G12H30 and 70th Anniversary 30

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killertone

killertone

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I recently played a cab loaded with 70th anny speakers and want to know if the G12H30 is similar or totally different. Anyone with experience please chime in.
 
The G12H30's are darker, deeper sounding/ more depth, warmer and a little more syrupy/ thicker slightly loose give if that makes any sense. The 70th's sound more brittle/ brighter to me, but maybe punchier/ in your face like a 75hz blackback, and may have more crunch in the highs. It's been awhile so just going on what I remember. IMO they are totally different.
 
I find the 70th anniversary too bright and harsh (with a Plexi circuit). I did try a G12H30 cab once with a Marshall hardwired 1959 and it was a lot warmer but still rockin'.
 
I use 70th and heritage 55hz. I've never tried the heritage 75hz. The 70th aren't very similar to the heritage 55hz at all. The 55hz have bigger lows and low mids with thicker, meaty mids. They also have a slight spike in the high treble that can be irritating to some people. The 70th have good low-mids and strong upper mids with a dip in the middle compared to the 55hz. The 70th can get very ice-picky. Both are tight, but the 55 hz has a much bigger bottom.

I have one 4x12 with just the 70th. I have another 4x12 with 70th and 55hz in an x-pattern. I keep going back and forth, but right now I prefer the combination of the two.
 
I've used just about every G12H30 variant out there.......70th Anniv, Emi. Wizard, Scumback H75, Mojo BV-30H, Weber 1230-55hz, WGS Reaper, WGS Reaper 55hz, and Reaper HP.

I haven't used the Celestion Heritage H30, but the WGS Reaper HP is my favorite of the above by a good margin. I didn't like any of the 55hz versions I used because they sounded too thick/smooth to my ears. The 70th Anniv is the polar opposite.........extremely harsh/bitey in the high mids and highs with a big scoop in the center mids. The Reaper HP is the perfect compromise in my opinion and combines the good qualities of both.........plus you get higher handling power.
 
So it seems that you guys think that the 70th have a harsh top end. The cab I played loaded with 4 of them had a sweet top end. Maybe it was the amp?

I am looking to tame some brightness in front loaded V30 cabs by mixing either the 70th or the G12H30 with them. So maybe the 70th is not the way to go if it is bright? I am sooooo confused. :doh:
 
Id like to think I'm pretty familiar with the 70th anni h30 speaker. I got a quad when they first came out and they are one of my favorite celestions to come out in a long time. I started getting curious about them when Vic over at the Plex Palace raved about them and I also remember Mark cameron also seemed to dig them as well IIRC.

With that said, Based on my experiances I had the EXACT opposite experiance. I think the 70th anni's are warmer then the Heritage series and mine are most definitely Darker then the Heritages that Ive played. I have not noticed anything harsh about them at all, so I'm kind of at a loss as to why some people would think that they are bright or harsh but I'm aslo going by the amps that Ive used through them which seemed to work really well.(and you NEED TO TAKE THE CAB USED INTO CONSIDERATION!!) Ive had the same tonal experiance when using the 70th H30's through the cameron cabs ive tried and I can honestly say that My h30 loaded cab darkened up any amp. That being said, as soon as I heard that they were releasing the Heritage series I knew that I needed to try them and even though I liked them, I prefered the 70th anni to the Heritage.

On another note, Dave has original h30's and the anni's don't sound like them IMHO. The originals KILL and the 70th's have there own thing going on.

Just my 0.02 and based strictly on my experiance
 
All I know about this subject is they used to use the '422' bass cones on those speakers, now they don't. People that like the old style do not like the new speakers. I haven't heard the 2 in person to tell however.
 
Gainfreak":2l1i61dg said:
Id like to think I'm pretty familiar with the 70th anni h30 speaker. I got a quad when they first came out and they are one of my favorite celestions to come out in a long time. I started getting curious about them when Vic over at the Plex Palace raved about them and I also remember Mark cameron also seemed to dig them as well IIRC.

With that said, Based on my experiances I had the EXACT opposite experiance. I think the 70th anni's are warmer then the Heritage series and mine are most definitely Darker then the Heritages that Ive played. I have not noticed anything harsh about them at all, so I'm kind of at a loss as to why some people would think that they are bright or harsh but I'm aslo going by the amps that Ive used through them which seemed to work really well.(and you NEED TO TAKE THE CAB USED INTO CONSIDERATION!!) Ive had the same tonal experiance when using the 70th H30's through the cameron cabs ive tried and I can honestly say that My h30 loaded cab darkened up any amp. That being said, as soon as I heard that they were releasing the Heritage series I knew that I needed to try them and even though I liked them, I prefered the 70th anni to the Heritage.

On another note, Dave has original h30's and the anni's don't sound like them IMHO. The originals KILL and the 70th's have there own thing going on.

Just my 0.02 and based strictly on my experiance


Yup, this is my experience as well. I still have an Egnater cab with 'em. Great speakers, Cameron fav, Vics and Mike Soldano's favorite Celestion as well.
 
My cab has the 70th anni's....nothing harsh or spikey about them :confused:
 
Different runs of the 70th Anniv. H30s sounded different since they debuted in the mid 90's, so they have tweaked the formula at some point. And thats not including the Heritage ones, originals, etc. H30s are some of the most varied models in the Celestion lineup.
 
I like the 70th Anni H30's a lot...they are brighter when they are new, they need a good break in. But they are no brighter in the highs than the RI Greenback and have thicker, more complex mids.

On that note, I actually prefer the RI Greenbacks (made in UK ones that I have from the 90's) over the more expensive Heritage Greenback that they make now in the UK.
 
Randy Van Sykes":3i4eyfbf said:
I like the 70th Anni H30's a lot...they are brighter when they are new, they need a good break in. But they are no brighter in the highs than the RI Greenback and have thicker, more complex mids.

On that note, I actually prefer the RI Greenbacks (made in UK ones that I have from the 90's) over the more expensive Heritage Greenback that they make now in the UK.

That's been my experience with the anni G12H30's as well, they need a good break in. I like the chime and warm buttery sound of the anni G12H30's (purchased used, but were avatar Hellatone 30's). I get a sound out of the anni G12H30's that I don't hear in other speakers. While I like the Scumback H75, it has smoother highs and much less of the chime, they just sound significantly different. On the anni G12H30's since they do have a good deal of highs, on some amps they are a bit harsh in the high ends, sometimes just tweaking the EQ really helps.
 
I have the hellatone version of the 70th Annie installed in my 1974x and to me it sounds very bright. That can be a good thing with dark or compressed amps like bogners but with my Marshall's it can be to harsh with the high end.
 
Gainfreak":36x1a7tu said:
Id like to think I'm pretty familiar with the 70th anni h30 speaker. I got a quad when they first came out and they are one of my favorite celestions to come out in a long time. I started getting curious about them when Vic over at the Plex Palace raved about them and I also remember Mark cameron also seemed to dig them as well IIRC.

With that said, Based on my experiances I had the EXACT opposite experiance. I think the 70th anni's are warmer then the Heritage series and mine are most definitely Darker then the Heritages that Ive played. I have not noticed anything harsh about them at all, so I'm kind of at a loss as to why some people would think that they are bright or harsh but I'm aslo going by the amps that Ive used through them which seemed to work really well.(and you NEED TO TAKE THE CAB USED INTO CONSIDERATION!!) Ive had the same tonal experiance when using the 70th H30's through the cameron cabs ive tried and I can honestly say that My h30 loaded cab darkened up any amp. That being said, as soon as I heard that they were releasing the Heritage series I knew that I needed to try them and even though I liked them, I prefered the 70th anni to the Heritage.

On another note, Dave has original h30's and the anni's don't sound like them IMHO. The originals KILL and the 70th's have there own thing going on.

Just my 0.02 and based strictly on my experiance

This si what I thought but maybe the variation that thegame is talking about is why the opinions are so polar opposite. I have played them before and thought they were darker by far than say a V30. The ENGL Retro cab sounded killer and it was not bright in any way at all.

Ended up snagging some Hellatone 30s used so we shall see. Gonna mix them in a V30 cab.
 
killertone":jv0tkwy2 said:
This si what I thought but maybe the variation that thegame is talking about is why the opinions are so polar opposite. I have played them before and thought they were darker by far than say a V30. The ENGL Retro cab sounded killer and it was not bright in any way at all.

Ended up snagging some Hellatone 30s used so we shall see. Gonna mix them in a V30 cab.

Good luck with the Hellatone 30s, but my old 70th Anniv. H30s were way brighter and icepickier than any V30, even after close to 100 hrs of pounding them hard. The high end sounded like scratchy sandpaper.

Dave's old H30s that everyone raves about have the 444, 55 hz bass cone. The Heritage ones do as well, but 70th and all Hellatones do not. The 444 cone ones are not as scooped, therefore have a better midrange texture which makes them the better version IMO.
 
I had some late 70's Blackback H30's (55hz) and they were extremely dark sounding. People say the G12-65's are smooth/dark sounding, but my H30's were WAAAAY darker than any G12-65 i ever tried.

I personally much prefer V30's and G12M-25's over the H30's i had.
 
+1 for the 70th being ice-picky.

I had one in a Mesa 2x12 w/ a Vintage 30, broken in, and did not like it one bit. V30s, Classic 80s, and Greenbacks - yes, 70th anny - no.
 
Wow, the cab I played that was loaded with all 70th annys did not have one bit of ice picky high end at all. It was super sweet on the top end. Fuck it. Gonna give it a go.
 
Gainfreak":351lvna6 said:
With that said, Based on my experiances I had the EXACT opposite experiance. I think the 70th anni's are warmer then the Heritage series and mine are most definitely Darker then the Heritages that Ive played. I have not noticed anything harsh about them at all, so I'm kind of at a loss as to why some people would think that they are bright or harsh but I'm aslo going by the amps that Ive used through them which seemed to work really well.(and you NEED TO TAKE THE CAB USED INTO CONSIDERATION!!)
+1 This. The below is based off of each speaker completely broken in, trying them with the same amps, isolated by themselves. The Heritage line take a considerably long time to fully break in.
Cabinet pairings aside, my ears hear the G12H30 Heritage (55c/s) as being brighter overall than the 70thAnniv speaker. The high end (high E string) of the 70thAnniv can be less forgiving than the Heritage (55c/s) similar to what the game has found when not fully broken in. For example, the 70thAnniv speaker I have that has been partially broken in is less forgiving than one that is fully broken in. I have found with the right cab and dialing in of the amp that can be tamed and more forgiving. The high end on the Heritage (55c/s) is a bit softer, more forgiving, not quite as loud, but close to the 70thAnniv. The bottom end on the Heritage (55c/s) is not as bass heavy as the 70thAnniv (the 70thAnniv has deeper bass content) and is a little tighter and more focused sounding, perhaps a bit brighter than the Celestion 70thAnniv. I found the 70thAnniv to have thicker, fuller mid-range content more rounder than the Heritage (55c/s/).
The 70thAnniv and V30(Chinese?) have the same sensitivity levels. What amp and cab are planning on using them with? Good luck!
 
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