Why Celestion speakers are so inconsistent?

[PBGas]

I have 2 16ohm V30s from 1999 in my Bogner 212CB. They sound amazing! The Chinese ones that I took out of that cab were awful sounding, no question.

I found a couple more from 2000 that I got for a reasonable price.
The guy shipped me them in a box that looked like this:

He claims he "zip-tied" the two speakers facing each other and does this all the time and couldn't understand how this happened? Doofus!
Well, the speakers showed up and looked great! This was the one that looked the nicer of the 2!

Reverb refunded and returned, no issue.
Sadly, no one will hear these beauties again.

 

[ejecta]

I don't know anything on the consistency because I don't buy a lot of thier speakers but I bought a new Bogner 4x12 with new green backs in it and I didn't care for those. Maybe after they broke in?? I put in some Scumback black back copies and now it's so very nice.

 

[Fireproof]

I have 2 16ohm V30s from 1999 in my Bogner 212CB. They sound amazing! The Chinese ones that I took out of that cab were awful sounding, no question.

I found a couple more from 2000 that I got for a reasonable price.
The guy shipped me them in a box that looked like this:
View attachment 1870

He claims he "zip-tied" the two speakers facing each other and does this all the time and couldn't understand how this happened? Doofus!
Well, the speakers showed up and looked great! This was the one that looked the nicer of the 2!
View attachment 1871
Reverb refunded and returned, no issue.
Sadly, no one will hear these beauties again.

OMG what in the world? Some people…

 

[TSJMajesty]

He claims he "zip-tied" the two speakers facing each other and does this all the time and couldn't understand how this happened?

Wow! Honestly, I would think zip-tying them to each other would be a good idea, assuming you use strong, wide zip ties, and not the real tiny ones. Those big ones are really strong. Weird.

 

[TubeStack]

I've never had a brand new cab that immediately sounded awesome.

My two favourite cabs ever were bought used and were heavily played/gigged before I got them. Marshall 1960BX and Mesa Trad 4x12.

There is a naturalness/fullness/openness to really worn-in speakers, I’ve found.

 

[PBGas]

Wow! Honestly, I would think zip-tying them to each other would be a good idea, assuming you use strong, wide zip ties, and not the real tiny ones. Those big ones are really strong. Weird.

Yes! However, he used the tiny ones! Lol! They must have broke during the first UPS package drop!

 

[James Freeman]

Bumping this thread too.

I still believe that Celestion either tweak their formulas (aka silent revision) or the cones from Kurt-Muller cannot be produced to high consistency.
In other words it's a random shit show, every year the Greenback and Vintage 30 sound completely different.

With that said, my ear can get used to a different sounding Vintage 30 from my previous Vintage 30, so that particular batch of cones becomes my new reference.
Whether the SM57 likes that particular batch of Vintage 30s or not is yet another can of worms.

 

[mavrick102000]

How do we know if the capsules in microphones keep their tolerances the same over those same periods?

 

[KingsXJJ]

I haven’t experienced this issue yet. It might help that I have zero V30’s. I’ve found the CB65’s and EVHGB’s to be consistent. 10 inch CB’s too.

I am eyeing the 10 inch GB’s based on Celestion’s own interesting description. I wonder if anyone who’s used them would agree with it?

“ This guitar speaker was developed to recapture the legendary sound of Celestion’s 1970s 10s – a 10 speaker with a surprisingly meaty tone. Low in output but with the weighty low-end balance of a 12-inch speaker, the G10 Greenback features a complex mid-range and smooth vintage top-end. In small combos this speaker adds real class and when combined in a 4×10 gives rise to a raunchy full-bodied tone rich in low-end thump.”

 

[Marco2073]

Currently the V30 are only made in UK.
I recently got a 4x12 with V30 (year 2024). Initially they were harsh but after a couple of months they are great.

 

[James Freeman]

Currently the V30 are only made in UK.
I recently got a 4x12 with V30 (year 2024). Initially they were harsh but after a couple of months they are great.

Very interesting.

Maybe Celestion don't need the same volume of production as in the 00's and 10's so they can afford to raise prices (already) and move all production back home?
Where are the forum posts and youtube videos about the 'new' UK V30?

My 2024 Marshall Vintage speakers sound absolutely nothing like my 2011 Chinese V30 which sound absolutely nothing like my 2023 Chinese V30.
I'm starting to believe Celestion themselves don't know wtf is going on with their speakers, seems like Kurt-Muller are mixing cone pulp slurry ingredients by "eye", every cone batch sounds different and that's without factoring the tolerance of hand-made production or that the recipe hasn't changes since 1987 (alegedly), yeah right.

 

[Marco2073]

I believe that Celestion has unintentionally changed production over the years, perhaps for production or raw material reasons. Obviously it will be impossible to get a frank answer from Celestion. I think that by moving production to England, things will be better and perhaps production will be more consistent. I think the numbers these years are more modest than 20 years ago, which is why production has been able to move back to England: good for us.

 

[newholland]

its funny that you say that- i honestly think finding a cab or speaker that you really gel with (and/or interacts with your amp and guitar in a way you like) is every bit as difficult as finding a great instrument. i enjoy celestions and all the variety but i dont want the coloration they all seem to have regardless of which one. theyre the sound of rock, for sure.. but i guess that aint what i want. id kinda prefer the sound of a steinway being abused. regardless... to my ears the mist consistent aspect of celestions is a specific harmonic BRTTTTTtTttttt that makes me nuts and they all seem to have it. with absolute consistency