I’ve been using a Zilla Fatboy 2x12 for the last few years, loaded with Celestion V30’s. My amp of choice is a Blackstar Series One 100 (6L6)
Whilst I’ve never been unhappy with the sound, nor have I been blown away by it, it’s what I would class as “good enough”.
I’m certainly happier with the amp than I ever was with my old Dual Rectifier and Marshall DSL’s though.
I’m certainly happier with the amp than I ever was with my old Dual Rectifier and Marshall DSL’s though.
Recently a number of people have suggested I swap the speakers out for Neo Creambacks, but I’ve not had any first-hand experience of these.
How to they compare to something like a V30? I play predominantly 80s stadium rock (Def Leppard, Whitesnake, Skid Row, RATT, early era Bon Jovi etc), so I tend to prefer to use a saturated gain sound. Would these speakers compliment that well?
More importantly – are they likely to be a better fit for my sound than the V30s?
Comments
Neo Creambacks are great, they're balanced, really open sounding and so bloody light! They aren't as aggressive as a v30, but i think they sound more defined at volume.
Whereas the V30s are brighter (harsher at times?), and a little lacking in the lows.
Also found the V30s needed to be driven harder otherwise they sound a little muddy.
But the light weight of the Neo's is awesome!
(formerly customkits)
I'll have to start saving my pennies for some Neo's by the sounds of it!
I should really get around to trying a Neo Creamback... I love the ceramic ones.
"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 had one of the guys show me the differences between the Chinese one and a uk one they were at that time supplying to cornford, he was saying it’s 95% there and the manufacturing cost was about 60%cheaper!
"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
It's just a shame there's no way of trying speakers out first before buying them
In my opinion that’s why people think old UK V30s sound different from new Chinese ones - but it’s old vs new that makes the difference. The V30 is actually one of the most affected speakers because it has a very heavily doped edge surround.
"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’ve done similar with a cornford 212, there was a noticeable difference, enough for me to never want a Chinese version again.
I wonder if there potentially is a way of "sort of" trying them out first. Sort of.
I guess you could record your Blackstar preamp by connecting the Fx send into an interface into a DAW. You would then then look for impulse responses for your current speaker and the one you're interested in.
Obviously there are lots of variables which would effect the sound depending on how the impulse responses were recorded - power tubes, cab type, mic choice and positioning etc , but it might give a rough idea of what to expect compared to your current speaker, especially in terms of recording or being miced up at a gig.
As a wild card alternative, I recently fitted a Celestion A-Type and a V-Type in the Marshall 1936 cab I use with my S100 6L6 and they sound thoroughly superb together. I rate the A-Types very highly anyway, and the mix with the V-Type is fab with this amp (and others) I've used with the cab.
Both drivers are great value for money too, even brand new. Seek out Pete Thorn's You Tube demo of the A-Type in particular...