Celestion G12 Century

Celestion G12 Century guitar speaker, 80 watts, 8 ohms. Special Neo magnet allows the speakers to weigh ~1/3 of the wieght of a normal speaker. Has an art-deco look to the magnet heat-sink. I have a Victoria Tweed Deluxe that I love the sound of but when I play with a bass and drum the clean headroom is just not enough, so I can never take it out on a gig. After talking to Mark at Victoria he mentioned that a higher eff. speaker might be the answer. The Jensen P12R is rated at 93.4 dB and the Celestion Century is rated at 102 dB. The difference is ~9 db, that doesn't seem like much but if you increase the speaker eff. by 3 dB you double the apparent loudness of the amp!!

After I installed the Century speaker into the tweed deluxe I was blown away by the improvment in the tone and the volume. This amp is only ~18 watts but it could now easily keep up with a 40-45 watt amp. The bass is tighter and the sound is much smoother, especially when I push it into distortion. Also there appears to be a wider freq. range available now. I really like this speaker and plan to put two of these in my twin. A great speaker!!

G12 Century, purchased online, right out of the box driver. Basic stuff, no surprises except the 80w RMS power rating and the fact that it weighed about as much as a passive radiator ? I was asking myself what's wrong with this picture - if it is what everyone says it it, wow, significant performance with very little weight, ok . . .

I played a number of guitars through it including a G&L Legacy strat, Tom Anderson strat w/ bridge humbucker, Steinberger trans-trem guitar with a mix of Bill Laurence P/U, PRS Custom 22. I loaded this into 1X12 sealed back ported cab and played a 66 Fender Princeton Reverb, and a 64 Fender Bassman (6G6-B), loaded it into a 63 Ampeg Gemini. All three amps sounded incredible through this speaker. Side by side comparisons with Vintage 30, EV-12 proline, Celestion Blue (only with princeton and Gemini). The Century is absolutely alive, it communicates the signal with warmth, clarity, and a non-harsh brightness. It is also LOUD. I tried the bassman with the G12 Century in a reproduction Tone Ring cab, like Fender used to make in the 60's and seemed to have more punch and drive and sparkle than I have ever heard from that amp. I think that some people may find the speaker a little too "in your face" and for that issue, it blends quite well with another speaker that can project other qualities. I did a comparison with the 64 bassman and an EV-12 Pro, and the Century was a bit more transparent and open, and every bit as punchy. Overall, I am quite happy with its performance. I don't know what a Century sounds like broken in.

Don't know yet..

Don't know yet..

It's a bit expensive. Guitar speakers are almost like instruments all onto themselves, as they are NOT designed to reproduce music, they create it. As such, guitar speakers are like instruments, and guitar players should consider having a small collection of speakers to rotate through different combinations as you can change the fundamental sounds of your amp with a simple speaker change. For this reason, I picked up the Century. I have been VERY pleased with the performance of this speaker - an over-achiever. When you pull this driver from the box, you will probably wonder how it can perform being as light as it is. Plug it in and believe.

12" speaker with n-dym magnet good for 80 watts/160 peak. Mine is 8 ohms. I play jazz and blues. This speaker is killer for these styles. It would also be great for country, electric acoustic or any style where you want a clean, clear sound. If you're into higher gain it mike be a little too full range although I don't see why you couldn't strap a cap across the terminals to roll it off where ever you want. If you try this use a high voltage rated cap or it'll get hot and explode. This speaker is also the most efficient I've ver heard. Without a/bing it's hard to confirm that but it seems as efficient as a JBL D-120 or an EV and it has a more smooth, even response. I'm giving this a 9 because I think it does what I want a speaker to do except for some cone cry at higher volumes at about F# above high E.

Sounds fantastic to me. I like my overdrive to come from the amp so I can have a good clean sound from the amp as well as overdrive.

If you don't give it more power than it's rated it shouldn't be any proble.

No opinion here.

I'm 49, been playing pro and mostly semi pro since about 1970. So far I've tried this with a Randall RM50 (wonderful channel switching amp), a Reverend Hellhound and a 1956 Tweed Deluxe. It sounded great with all of them, mind you I don't do high gain but if I did I would try the cap trick I mentioned above. With the deluxe it was easily giigable because of the efficiency. With the Hellhound it definitely improved the clean sound and got along great with my black Drivetrain pedal. I think this would be a great speaker for any good amp. I'm getting another one so I'm going to try it in my Evans 150 jazz amp. I'll definitely be keeping these speakers!

Features on a speaker? Well, the wire mounting posts are simple solder tabs, and there are only four mounting holes, not eight like the EV-12L this replaces.

This is a great replacement for the EV-12L in my Boogie MK-II. the the sound is better: not too bright or mid-boosted like a Vintage 30, but brighter than the EV-12L, and great low bass when this 1-12 combo is on the floor. Nice cone break-up when soloing at higher volumes.

No rattles or buzzes. Seem like it will last.

I think it has a warranty.

The boogie was way heavy with the old EV, and that speaker would *not* break up, so soloing had a 'dull' sound. The Century is way light, making the MK-II much more luggable (pretty important at 2am), and it can take the power of the MK-II without blowing up. Overpriced at $300, but at $159 (off eBay), this is the best thing I've done for my sound in a long time.

This is a follow up, to my last review... I have bought two more centurys and one of my Bogner straight 4x12 cabs is all centurys.the cab is now aroud 75 pound. it was over 100. That had nothing to do with my purchace, just a plus

now that I have 4 centurys in a 4x12,, I cant beleve it.. the sound is just what you would expect in a break through in the year 2003,,super tight in the bass,, and my amp is very bass heavy ==UBERSCHALL==,, the speakers have a balance and clearity that comes from I think a slight scoop in the mids and a super clear presance. The mid scoop fills out as you turn them up.. The thing is that the speakers have a lot of acustical volume.. this 4x12 is as loud as my full stack was..without the sound spead.you get more head room from your amp. and it is clear. no buzz, or grainny treble.

I do not know

like I said the U.S rep at group one was vey cool..I just think it is amazing that I can still have the classsic over tones of the celestion in a modern speaker that can handle super high wattage and stay super tight in the bass.. this speaker goes about 15% louder than say a vintage 30 or G75T or classic 80.. before farting out in the bass,,, as a matter a fact I have not heard it fart out in the bass yet,,,,crazy,,,,a fully loaded 4x12 with centurys is just amazing and worth the money totaly

they are $189. discount each so it cost about $760. to load a 4x12 with shipping... forget the EQ or BBE,,,this speaker change is like adding 20% to your volume output withy a gloosier,tighter more transpearent sound

I paid $189.00 each and bought two.neodymium magnet only 3.5 pounds,,they say they are liquid cooled,,,

I replaced two celestion GT-75's in my Bogner =X= cab,,I use the Ubershall head and I have the full stack. I really like the Bogner =X=cab because it is a straight cab to start and it has Celestion Vintage-30's the top right and bottom left and Celestion GT-75's in the othe 2 spots..I did think that I wanted a little more edge becouse I keep the presance low on the amp because it has a strange mid boost along with it, So i thought that I would switch out the 75's because the v-30's are tighter.In short after I installed them I was inpressed totally...I got a brighter edge the bass is really tight they are the most sensitive speakers that Celestion makes 102db...very clear and in the highs kind of like the classic lead 80 but a little woody'r,,,and they have a classic celestion sound but at loud volumes they are cleaner,,,Also you get a little more acustic volume per watt out of you';r amp,,,,the gandle the really high gain of the uberschall very well.. and the clean sounds even cleaner,,,if you want vintage breakup you will want to get a alnico blue or greenback.. this speaker can sound good in the vintage realm.

well,, i see no problem unless the new type of magnet has a way of shutting down or somthing

great I called group one in new york and the rep called me back on his cell phone and i learned so much about celesion's and acustic volume compaired to watts,, great cat...I was told by a freind in Cali that the century's were a little harsh,,I tell ya I love them.. they do not make a better guitar speaker.. they will tell that also..i am going to get 2 more and see what a Century fully loaded 4x12 sounds like... if i like it better with the two V-30's mixed thats alright because I'll replace the GT-75's in my other cab,,the centurys resonat at 75hz in the low end and the Vintage 30's are at 70hz.. My am has a lot of really tight bass so i may prefer the combination best,,

put it like this just adding the 2 speakers to the 4x12 it sounds like I just replaced a dull set of power and preamp tubes in the head and just got new strings,,,,I think the only reson why you will not see any amp companys loading there 4x12's with these in because of the price,,You will see so combos though like VOX has a modified . vertion of the Century called the Bull Dog the Celestion makes also little Lenali's new combo has the Century..feel free to email me with any questions I feel I ow it to CELESTION,,,, ZEMJLA2000@yahoo.com

Here is follow up of the first comment in this list.
Just received the second one and installed in "open back"(half and angled in 45?).
Setup as follows : guitar(all coils)-preamp kitty hawk quattro-rocktron intellifex-peavey classic 50/50

So in stereo and intellifex out on -10dB,amp on 5 both channels, very beautifull projection of effects and guitarsound. Until now no eardamage(sitting in our livingroom)Clean, crunch and 2 distortions nice spread of sound. Playing clean, i started some jazztunes(nora jones stuff) untill Unforgiven solo, it works.
Intellifex +4dB out; my pants start to vibrate,this is for live gigs
I'm sure this cuts thru the band sound even at lower levels. I hope i attached the speakers well.

We'll see about that

Vox valvetronics cabs come with these new speakers, george dennis has these as an option. Other will follow, distribution is the weaker point. Not everyone makes his own cabs, although there is a lot of help on the net and you save quite some money.

i put my Hughes & Kettner away(celestion vintage rockdrivers and gt12-75)I will have a to look for some good protection.
This is what i was looking for, if now the guitarplayer will do as well as his equipment, everything is gone be fine

8 ohms, installed in Mesa 1x12 cab (rear mount). Very light and very cool looking, looks very well made.

I just got it but 1st impressions are very good. Seems to be a full range speaker with no large mid hump like a V30. It can ahndle to volume with no cone cry. That really irritates me with the Vintage 30's (and most other Celestions for that matter). Kind of like a Classic lead 80 but better sounding to me. I like it a lot. Doesn't sound as sweet as a Blue but they're similar.

Have to rate it at least a 9 because it's the best speaker I've heard in a while. A Blue ranks a 10 but it won't take the punishment this speaker will.

I have the 8 ohm version. Bought it used in like new condition. Very sensitive, twice as loud as regular speakers driven by same power, significantly lighter than a vintage 30. Has a unique sound, maybe thinner than the V30 ? More expensive than most Celestions except the Alnico Blue. Has 80 watts power handling.

I play all shades of rock music, different styles, jack of all master of none i suppose. I used a Boogie DC 3, a Soldano X88R into a VHT 2502, and a soldano HR50+XL to test. The distortion sounds seem a little more "ragged" than vintage 30. More grungy with less clarity. It has more highs and high mids to my ears. I have a new Century on order to compare the sound with the used one to make sure i'm hearing what i should. The clean sound is crystal clear. I'm also going to try different guitar/amp combinations. The verdict is still out.

I've had only good experience with Celestion products, i don't think i would have been willing to try such a radically different speaker (neodymium magnets) otherwise.

I've sent questions and received pretty fast and helpful replies.

The jury is still out. I've been playing for 20 years, owned vintage 30's, G12T75's, Boogie MC90's, EVM 12L's, Randall Jaguar (unfortunately), and Celestion Alnico Blue. I want to hear the new Century i ordered and hear the two loaded together with (2) V30's in a 4x12 before i decide if and/or what i'll use them for.

New loudspeaker see also new cabinets of Vox Valvetronix Heads
Half the weight of a normal 12".
Installed in homemade open cabs 1x12 = less then 10 kg, my bag says thank you

Just first impressions, more clear and much more volume.
Still warm sounds, good for acoustics too.
Tried it out on H&K Attax 200 left the century right a vintage rockdriver(also celestion). did not hear the vintage anymore.
Will try it later on Peavey Classic50/50

I'm playing since 20 years had Gibson but now Godin LGX, the weight and the volume make the difference, sounds are very well projected and the open cab gives good spread of sound.
I found out Vox is using them now in there new cabinets check out there, but since i design my own speakers mines a very cheap compared to them.
O yes that is the minus the price + i bought the only one in Belgium and the distributor does not know how long it will take before he will get the other 8 he command.