Celestion g12s 20 watt speaker , any good ??

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riffpowersriffpowers Frets: 344
I’ve been given a knackered amp with a 70’s celestion g12s 20 watt speaker in it . 
I was just wondering if it was worth removing and maybe using in a 2x12 for my studio 20 head ??

Anyone know much about em ? Anyone like em ?? 
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Comments

  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71963
    Yes, they're extremely under-rated speakers, and I don't just mean the power rating . They used to be thought of as a bit weedy, but that's because they're not very efficient - about 95dB I think - noticeably quieter than the usual Greenback, G12H-30 etc. The actual tone is very nice - they don't have a huge amount of deep bottom-end, but the voicing is not too far away from a Blue. A pair of them sounds great in an AC30, and means you can drive it hard without blowing the windows out.

    It would sound really nice in a 2x12" with another deeper-sounding speaker and a Marshall, I think - it will have more of an old-school classic/blues-rock kind of sound than the standard SC 2x12" cabinet which comes with V-Types. Just be careful with the power rating - it will be fine paired with another speaker, but I wouldn't run the SC through it on its own, they don't seem quite as conservatively-rated as some Celestions (another reason they might not be very popular).

    "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

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • I was just thinking of using it for playing in the house , so the low dB might actually be useful for that. 
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71963
    I was just thinking of using it for playing in the house , so the low dB might actually be useful for that. 
    Exactly. They’re also a speaker which doesn’t need to be pushed hard to sound good, they sound nice down to a whisper.

    In the old days inefficient speakers were thought to be poor because they weren’t loud and punchy for gigs, but we’re in a different world now and it can be a positive advantage to be able to turn the amp up a bit further but keep the volume down.

    "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

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • This was interesting for me because it appears I've got two of these in a carlsboro scorpion combo. Having read @ICBM 's comments above I'm now considering trying one in my AC15. 
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71963
    edited October 2021
    This was interesting for me because it appears I've got two of these in a carlsboro scorpion combo. Having read @ICBM 's comments above I'm now considering trying one in my AC15. 
    I would definitely do that. Check the impedance first, I think they will be a pair of 16-ohm ones in parallel in the Carlsbro (although I could be wrong). If you can hook up a temporary cable to one of them you could try it in situ without having to take the Vox apart. Make sure you disconnect it fully from the Carlsbro amp section.

    "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

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • I’ve been given a knackered amp with a 70’s celestion g12s 20 watt speaker in it . 
    I was just wondering if it was worth removing and maybe using in a 2x12 for my studio 20 head ??

    Anyone know much about em ? Anyone like em ?? 
    Good speakers, ideal for bedroom players in my opinion. Exactly the same as a G12M just with 7oz less weight in the magnet. Bit quieter with less bass, but all the tone is there.
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  • ICBM said:
    This was interesting for me because it appears I've got two of these in a carlsboro scorpion combo. Having read @ICBM 's comments above I'm now considering trying one in my AC15. 
    I would definitely do that. Check the impedance first, I think they will be a pair of 16-ohm ones in parallel in the Carlsbro (although I could be wrong). If you can hook up a temporary cable to one of them you could try it in situ without having to take the Vox apart. Make sure you disconnect it fully from the Carlsbro amp section.
    Yes they are 16ohm. I will give it a try! 
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  • I use an old T1417 20watter pulsonic cone, single speaker with a 100w head and an attenuator, it's all a question of balance but the reward is, you get speaker distortion in the mix with amp distortion/drive. It's more an alive sound imo but well worth a try if you can.
    Always worth checking some of those old speakers first as a lot have cone issues but if you get a good one the warmth will reward.
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  • Just reporting back that I've now done this speaker swap. I'm very impressed with the sound so far, considering I didn't hate the Wharfedale that was in there. The Celestion G12s I would say has a more clarity and is less prone to sounding harsh when turned up loud. It's more of a difference than I was expecting, and a definite improvement. 

    So, thanks @ICBM for the idea, and @riffpowers for bringing it up in the first place! 
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  • That bodes well for when I do it !!
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  • Will be interested to hear what you think @riffpowers. Do let us know. 
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  • Will be interested to hear what you think @riffpowers. Do let us know. 
    It’ll be a while cos I need a donor 1x12, but I’ll post back with results !!
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  • I'm just resurrecting this thread as I picked up a pair of these on ebay a while back. Assuming they actually work, how silly would it be to run these in a 2x12 with an Orange Rocker 30 head? Am I sailing a bit close to the wind wattage wise? I don't imagine I'll ever have the need to crank the Rocker 30 much past 12 o'clock but I also don't want to be playing and worrying at the same time - it doesn't make for good music!
    Blackbird Cabs - bespoke guitar cabinets, handcrafted in North Devon
    sam@blackbirdcabs.com

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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71963
    I'm just resurrecting this thread as I picked up a pair of these on ebay a while back. Assuming they actually work, how silly would it be to run these in a 2x12 with an Orange Rocker 30 head? Am I sailing a bit close to the wind wattage wise? I don't imagine I'll ever have the need to crank the Rocker 30 much past 12 o'clock but I also don't want to be playing and worrying at the same time - it doesn't make for good music!
    It should be completely fine - you can put a pair of them in a fully overdriven AC30 without any problems. As Bygone_Tones said above, the cone/voice coil is the same as a G12M-25, so the 20W rating is probably on the conservative side even for Celestion.

    "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

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • Thanks @ICBM, that's exactly what I wanted to hear. I'll post my thoughts on the speakers once I've had a chance to solder etc (probably once the kids are back at school).
    Blackbird Cabs - bespoke guitar cabinets, handcrafted in North Devon
    sam@blackbirdcabs.com

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  • RickLucasRickLucas Frets: 396
    I had an old Carlsbro PA cabinet with 2 of these speakers. I played a JTM45 through it and it sounded lovely.

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  • daddyashdaddyash Frets: 38
    My WEM dominator mk3 had this speaker in. 
    Sounded great. Not just at low volumes but cranked it sounded amazing with that amp. 
    Wish I’d not sold it now!!
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