what you should go for.

Mesa gets a lot of hype because they’re different, but Bogner seems to do ok with the stock Celestions too.

Personally, I prefer Mesa’s with high gain amps... I like they way they smooth some of the fizz off the top and shift the mids down a bit. With lower gain however I like the stock Celestions... I think the extra top end gives more edge to the sound.

I've got a 2x12 that came stock with a pair of Chinese V30's which I swapped out for an old British pair. The British are darker and richer sounding than the Chinese, but they still have that focused mid projection that V30'S are known for.

This is all the versions I have found so far...14 verses of the Vintage 30.

T3896 8 ohm Original Marshall Labeled

T3897 16 ohm Marshall labeled

T3903 8 ohm Celestion Labeled

T3904 16 ohm Celestion Labeled

T4335 8 ohm Mesa Labeled

T4416 16 ohm Mesa Labeled

T5321 16 ohm Marshall Mode Four

T5794A G12-60 S.E. 8 ohm
Special Edition

T5489 16 ohm
Relic 30

T5401B Vintage 30 8 ohm
Bad Cat version

T5731B G12- Vintage 30 16 ohm
Dave Mustaine V30

T5225 16 ohm 1777 cone
Hughes and Kettner

T5273 8 ohm 1777 cone
Hughes and Kettner

T3904A Vintage 30 16 ohm
25th Anniversary

These are all slightly different sounding Vintage 30.

"When you change the impedance rating of the speaker, you also change the inductance of the coil which changes the resonant frequency among other things. So if you have 2 identical amps and 2 identical cabs - one cab loaded with 8 ohm speakers and amp set to 8 next to one loaded with 16 ohm speakers and amp set to 16, they will sound noticeably different. The 16 ohm rig will usually sound brighter and deeper."

T3896 G12V 8 Ohm Vintage 30, Marshall label, 70w, 444 cone

T3897 G12V 16 Ohm Vintage 30, Marshall label, 70w, 444 cone

T3903 Vintage 30 8 Ohm cone stamp – 444 (standard specification)

T3904 Vintage 30 15 Ohm cone stamp – 444 (standard specification)

T4335 Vintage 30 8 Ohm cone stamp – 444 – Old original spec – now Mesa OEM

T4416 Vintage 30 16 Ohm cone stamp – 444 – Old original spec – now Mesa OEM

T5321 G12 Vintage MF 16 Ohm Custom designed for use in Marshall MF series cabs. G12-CV60.

"What I was referring to was the construction of the speaker itself. Taking a 16 ohm vintage 30 for example, if you simply decrease the speaker voice coil turns to make it an 8 ohm speaker, the chances that it would sound the same in all other respects are slim. By playing with other factors such as wire gauge and doping, they can me made to sound similar, but not identical.

So, it's important to know that when you are comparing cabs. Comparing two identical cabs operated by identical amplifiers, but one cab loaded with 8 ohm V30s and the amp set to 8 ohms vs one cab loaded with 16 ohm V30s and the amp set to 16 ohms, you are going to hear a pronounced difference in sound and performance. The differences will be partly the difference in electrical characteristics of the speakers and partly the resulting change in reactance of the amplifier.

Even so, I think you'll find that two 8 ohm speakers wired in series for a 16 ohm load will produce a deeper wider sound."

~ Steven Fryette (both quotes)

Ive tried the mesa version, chinese, marshall label, UK.. I like the UK and the Chinese the best. A little more bottom than the marshall and less muddy than the mesa. Pretty sure Dave like the standard chinese version and he may have a speaker coming out under his name made by celestion soon? not sure.

Marshall "Vintage" speakers are not V30s.

Never played a UK-made Celestion-branded V30. But have played the Mesa version and Chinese Celestion version. I prefer the Mesa.

FourT6and2":17zcv5o1 said:

Marshall "Vintage" speakers are not V30s.

Never played a UK-made Celestion-branded V30. But have played the Mesa version and Chinese Celestion version. I prefer the Mesa.

Click to expand...

Sure they are. Marshall Vintages are the first version V30..out in '86 I believe. Proprietary to Marshall, just like the Mesa version is proprietary to Mesa. Mode 4 V30s are also proprietary to Marshall, although I think you could get them from Avatar...hellatone 30s?

The Marshall Vintages do sound very different than any other version, although the Mode 4 version is also very different than any other version, I feel they are darker than the Mesa version. Almost like a G12 65.

If you get a chance to play through an 8 ohm 86-87 Marshall Vintage cab, they are different from the 90s and beyond 16 ohm version. Very fat and warm sounding....great with a Marshall circuit IMO.

In my personal experience, I have liked all of the V30s with the 444 cone. All of the other ones sound bright and harsh. If I understand the story correctly, Celestion tried to switch cones on the V30, and Mesa flipped shit. So, Celestion caved and kept the bass cone on the OEM speakers and cheaped out to the public. The treble cone version moved to China, and bass cone versions are still English. This is why people bag on Chinese Celestions. I would go with the 444 bass cone versions and they'll sound warmer and fuller without the piercing high end of the Chinese ones.

The Chinese vs English debate IMO is moot. Celestion makes good stuff either way. It's a different basket that matters, not the country of origin.

Racerxrated":h415mgsp said:

FourT6and2":h415mgsp said:

Marshall "Vintage" speakers are not V30s.

Never played a UK-made Celestion-branded V30. But have played the Mesa version and Chinese Celestion version. I prefer the Mesa.

Click to expand...

Sure they are. Marshall Vintages are the first version V30..out in '86 I believe. Proprietary to Marshall, just like the Mesa version is proprietary to Mesa. Mode 4 V30s are also proprietary to Marshall, although I think you could get them from Avatar...hellatone 30s?

The Marshall Vintages do sound very different than any other version, although the Mode 4 version is also very different than any other version, I feel they are darker than the Mesa version. Almost like a G12 65.

If you get a chance to play through an 8 ohm 86-87 Marshall Vintage cab, they are different from the 90s and beyond 16 ohm version. Very fat and warm sounding....great with a Marshall circuit IMO.

Click to expand...

Hellatone 60 = Broken in Chinese V30
Hellatone 60L = Relabled Mode Four V30

Racerxrated":jrnl7f2d said:

FourT6and2":jrnl7f2d said:

Marshall "Vintage" speakers are not V30s.

Never played a UK-made Celestion-branded V30. But have played the Mesa version and Chinese Celestion version. I prefer the Mesa.

Click to expand...

Sure they are. Marshall Vintages are the first version V30..out in '86 I believe. Proprietary to Marshall, just like the Mesa version is proprietary to Mesa. Mode 4 V30s are also proprietary to Marshall, although I think you could get them from Avatar...hellatone 30s?

The Marshall Vintages do sound very different than any other version, although the Mode 4 version is also very different than any other version, I feel they are darker than the Mesa version. Almost like a G12 65.

If you get a chance to play through an 8 ohm 86-87 Marshall Vintage cab, they are different from the 90s and beyond 16 ohm version. Very fat and warm sounding....great with a Marshall circuit IMO.

Click to expand...

While the Marshall Vintage is a V30, it's not the only "original" V30. Celestion released a V30 with just Celestion branding at the same time as the Marshall Vintage back in 1986, and they are different according to Celestion themselves. They won't disclose what the differences are though.