Celestion Greenback G12M Buyers guide

[kidsmoke]

lets write one.

 

I had a gigging musician recommend this speaker as a replacement in my Boogie, from personal experience. Ok Fine. I get it. The Greenback is oft heralded as one of the secret specimens of guitar tone. I get the feeling getting an old one is somewhat like finding authentic PAF's. They're readily available...but is there something special to look for. This is decidedly an area which I know this/much more than absolutely nothing.

 

My question is to those of you much more in the Amp consumption vein than I am, what's the prevailing wisdom regarding getting ahold of one.

 

Are the new "repro's" at all similar?

 

Can vintage one's be trusted for regular, although not heavy, use?

 

Can a reconed vintage driver bring the goods?

 

I know "Made in England" is supposed to be better than "Made in Indonesia", but, are they, if modern?

 

is there another driver from another company that accomplishes the same sonic goal?

 

For the record, my amp is a Mesa/Boogie DC-2 22 watt combo currently sporting the Black Magic "Vintage" (8 ohm), which I understand is a Eminence custom build for M/B. It sounds fine, particularly for metal style gain. When clean I find the Ice Pick highs (too) profound and getting a "browner" sound takes some work.

 

I'm not an "amp for every occasion" sort. I want my "gigging" amp to do what I need it to do, and as I said, the council received was from a journeyman paying his bills with a DC-2, and this dude is all about roots music, so I don't feel I'm asking a Ferrari to function as a pickup.

[DetroitBlues]

I have always assumed they were England made, but I really don't know.

 

Many have chosen different variations such as the Creamback or Neodymium.

 

Others really prefer some of the tones they get from competitors like Warehouse or Eminence that are similar compositions.

[Yooper]

"Can a re-coned vintage driver bring the goods?"

 

My re-coned '67 Chicago Jensen is perfect in my Silverface DR.

[mars_hall]

If you get a greenback g12m, you will push it beyond it's comfort zone. Your amp is rated 22 watts and the speaker 25. So what's the problem? The general rule of thumb is have your speaker be rated 2x the power of the amp so you are operating in the middle of its curve and not at the edge. I could be wrong but you probably are using a Celestion made VS-50 "Black Shadow", which Mesa has been putting in the smaller amps since the Studio 22. It is rated at 50 W and I have a pair in my favorite 4x12.

 

Go to the speaker sites and look at the response curves. You are wanting a 50 watt speaker with a lower pronounced hump above the middle of the curve (right side). The flatter and narrower that hump, the less high end you will hear.

 

Look at the Eminence Patriot series which tend to be efficient and have the lows.

 

The British speakers (Celestion) tend to throw more highs without the balls at the low end in open back amps. My two cents

[duhvoodooman]

Look at the Eminence Patriot series which tend to be efficient and have the lows.

 

Good advice. I put an Eminence Patriot series Cannabis Rex in my old Blues Junior to tame the top end, and found it to be a great sounding and superbly balanced speaker. Very efficient, too, at 101.8 dB, and rated at 50W. Right in your wheelhouse! And at $80, it's pretty easy on the wallet, too. The above link is for the 8 ohm version, but they offer a 16 ohm as well.

[bolero]

I have a quad of Eminence private jacks in a '68 marshall 4x12, they sound fantastic

 

they are rated for 50w and are their "greenback" clone, and are prolly the most reasonably priced greenback flavour out there

 

( the alnico version is the red fang....I have one of them in a 1x12 combo and it's great as well. but it's more $ as it's alnico )

 

the top of the heap IMO is SCUMBACK, who exhaustively researched vintage greenbacks before starting his speaker business. he has a lot of good info on his site, too

 

http://www.scumbackspeakers.com/

 

I met up with Jim in LA once, he is a great guy and stands behind his products

 

I have a quad of Scumbacks in a 4x12 as well, they sound fantastic

 

I don't think I'd bother tracking down an original greenback, they are old and too much potential for issues...plus you can punish new speakers because parts are easy to come by

[DetroitBlues]

I cannot imagine running a 4x12 cab these days. I've played through them, absolutely love the fullness, but they are just a bit too much air being moved in my tiny 1,100 sq ft house.

[bolero]

well, 4x12 cabs were not designed to be used in a 1,100 sq foot house!

[davesultra]

I'd contact Scumback Speakers and explain to 'em what you're looking for. They'll definitely point you in the right direction.

[bbr6704]

I've installed Crambacks in a cabinet I've made, they're perfect! Greenback tone, but with a little more power handling and a subttle hint of "modernity" in the sound, with a better bass response.

Plus they are made in England, not as the actual greenbacks, that are made in China.

If you want old greenbacks, the bass cones (55Hz) are told to be the best, they sound creamier.

Or, if you prefer a good alternative to the creamback, english made, consider the Tayden speakers, the true Brit in particular : http://www.lean-business.co.uk/eshop/tayden-true-brit-12-guitar-speaker-16ohm-p-564.html

When I built my cab, i spent hours reading on speakers, brands, models, I've phoned to my amp builder to get his advice, talked with musicians, considered price, etc. and those semmed to be the best choices for brittish woody rock tone, with a vintage feel...

Hope that helps!

[barrymclark]

Also look at the Celestion AlNiCo Creamback. I dig the Greenback sound and the AlNiCo G12 Cream is very much in that vein. Higher power handling too. In fact, the G12M in my Vox will very likely be swapped out for one.

[greatmutah2112]

This vid is a few years old, but it really covers quite a few of the greenback variants.  
 

FWIW, I personally have a quad of MIC G12M25s that sound great, but my overall favorite speaker is the Creamback H75s.  

[HANGAR18]

I've been looking for an excuse to buy Warehouse Guitar Speakers but I have no need for replacement speakers.
They have direct replacements for all the most famous speaker models. Supposed to be pretty good.

https://wgsusa.com/

 

[bolero]

yeah Warehouse have been on my radar too!

 

haven't tried any yet though

[ElNumero]

On 5/2/2018 at 12:31 AM, bolero said:

yeah Warehouse have been on my radar too!

 

haven't tried any yet though

AND you can get em right from the warehouse!!!