Celestion EVH Greenbacks

[troublehead]

I recently played my Perplex'd through an old Marshall 4x12 filled with these and I was immediately blown away. I immediately ordered a pair for my Splawn cab (one of which arrived yesterday).

I extensively A/B'd it against the regular G12M Reissue (already broken in) last night. Its a no-brainer that the EVH (re-branded Heritage G12M) is the superior speaker. I just wanted to clear up a couple of misconceptions about the Heritage (EVH) Greenback:

1) It is actually rated at 25 watts. Not 20 like the label says. This is a poor decision by Celestion in trying to "dupe" people into thinking they are buying an exact clone of the original 20 watt/15 ohm speaker. IMO, I think this deceptive labeling would actually hurt the sale of these.

2) The Heritage/EVH is the speaker with more low end and articulation. The Reissue is "fuzzier" with more high end. The Heritage is very mid focused but in a very smooth/articulate way. It would easily handle all metal tones short of extreme modern metal (at reasonable volumes of course).

3) The Reissue actually breaks up EARLIER than the Heritage/EVH on the volume knob when set for a clean tone. The Heritage/EVH retains focus at a volume equal to when the Reissue begins to collapse a bit in the low end and become messy.

4) These speakers are a steal at $149 (or less) since they are just re-branded Heritage G12M's (which cost $70 more apiece). Who cares what the speaker looks like when its inside a closed cab. I've actually read people complaining about this

These points are non-debatable (at least with my gear) and I am convinced these are the best speakers for me. In the past I have also used Weber Pre-Rola 1225's, Mojo BV-25M's, WGS Green Berets, Splawn Small Blocks, Eminence Private Jacks, Eminence GB12 (my 2nd favorite but a bit bright), Scumback H75's (haven't tried the M series so its really not a fair comparison), Heritage G12H (yuck!), and Weber Silver Bells (somewhat greenback flavor). Again, the EVH's are at the top of the heap. I can't wait for my other one to get here on Monday

 

[D-Rock]

I LOVED these speakers when I demo'd the EVH 412. I used a JVM 205H in the orange mode. Thanks for your thoughts/review.

 

[Vrad]

I'm intrigued. I think I'm growing tired of my Reissue GB's. They sound good and all, but I think I'm sick of them.

 

[bravedude2]

nice review, very informative. thanks,

 

[Bishop5150]

How did you find out that they were rated at 25 watts and not 20? This has been bugging me. My cabinets manual says it's rated at 100 watts but all the literature about the speaker says it's rated at 20 watts. Last time I checked 20 x 4 = 80. Wouldn't seem logical to have the amp be 100 watts and the cabinet only be 80. I love my ivory EVH cab. I use it with the matching 5150III amp and it's awesome. I'm actually picking up another one in black tolex used for $475 this week to go with my other black 5150III head .

 

[Capulin Overdrive]

the EVH cabs are really nice also!

 

[Meathead]

I'm intrigued. I think I'm growing tired of my Reissue GB's. They sound good and all, but I think I'm sick of them.

I have some heritage greenbacks (the ones that say 20 watts 15 ohm) and they have thicker mids and a smoother top end with less fizz...I like them more than the reissues...the reissues aren't bad though, I like them better than most other speakers.
There's something about the cones they use in China...the greenback reissue has this fizz on the high end...the alnico Blue speaker made in China has it to. The UK Blue and Heritage greenback are smoother.

 

[charveldan]

 

[Vrad]

I'm intrigued. I think I'm growing tired of my Reissue GB's. They sound good and all, but I think I'm sick of them.

I have some heritage greenbacks (the ones that say 20 watts 15 ohm) and they have thicker mids and a smoother top end with less fizz...I like them more than the reissues...the reissues aren't bad though, I like them better than most other speakers.
There's something about the cones they use in China...the greenback reissue has this fizz on the high end...the alnico Blue speaker made in China has it to. The UK Blue and Heritage greenback are smoother.

The Chinese ones are good for about 20-30 minutes... Then you're hungry again...

 

[9ball]

dude- are you the total douche who's always policing the st louis craigslist and posting whenever you think someone's asking too much for their gear?
it IS you isn't it? it has to be you - only someone who hangs out on hcaf constantly would do that man lol
i can just tell it's you by the things you post on there. you're like some grumpy old fart or something aren't you? lol

 

[Meathead]

I'm intrigued. I think I'm growing tired of my Reissue GB's. They sound good and all, but I think I'm sick of them.

I have some heritage greenbacks (the ones that say 20 watts 15 ohm) and they have thicker mids and a smoother top end with less fizz...I like them more than the reissues...the reissues aren't bad though, I like them better than most other speakers.
There's something about the cones they use in China...the greenback reissue has this fizz on the high end...the alnico Blue speaker made in China has it to. The UK Blue and Heritage greenback are smoother.

The Chinese ones are good for about 20-30 minutes... Then you're hungry again...

It's that rice paper.

 

[Vrad]

I'm intrigued. I think I'm growing tired of my Reissue GB's. They sound good and all, but I think I'm sick of them.

I have some heritage greenbacks (the ones that say 20 watts 15 ohm) and they have thicker mids and a smoother top end with less fizz...I like them more than the reissues...the reissues aren't bad though, I like them better than most other speakers.
There's something about the cones they use in China...the greenback reissue has this fizz on the high end...the alnico Blue speaker made in China has it to. The UK Blue and Heritage greenback are smoother.

The Chinese ones are good for about 20-30 minutes... Then you're hungry again...

It's that rice paper.

LOL!
I never knew that the AlNico Blues were made in China... It's just so wrong...

 

[Meathead]

I'm intrigued. I think I'm growing tired of my Reissue GB's. They sound good and all, but I think I'm sick of them.

I have some heritage greenbacks (the ones that say 20 watts 15 ohm) and they have thicker mids and a smoother top end with less fizz...I like them more than the reissues...the reissues aren't bad though, I like them better than most other speakers.
There's something about the cones they use in China...the greenback reissue has this fizz on the high end...the alnico Blue speaker made in China has it to. The UK Blue and Heritage greenback are smoother.

The Chinese ones are good for about 20-30 minutes... Then you're hungry again...

It's that rice paper.

LOL!
I never knew that the AlNico Blues were made in China... It's just so wrong...

The ones that are in the Vox combos, they put that one over on me too....you pay a high premium to Vox for the Blue speaker. I had no idea a few years ago when I bought one. That much of an upcharge for rice paper

 

[Vrad]

I'm intrigued. I think I'm growing tired of my Reissue GB's. They sound good and all, but I think I'm sick of them.

I have some heritage greenbacks (the ones that say 20 watts 15 ohm) and they have thicker mids and a smoother top end with less fizz...I like them more than the reissues...the reissues aren't bad though, I like them better than most other speakers.
There's something about the cones they use in China...the greenback reissue has this fizz on the high end...the alnico Blue speaker made in China has it to. The UK Blue and Heritage greenback are smoother.

The Chinese ones are good for about 20-30 minutes... Then you're hungry again...

It's that rice paper.

LOL!
I never knew that the AlNico Blues were made in China... It's just so wrong...

The ones that are in the Vox combos, they put that one over on me too....you pay a high premium to Vox for the Blue speaker. I had no idea a few years ago when I bought one. That much of an upcharge for rice paper

Yeah no kidding... That's nuts.

 

[Meathead]

I'm intrigued. I think I'm growing tired of my Reissue GB's. They sound good and all, but I think I'm sick of them.

I have some heritage greenbacks (the ones that say 20 watts 15 ohm) and they have thicker mids and a smoother top end with less fizz...I like them more than the reissues...the reissues aren't bad though, I like them better than most other speakers.
There's something about the cones they use in China...the greenback reissue has this fizz on the high end...the alnico Blue speaker made in China has it to. The UK Blue and Heritage greenback are smoother.

The Chinese ones are good for about 20-30 minutes... Then you're hungry again...

It's that rice paper.

LOL!
I never knew that the AlNico Blues were made in China... It's just so wrong...

The ones that are in the Vox combos, they put that one over on me too....you pay a high premium to Vox for the Blue speaker. I had no idea a few years ago when I bought one. That much of an upcharge for rice paper

Yeah no kidding... That's nuts.

Turned me off Vox stuff actually.

 

[Vrad]

I'm intrigued. I think I'm growing tired of my Reissue GB's. They sound good and all, but I think I'm sick of them.

I have some heritage greenbacks (the ones that say 20 watts 15 ohm) and they have thicker mids and a smoother top end with less fizz...I like them more than the reissues...the reissues aren't bad though, I like them better than most other speakers.
There's something about the cones they use in China...the greenback reissue has this fizz on the high end...the alnico Blue speaker made in China has it to. The UK Blue and Heritage greenback are smoother.

The Chinese ones are good for about 20-30 minutes... Then you're hungry again...

It's that rice paper.

LOL!
I never knew that the AlNico Blues were made in China... It's just so wrong...

The ones that are in the Vox combos, they put that one over on me too....you pay a high premium to Vox for the Blue speaker. I had no idea a few years ago when I bought one. That much of an upcharge for rice paper

Yeah no kidding... That's nuts.

Turned me off Vox stuff actually.

Yeah if they're gonna go that route, the speakers should be priced accordingly.

 

[charveldan]

dude- are you the total douche who's always policing the st louis craigslist and posting whenever you think someone's asking too much for their gear?
it IS you isn't it? it has to be you - only someone who hangs out on hcaf constantly would do that man lol
i can just tell it's you by the things you post on there. you're like some grumpy old fart or something aren't you? lol

Sorry, wrong guy, i just look up whores on CL.

 

[richedie]

I am glad I looked up this old thread. I have a Splawn 412 coming and I want light weight speakers for it. I only have 50 watt heads so I wanted ro avoid 50-60 watt speakers although I was considering Celestion Creambacks, Lynchbacks and G12-65s. I think the EVH 25 watt Greenbacks might be the speakers for my 412. Amps are PWE, Bogner Shiva and Splawn Street Rod. I just hope they can handle heavy rock such as Tool or Alice in Chains. I emailed Celestion and they said when using 25 watt Greenbacks, don't go heavier than AC DC. Hmmmmmmm....

 

[FourT6and2]

I am glad I looked up this old thread. I have a Splawn 412 coming and I want light weight speakers for it. I only have 50 watt heads so I wanted ro avoid 50-60 watt speakers although I was considering Celestion Creambacks, Lynchbacks and G12-65s. I think the EVH 25 watt Greenbacks might be the speakers for my 412. Amps are PWE, Bogner Shiva and Splawn Street Rod. I just hope they can handle heavy rock such as Tool or Alice in Chains. I emailed Celestion and they said when using 25 watt Greenbacks, don't go heavier than AC DC. Hmmmmmmm....

As far as I know the speakers in Adam Jones' Marshall 4x12 are Greenbacks. If you want that kind of 90's hard rock sound, Greenbacks G12M are the way to go. And if your amps are 50 watts, you'll be fine.

 

[zewango]

Street Rod works great with EVH speakers. Shiva V30's all the way.