Speaker advice

shaunm

I have a Zilla 2x12 with two g12h 70th anniversary speakers in it that I use with my Marshall JTM45. 

Do these amps work well with V30’s? I have seen lots of posts on the net about pairing V30 and Celestion g12h30 speakers. Has anyone on here done this? And does anyone know if this would suit the JTM45?

ICBM

I’ve never really understood pairing a G12H-30 with a V30... the power ratings are too dissimilar, and the wrong way round - the H30 gets driven too hard (which they don’t really like) before the V30 even gets pushed (which they do like), and the combined rating is only the same as the V30 alone.

A much better mix for that amp - or any amp below 50W, for classic rock or blues-rock - is a Greenback and an H30.

(And a much better mix with a V30 is a Classic Lead 80, for more modern rock sounds.)

shaunm

Thanks @ICBM as always great knowledge.

A bit of a simpleton question (also as always) if I were to buy a new speaker would it have to be an 8ohm as my cab is 8ohm?

ICBM

No, if your cab is 8 ohm it contains two 16-ohm speakers (wired in parallel), so you need another of those.

shaunm

@ICBM do you know if the greenbacks are less bass heavy than the G12h30 70th Anniversary? 

At rehearsal tonight I was struggling with the bass a little - and I was using a tele! 

shaunm

@zepp76 what speakers do you use with yours? Oh and I know you are a sucker for reverb pedals. What are you using?

ICBM

shaunm said:

@ICBM do you know if the greenbacks are less bass heavy than the G12h30 70th Anniversary? 

At rehearsal tonight I was struggling with the bass a little - and I was using a tele! 

Yes, less bass. They have a more midrange tone and a slightly dirty, fuzzy sound compared to the H30 which is deeper, smoother and cleaner.

shaunm

Ah, so would a cab with two greenbacks work well? Or would you suggest otherwise? Creamback/greenbacks are they the same but for different power ratings?

zepp76

shaunm said:

@zepp76 what speakers do you use with yours? Oh and I know you are a sucker for reverb pedals. What are you using?

I use a 4x12 with G12M-25 Greenbacks and three different reverbs, A Strymon Bluesky, a Boss FRV-1 and a HOF mini.

ICBM

shaunm said:

Ah, so would a cab with two greenbacks work well? Or would you suggest otherwise? Creamback/greenbacks are they the same but for different power ratings?

Try one Greenback first. If that’s not enough but moves it in the right direction, try two...

Creambacks are very similar to the Greenback and H30, but slightly tighter and darker sounding at the same power input, as well as with higher power rating. If you have too much bass and the amp power is less than 50W, I would stick to the Greenback and H30.

shaunm

@zepp76 how do you find the Blue Sky into the front of the amp? It seems we have pretty similar tastes in amps.

thanks @ICBM I will pick up a greenback. Does it matter that the rating says 25w?

ICBM

shaunm said:

Does it matter that the rating says 25w?

Only if the amp is more than 50W, which a JTM45 isn’t.

Celestion rate their speakers very conservatively, essentially for an amp of the same power as the speaker rating. The power is divided equally between the two speakers (if they’re the same impedance) so a cab with a 25W and a 30W speaker is a 50W cab, not 55W.

zepp76

shaunm said:

@zepp76 how do you find the Blue Sky into the front of the amp? It seems we have pretty similar tastes in amps.

thanks @ICBM I will pick up a greenback. Does it matter that the rating says 25w?

The Bluesky is great, I'm still trying to find "my sound" with it but the reverb it offers is fantastic. The Boss FRV-1 is a good shout and worth a punt (the fact it takes batteries is a bonus) but be quick as the price is rocketing as it's a bit of a gem.
Good luck with your speaker search, the Greenbacks are well worth a try and help a little with the amount of bass the amp pumps out! I tried the amp with a 2x12 with V30 speakers and didn't like it one bit.

shaunm

@zepp76 yep tried out a v30 this week and really didn’t like it at all.

Thanks for the heads up on the Fender Reverb, I will take a look. Would you suggest that over a blue sky? 

@ICBM sorry for asking another question but Celestion Golds with a JTM45, any good? I always thought of golds as a “cleaner” type of sound?

ICBM

shaunm said:

@ICBM sorry for asking another question but Celestion Golds with a JTM45, any good? I always thought of golds as a “cleaner” type of sound?

I've never tried that combination, but I would say no, if you don't like V30s. The Gold is more like an 'Alnico V30' than it is like a Blue - it's somewhere between the two, but it has the strong midrange peak of the V30 even though it's a little brighter and without the rough 'dirty' V30 sound.

Apparently the Alnico Cream is more like the Blue, but I haven't tried it yet.

shaunm

ICBM said:

shaunm said:

@ICBM sorry for asking another question but Celestion Golds with a JTM45, any good? I always thought of golds as a “cleaner” type of sound?

I've never tried that combination, but I would say no, if you don't like V30s. The Gold is more like an 'Alnico V30' than it is like a Blue - it's somewhere between the two, but it has the strong midrange peak of the V30 even though it's a little brighter and without the rough 'dirty' V30 sound.

Apparently the Alnico Cream is more like the Blue, but I haven't tried it yet.

Thanks. I had a look into it because apparently when these amps were first made you paired them with an Alnico. 

I have only played a blue with either a 5e3 or Vox. I’m guessing given that a Vox can kick out some power a pair of blues would handle a JTM45? Just a guess but I’d have thought a Blue would be way way to bright.

ICBM

Despite being only rated at 30W, a JTM45 through a pair of Blues is pushing it, even though the Blue is conservatively rated. The amp's *clean* power may only be 30W, but they put out quite a lot more than that cranked up - and more than an AC30, because they don't compress in the same way. AC30s don't tend to blow the speakers, but Marshall had problems with the originals blowing a pair of G12 Alnicos, which is why the 4x12" was invented...

zepp76

shaunm said:

@zepp76 yep tried out a v30 this week and really didn’t like it at all.

Thanks for the heads up on the Fender Reverb, I will take a look. Would you suggest that over a blue sky? 

@ICBM sorry for asking another question but Celestion Golds with a JTM45, any good? I always thought of golds as a “cleaner” type of sound?

If you want a straight forward reverb I'd recommend the FRV-1 but if it's tweakability you want the Bluesky wins hands down, it is without doubt one of, if not the best reverb pedals out there (excluding the Bigsky). That is of course just my opinion others may differ as I've not tried every reverb out there but give it time! 

Wazmeister

I've got to be honest, I think Golds work with most things... I've tried em with a G12 and V30 and liked em with both

shaunm

Are golds warm sounding like a green? In my head I have them down as being really loud and clear.

ICBM

shaunm said:

Are golds warm sounding like a green? In my head I have them down as being really loud and clear.

Yes, very loud and quite clear, but I didn't find it warm-sounding - smooth, strident and slightly harsh is how I would describe it. I tried one both alongside a V30 and on its own. With the V30, there was much less difference between the two than I expected - basically the same voicing, but the Gold was slightly brighter and without the 'dirty' sound of the V30. On its own it sounded good at first, but after a while I found the prominent midrange 'clang' quite fatiguing.