Celestion V30 in a low wattage amp?

dbphoto

Yes, I know I am doing that stupid thing of considering 'upgrades' to something I don't have yet, but anyway:

I have a Marshall SL5 (Slash) combo arriving tomorrow and am I correct in thinking that perceived wisdom is that for low wattage / low volume the Celestion V30 is probably not the best choice?

I haven't bought the amp due to being a Slash fan boy, because I'm not, but because it seems to tick all the boxes that I want from a home use amp, so the whole it has a V30 because that's what he likes is irrelevant to me.

ICBM

I usually find it very 'stiff' and a bit harsh with very low-power amps. 5W is enough to push it properly, but if you're planning on playing at lower volumes it might not be as good.

The Marshall V30 is quite a bit different from the standard one though, brighter and a bit more open-sounding, so I wouldn't rush into changing it until you've given it a fair chance.

If you do want to then a Greenback or G12H-30 would be my first choices, both of them are much clearer at very low power levels.

grappagreen

If you do want a V30 I've got 8 of them that I no longer use.. that may tell you what I think about V30's

Si

drwiddly

Have a look at WGS Retro 30 or Veteran 30. I have a Retro 30 paired with a Classic Lead 80 in one of my cabs and it works well at low volumes. They have less of a mid hump than the V30's so not quite as shouty. Similar sound though and good for rock.

ICBM

I tried a Veteran 30 for the first time recently... it may have just been a terrible match for the amp it was in (MkII Boogie) but I thought it was hands-down the worst-sounding 12" speaker I've ever heard with the possible exception of the Rocket 50. As described it's like a V30 but smoother - in totally the wrong way, it has the same basic mid hump as the V30, but without the bite or crunch in the sound so it just sounded honky and congested. Imagine a trumpet with a duvet stuffed into it or something... awful. But I assume some people like that kind of thing!

drwiddly

Tbh @ICBM I've never tried the Veteran 30 but it was recommended to me before I got the Retro 30. I don't feel the Retro 30 sounds muffled at all so they may be quite different?

ICBM

drwiddly said:

Tbh @ICBM I've never tried the Veteran 30 but it was recommended to me before I got the Retro 30. I don't feel the Retro 30 sounds muffled at all so they may be quite different?

Is the Retro 30 meant to be their take on the G12H-30? If so it will be a lot clearer and more open than the Veteran.

I think I understand what they tried to do with the Veteran - to take away the 'harshness' some people find with the V30 and 'smooth it out' - but for me they just took away everything that makes a V30 good. On the other hand I detest 'smooth' sounds in general so I am probably not the target market .

And it may just have been a terrible mismatch for the amp - that can happen sometimes. The amp was working fine though, it sounded epic with the correct Mesa OEM EV back in it. (As well as weighing about the same as a car.)

kreggs

Tried a vintage 30 for home use. Seems stiff and lacks detail and clarity. Actually  still trying to sell the bloomin thing on gumtree

dbphoto

Thanks folks.

I will of course wait and see what it sounds like with the stock V30 it has, it might be great.

chrishill901

As a former SL5 owner I would say give it a chance... there is no concrete rule that says ‘x’ speaker is bad at ‘x’ wattage but what I do know is that the Marshall SL5 was designed around the v30. It is designed to sound best with it and in my opinion it sounds great at low volume with that particular amp. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

I’ve had a few WGS speakers and didn’t like anything of them... surprisingly light, small magnets and felt and sounded anaemic. On the amp I tried it on...

drwiddly

chrishill901 said:

I’ve had a few WGS speakers and didn’t like anything of them... surprisingly light, small magnets and felt and sounded anaemic. On the amp I tried it on...

????? Confused by this. Admittedly, my experience of WGS is limited to the Retro 30 but it's in no way anaemic sounding and they're heavier than a Celestion CL80 and that's not a light speaker! Have I been lucky and picked the only decent sounding speaker they make?

chrishill901

drwiddly said:

chrishill901 said:

I’ve had a few WGS speakers and didn’t like anything of them... surprisingly light, small magnets and felt and sounded anaemic. On the amp I tried it on...

????? Confused by this. Admittedly, my experience of WGS is limited to the Retro 30 but it's in no way anaemic sounding and they're heavier than a Celestion CL80 and that's not a light speaker! Have I been lucky and picked the only decent sounding speaker they make?

I had an Invader and an ET65 and they felt much lighter than the Celestions they replaced and nowhere near as lively. I was very disappointed with them and to my ears were distinctly lacking in depth. I can only speak for the above two speakers of course, so apologise for the seemingly generalised opinion of WGS... YMMV. I replaced them with Celestions and couldn’t have been happier


edit: an ET-65 weighs 7.5lbs compared to a Vintage 30 which weighs 10.4

ICBM

chrishill901 said:

edit: an ET-65 weighs 7.5lbs compared to a Vintage 30 which weighs 10.4

From the name, I would assume the ET-65 is a G12-65 copy, which means it's an M-magnet speaker and *should* be substantially lighter than a V30 - which is H-magnet - and isn't an indication of quality. If you compared it to a G12-65 and found it lacking that would be a different thing.

Although I didn't weigh it, the Veteran 30 seemed about the same weight as a V30 - it just sounded much worse to me.

Dave_Mc

^ Yeah I think so. The problem is I haven't tried the G12-65 and the ET-65 is the only WGS I've tried. It's not my favourite speaker, but it's not terrible either. Also very amp-dependent, as you said... I was nearly sure I was going to get rid of mine, and then the other day I tried it through a couple of amps which I don't think I'd tried it through before and it actually sounded pretty good... d'oh.

tone1

Cornford fitted the V30 in their low Wattage Harlequin and Carerra. I found my Tone Tubby miles better...

Voxman

Interesting comments 're the WGS speakers and particularly the Veteran 30. I almost bought one for my dsl401 as they had very good write ups but was guided to a Classic Lead 80 by @ICBM which seems to be a good fit.  I'd always wondered though how the Veteran 30 would have sounded. 

ICBM

tone1 said:

Cornford fitted the V30 in their low Wattage Harlequin and Carerra.

Which is partly why I found it almost impossible to get a tolerable sound out of them.

dbphoto

Well it sounds pretty bloody good with my BFG in my office, so i'm looking forward to trying it at home later.

chrishill901

ICBM said:

chrishill901 said:

edit: an ET-65 weighs 7.5lbs compared to a Vintage 30 which weighs 10.4

From the name, I would assume the ET-65 is a G12-65 copy, which means it's an M-magnet speaker and *should* be substantially lighter than a V30 - which is H-magnet - and isn't an indication of quality. If you compared it to a G12-65 and found it lacking that would be a different thing.

Although I didn't weigh it, the Veteran 30 seemed about the same weight as a V30 - it just sounded much worse to me.

That explains that then! As a buyer at the time I wasn't interested what they were copies of, I bought based on the description of the tone and found myself surprised at the weight (although you've explained why now) and distinctly underwhelmed by the sound. I'm sure they make some great speakers, its all personal taste. I know people that won't touch Seymour Duncans because they say they all have a tonal characteristic they don't like, but worship DiMarzios... I find this odd because I love Seymour Duncans but find DiMarzios to all have a tonal characteristic I dont like... What works for one doesn't necessarily worth for another

kreggs

Nice one. If it sounds good it errr is good!

crunchman

drwiddly said:

chrishill901 said:

I’ve had a few WGS speakers and didn’t like anything of them... surprisingly light, small magnets and felt and sounded anaemic. On the amp I tried it on...

????? Confused by this. Admittedly, my experience of WGS is limited to the Retro 30 but it's in no way anaemic sounding and they're heavier than a Celestion CL80 and that's not a light speaker! Have I been lucky and picked the only decent sounding speaker they make?

I've got one of their 10" speakers in a 68 Custom Princeton Reverb.  Big improvement over the stock Celestion.