Copy/Pasta from GAB. And I agree that they tend to tame that Peavey fizziness.
haha nice. I was just gonna post the links to those clips here.
I have 2 V12s and 2 V30s in my 412 right now, and I've had Vet30s paired with V12s in the past (never had Retro30s, but they should be fairly similar to the Vet30s). Vet30s are V30s with less of a mid spike, and Retro30s are supposed to be closer to V30s, I think. Anyway...
I find V30s to sound really thin, nasally and washy in the high end on their own. The low end lacks for me. I find V12s to be very balanced and neutral sounding speakers with lots of wattage. They don't break up and the remain tight and clear as loud as you can push them (at least as loud as I have pushed them). They punch and cut and they sound nice and full. They dont flub out and they dont have any harsh or unpleasant frequencies. They are VERY versatile and excel with everything I've played through them. They are my go to speaker, and will always be my go to speaker. Probably are the biggest part of my tone. I know Eminence totes them as a V30 knock off kinda thing, but they arent even in the same category in terms of sound, IMO. V12s shit ALL OVER V30s all day long.
Having said that, pairing them actually sounds really good, if thats the kind of thing you want. I find the V30s mixed with the V12s provide all the positives of both speakers...so you get the low end and clarity from the V12s and you get the cut and grind from the V30s. VERY heavy and angry fucking sound!! I dig them paired, but I would never play V30s on their own. I've played V12s on their own for years, and will always be happy doing so.