Celestion Vintage 30

i just got a v 30 today and i put it in my hybrid marshall and it was the most amazing sound i have ever heard out of that amp, it gives me such a clear tone wen playing very loud. i dnt know wat celestion did to that speaker but they did it very right

They're 12" guitar speakers... Original "Ipswitch, England" models.

Here's where I have something to say... Replaced a pair of G75t's in my 64 "Bassman" cab. with these Vintage 30's and WOW am I a happy camper! Was looking for loud n' clear and the 75's were loud but that's where it ended. I play "bluesy" Classic-rock, Blues and Funk and the 75's were just too "scoopy" w/no mids. Two major first impressions of the 30's: accidentally bumped my low E-string when I first flipped the "stand-by" on my amp and my son and I both looked at each other and said,"HOLY S@#T!!!!" I'm talkin' a good 20% volume increase over the 75's! I think it's because ALL of the frequencies are represented here. Ton's of bass, mids and high-end!!!

Have only started to use Celestion products in the last year but I have'nt seen anything bad yet. Even though I did'nt like the sound of the 75's, they were "butt-kickin'" and built like a tank... Same for the 30's.

Have'nt used yet...

These 30's were a great value to me as I got them off of "craigslist" for 125.00 (pair). I've been playin' for 45 years and had a bunch of amps and most of the time just left whatever speaker came in the amp in it, unless it blew out. This is the first time I've gone through several pairs trying to find "just" the sound I wanted. It's a little pain in the butt but I have to admitt it's been kinda' fun and rewarding now that I've found a set that I really like.

First off, speakers are a matter of prefernce and the overall result depends heavily on many variables, e.g. amp, guitar, effects, room, personal taste. So, anything I say here is my own personal taste. I will tell you that I am a strat user who plays through Marshall JCM 800s and 900s. My style is blues based rock that ventures into the grunge/noise/feedback territory. I like a warm pretty heavily overdriven sound but I prefer the attack clarity of ceramic magents over AlNiCo. I absolutely love the way the Vintage 30s sound in my Marshalls.

If you buy a brand new V30 and stick it into your amp and think that it is going to be warm and creamy, guess again!!! As with any speaker, you have to put the time and effort into aging your speakers before they "loosen up". I have a pair of V30s that I put into my 4104 around 1988, I believe. They were an improvement over the stock speakers at the time and today (20 years later) they are warm, creamy, very fullbodied, yet retain clarity of individual notes to allow me to play complex chords at high, overdriven levels. I recently replaced the stock speakers in a 2502 I acquired a year ago and they were definetly harsh with a very prominent mid/upper-midrange when installed. With a year of rehersals and gigs on them, they have really started to loosen up and get warmer. I was concerned because I have heard some bad things about the new V30s, but overall, they are pretty good.

I have never had an issue with my V30s.

I have never had to use customer support.

Again, its all a matter of personal taste. I have some different amps with mixes of Celestions, Webers, and Jensens...AlNiCos and ceramics. I love the way my V30s sound with my Marshalls. They age very well and become warmer, losing their harsh characteristics as they age. If you are buying a new V30, be patient. Play them often and play them loud and they will only get better.

I have it in a Class A tube combo

This category deserves two ratings 1 rating for the speaker without a Diffuser and a second rating other with a diffuser. You can buy a diffuser blocker for around $17 on eBay or directly from Weber for those of you who do not know.

Without the diffuser, this speakers sucks big time and can make you angry at high volumes due to the ICE PICK shooting into your ear. Seriously, it completely sucks when turned up. The highs and mids become so pronounced that you can not stand to play it. You want to throw your amp out the window.

However, if you buy a diffuser or if you simply put an empty guitar case, etc in-front of the speaker, IT Kicks ***.

With something blocking the piercing highs, the distortion sounds rich, articulate, fuzzy and ballsy all at once - lots of overtones - the distortion sound that sounds like it comes from a speaker - not a processor. The cleans are tight and shimmering.

I don't know why Celestion does not ship these with a pre-installed blocker or maybe have a vintag 30(a) with cut mids. So, if you have one of these speakers and think it is your amp that sucks spend the $17 bucks and you will be amazed.

Because iot requires outside help to achieve a great sound I give it an 8

great

Ahh, I have never played through a speaker that has more of a love/hate relationship with musicians than the Vintage 30. For me, it was a middle of the road experience. It features 100db sensitivity, 60 watts, and enough upper mids to kill your grandmother.

Im not sure I would call this speaker versatile. It has that good british tone, and is great if you love mids in your face. If not, this may not be for you.

I use both Fenders and Gibsons through a Mesa DC-5 head, and gave this speaker a try in conjunction with a Budda Phat 12" in a 2x12 cab. The Budda sounded smoother and a bit warmer, while the vintage 30 was definitely more "in your face". The mids are pretty harsh when using a distorted tone and cannot be EQ'd out well. Attempting to EQ mids out of the Vintage 30, left it sounding somewhat dull and unnatural. It truly craves its originally intended form, which are highs and mids.

A couple good things I can say about it are that it has a punchy, tight low end and is great for clean tone. I was highly impressed by its ability to create a killer slightly distorted/clean tone for bluesy or classic type stuff. Its unfortunate that it didn't fit the bill for much else imo.

Solid = Celestion

Overall I would only recommend this speaker to those using it in conjunction with another scooped speaker, with a lot of low end. If you get 2 Vintage 30's in a 2x12 cabinet, be prepared to hurt your ears. That is, unless you love upper mids and a somewhat raunchy tone.

Ultimately I decided it sounded to similar to the Budda Phat 12" (which actually sounded better to me), so I ditched it for a Hellatone 60L, which is actually a modified Vintage 30 (Marshall Mode 4 speaker) with a 55hz cone for better lows and smoother midrange. The cab sounds fantastic all the way around now!

Celestion V30 60W 16 ohm. Used in two 4x12 Bogner cabs. I'm rating this low because I feel this speaker is very limited to certain types of music & is also very harsh & peaky.

A very modern, edgey, "in your face" type tone. Best suited for modern hi gain tones. Very loud at 100dB sensitivity. There is an upper mid peak that I find very irritating & fatiguing after a while.

Very reliable. At a 60W rating these are durable speakers.

No opinion.

I think these are best suited for very modern aggressive type tones, detuned dropped D stuff, etc. I find each note just jumps out and doesn't really follow picking dynamics very well. I also find them very fatiguing to listen to after a while.

Speakers are a critical part of the sound chain. These are way to limited in sound and fatiguing for me.

Celestion Vintage 30 8ohm

I own a VisualSound Workhorse Stallion 2x12 60watt all tube botique combo.
The thing is Beautiful!
http://s11.photobucket.com/albums/a165/Tat2sByLoLo/guitar%20forum/?action=view¤t=IMG00068.jpg

It came with Celestion Seventy80's in it. Though they sounded nice and warm, I wanted something that had really beautiful tone and projection. I researched and went with the V30's.
http://s11.photobucket.com/albums/a165/Tat2sByLoLo/guitar%20forum/?action=view¤t=IMG00063.jpg

WOW!....Now in it's second month of being in the amp it has really settled in. Clean and dirty, this speaker is a tone monster. Beautiful highs and tight bottom and the mids just cut right through.
http://s11.photobucket.com/albums/a165/Tat2sByLoLo/guitar%20forum/?action=view¤t=IMG00064.jpg

Celestions......Come on!

Never used it!

These are upgrades to any speaker out there for the guitar. They do take a little while to really loosen them up(me, about a solid month of 4-5 hours a day playing). But when they lose that initial stiffness they sweeten out perfectly. Worth the wait for sure!

See others!

A real Vintage 30 (older, or even some of the newer Chinese) takes a while to break in, so reviews on new speakers are misleading. Also, I purchased three of the newer Chinese V30's on Craigslist, and they are pretty bad. I think they are knock offs, because they don't sound anything at all like the older models, or the newer models that friends have bought through legitimate sources. SO, BEWARE, there are apparentl knockoffs (or factory rejects, or maybe some shenanigans going on in Chinese factories), so unless the reviews are of speakers from reliable sources, they may be misleading

See Above

AGAIN, a real Vintage 30 (older, or even some of the newer Chinese purchased through reliable outlets) take a while to break in, so reviews on new speakers are misleading, and this should be stqated. Also, there are apparently knockoffs (or factory rejects or some shenanigans in Chinese factories) for the newer Chinese speakers, SO, BEWARE! Unless purchased from reliable sources, they may not even be real Vintage 30's, so this should also be specified in the review. Thanks! M

this speaker was designed to emulate the celestion blue,but with higher power handling,quite a bit heavier than the eminence supplied with fender hot rod amps,but is a straight swop for the eminence insofar as the holes all line up, they don't on the celestion 70/80!!

swopped V30 into blues junior,and was amazed at how bad it sounded and promptly changed it back.
several months later I was still annoyed at having wasted money on a speaker that was supposed to be fantastic,and decided to put it back in so I could at least get some use out of it for a while,and then use it as a plant holder.
It still sounded dead and muffled and undynamic,but I could not be asked to take the amp apart yet again,so I thought I would just live with it.
Then weeks!! later, a transformation! it sounded totally different,
clear ringing highs, a sweet touch sensitive mids, it now sounded truly amazing.
The moral is, this speaker takes a long long time to break in,and patience is required to find out what an incredible speaker this is.

its a celestion

dr decibel is the man

I have been playing 25 years and I will never be famous,I use my ash tele and a parker pm for humbucking duties,I also use rolands gr20 for backings, violins,and bass lines etc.

Um, it's a speaker.

I've been reading the reviews for this speaker and feel that it is necessary to say that THESE SPEAKERS TAKE SOME TIME TO WEAR IN. When they are new, they can sound very honky and midrangy. But after they wear in the mids mello out a lot, resulting in a nice open sounding speaker.