Getting a couple new V30's

[RaceU4her]

Damn this sounds like a scary story

 

[anomaly]

It is all hit and miss with the 6k tamed or not. The guy that did the massive comparisons got new ones that sounded great. Then he bought another new one 6 months later. It had some of the fizz again, but not as much as his worst v30 in the collection. He compared the batch number on the speaker cones of both newer ones which were different. He concluded it’s more the batch of the cone material than the year that matters

Either way, i'm sure they'll get some good use. I've got some 2007 V30's in that Avatar cab right now and it's got some of that fizz, i don't mind it too much with my Mesa Mark IV.

 

[anomaly]

Completely overhyped, totally agree. While I agree that the speaker is crucial, way more crucial than me people believed until recently, the hype train on the v30s from different eras thing is drastically overhyped. I can tell you for those that listened to literally any record out of audiohammer from 2004 to present, none were done with these supposed “golden era” v30s. Many were done with 2010 and 2011 and 2008 era Mesa cabs: the exact era that people think “sucked”… it’s just vastly overhyped.

I firmly believe it’s a lottery. This is why I’m not against buying IR’s of the same cab from different eras, or buying the same speaker and multiples of them to see which I like best. THIS Is the way to do it. Sometimes you get lucky, other times you don’t. In the IR world, I wish plugins like nollys Cali cab plugin with multiple cabs from different eras is a GREAT idea. Whether or not that “era” is better, who knows, but it’s nice to have different flavors of the same speaker, becsuse they DO all sound drastically different at times. Josh Middletons IR pack is another great example of this. You get 4 Mesa cabs that stretch from 2000, to 2012 or so, and they all sound GREAT.

On that note for whatever it’s worth, I generally feel for whatever reason Marshall celestion vintage speakers are far more consistent. Could be wrong, but I think they are. The early ones from 87-89 seem to be pretty consistent, and then around 91-92 they seem to all be different, but the same up until now if that makes sense.

Have you compared 8 ohm Marshall Vintage speakers with 8 ohm Celestion V30's, how different do they sound to you cause a lot of people claim they are the same speaker?

 

[anomaly]

From my research it seems that the cones used in the V30s between roughly mid 2021 to again roughly mid 2022 generated less 5 to 6 kHz content making them sound smoother and a lot like the V30s from 2000 to 2003 which had a similar character. Not sure what exactly caused that. I suspect it could have to do with the stiffness of the cone. It could be that the cellulose for those cone batches came from some other source or maybe KM changed something about the production process briefy. We can only speculate. Two later 2022 V30s I had sounded pretty much like the ones I tested from 2008 to 2020.
For what it's worth, I think the "new V30" as well as the 2000-2003 V30 thing has been somewhat overhyped. Of course, I myself have profited from this hype but still. The non "smooth" V30s that make up the majority of V30s out in the wild still largely sound pretty great to me and loads of great sounding records have been recorded using them. I am absolutely guilty of going down these kind of rabbit holes but at the end of the day, does it really matter that much? Probably not.

I'm just hoping I luck out, I got a couple of really good sounding 2006 speakers I'm gonna match them with. I really like all V30's too, well almost all of the V30's I've heard and owned.

 

[anomaly]

There is zero difference in a “new” v30…. Celestion should have sued glenn frickers fat ass like they almost did because of that video. It’s all horseshit. It’s a lottery, plain and simple.

What i'm hoping for is to get some made from 2021 - 2022. I'm hoping that's what they send me cause they have tamed 6k frequencies. If they're not from that time period, no big deal at all.

 

[VESmedic]

Have you compared 8 ohm Marshall Vintage speakers with 8 ohm Celestion V30's, how different do they sound to you cause a lot of people claim they are the same speaker?

The Marshall celestion vintage and the v30 sound nothing alike to me at all. The difference between them, while they don’t sound the same, will have similar characteristics that you would see on 8ohm vs 16 ohm speakers: 16ohm speakers are generall Brighter, slightly more scooped, more low end. 8 ohm speakers are generally more mid forward, and not as much low end or highs. That’s all in general but that’s definitely a pretty safe bet of what you will find.

As far as the difference between Marshall and Mesa, the Marshalls are almost always more low end heavy, higher upper highs, less spikey innthe 1-2k area ( definitely this), and more scooped.


While there’s no absolutes, there’s definitely areas I almost always fix with eq depending on the speaker/cab. Mesa cabs “generally” always have some weird hyper resonant peak around 650hz that I’ll take out to get rid of the wah/quack, 2.3k always seems to have a real bad whistle or so there around there, and then often around 3.4K-3.6k is some serious harshness and noise. Again, not always, but chances are, these are good places to find your problems with Mesa speakers/cabs.

In regards to your comment about less fizzy in the 6k area, I don’t find that to be the case personally, but maybe for some people? 6k for me is almost never a problem with Mesa v30s. With Marshall v30s I see problems about 4K and may scoop out some in this area as well as up high there MAYBE, but it just depends. 6k is generally a pleasing frequency range to me, that’s where the pick attack comes from and where it really cuts through.

 

[anomaly]

The Marshall celestion vintage and the v30 sound nothing alike to me at all. The difference between them, while they don’t sound the same, will have similar characteristics that you would see on 8ohm vs 16 ohm speakers: 16ohm speakers are generall Brighter, slightly more scooped, more low end. 8 ohm speakers are generally more mid forward, and not as much low end or highs. That’s all in general but that’s definitely a pretty safe bet of what you will find.

As far as the difference between Marshall and Mesa, the Marshalls are almost always more low end heavy, higher upper highs, less spikey innthe 1-2k area ( definitely this), and more scooped.


While there’s no absolutes, there’s definitely areas I almost always fix with eq depending on the speaker/cab. Mesa cabs “generally” always have some weird hyper resonant peak around 650hz that I’ll take out to get rid of the wah/quack, 2.3k always seems to have a real bad whistle or so there around there, and then often around 3.4K-3.6k is some serious harshness and noise. Again, not always, but chances are, these are good places to find your problems with Mesa speakers/cabs.

In regards to your comment about less fizzy in the 6k area, I don’t find that to be the case personally, but maybe for some people? 6k for me is almost never a problem with Mesa v30s. With Marshall v30s I see problems about 4K and may scoop out some in this area as well as up high there MAYBE, but it just depends. 6k is generally a pleasing frequency range to me, that’s where the pick attack comes from and where it really cuts through.

Well that's the main difference in these 2001 - 2004 V30's, a little reduction in the 5 - 6K area. Seems to really smooth them out and make them less harsh with some amplifiers, especially people using 5150's (I don't own one). Although, with my main amp I've never really had much of a complaint with those frequencies either, i just wanna hear what all the fuss is about because V30's from 2021 to about mid 2022 have these same smoother characteristics. I think they'll blend well with my 2006 V30's, which sound excellent. The 2007 V30's I have with them right now are not quite as sweet sounding, so they are the ones I'm gonna replace and hope for the best.

I find a lot of cut and attack comes from the 2 - 4K frequencies, but ya, they can be harsh as well. In my experience 5 - 6K can make a tone a little more hi-fi sounding for a lack of a better definition, but not in excess.

The presence control on a Mark IV is really weird, it seems to affect more than just those 5k and upper frequencies, it seems to affect all of the upper frequencies in that amp, from about 1.5 - 2K and up and it adds lots of cut. It's not like the presence control on other Mark series amps like the III, which can make the amp really spikey if set too high. I can set the presence all the way up and get a good tone out of a Mark IV just by reducing the 6600 EQ slider a bit.

 

[VESmedic]

Well that's the main difference in these 2001 - 2004 V30's, a little reduction in the 5 - 6K area. Seems to really smooth them out and make them less harsh with some amplifiers, especially people using 5150's (I don't own one). Although, with my main amp I've never really had much of a complaint with those frequencies either, i just wanna hear what all the fuss is about because V30's from 2021 to about mid 2022 have these same smoother characteristics. I think they'll blend well with my 2006 V30's, which sound excellent. The 2007 V30's I have with them right now are not quite as sweet sounding, so they are the ones I'm gonna replace and hope for the best.

I find a lot of cut and attack comes from the 2 - 4K frequencies, but ya, they can be harsh as well. In my experience 5 - 6K can make a tone a little more hi-fi sounding for a lack of a better definition, but not in excess.

The presence control on a Mark IV is really weird, it seems to affect more than just those 5k and upper frequencies, it seems to affect all of the upper frequencies in that amp, from about 1.5 - 2K and up and it adds lots of cut. It's not like the presence control on other Mark series amps like the III, which can make the amp really spikey if set too high. I can set the presence all the way up and get a good tone out of a Mark IV just by reducing the 6600 EQ slider a bit.

You are totally right about the 2-4K area for sure as far as pick attack, no doubt. I just think above 5k you get that sizzle and squishy distorted thing on palm mutes especially that if you cut out really takes away from the vibe of the tone and the “lively ness” of it I guess you could say. A good move too is to use a shelf at 2k to brighten or darken a ton and make it sound more natural. It works extremely well for brightening up a tone; a nice .5-1db boost on a 2k shelf can drastically affect the tone and open/brighten it up in a good way.

 

[VESmedic]

@anomaly gimme a few, I’ll post clips of my Mesa cab, and my Marshall cab with my Diezel Herbert, using the same DI etc so you can hear the differences. Listen to the high end and the midrange, that’s where it’s apparent.

 

[anomaly]

@anomaly gimme a few, I’ll post clips of my Mesa cab, and my Marshall cab with my Diezel Herbert, using the same DI etc so you can hear the differences. Listen to the high end and the midrange, that’s where it’s apparent.

OK. Too bad you couldn't do it in the same cab??

 

[VESmedic]

OK. Too bad you couldn't do it in the same cab??

Man I actually have a Marshall BV cab with 2 Marshall celestion vintages, and 2 16ohm Mesa v30s surprisingly, I just don’t have it wired up yet!


For what it’s worth, I absolutely fucking love the Mesa 16ohm v30. I had one in an EVH cab for awhile and it crushes. Absolutely awesome. Every IR I heard of this combo I absolutely loved so I did it and sure enough, one of my favorites.

 

[cragginshred]

Hopefully these new V30's are as good as some people say they are, or if it really just is like winning the lottery?? I shall give my judgement when they come. I guess it's the 5 - 6k region that is a little tamed in these new ones which can sound a bit fizzy with the wrong amp, also if they're anything like the old 2000 - 2004 speakers there should be a bit of a bump in the 2-3k area as well, I think?

I got a pair of 2006 V30's in my Avatar cab that I'm going to match with these. They're actually really good sounding V30's despite the bad year, i've got a couple more V30's in that cab from 2007 which definitely have that 5-6k spike. They seem to sound a bit messy and undefined compared to the 2006 speakers.

I have 2 V 30's taken from a Friedman 4x12 cab if anyone wants a slammin deal on them!!

2 for $100 plus shipping which should not be too bad because I have a n act

 

[anomaly]

I have 2 V 30's taken from a Friedman 4x12 cab if anyone wants a slammin deal on them!!

2 for $100 plus shipping which should not be too bad because I have a n act

I might be selling off the 2007 speakers I have too, or maybe the new ones?... depends on how things go.

 

[anomaly]

Damn this sounds like a scary story

You talking about my story about getting new speakers?

 

[Bram576]

The Marshall celestion vintage and the v30 sound nothing alike to me at all. The difference between them, while they don’t sound the same, will have similar characteristics that you would see on 8ohm vs 16 ohm speakers: 16ohm speakers are generall Brighter, slightly more scooped, more low end. 8 ohm speakers are generally more mid forward, and not as much low end or highs. That’s all in general but that’s definitely a pretty safe bet of what you will find.

As far as the difference between Marshall and Mesa, the Marshalls are almost always more low end heavy, higher upper highs, less spikey innthe 1-2k area ( definitely this), and more scooped.

Marshall vintage is my favorite now. Also didn’t realize all the stuff about 16 ohm vs 8 ohm until recently. I’m definitely more of a 16 ohm guy. Not a fan of the more “warm” sound from an 8.

 

[Spaceboy]

Why would Celestion sue Glenn Fricker over a video, whether it’s bullshit or not, that promoted current production V30s and would only potentially increase sales?

 

[anomaly]

Why would Celestion sue Glenn Fricker over a video, whether it’s bullshit or not, that promoted current production V30s and would only potentially increase sales?

This is true, Celestion can only benefit from what Glen has said about the current V30. Who cares about what he's said about their past speakers, the past is the past. Business is all about now.

 

[VESmedic]

Why would Celestion sue Glenn Fricker over a video, whether it’s bullshit or not, that promoted current production V30s and would only potentially increase sales?

Couldn’t tell ya, all I know is what I was told. But who in the actual fuck wants to be associated with Glenn booger eating ficker? I’d probably sue him too if I could.

 

[dave74]

IMO it's all about matching anyways. In some cases the reduced treble of some V30s might hit the spot, and in other cases the increased trebles of some V30s might hit the spot, Cab sizes and construction vary from brand to brand just like everything else in the chain. Some need a sharper sounding speaker, and some need a smoother sounding speaker. Then there can be a big difference between what works best for a close-miced recorded tone, and what works best for a optimal live band un-miced cabinet tone.

 

[Mr. Willy]

Couldn’t tell ya, all I know is what I was told. But who in the actual fuck wants to be associated with Glenn booger eating ficker? I’d probably sue him too if I could.

It’d be awesome to see that douche bag get sued.