Guitar Speakers

rcannonp · Post by **rcannonp** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 1:32 pm

Are the Celestion Alnico Blues really worth $280? Is there something else that sounds good but might be a better value? Should I just keep my non-working Marshall combo and use it's cabinet?

YouTube · Post by **James Steele** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 2:24 pm

Man... that's a good question. I wish I knew as I've seen those advertised but wowee... that's some scratch! Especially for a 4x12 cab user like me!

I know many people here may be looking for more of a blues tone, etc. I'm pretty much a metal/hard rock guy and I've settled on Vintage 30s as my favorite speaker for that. I tried the 25-watt Greenbacks and didn't like them as they were a little "soft" sounding.... sort of gave a creamy sound to things. I had contemplating keeping a cab with Greenbacks for recording solos and using V30s for rhythm, but couldn't justify the cost.

Oh... the best place I've found to buy guitar speakers is:

http://www.avatarspeakers.com

Great pricing and I've had good experience with them.

rcannonp · Post by **rcannonp** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 3:04 pm

My idea was to fix up my Marshall, sell it, and then buy a 1x12 cab with a nice speaker in it to use with my 5 watt Fender. Right now I'm leaning towards just keeping the Marshall and using it as a cabinet. I don't know if selling it would make up for the cost of getting it fixed and buying a decent cabinet and speaker plus the hassle of dealing with it. I bet an Alnico Blue in a 1x12 cab would sound sweet though(in a bluesy sort of way that I'm OK with).

davedempsey · Post by **davedempsey** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 8:14 pm

Celestion Blues retail at $799 in Oz and Vintage 30s are listed at $269, so $280 for the Alnico doesn't look so bad to me, especially now that the AUD is comparitively stronger.
I totally agree with James about the Vintage 30 - definitely the best tone in the non-Alnico Celestion range IMO. It is a 60 watt speaker 'tho, so an Alnico Blue at 15 watts would be a better load for your 5 watt amp.
The production company I work at has a speaker repair business - easily the busiest in Oz - and I spend most of my day in speaker repair world. In my experience the best sounding guitar speakers are the old Fender Alnicos with original recone kits. We still have stock of 60s recone parts and the old pulp cones sound so much better than newer carbon fibre ones. Those old cones are soft, almost moist feeling to touch and you can see the fibre in the grey tone. Newer cones are so dry and brittle in comparison.

YouTube · Post by **James Steele** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 9:32 pm

Hey Dave... it wasn't that long ago you could get a set of four Vintage 30s through avatarspeakers.com for something around $350 or so I think. They have great deals. I know however that's of little use out where you are.

I haven't really done much experimentation wtih guitar speakers in my cabinets primarily for economic reasons. I just can't afford the money or the time to be switching them out, trying them, selling them if they don't work. Plus with 4x12 cabs it would cost me a TON to fit them with the blues for example. On top of it, I don't even know if they'd be desirable for a hard rock/metal tone. So I sort of stick with V30s because I like what I'm getting.

I haven't tried other cabinets even though I've had manucturers offer me them near cost, and I know cabinet construction has a lot to do with it. You guys would probably laugh at how I record my guitars, as even though I'd love to try a low wattage, single speaker amp (I've heard great things), I pretty much have my amp in converted garage separate from my "control room" in my house and it's cranked to the bejeezus! But some Marshalls just sound God-like at those volumes and mine is no exception. I just close mic with a GT-66 tube mic I picked up used and a Millennia HV-3C preamp into an HD-192 and the results lately, especially lead tone, has been jaw dropping. It's something that PODs, et. al. cannot yet touch.

I've also found that if you start stacking tracks-- for example doubled rhythm guitar and then say two lead guitar parts in harmony with each other-- the modeled tracks tend to muddy up a mix, whereas the tracks with the real amp still blend nicely but retain clarity and "separateness" more easily.

rcannonp · Post by **rcannonp** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 10:21 pm

James Steele wrote:You guys would probably laugh at how I record my guitars, as even though I'd love to try a low wattage, single speaker amp (I've heard great things), I pretty much have my amp in converted garage separate from my "control room" in my house and it's cranked to the bejeezus!

You would probably laugh harder at how I record mine. I don't have the luxury of a garage, so my closet has to do. I run my 5 watt amp into a Hotplate

and then into the 12" speakers of my Marshall combo. I generally use a Blue Baby Bottle mic(sometimes an SM57), and I'm too embarrassed to admit what mic pre I use. I also recently picked up a Barber Direct Drive pedal that I like a lot.

The speakers in my Marshall are labeled as Marshall branded Celestion Heritage G12s. They don't really have any more info on them than that. As far as I know, Celestion didn't start selling speakers under the Heritage label until 2005. I bought this amp in 1996. Maybe it was some special deal that they had with Marshall. I suppose that they hadn't really developed Heritage as a label at that point. I like the sound of them. I don't know what they are rated, but they are in a 60 watt amp. I guess that they would be rated accordingly. I figured that a lower rated speaker might be a better match for my new amp, but I'm not sure that I want to pay to find out right now.

I also still use my POD a lot. It doesn't have the richness of a real amp, but it's easy to set up and tweak.