Celestion G12 Century

Neodymium magnets. + and - solder terminals? I can't think of any other features.

I have had a lot of different cabs, and even more speakers over the years. Everything from vintage alnicos to EVM-12L's to the Celestion Century. The century is my favorite. It sounds great. Articulate and fast. Very good bass, not loose at all. No treble ice pick, and no ridiculously huge mid range hump. Let's your amp/guitars tone shine.

Seems very well built, I've never had a problem with any of my celestions.

whenver I have had questions or needed help/advice, they were always fast and happy to give it.

Fantastic tone. I love how lightweight it is. And even better, you don't have to sacrifice any tone or quality.

I had an awful standard speaker in my Marshall AVT150, it made it sound compressed and really dull. I bought a celestion G12 century for an absolutely ridiculous price on ebay, it was still in the box and fine. I put the standard speaker from my amp on ebay and got 25 pounds.

Now, this is the best speaker i have ever played through and I've played through quite a few! I put this in my amp and it simply brought it to life. It cleaned up the bass as it was so loose with the crappy standard speaker, it gave my amp roaring mids and a detailed and crisp top end. I play with a fender American Strat HSS in butterscotch blonde, maple neck, beautiful guitar. I also play with a Epiphone les paul black beauty with a dimarzio high output pickup in the bridge, but thats for metal really. The Fender and the marshall now compliment each other and deliver the allround good tone I need.

And by the way, not only does it sound great, it's twice the volume of the standard speaker i took out, it deafens people when it's just over half way, and it's a 112 combo.

Sound quality is amazing, amount of volume is amazing... and it even weighs less than a speaker that would sound worse. It took a while to break in properly but it's been used for going on 3 years now and it's sounded great for 2 and 3/4's!

Never broken!

Never dealt with them, never had too

This is the only speaker for me. The only other speakers i would consider buying and the G12 century vintage or another company's neo 12" speakers, I hear eminence and jensen are doing some...

I'm building a head based on a trainwreck express clone design but a bit modified with a bloke who works at marshall, hopefully it will sound like van halens first album! I am also making a custom cab for the head to match, and it will be a 2 speaker G12 century cab. It is going to sound like nothing else ever, I can't wait! This is the best speaker for reproducing amplified guitar tone.

12" Neodynium speaker, very lightweight. Lots of power.

I had two of these speakers in a 2x12 cab. I liked how they are really lightweight and have lots of power, but the tone was a bit off IMHO. The sound is very clear and clean, but there seems to be too much treble and high-mids in this speaker. Somewhat "harsh" and "sterile". The bass is boosted as well and sounds pretty good, but the annoying ice-pick treble is very very hard to dial out especially if you're running a brighter amplifier.

Seems very reliable, looks very solid, but I sold mine so I cant how they would last in the long run.

never dealt with them.

For the price you would think you would be getting the ultimate speaker, but I really do think they need to do something about the high-end this speaker produces and make it more balanced. At $200/speaker I think there are many other options out there, if you're interested in Neo speakers, the Jensen Neo 12" is a great balanced speaker, I hear Eminence makes some nice ones as well.

What can I say, its a speaker. This review is about the 8ohm version. Perhaps the most distinctive feature is from the technology; this speaker is very light weight.

IMHO.... there is no better speaker for electric guitar, well maybe the Celestion Vin30 is pretty good too. Originally, I picked up a pair of the G12 Century speakers to use with my line 6 XT-Pro and Carvin power amp, but decided to replace the speakers in my Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue and Blues Junior amps with the two G12 Century speakers. The sound quality is amazing. The highs are perfect, mids are sweet and lows are crisp and solid (no mush). BTW, I use a couple of VIN30's with the Line 6/Carvin set now. very nice. But the G12 Century speakers my favorite.

well, it has been three years since I bought the G12 century speakers and they are perfect. I will say they are reliable.

I suppose it it good, but I would not know because I have not needed them.

Well done Celestion! Very weel done.

Very light, first I thought "how can this be as good as my fat and heavy V30?" but WOW! was I in for a surprise. It's light and lean and mean. 80W, 8 ohm.

I installed it brand new one in my open back cab where it was to test wise replace a V30 (at least that was the plan). After playing I think I'll keep the V30 aside as a spare. I'm not too sure about breaking in a speaker but if this little wonder boy does even better over time then I'm not complaining. Still it's hard to believe that it could get better. Tight bottom end, very articulated mids and chiming hights. I've read that it's supposed to be the speaker with the fastest attack and I really think so now. Not that I'm a very fast player but it suits my stile which I'd call prog rock. Works out clean and works out distorted, no matter what I do it sounds good (mostly I mean).

Probably very good - I own quite a few Celestions and never had any problem.

Don't know, never had to call them.

Really worth the bucks, I'm already twisting my mind to find the resources to buy some more.

12" guitar loudspeaker, made in England (so they say). Ad says "louder, lighter, faster". I agree about all three of those peculiarities...I'd add noisier, but it does everything they say.
It has a neodymium magnet instead of usual ceramic and that's the key to light weight and high sensitivity & loudness...

I mounted into a Marshall DSL401 combo; the original speaker was not bad, but sounded a little aseptic and lacked character someway.
The first impression after swapping in the Century was like a "Wow, it's alive!". The sound comes out clear and crisp on both clean and overdriven channels. It seems to like any amount of gain your ear can stand, but what really knocked me out is the clarity and definition on clean sounds. Here it really shines, though it starts distorting a little after 10 o'clock on the gain knob. What disappoints me is that it's way more noisy than the original speaker; maybe it's just that it needs to be broken in properly, time will tell, but the hum is what makes me cut off 1 point from rating.

Too soon to tell, but Celestion's are reknown to be rock-solid, I hope this won't be an ecception to the rule...

I e-mailed them a couple of questions before buying the speaker from an official dealer and they replied quickly and precisely. Not bad for such a big company!

Playing for 35+ years, I own(ed) way too much gear to remember. Currently I use a PRS SE singlecut (with Gibson 57 classic HB's), a self built strat-ish with Kinman Woodstocks and a 335; apart from this Marshall that I use at home, I mostly gig with a Suhr Badger head plugged into a Blackshark 1x12" loaded with this same speaker.
I only use a T-Rex Dr.Swamp pedal (since the Badger has a single channel) and a Tech21 DLA Boost +sometimes a Crybaby.
The Century has a wonderful character and seems to bring out the best of my gear. I'm just surprised and disappointed by the hum, I'll have to find out its cause and remove it...

This celestion century speaker is 12" in size, and rated at 80 watts, and mine is the 8 ohms version. for what it is, it is very lightweight at just 4.4lb (2.0kg). it is the loudest speaker that celestion currently make, rated at 102dB. it is a modern design by celestion, and uses a different type of magnet type (called 'neo') compared to traditional speakers. but does it work well? read on ..

just so you know, the styles i prefer are rock, and metal. I was really worried at first regarding purchasing this speaker, as for me ??80 ($160) is a lot of money to spend on just a speaker! the reason i needed a new speaker is because i use a marshall valve amp combo (a JCM 900) 50 watts, which had a celestion G12T-75 speaker in it. now the G12T-75 was not bad, but the problem was that in my band (loud rock/metal), when the drummer was playing at full force, even with my 50 watts valve amp cranked full, it just was not quite loud enough to stand out. i needed to make my amplifier louder, and discovered that my previous G12T-75 speaker was rated at 97dB. I read that the celestion century was rated at 102dB, so that's an increase of 5dB. so the question is, is a 5dB increase in volume significant? the answer is, Y-E-S! my amp is now VERY VERY loud.

i didnt have to play my amp at full volume at my band practice today, but i tried for fun anyway and the rest of the band including the drummer said "turn it down man!!" .. so now im VERY happy i bought this speaker. my amp volume is now on number 7, this keeps up with the band great, and is louder than when i had the old G12T-75 speaker with the amplifier volume cranked full at 10! incredible!! and because i dont have to crank my amplifier up full anymore, it sounds happier and sweeter, and i even get less feedback now. my G12T-75 would mess up a bit at high volumes, and not cope with my playing very well, but my new celestion century sounds great even at max volume. this speaker is rated at 80 watts, and some say it could even handle 100 watts.. so anyway, it has no problem with my 50 watts valve amp! it stays in control always.. even with my 50 watts valve amp cranked up full.

there was another thing i was worried about when purchasing the celestion century, and that is i thought the celestion century would not have as much bass as the G12T-75. my marshall valve amp combo is lacking in bass already so there's no way i wanted to put a speaker lacking in bass into it. in the past i tried a celestion vintage 30, but lost ALL my bass so took it straight out. so what about the celestion century for bass? i love it, i have nothing to complain about, and prefer the bass on my celestion century to the G12T-75. the G12T-75 bass was too 'all over the place'. at high volumes all my notes became lost in a wall of bass. but the bass on the celestion century is actually much better. you can really hear all the notes i play now. it is more tighter, defined and punchier. for anyone worried about this speaker lacking in bass, do not. it's great. you have nothing to worry about!

more notes about sound. firstly, what does the speaker actually sound like, eg. at home at low volumes, and playing at high volumes at band practice? well it sound fantastic. it sounds a lot better than my G12T-75. i dont mean it just sounds a little better. i mean it sounds a LOT better. but let's face it, you simply get what you pay for. the celestion century is expensive, and the G12T-75 is not. my tone is much sweeter sounding now. my friend was practicing with me a few days ago with my new speaker in and he commented on how amazing my amp sounded compared to last week. i have noticed one more thing too. i actually get better sustain now when im playing. both at low volumes and high volumes. i didnt know a speaker could actually do that. i thought sustain was down to the type of guitar, pickups, and amplifier. looks like the speaker plays a part too. simply fantastic.

well i think i covered everything now? are you still wondering if this speaker is for you? why are you even still here? go get it now!!

it's a modern celestion speaker design. they are obviously experts in what they do. it's gonna last. it's clearly not some cheap made rubbish.

customer support is fine. i have emailed celestion many times with annoying questions and they always reply quickly with good information.

well, i have covered everything now i think. to summarise, it is the best speaker i have ever heard (and i've heard lots). god knows how long i will live for, i am 33 now, but whatever happens, if i have a guitar amplifier that uses a 12" speaker in it, the celestion century will come with me. it's great now, and will get even better with age. there's simply nothing left to say, apart from it's a shame it is not a bit cheaper. but celestion know this speaker is special, so no doubt are not going to price it like all the others!

What can I say, it is a speaker. 8 ohms. 80 watt. It is light, very light, and seemed too light to actually work. But it worked. Wow did it work.

I have the Celestion G12 Century, not the Celestion G12 Century VINTAGE.

My primary guitar is a Gibson Customer Shop, CS-336 with '57 pickups. A also have a Strat American Standard (rewired to a modified '60 spec) and an old blonde modified/rebuilt Tele.

My style ranges from hard, heavy rock, southern rock, heavy blues, mellow blues, alternative, rock, mellow rock and folk. The Celestion G12 Century handles them very well, and the sound, OMG.

I read some other reviews that there was not much bass in the speaker. That was not my experience. While the speaker does not produce extra bass on its own, if you want bass, just turn the bass up on your amp or turn your tone pot to add more bass on the guitar.

The Celestion G12 Century sings with exactly the voice that I was looking for. The highs are just right, the mid-range is right on the money, and the bass is present without overpowering. The breakup and decay are absolutely amazing and vary depending on how I attack the strings. The speaker expertly sensative.

The Celestion G12 Century is excellent!

So far so good. I had my Line6 PodXT Pro at full throttle thru a Carvin TS100 tube power amp set at 50watts cranked all the way up and the speaker sang like a winner. I backed off to about 70% on both the line1 and the carvin power amp and the sound was still outstanding.

I will know how reliable the speaker is in a year or two.

No Comment. Purchased the speaker used.

The Celestion G12 Century is thorougly amazing. This is the only speaker I plan to use now. It is exactly what I was looking for in a guitar speaker.

I had two Carvin GT12 guitar speakers in a cabinet that were very good. A single Celestion G12 Century far surpasses the Carvin GT12 speakers on every level. I have also used a 15" EV guitar speaker with a 50 watt Marshall head. The old EV is no match for the Celestion G12 Century.

If it were stolen, I would definitely replace it with another Celestion G12 Century.

Note: I have the Celestion G12 Century, not the Celestion G12 Century VINTAGE.

Neo-dog light-weight speaker weighs 4.5 pounds. 8 ohms, 80 watts, but can easily handle 1oo watts. I have two of them.

I use a Les Paul, and a fat strat. These are replacements for a Fender Hot Rod Deville 212. I have also tried them in several other amps. I tried one in my Stage 1000, to lighten the amp when gigging. It sounded cleaner, but I lost a little bass. Not as scooped as the stock Celestion G12t-100, which I like better in the Stage 1000. Also tried it in my Roland VGA, but again sounded very flat, which is good for a modeling amp. I finally ended up putting them both in my Deville 212 and couldn't be happier. They sound much fuller than the cheesy stock Eminence Legend 125's. They provide much more clean headroom, which is what I was shooting for. I lost a little bass, but it was worth the trade-off. Very fast and articulate, great for jazz. Not so great for distortion, but most use a pedal anyway. Can sound a little harsh when cranked if you use cheap pickups/guitar. I had to change the neck pup in my Les Paul after the speaker change to take full advantage of the beautiful pristine sound. I didn't like the sound of the Century G12 in my Marshall tube combo amp, I liked the Vintage 30 better in that amp becuase it needed the extra midrange spike of the V30.

I have never had a Celestion fail in 5 years.

I have no idea, never nedded them.

Been playing 30 years. I own mostly Fender stuff now, but have owned a lot of Marshall and Vox amps, Gibson and Fender strats, LPs, teles, etc. I would not recommend spending $185 each plus tax and shipping on these, if you already use Celestions. I would recommend buying one of these if you use any Eminence speaker. It will definetly improve your sound. You will loose a little character becuase of the flat response, but gain clean headroom. It will also lighten your amp a bit if you have to lug itt around, such as a Deville or other Hot Rod.

As mentioned by the others, I have the 8 Ohm version. It is also beautiful, a nice thing, if you have an open back cabinet.

"This is the best speaker I have ever..." many reviews start with this, and you better scroll on. But this really is to my taste the best. These things are of course up to personal preferences. I have tried many speakers, including the Century VINTAGE. That is also a very good speaker, but too vintage for me. The Century is more open, has more precense, and air about it. And it is also very loud, which is not only a good thing in getting loud, but if you keep the volume of your music at the same level as before the speaker change, you don't have to turn the volume knob up as much as you had to before. In short, it saves a lot of headroom for your amp, does not put that much weight on it. It is also extremely light, not a key factor for 1x12 combos, but a nice thing at 4x12 cabinets. The sound is very detailed, clean, BUT not sterile. What bought me with this speaker is the accuracy and vitality of the sound that is very very very musical. Does not try to hitchike your sound, only helps it from the back.

It is a Celestion. Has huge alu heatsinks, but the magnet hardly warms at all. If you use it with a lower outputrated amp, it will keep up.

It is all right, 'cos I didn't have to call them.

Too expensive to pay the bill, but it is one of the best investments to your sound. In a setup everything is a key element, but the speaker is the last one to let the sound out or not. Having bad speakers means you have the feeling, that something is wrong with your guitar, amp, or pickups, even yourself. Buy a good speaker like this, and you save a lot of money/nerve.