Celestion Greenbacks....anyone?

[RowdyMoon]

..I am interested in a 2 12 cab I saw that is loaded with Greenbacks ( 25watt each so 50watt cab), anyone have any thoughts on these. ..aren't some of the vox amps loaded with thses?..I have 2 heads one is max 40 watt ( switchable to several lower wattages) the other is 15/50 watt...just curious about tone compared to say the standard vintage 30's...I know lower wattage means lower volume breakup.

[Guest Farnsbarns]

As a general rule, you need speakers that will take around double your max output. That assumes your working with RMS (root mean squared) ratings for both amp and speaker ratings, as opposed to PMPO (Peak Music Power Output).

[surfpup]

Greenbacks are cool. I think most of them are Chinese made now unless you buy the Heritage series or something. But if you love the sound of late 60s Marshalls, Greenbacks are the ticket (especially since you can't find or afford the old Rolas)

 

I have a 2-12 cab loaded with one Greenback and one G12H30 - that's a nice mix. I also have a 2-12 cab with a Vintage 30/G12H30 mix - also a nice sounding cab.

 

If I had to pick a favorite Celestion it might be the G12H30 (which is, btw, a 30 watt speaker, unlike the Vintage 30 which is actually a 60 watt speaker). IMO the G12H has the most low end. The Vintage 30 has the most midrange.

[RowdyMoon]

What is the ohm value of the 2x12 (4 or 8)

8 ohm cab.

[krock]

I tested them both and one main difference I found is that the greenbacks were much louder. I think it's because they're more efficient. I'm also thinking of getting a greenback to put in my Vox

[Aster1]

Greenbacks are cool. I think most of them are Chinese made now unless you buy the Heritage series or something. But if you love the sound of late 60s Marshalls, Greenbacks are the ticket (especially since you can't find or afford the old Rolas)

 

I have a 2-12 cab loaded with one Greenback and one G12H30 - that's a nice mix. I also have a 2-12 cab with a Vintage 30/G12H30 mix - also a nice sounding cab.

 

If I had to pick a favorite Celestion it might be the G12H30 (which is, btw, a 30 watt speaker, unlike the Vintage 30 which is actually a 60 watt speaker). IMO the G12H has the most low end. The Vintage 30 has the most midrange.

 

 

My Vox AC15C1 came with a 12" Greenback and I like it. I've always wondered what the Alnico Blue sounds like that was the upgrade option however. I think it was much brighter. I guess you can always turn down the treble but if it ain't there, it's hard to turn it up sometimes.

 

May try that Blue someday. Don't know why as I'm okay with the Greenback. Guess I use to be okay with roll up windows on the car too till I tried the electrics!!

 

S. Pup, have you ever played with the Blue and if so what's your take on them?

 

Aster

[surfpup]

S. Pup, have you ever played with the Blue and if so what's your take on them?

 

Aster

 

I have not. I'm generally a Marshall guy and I think the blue is definitely voiced for the VOX. Suppose to be the best speaker for the AC15 and 30. Check out Weber speakers though. They make a copy of them (Blue Dog I think they call it) that sounds really good (they have sound clips) and they are cheaper too.

[Aster1]

Yeah, that's right. Now I remember the Weber speakers when I was looking at & got me a Weber Attenuator for my Fender Blues Deluxe (which I love that attenuator). Thanks and I'll check into that again.

[cjsinla]

..I am interested in a 2 12 cab I saw that is loaded with Greenbacks ( 25watt each so 50watt cab), anyone have any thoughts on these. ..aren't some of the vox amps loaded with thses?..I have 2 heads one is max 40 watt ( switchable to several lower wattages) the other is 15/50 watt...just curious about tone compared to say the standard vintage 30's...I know lower wattage means lower volume breakup.

 

I have them in an AC30 and I love the amp. I also have a 2 - 12 cab with Vintage 30's in them. They both sound great and I've heard that four Greenbacks with a Marshall is great. I did find the Vintage 30's to be a little smoother sounding and better to my ear (loud rock and roll). That might mean that the Greenbacks are breaking up more easily. When I did the test I plugged both the Greenbacks and Vintage 30's into the same amp at the same time, both were wired to be 16 ohms and I plugged them into a 50 watt Plexi.

[krock]

Yeah, that's right. Now I remember the Weber speakers when I was looking at & got me a Weber Attenuator for my Fender Blues Deluxe (which I love that attenuator). Thanks and I'll check into that again.

 

The blue dogs also come in different wattage options which is nice. I think they also did both alnico and ceramics of the blue dog as well but I've only seen the ceramics on sale in the UK so I never looked too much into them

[DiamondJig]

I have a Marshall Vintage Modern 50 watt combo with a pair of 25 watt 16 ohm Jimi Hendrix Greenbacks G12C. They can handle the 50 watts no problem and I love the sound of the amp. I also have a Marshall 425A 4x12 cab with the same speakers. I swapped out 2 of the greenies for V30's in an X pattern interesting sound. The V30 was designed to sound like a Blue. I've swap out the V30 in my Marshall SL5 for one of the greenies and to me it sounds better, I also left the back off, I think the greenies sound best in an open back cab. BTW Celestion makes 5 or 6 different greenies.

[krock]

I have a Marshall Vintage Modern 50 watt combo with a pair of 25 watt 16 ohm Jimi Hendrix Greenbacks G12C. They can handle the 50 watts no problem and I love the sound of the amp. I also have a Marshall 425A 4x12 cab with the same speakers. I swapped out 2 of the greenies for V30's in an X pattern interesting sound. The V30 was designed to sound like a Blue. I've swap out the V30 in my Marshall SL5 for one of the greenies and to me it sounds better, I also left the back off, I think the greenies sound best in an open back cab. BTW Celestion makes 5 or 6 different greenies.

 

How loud do you run the vintage modern? I always thought rule of thumb was that the speakers should be at least twice the wattage rating of the amp. Is there an actual formula for working it out?

[Ryan H]

How loud do you run the vintage modern? I always thought rule of thumb was that the speakers should be at least twice the wattage rating of the amp. Is there an actual formula for working it out?

 

Amps are normally rated using RMS, which is clean output, before the power tubes clip. So, if your amp has a master volume, turn it all the way up, then slowly increase your preamp volume (gain) until it starts to break up. Then you're at the full rated power. With non-master volume amps, just turn it up until it breaks up.

 

At least that's my understanding.

 

-Ryan

[Jeff-7]

Amps are normally rated using RMS, which is clean output, before the power tubes clip. So, if your amp has a master volume, turn it all the way up, then slowly increase your preamp volume (gain) until it starts to break up. Then you're at the full rated power. With non-master volume amps, just turn it up until it breaks up.

 

At least that's my understanding.

 

-Ryan

RMS is the amount of continuous power being produced by the amplifier. You normally want a higher rating on speakers than the RMS of your amp so they aren't blown when you get a spike in power. Even if your tubes aren't clipping much, if at all, you can still get spikes in power over the RMS rating.

[surfpup]

RMS is the amount of continuous power being produced by the amplifier. You normally want a higher rating on speakers than the RMS of your amp so they aren't blown when you get a spike in power. Even if your tubes aren't clipping much, if at all, you can still get spikes in power over the RMS rating.

 

Definitely. 50 watt Marshalls can easily put out 60 or 65 watts peak power. Now some would say speaker breakup is a good thing, but it can get nasty fast. I prefer tubes breaking up to speakers breaking up.