Thoughts on Celestion G12-65 Heritage speakers

  • Thread starter Thread starter LP Freak
  • Start date Start date
LP Freak
LP Freak
Well-known member
Anyone have these in a 4x12 and what’s your thoughts?

IMG_0032.png
 
Last edited:
I've got a pair along side another pair of original G12-65's in a 4X12 FL Diezel cab. All 8 ohms.
They are great, really close to the old ones.
It takes some volume to wake them up.. but they get rid of the icepick other
Celestions can have.
So if you are sensitive to that , I do recommend them.
 
The reissues have the basic voicing copied very closely, but unsurprisingly, the originals have a rawer, more dynamic/punchy openness that the reissues just can’t match. I don’t mean high end necessarily, it’s that the reissues feel more compressed. And the most recent reissues (compared to 2006-2007 when they were first reissued) are even further away from the originals.
 
The reissues are very close to the original T3054. That version 65 are what players consider 'too dark'; although I don't feel that way. My fav version is the first version, the Marshall labelled T3120 which you can find in 1978/79 Marshall cabs. They are a good bit brighter than any other version, and are closest to the 'higher wattage greenback' description sometimes used.
Paul, the T3120s are what we heard at the Chi amp fest last year. They definitely open up with volume, more so than most other Celestions.
 
I didn't like them. For my taste too dark/muffled and bloated in the midrange. It didn't improve much for me at very loud levels either. Sort of like a much darker, distant sounding higher wattage Greenback. The only vintage 65 I have experience with that I'm aware of is the T3120 version that I like a lot. Still a bit on darker side to me, but not muffled or overly dark. I did actually, now that I remember, play a WEM cab with a quad of vintage 65's (not T3120's) that sounded killer, but I attribute that I think more to the cab itself with its unique punch and projection
 
They will fart out on you if you use a beastly rig with pummeling lows.

And kinda harsh if I'm being honest.
Need quite the break in to overcome.
 
They’re definitely smoother on top than a lot of Celestions but I don’t find them “dark” - they can kind of give a wah-like midrange emphasis in some cases. I have a pair in a 2x12 and with my JP2C even with the mids scooped out that sound is there.

I find I like them for lead tones and also with my Deluxe Reverb but not really for harder kind of rhythm tones.
 
ChuggNorris said:
They will fart out on you if you use a beastly rig with pummeling lows.

And kinda harsh if I'm being honest.
Need quite the break in to overcome.
Click to expand...
Strange. Never had any vintage version do this. But, I haven't had the reissue in a 412. I've run the vintage versions through a C+ slaved to a S400 out to 4 cabs.....no farting out whatsoever.
Now, the old G12 80s DID fart out on me with that setup. Both cabs. Very surprised at that. The WGS ET65 is a speaker that will fart out at medium volumes...great sounding speaker until you turn up.
 
I have a reissue G12-65 in a 1x12 combo amp and I think it is a good sounding speaker. It may be darker than a 12H-30 75Hz Heritage but it still is a good sounding speaker. I don't know if I would load a full 4x12 cab with them but I don't hear anything that would preclude me from doing that.

I agree with Racer the WGS ET65 didn't like volume.
 
Last edited:
I have a set of 80s G12-65 8 Ohms in a reissue WEM cab, the one brain theory tried out, and they sound really great. I then bought another WEM cab and installed a set of reissue G12-65 16 Ohms in it, and it sounds incredible too. A bit different, not drastic, but it's there. The cab with the old ones have a hair more mids and low end.
Keep in mind that the two different cabs, even being the same brand and model, are going to sound different. So are the speakers, even if they are the exact same model. So, there are batches of the 12-65 that might sound a bit brighter, and some that might sound a bit darker. That's why you'll see, at some studios, a 4x12 with the exact same speakers, but with a tape on the back with the following instruction "Use top left!!!", or whichever is the speaker that sounds best in that cab.
That all taken in consideration, I really like the reissue speakers. Are they my all time fave? No. Are they great enough for me to enjoy them? Hell yeah!
 
Probably me least favorite Celestion along with the 75 watt Creamback…….for different reasons.

I’ve had both vintage 1777 65’s and the Reissues. They are dead at low volumes and when you wake them up they have a nasal honk that drives me crazy.

I have a new one in a box if anyone is looking.
 
Had those speakers in 2 Amplified Nation 2x12's. I really liked them. No matter what I plugged thru them sounded great. I didn't find them dark, or honky.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
 
Back
Top