Retro 30 vs Vintage 30 vs Veteran 30

[fluff191]

Veteran 30 is closer to a G75 in my opinion. Very scooped. Retro 30 is closer to a Vintage 30.

 

[D-Rock]

To me , this is total BS. I must disagree
Chna V30 fizzy/buzzy ? Did you compared the broken in speaker ? Mesa speaker was older ?
The main problem is that the people complain about China V30 (harshness, fizzyness etc) but the speaker was not broken in ... Yes , new speaker sounds like a shit , fcking paper cardboard but after it's really smooth , punchy and ideal for chugging and leads.
People just don't like the idea when something is made in CHINA. But in plain test they prefer China V30 than UK (I mean regular , not mesa or marshall).

Mesa V30 has its own flavor , also great speaker. Not better,worse - just different.

Yeah, no complaints here. Like I said, I use them all. One of my main cabs has two Chinese V30's on top and two Vet30's in the bottom. I like having the brighter speakers on top and the less bright ones on the bottom. All my speakers have a lot of hours on them too. So relax, it has nothing to do with the countries they are made in. They all sound different. They aren't all the same speakers.

Yup , no stress here.
I'm just little confused why people describe the V30 China as harshy/fizzy etc. Marshall V30 - yes , but not China V30.
I played my cab ENGL 2x12 before I bought it , so my opinion is not biased. This cab(or any ENGL with V30) is great pair to 6505 series.

I heard (but not played) Vet30 in mesa 2x12(buddy bought it on ebay) and well , not my taste. Too smooth , not enough aggression

All I can say that both V30(mesa and china) are great speakers. It's just like blondes vs brunettes , just different taste

I don't think the Chine V30 os a fizzy or buzz speaker in general. Just in comparison to the Vet30, UK and Retro30. I do enjoy the raspy bite of the China speaker. But definitely with some amps more than others. Just got to find the right amp/speaker pairing.

+1.

Mesa cabs are still equipped with UK V30(designed by mesa) ? Recently I noticed that they rate their cabs (4x12) as 240w , previously it was 280 ...

Yup still UK made, I noticed the change in wattage too. No real explanation for that. Probably just for market consistency reasons.

 

[blackba]

So does the Marshall v30 every lose its harshness or fizziness? I have one, but it came extra with a cab and I have never used it. I was going to put it in a peavey classic 30. On another forum everyone thought it would be an improvement over the stock blue marvel.

 

[Mr. Willy]

I had a quad of Veteran 30's in my Bogner cab. It was a bit to soft for me, and I found myself missing the bite and presence of the V30. I put two V30's in with two Veteran 30's and I got what I was looking for. I still want to replace the Warehouse speakers with some more Celestions though. The Veteran 30 is just too soft/relaxed for my tastes.

 

[slaveunit]

You cant just say a Mesa V30 is a UK one. Its voiced differently. The Hellatone 60Ls are voiced even more differently than those being that they are Celestion V30MF drivers. The mids are completely shifted on them.

 

[richedie]

I currently own and use Vet30's, Retro 30's, China V30's, and UK V30's.

Vet30 - Smoother mids, somewhat dark in comparison, handles a bright crunchy amps gain nicely.
Retro30 - Deep, tight lows. More mids than the Vet30 but less nasal sting than a regular V30. Sharp highs, but not excessive.
China V30 - Buzzy/fizzy when pushed. Gnawing/biting mids. Conservative lows and highs.
UK V30's - Clearer when pushed, upfront mids without the gnawing/biting effect. No buzz/fizz when pushed.

My favorite are Chinese built V30s which are better built than the English one. No buzz or fizz at all with Chinese V30s, none at all. Mine are thick, smooth and clear.

People should forget about Chinese vs English.

 

[soc_monki]

all i can say is my Retro 30s are awesome. my favorite speakers. when i have the extra coin im going to buy 2 more and swap the two crappy speakers out of my Laney cab, so ill have 2 of the WGS 75s and 2 Retro 30s in it. in my Marshall i two G12T75s and two Retro 30s...it smokes!

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

Very interested in these retro 30's and what they bring to the table. I hear a lot of reviews about WGS missing the punch or detail of their celestion counterparts but these always seem to get fairly good reviews. Wish there were more clips available!

 

[Spaceboy]

The Veterans I had sounded more farty than my vintage 30s

 

[richedie]

Vintage 30s are the king of peakers for me! Followed by Greenbacks, Creambacks and Lynchbacks.

 

[midnightlaundry]

I'm getting ready to buy.

How much of a difference between Celestion V30's, and WGS Retro 30's besides the price!?

I can get a quad WGS shipped to my door for $276 less! Are the Celestions $276 bux better?

 

[EyesOfTheSouth]

Not a fan of the Retro 30's. They are grittier than a well broken in Chinese V30 and have a very strange mid Q.

If you don't mind 8 ohm, then the Celestion G12-60's that Mojotone are selling are only $80. Otherwise, the Hellatone 60's (V30's) from Avatar are $99. Both a much better speaker than the Retro 30 IMO.

BTW.....I've compared them all in an Orange 1x12 closed back cab.

 

[midnightlaundry]

Did the deed. Hellatone 60's.. They sound pretty good. I'm glad I went with the real thing.

 

[metalmaniac93]

V30's all the way and there are no real differences between the UK and Chinese. I have had both and A/Bd them and as long as they are broken in, they both sound equally great IMO. I have had Bogner cabs with Chinese V0s and they sound great. Currently have older broken in UK V30s in my Cameron 412 cab. I got these from my friend in a trade and they sound great in this cab. I never tried any Warehouse speakers so I cannot comment.

 

[junkerde]

I also have a chinese made v30, yes it was harsh as heck when I first got it but broke it in, got smoother. Im still in the process though, as with any speaker.

Also found this thread for comparison,
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=89044

in a blind test alot of people preferred the chinese ones. Now im not saying one is better than the other, they have a bit of a different flavor, but one doesnt really SUCK over the other.

 

[richedie]

I currently own and use Vet30's, Retro 30's, China V30's, and UK V30's.

Vet30 - Smoother mids, somewhat dark in comparison, handles a bright crunchy amps gain nicely.
Retro30 - Deep, tight lows. More mids than the Vet30 but less nasal sting than a regular V30. Sharp highs, but not excessive.
China V30 - Buzzy/fizzy when pushed. Gnawing/biting mids. Conservative lows and highs.
UK V30's - Clearer when pushed, upfront mids without the gnawing/biting effect. No buzz/fizz when pushed.

So not true! I have chinese built Vintage 30s that are well broken in Hellatones in my Bogner 212 and thy are very smooth, rich and thick, and nothing harsh or fizzy abot them - nothing.

I also have plenty of broken in V30s (I started playing in the mid 80s and have goten some nice V30s) made in the UK and none of them sound any better than the Chinese ones in my Bogner 212.

 

[richedie]

I currently own and use Vet30's, Retro 30's, China V30's, and UK V30's.

Vet30 - Smoother mids, somewhat dark in comparison, handles a bright crunchy amps gain nicely.
Retro30 - Deep, tight lows. More mids than the Vet30 but less nasal sting than a regular V30. Sharp highs, but not excessive.
China V30 - Buzzy/fizzy when pushed. Gnawing/biting mids. Conservative lows and highs.
UK V30's - Clearer when pushed, upfront mids without the gnawing/biting effect. No buzz/fizz when pushed.

I have Chinese Vintage 30s and they are fantastic! No fuzz or buzz anywhere!

 

[FourT6and2]

If you compare the Chinese V30 and Mesa (UK) V30 side by side, you will hear a fairly obvious difference. I have both. I prefer the latter.

 

[FourT6and2]

I also have a chinese made v30, yes it was harsh as heck when I first got it but broke it in, got smoother. Im still in the process though, as with any speaker.

Also found this thread for comparison,
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=89044

in a blind test alot of people preferred the chinese ones. Now im not saying one is better than the other, they have a bit of a different flavor, but one doesnt really SUCK over the other.

The OP in that thread posted another thread with photos of these two speakers. And from the speaker codes, they are both Chinese if you are to believe the information on the net. But at the same time, Scumback Speakers posted up saying that if it has a "50" on the sticker, it's made in China. If it doesn't, it's made in England. And the other speaker that doesn't have the 50 on it, which should be made in England, has the Chinese speaker code. So something's amiss. But the other difference between the two speakers he used for that recording is that one is 8 ohms, the other is 16 ohms. Though, from the photos, there were slight manufacturing differences between the two. So not sure what was going on there.

T3903 Standard Chinese 8 ohm
T3904 Standard Chinese 16 ohm
T3987 Marshall OEM 16 ohm
T4416 Mesa OEM 16 ohm
T4335 Mesa OEM 8 ohm

 

[sahlomonic]

If you compare the Chinese V30 and Mesa (UK) V30 side by side, you will hear a fairly obvious difference. I have both. I prefer the latter.

As far as V30s are concerned, isn't the Mesa V30 different than the UK V30?

I've played my Earhart (Cornford MK50HII) through a Bogner V30 cab and a Mesa V30 cab at a couple gigs, and I did feel that the Mesa cab felt a bit warmer. I have also done separate recording sessions with that amp through an Orange 2x12 and a Chinese V30 loaded Avatar OS2x12. Now it really isn't a fair comparison since the cabs could be just as big of a variable as the speakers.

I think an ideal combination would be Mesa V30 speakers in a Bogner 4x12 cab.

Also, I remember reading that the real difference between Chinese and UK made V30s is the frame. The cones are supposedly the same and made at the same factory, but the Chinese frame is stamped while the UK frame is cast. Whether or not that's true is unknown to me, but it would certainly make sense.