Celestion G12H-30 Anniversary vs. G12H-75 Creamback

[PeteGalaxie]

Celestion G12H-30 Anniversary vs. G12H-75 Creamback: Is there a tonal difference between these 2 speakers or is it just the power handling capabilities? If the only difference is the power rating, I don't think I need a Creamback. I want to pair it up with a 5w Fargen Townhouse head - which gets the tones of a tweed and a brownface. In your opinion, do you think a more traditional tweed/brownface tone would come through with an "H" or an "M" Celestion? I plan on getting an Avatar 1x12 cabinet and would like to go with the speaker options that they have (they seem to be great deals in a loaded cabinet).

 

[logen99999]

right off the bat I would think the g12h is the better choice, I never played the creamback. But they're both Heavy magnet speakers so the feel should be similar I think.

 

[YANKEEFAN4LIFE72]

I have owned both. I returned the g12h-30 and went to greenbacks. I have a 1x12 avatar with a cream back g12h-65 and I love the tone. The 30 had more of high mids to it, like a vintage 30, but not as harsh. This speaker would be great for cutting through the mix in a band setting. The cream back is more mellow with less pronounced mids and top end. The creamback\greenback is my favorite speaker
I play 60s\70S CLASSIC ROCK, and I think this speaker is perfect for this kind of tone. What kind of music do you play?

 

[RAG7890]

Celestion Alnico Cream 90W.

 

[NativH]

The G12H30 Anniversary sounds like ass until broken in. Very sterile and dead sounding out of the box is my experience. But once you put some watts through it for a good solid week of band practice, it loosens up nicely. I used a JTM45 to break mine in so it doesn't take lots of wattage, but I was playing at fairly decent band volumes though.

 

[PeteGalaxie]

I have owned both. I returned the g12h-30 and went to greenbacks. I have a 1x12 avatar with a cream back g12h-65 and I love the tone. The 30 had more of high mids to it, like a vintage 30, but not as harsh. This speaker would be great for cutting through the mix in a band setting. The cream back is more mellow with less pronounced mids and top end. The creamback\greenback is my favorite speaker
I play 60s\70S CLASSIC ROCK, and I think this speaker is perfect for this kind of tone. What kind of music do you play?

Basically I play blues - all types... various from the 50's, the Kings, Rory Gallagher, Hendrix, Clapton etc, etc, etc - you get the idea.
I have a head/cab for the Marshall dirt, another head/cab for clean tone and I am looking to pair up a tweed/brownface style head with another speaker that will compliment its tone. I'm even thinking of one of those Avatar Hellatone A25 Alnico speakers.
In the two 1x12 cabinets I currently have, they're loaded with a G12H30 Anniversary (broken in, I like it a lot) and a Greenback (which is my overall favorite speaker - the one I would choose if I could only have one ). Not sure of what to go for to get a more classic tweed/brownface sound.

 

[Wraptail]

I've had a Hellatone A25 speaker for a couple months. I really like it. Kinda like a muscular sounding version of an ALNICO Blue... And they're stupid cheap. G12H30 is a no brainer for me in a 1x12 for live settings where it's essential to cut through.

 

[PeteGalaxie]

I've had a Hellatone A25 speaker for a couple months. I really like it. Kinda like a muscular sounding version of an ALNICO Blue... And they're stupid cheap. G12H30 is a no brainer for me in a 1x12 for live settings where it's essential to cut through.

I pretty much play at home these days and do a little recording, so cutting through in a band mix is not something I have to worry about.

I'd love to hear more of your opinions on the A25. How do you think it would pair up with a 5w tweed style amp?

 

[Wraptail]

Probably be a good match, and sounds like it might be up your alley, a Blue might be too bright for you. Avatar also offers a ceramic version that's supposed to be a cross between a G12H30 and a G12M that might be interesting, and I think it's like $65.

Hope that helps!

 

[rabidhamster]

The g12h30 heritage is my favorite speaker hands down

 

[YANKEEFAN4LIFE72]

It sounds like a creamback\greenback would be right up your alley..Hendrix used greenbacks as well as Angus young, Jimmy Page. That's a great speaker for blues and classic rock. I have a Marshall 4x10 with 2 g10l-35s and 2 greenbacks in an x pattern.My DSL 40c has a creamback 65. It really opened that amp up. I also have a Marshall 1960 ax 4x12 with 4 greenbacks. I don't think you can go wrong with a cream back/greenback. I think the perfect 2x12 for me would be 1 creamback and 1 g12h30. If your using it for a 5 to 15 watt amp I would get a 20 watt greenback. The speaker will break up sooner. If you need more power handling I would get a cream back 65 not a 75. The 65 has a less pronounced high end if I remember correctly. But this is what I would do YMMV.

 

[PeteGalaxie]

It sounds like a creamback\greenback would be right up your alley..Hendrix used greenbacks as well as Angus young, Jimmy Page. That's a great speaker for blues and classic rock. I have a Marshall 4x10 with 2 g10l-35s and 2 greenbacks in an x pattern.My DSL 40c has a creamback 65. It really opened that amp up. I also have a Marshall 1960 ax 4x12 with 4 greenbacks. I don't think you can go wrong with a cream back/greenback. I think the perfect 2x12 for me would be 1 creamback and 1 g12h30. If your using it for a 5 to 15 watt amp I would get a 20 watt greenback. The speaker will break up sooner. If you need more power handling I would get a cream back 65 not a 75. The 65 has a less pronounced high end if I remember correctly. But this is what I would do YMMV.

First, THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR YOUR INPUT! There is a lot of great information!

Now, back to my dilemma.
I have a Chinese Greenback that I've paired up with a Fargen 5w Micro Plex. The Micro Plex doesn't have a ton of gain and the two work perfect together. It's in a closed back cabinet. Also have a G12H30 Anniversary that I'm using with a Fargen Mini Plex MkII (12w) also in a closed back cabinet. This pair is what I usually play through.

Now comes the Fargen Townhouse 5w head. It is a tweed/brownface style sound. I tried it with both the cabinets I have. Single coils (Strat, Tele) sound great through it although I think I prefer the G12H30 over the Greenback. However, with my SG or ES 335, the low E string tends to sound "squashed" (compressed?) and just doesn't ring out with any kind of authority. Maybe because of the closed back cabinets? I don't know. But for this particular application, I'm going for that "vintage tweed tone". The G12H30 was close to where I wanted it but the humbuckers did not play well. That's when I started looking at a Creamback, but have since begun thinking it's going to basically be a Greenback (M) or G12H30 (H) tone. So I looked at an Alnico alternative. I like what I hear with the Hellatone A25 reviews and videos. I might give that a try, just because it is something different (never had an Alnico).

I'm starting to wonder if it is the characteristic of the amp, the closed back cabinet, the speaker, or a combination of all three. What's going to give me a nice clear, strong bass and crisp high end (without being harsh) with those humbuckers and keep the tweed flavor? Single coils don't seem to have this "problem".

 

[YANKEEFAN4LIFE72]

Can you remove the back off the cabs you have and try it with the amp? That will tell you if its the cab or the speaker. Just a thought

 

[YANKEEFAN4LIFE72]

If that does the trick you could make a new back for the cabs you have that converts from a closed back to an open back. Perhaps a 3panel so you could leave the top ,middle or bottom open. It will sound different with each option. Then install all panels back in for a closed back cab.

 

[PeteGalaxie]

Actually, all the cabs have conversion backs. I'll give it a try. Thanks for all the help! You guys are great.

 

[NativH]

I've used Weber Alnico Silver Bell and Blue Dog speakers in a large Bogner closed back 2x12 with a 50 W NMV Marshall (1987) and in Marshall Bluesbreaker (open back) combo's with great results. In fact pairing these two produces an interesting natural slight chorus effect due to their different response curves. I always went with the 50W with light doping and loved them for blues rock like ZZ and even stuff like Cult, STP, AC/DC, etc. Not the cheapest Alnico's but you can order them with lots of different options that could work for you. The Blue Dog was somewhat looser and the Silver Bell tighter, makes sense doesn't it?

 

[PeteGalaxie]

UPDATE:
Well, I tried the G12H30 with the back off of the cabinet. It made a huge difference. I don't have the ES 335 around (it's out getting a setup) but with the SG, whoa, night and day. The bass notes are a lot more defined then before. I may still go for the A25 in the new cabinet I want to get, but I think my main answer is to use an open back cabinet.

Thanks again to everyone. This thread helped me a lot!