Favorite Celestions for Strat & Tele Pop-Rock Sessions

[Sqye]

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I have 2 empty custom 2' x 2' x 10" open-back pine cabs,
for which I'm going to order 2 different Celestion speakers (from Avatar) today.

I'll be using these cabs for strat and tele pop rock recording sessions mostly.

I'm looking for a variety of tones - from chimey arpeggios, to smooth fat chorus distortion,
warm melodic tremolo lines, punchy funky rhythm parts, and all textures in between.

I won't be recording at loud volumes - mostly no real heavy loud rock or metal.

My room is a 26' x 19' asymmetrical room with 3/4" oak floors, and interior gambrel roof
(the crown of which is about 9', and the sides where the roofline changes, 6').

I own the following 1x12" - in custom pine open-back 2' x 2' x 10" cabs:

• 2x Mojotones
• 2x Eminence Legends
• EV Force 15
• 2x10" Jensen P10R (2 in one cab - for the 'vibrolux' thing)
• 1x15" Jensen C12R
• 2x12" EV Force 12

I also have these cabs:

• 2x Hellatone 60s in smaller custom, closed-back, front-ported pine cabs
• 2x12" Boogie Black Shadow (closed-back, ported) cab
• Fender '66 Princeton Reverb (open-back) with orginal Jensen

I'm currently considering 2 [total] speakers from Avatar's list, to add to my roster:

Celestion speakers:

• Chinese G12H30
• Heritage G12H30 (English)
  
• G12M Greenback (Chinese)
• Heritage G12M (English)
  
• Vintage 30 (Chinese)
  
• Alnico Blue (15 watt)
• Alnico Gold (50 watt)

...Maybe (1) Alnico Gold, and (1) Heritage G12H30...?......hmmmmmm......

Any suggestions would be great. Thanks in advance, slutz, as usual...

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[renny3c]

you asked for celestion, so naturally I'm going to suggest setting else... I have a blue-ish and a greenback-ish speakers made by weber. they are called blue dog and silver bell respetively. they work great each for their respective tone and I also found that they sound great together ( series or parallel whatever your needs) you can order these in whatever watt and ohm levels you may need! as tony the tiger said, their eat!

[Leftcoaster]

I picked up a Celestion Gold from Avatar recently. Very pronounced midrange with great harmonics and overtones. Depends on what head you're using and what the wattage is. If you're using a 12 -15 watt head get the Blue. The Blue and Gold will cover pretty much any style - roll back gain and presence for jazz or kick them up for drive and tube saturation. Avatar is great - great product with great prices.

[Meriphew]

I'd go with the Celestion Blue's.

[Paul Hammond]

Def another vote for the celestion blues, Not a great match to the English G12H30 but that would be my other vote. The tone of the alnico magnet speakers usually beats the ceramic IMHO but depends on other factors as well. Any new speaker cone requires some break in as mentioned elsewhere on the web. The Webers are great as mentioned earlier and you can get the pre rola treatment on them which can make them sound more vintage original. Good luck with your speaker decision. PH

[Sqye]

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Hey, thanks for all your feedback, slutz. Much appreciated.

When I order the speakers today, I'll ask Dave if he has any opinion
as to which speakers might complement the speakers I already have.

I'm looking for lots of CHIME, and Dave's description of the Alnico Blue is hilarious.

Avatar Speakers
(Click on Celestions, and scroll down a bit).

BTW - I don't work for Avalon, or anything. I know some folks who are very happy with their products, so far - aside of all the web raves.

Cheers.

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[Kris]

I've got three from your list in my cabs.

The G12H 30w are awesome... They are expensive, but have a 5 year replacement warranty, and totally worth every penny IMHO.

The greenbacks are ok too, but much more 'ratty' sounding...

I'm not a fan of the vintage 30s.

[Sqye]

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Hey, thanks, Chris...

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[Sqye]

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Anyone happy with the Alnico Golds?

The G12Hs and Blues seem to be favorites here, and everywhere.

I'm curious about the Golds. I know I'll be recording at mostly low volumes, but
I did blow a low-watt Jensen a few weeks ago (with a low-watt Two-Rock head) ...

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[Sqye]

Originally Posted by renny3c

you asked for celestion, so naturally I'm going to suggest setting else... I have a blue-ish and a greenback-ish speakers made by weber. they are called blue dog and silver bell respetively. they work great each for their respective tone and I also found that they sound great together ( series or parallel whatever your needs) you can order these in whatever watt and ohm levels you may need! as tony the tiger said, their eat!

Thanks, man, but I'll be ordering Celestions today. I've heard some good things about Webers. Haven't played them yet. I'm curious about popular Celestions I don't have.

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[Al Rogers]

+1 on Weber guitar speakers. In my experience his vintage Jensen type speakers sound a lot better than the vintage reissues offered by Recoton/Jensen.

[Sqye]

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Thanks.

Again, today I'll be ordering Celestions.

Anyone with Alnico Gold experience?

Cheers.

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[radicalron]

I am a Big fan of the Celestion Blue, the Gold is a bit too Mid-Rangey for me. The Blue has the low-Mid push, and chime, even at lower volume. The Gold has more Watts and more Headroom, But the mid's are just too pronounced for my Fender Amps.
The MIE Heritage Greenbacks are also nice, But sound better in closed back Cab's.
The Weber Blue Dog is a nice Alnico Speaker as well, Somewhat close to the Celestion Blue, - But the Blue is the King! - IMO

[Sqye]

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Hey, Thanks, mister Radical Ron.

So far, it seems like slutz here are Blue and Weber fans

Interesting about your preference for the Heritage speakers in closed back cabs.
This seems to be a somewhat common preference, from what I'm seeing.

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[Sqye]

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Any problems blowing the Alnico Blues out for any of you?

Again, I don't play really loud.

I guess I just have to make sure I'm not feeding it more than 15 watts...

Everyone seems to love the Blues.

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[Sqye]

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I'm gonna speak with a few more speaker gurus before I order today.

Data I'm getting so far includes the following:

Alnico Blues are basically the shizzle for all spanky, crispy, sparkly, chimey needs.
Sounds like I need me one a them ...

Conflicting reports about whether the G12Hs should be mounted
in open-back or closed-back cabs. They may sound too dark in a closed-back cab,
but lotsa people seem to mount them this way....hmmm

I really would like to pick up two different sounding speakers that can ultimately complement one another.

Again, they will be mounted in these 2' x 2' x 10" open-back custom pine cabs.

I'll have more data in the next hour...a cuppla gurus are on their lunch breaks -
...I wasn't aware gurus actually needed to eat...

Thanks again, guys.

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[Kris]

I've got the G12Hs in an open backed blues breaker cab and they sound incredible...

Also have them in a 4x12 closed back cab and they sound incredible as well.

I've got a weber in my fender princeton and it blows away the Fender that I had in it.

Here's an idea...

Get one 30w G12H (just realized you are talking 10"... I'm talking 12"... but still)
Get one Blue, put them both in the cab and see which one likes your mic better... and then get another of those, keeping the one you end up not using as a spare... and who knows, the cab might just sound best with the combination of the two.

[Sqye]

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Hey, thanks, Kris.

No, I'm talking 12" speaker size, as well -

10" is the DEPTH of the cab - 2' x 2' x 10" deep.

Sounds like you are sold on the G12Hs, in both open and closed-back cabs.

I might have to try them...

Maybe (1) G12H, and (1) Alnico Blue for spank.

I love the Jensen in my Princeton Reverb - also spanky.

Thanks again for your feedback...

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[Sqye]

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So apparantly, people are digging this combo of the G12H with the Alnico Blue.
Dave at Avatar was espousing the virtues of this set-up.
You get the mix of the Blue chime, and G12H midrange warmth, punch and bottom.

He says the Blues are plenty loud enough. I'm wondering if they will break up,
or if this is just not a concern at all. As I've said, I won't be playing loud.

Dave also says either the chinese G12H or the Heritage G12H (English) will suffice
in combination with the Alnico Blue. And that open-back is preferred for the Alnico,
but either open or closed-back will work for the G12H.

Hellatone 30s any better? I've got the Hellatone 60s already, and I like them very much.
I realize they're a different animal, though (aged Chinese Vintage 30s).

Any thoughts?

Gracias, amigos.

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[Paul Hammond]

Had a hellatone 30, reminded me of the 30's from a mid 70's Marshall straight cab that I own. Could've replaced one of them without noticing a difference. One of my main live cabs is two 20 watt alnico "silver" celestions and two 30H's. The sound is great but the Alnicos def start to break up sooner. This might be the same with mixing the two in an open back cab. You will most likely blow the blue dog before the 30H if you push the wattage limits of the enclosure - though the Blue Dogs can take quite a bit of punishment. The combo is a great idea. FWIW we always end up miking the alnico speaker in one cab and a G12H30 in another. Examples of my live tone are easy to find online and and you can trust that it rocks. Kindest Regards, PH

[Sqye]

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Yeah, thanks, Paul - good to know.

But these speakers will each sit in their own individual 1x12" (2'x2'x10" open-back) cab.
They most probably won't end up in a cab together, although you never know

Nice to know you can push the Blues. Dave at Avatar said the same thing.
He said he rarely has to replace them for customers - a combination of
people taking better care of them because of their cost,
and also of their ability to take a bit of a beating.

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[atticus]

Originally Posted by Sqye

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So apparantly, people are digging this combo of the G12H with the Alnico Blue.
Dave at Avatar was espousing the virtues of this set-up.
You get the mix of the Blue chime, and G12H midrange warmth, punch and bottom.

He says the Blues are plenty loud enough. I'm wondering if they will break up,
or if this is just not a concern at all. As I've said, I won't be playing loud.

Dave also says either the chinese G12H or the Heritage G12H (English) will suffice
in combination with the Alnico Blue. And that open-back is preferred for the Alnico,
but either open or closed-back will work for the G12H.

Hellatone 30s any better? I've got the Hellatone 60s already, and I like them very much.
I realize they're a different animal, though (aged Chinese Vintage 30s).

Any thoughts?

Gracias, amigos.

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I just received the Avatar Contemporary 2x12 with the Heritage G12 and the Blue and it rocks. I have been using it to test my new little amp with and it is a very unique and complex sound. I think that you will be very happy with that combo.

[Sqye]

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Very cool.

I'm psyched. I think this combo will end up being the first stab.

Thanks.

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[tradarama]

They are the best for that application.

The 20w have chime without boominess (of other celestions) and clarity (unlike the Blues or Golds). They distort well but retain definition.

I've owned every vintage celestion 12 times over and the ones I keep are the old 20w. I think the RI (Heritage) are pretty close. Great with a strat or tele.

[Sqye]

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So, you're disagreeing with everyone else?

You prefer the Greenbacks (G12Ms) to the G12Hs or Alnicos?

Just confirming.

Thanks for your feedback, man.

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[Mike H]

I assume you have already bought...........but, FWIW:

I have lots of Celestions, including a Marshall 100 cab with four 1969 pre-Rola G12H30's, Heritage G12H30, G12M Greenback, Alnico Blue, Alnico Gold, Vintage 30, G1265, G1285, etc.

I would recommend the Heritage G12H30 as an excellent speaker, extremely close to the original, and you avoid the hassle of buying originals that may need repairs.

The Alnico Blue is also good to have, but I have to use a Weber Beam Blocker with it to knock down the highs.

[Jim Williams]

I'm done with Celestion. Too expensive, don't handle the power.

I'm all Emience now. They make models to cross to every model Celestion makes.
Their web site is full of info including all specs and a frequency response curve.
I have several models, all sounding different. The prices are excellent as well.
Buy American! Keep your countrymen at work. It's good for the recovery, if you care about those things.

Jim Williams
Audio Upgrades

[Mike H]

Originally Posted by Jim Williams

I'm done with Celestion. Too expensive, don't handle the power.

I'm all Emience now. They make models to cross to every model Celestion makes.
T

I've got Eminence, too.........Governor, Red Fang, Wizard, Private Jack.

I still prefer the high end Celestions.

I do like the Governor, though, their take on the Vintage 30.......smoother.

[aeonlux]

Given your stated needs, you won't go wrong in getting a Celestion Alnico Blue.

That said, another Celestion worth checking out is the G12 Century Vintage. Not much talk about this speaker, but IME I think it is a solid choice when you want chime-tone without the icepick when using teles and strats, especially in open-back 2x12" cabs or small EL84 combos.


cheers,
Ian

[Sqye]

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Hey, thanks, Mike H and Ian. I've def gotta check out the Century Vintage,
along with some more Eminence speakers.

And yes, Jim - my Eminence Legends won a shoot-out a few weeks ago,
against my Hellatone 60s (Vin30s), EV Force 12 & 15, Mojotones, Black Shadows,
and a bunch of 12" and 15" Jensens, etc.

(My Fender Princeton was in the shop at the time
I need to go pick it up now).

The Legends are great speakers, no doubt.

I'm just curious to hear these Celestions for myself.

I've ordered a Hellatone 30, Alnico Blue, and a Classic Lead 80.

We'll see...

Thanks again, for all your feedback, guys.

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