I know this topic has been discussed ad nauseam on here, but I'd still welcome some specific recommendations...
I use an Orange Rocker 30 head through an Orange open-back 2x12 with the stock V30s. The other guitarist in the band used to use a Fender amp that was ridiculously bright, so between that and my fairly middy tone through the V30s we had a nice balance. But we've got a new guitarist and now we're a bit on top of each other. After experimenting with settings it seems to work best if I now have a brighter, less middy sound, which is fighting against the V30s in my cab a bit.
Had a gig last night where the cab was provided, and was a Marshall 4x12 of some sort. It was way brighter sounding than my own cab (if anything slightly TOO bright for my taste) and was much easier to get the top end I was after. I'm assuming it was G12T-75 speakers.
Now, I don't think I want to change both the speakers in my cab for T-75s - I've used them before in borrowed cabs and not really liked them. But something with a slightly clearer top end seems to work with the current band lineup.
I don't really want to lose efficiency if possible, and my cab sometimes gets used as a shared backline so even though my amp is only 30W it would be nice to keep power handling fairly high so I don't have to worry about somebody killing it with their 100W beast.
So, one V30 and one T-75? Or two of something else more open sounding? Obviously if I can get away with just changing one speaker it's a bonus, but I'm not completely against doing both if it sounds good.
I'm tempted to find a T-75 and just see what it's like with that and one of the V30s, but any hints would be appreciated...
Comments
The two Creambacks is an absolutely brilliant combination, perfectly balanced, sounds better than two of either, and handles 130W. It sounds very like a Greenback and G12H-30, but slightly darker and tighter.
If you want a less 'vintage' sound and more 'modern rock', a Classic Lead 80 with the V30.
The 75 does mix very well with the V30 too, but it's slightly less efficient and better for detuned hard rock.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Greenbacks are a bit puny power-handling wise aren't they? OK for my R30 but I'd be afraid of somebody frying them if it was a shared cab gig.
Going by those suggestions, I'll try swapping one of the V30s for an H-75 and see how I like it.
If it matters, the guitarist in my band uses an R30 head through a Marshall 2061 angled cab with the Creamback pair - it sounds fantastic. We play sort of garage/punk/rock, mostly normal tuning or occasionally drop D. He's also got an old 2045 cab with a Greenback and G12H-30, but he tries not to take that out too much because of the low power rating. The 2061 cab is slightly darker and chunkier than the 2045, although I'm not totally sure if that's more to do with the speakers or the cab - they're very similar, anyway.
If you replace one of the V30s with a G12H-75 you can always do the other one later if it's still too middy.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
I'll go on a search for an H-75
(Can get some pics weekend as I'm away with work at mo)
Let me know if you want to arrange some swap, we'd have to work out logistics and would be after the weekend before I get a chance to remove them.
Just mentioning likes...
Cheers
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Another option is the Celestion Heritage G12 65. Much better frequency response than the V30 without the top end spikiness of the G12T 75 (I have owned all three of those speakers).
I've not personally tried a Creamback, but they do have a good reputation.
There are non-Celestion options. WGS make some very good speakers and they are often quite sensibly priced. I've not personally tried their Celestion flavoured ones, but the WGS speaker I have in my Princeton is very good.
For speakers, there are some Youtube shootouts that aren't bad. I know Youtube audio isn't great, but most of those shootouts have a V30 in them, and also some other speakers that I've used in real life. The differences you hear in the Youtube audio tend to reflect what you hear in real life. If you can find some of those shootouts and use the V30 as a reference then you can get some idea of how the others are likely to sound.