Tell me about the Celestion G12-80 speakers

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Bad.Seed

Bad.Seed

Well-known member
So, pleasant surprise today.
I bought a used Blackstar S1 oversized cab from GC for $360. It showed up today. I noticed the screws on the back had some wear and the one handle was placed on the cab upside down. Clear signs someone has been in the cab before.

Supposed to have plain Jane V30 speakers in it, so imagine my surprise and delight to find 4 of these bad boys:
429592559_1137539167603554_8043481157931361141_n.jpg


I checked the cone, it's a 1777. I have an old JCM 800 cab that has a quad as well, but it's not wired correctly and I've been too busy to rewire it since I got it. I believe Marshall only used the 444 cone version, but It's quite possible I'm totally wrong.

Anyways, first playthrough - VERY round mids, rolled off top end. Cool speaker for sure. Curious on the full history of them, if anyone knows?

I'll be starting my own IR company in the very near future, so I may drop a test IR in here for folks to try of these once I get rolling, Any knowledge is appreciated!!
 
I think the gk85 and the 100s are even the same speaker, irrc. Something about marketing.
I think @Arch Stanton was talking about these 80s not too long ago, but I could be mistaken. He may know the history.
 
If you like these 1777s you will love the 444s. The latter have much angrier and aggressive mids. I urge you to get that JCM 800 cab fixed up and try them out. I know a few people looking for 444s so let me know if you'd like to pass them on. Thanks!
 
thegame said:
If you like these 1777s you will love the 444s. The latter have much angrier and aggressive mids. I urge you to get that JCM 800 cab fixed up and try them out. I know a few people looking for 444s so let me know if you'd like to pass them on. Thanks!
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I'm confused. You know of some 444 versions for sale?
 
Weird that youtube recommended me one of Kyle's videos about the fireball 100 as the first video on the home page directly after looking at this thread. Not even signed in there. I was listening to Slipknot before that happened. @Bad.Seed are you in Slipknot? :ROFLMAO:
 
braintheory said:
I'm confused. You know of some 444 versions for sale?
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There's a few sets on Reverb right now, albeit grossly overpriced. Be aware that there are other oddball G12-80s out there with cones other than 1777s or 444s as well. Avoid those and stick to the 444s in your search.
 
thegame said:
There's a few sets on Reverb right now, albeit grossly overpriced. Be aware that there are other oddball G12-80s out there with cones other than 1777s or 444s as well. Avoid those and stick to the 444s in your search.
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Yeah I saw the overpriced ones. That seller in general prices his stuff really high and sometimes tries to lowball offer stuff I have since he’s local-ish. I’ve seen a few of those other coned versions you mentioned
 
I have a single G12-80 with 444 cone and it's my favorite 1x12 speaker at the moment. Just fills out super nicely with the darker voicing. Would love to have a proper 4x12 full of them especially a lucky GC snag for that price! congrats!
 
1777 80s are a little brighter with slightly less lows than the Bass cone 444s. Both are cool, they are like a slightly scooped 65. The strange thing with either one is, and I've had both, they don't handle high volume as well as the 65s I've had. Not anywhere near as bad as a WGS speaker, but the few sets of these that I've had, started to woof out at ear bleed levels. Vs a 65 that handles anything I threw at them.

These are killer for heavy stuff, and have THAT tone right at the first chord. Cool speakers. In 78 as they phased out the blackbacks they started using 80s for the 120w badged cabs, and 65s for the 100w check cabs. All of a sudden guys got these cabs and no more M25s. Lol
 
thegame said:
There's a few sets on Reverb right now, albeit grossly overpriced. Be aware that there are other oddball G12-80s out there with cones other than 1777s or 444s as well. Avoid those and stick to the 444s in your search.
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GC also has a couple cabs that have either 80s or 65s. 1200 ish I think.
 
Egnater Elite 80, Classic Lead 80 and Mesa C-90 (also often referred to as a Black Shadow or MC-90) are very similar speakers. I have used them all. Less midrange hump than most Celestion speakers. Highs are much smoother also.
These speakers can make a boxy combo sound more balanced. Currently I have a Egnator Elite 80 in my Mesa Mark IV combo.
These speakers mix well with other speakers.
 
Racerxrated said:
1777 80s are a little brighter with slightly less lows than the Bass cone 444s. Both are cool, they are like a slightly scooped 65. The strange thing with either one is, and I've had both, they don't handle high volume as well as the 65s I've had. Not anywhere near as bad as a WGS speaker, but the few sets of these that I've had, started to woof out at ear bleed levels. Vs a 65 that handles anything I threw at them.

These are killer for heavy stuff, and have THAT tone right at the first chord. Cool speakers. In 78 as they phased out the blackbacks they started using 80s for the 120w badged cabs, and 65s for the 100w check cabs. All of a sudden guys got these cabs and no more M25s. Lol
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While I agree the 1777 80s can be surprisingly a little wooly in the low end, now I’m concerned that something may have happened to the 444 80s I sold you in shipping. I’ve had 3 quads of those over the years and all have been extremely tight and hold up better to punishment than any 65 or even any V30 I’ve ever had and I’ve had them all.

Also it’s true the 1777 80s are relatively lacking mids (which makes them very good for 1x12 and 2x12s) but the 444 80s have abundant mids. Again, more than 65s to my ears and much more in your face sounding.
 
thegame said:
While I agree the 1777 80s can be surprisingly a little wooly in the low end, now I’m concerned that something may have happened to the 444 80s I sold you in shipping. I’ve had 3 quads of those over the years and all have been extremely tight and hold up better to punishment than any 65 or even any V30 I’ve ever had and I’ve had them all.

Also it’s true the 1777 80s are relatively lacking mids (which makes them very good for 1x12 and 2x12s) but the 444 80s have abundant mids. Again, more than 65s to my ears and much more in your face sounding.
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Hmm, I also did score a 1935 Bass cab with those 444 80s. They had the same nature, of not quite holding up at ear bleed vol. But, these speakers do eventually wear out...maybe that's the case for the ones I had.
 
Bad.Seed said:
So, pleasant surprise today.
I bought a used Blackstar S1 oversized cab from GC for $360. It showed up today. I noticed the screws on the back had some wear and the one handle was placed on the cab upside down. Clear signs someone has been in the cab before.

Supposed to have plain Jane V30 speakers in it, so imagine my surprise and delight to find 4 of these bad boys:
View attachment 295862

I checked the cone, it's a 1777. I have an old JCM 800 cab that has a quad as well, but it's not wired correctly and I've been too busy to rewire it since I got it. I believe Marshall only used the 444 cone version, but It's quite possible I'm totally wrong.

Anyways, first playthrough - VERY round mids, rolled off top end. Cool speaker for sure. Curious on the full history of them, if anyone knows?

I'll be starting my own IR company in the very near future, so I may drop a test IR in here for folks to try of these once I get rolling, Any knowledge is appreciated!!
Click to expand...
1777 = Lead cones.

444 = Bass cones.
 
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