Lefty Blues
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- Mar 14, 2016
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I would like to share my experiences with four different Celestion Greenback versions from current production: the three Heritage versions of the G12M, G12H-55, G12-75 speakers and the G12M Reissue from the latest UK-production.
Until a couple of years ago, I was never very happy with Celestion-speakers. I bought and sold almost every model they produced, but I always thought that they did not deliver what I wanted. When Eminence started their Redcoat-line, I tried many models as well: Wizard, Private Jack, Governor, Tonker and later the CV-75.
The reissue of the G12H-55 brought me back to Celestion. I liked this speaker a lot with Laney Lionheart amps and several Marshall JVM amps. This speaker is definitely a very good choice for Marshall master volume amps. I like to use this speaker with my handwired clones of the Marshall models 2204 and 2550 (which is very picky about the right speaker!) as well as my Ceriatone Yeti (which is a great clone of the Jose Arredondo-modded JMP amps). It has a great clarity and punch.
However, I never liked the G12H-55 much with my other homemade handwired Marshall clones, the models 1987, JTM45 and 1974 (18 Watt TMB). All these amps have specs very identical or close to the originals made with vintage specs transformers, Piher resistors, Mullard C296 caps and F&T filter caps.
A few weeks ago I decided to sell my 1960 AHW cabinet with G12H-55 speakers (only because of the weight and the limited opportunity to use this wonderful 4x12 for gigs) and to use four different 2x12 boxes (660 x 570 x 280 mm) in the future instead.
Each cabinet contains exclusively the models Heritage G12H-75, Heritage G12-55, Heritage G12M and the G12M Reissue with 15 ohms each in parallel wiring. This gives the possibility to mix two different cabinets with each other if more volume is necessary and the music fits.
When it comes to choosing the right Celestion Heritage Greenback, my model 2204 doesn't seem to be picky at all. All four cabinets sound great with this amp and give an own great musical character. I could hardly say which speaker I like best with this amp. If a had to chose one cab, I would chose the G12H-75 which sounds a little more glorious than the others.
However, it is very clear to me that my Model 1987 and especially my JTM45 sound best with the Heritage G12M speakers. These amps are really coming to life with this cabinet (I must mention that I am currently musically travelling in Southern Rock and Americana).
I can't share the criticism that the Heritage G12M has too little bass, sounds too warm or even gets muddy. I've never had such a good sound with these amps before: a very good transparency, no obtrusive highs, pleasant bass, simply an excellent crunch sound. By the way: I'm not afraid of blowing through these speakers, because I have a PPIMV built into both amps and anyway it's not possible to play anywhere with cranked non-master volume amps unless the host and the mixer are both deaf.
One reason for the great sound of the Heritage G12M is definitely the fact that you can set your amps louder for the same volume because of its lower sensitivity of 96db compared to 100db of the Heritage G12H models. The Heritage G12M also has a greater inherent compression at lower volume compared to the G12H. This speaker is highly recommended for JMP or JTM45 amps for use as a bedroom player, for rehearsals or small gigs without miking. From my point of view, these speakers sounded even great right out of the box.
A very big surprise is the G12M Reissue from the latest UK-production Made in 2019. There are quite a few guitarists who prefer the G12M Reissue to the Heritage G12M. Actually, I never really liked the G12M Reissue in the past. I tried it a couple of times, including the older English models and their Chinese successors. Although all speakers were supposedly well-rehearsed, they all had thin bass and lower mids, intrusive high mids and very fizzy highs for my taste.
But a few days ago I bought two new G12M Reissues from UK production. Now, I am amazed at how good these speakers sound right out of the box. They have a massive bass, assertive, very balanced and clear mids and no fizzy highs at all.
The G12M Reissue has slightly more headroom than the Heritage G12M. This makes it a little easier for the G12M Reissue to achieve a solo volume boost with overdrive or boost pedals. This is rather difficult with the Heritage G12M. Even a clean boost on the Heritage G12M tends to result in greater compression rather than a higher volume. A difference between both speakers is their sound at very low volume level. In this category, the Heritage G12M is hard to beat. Even at whisper volume, the Heritage G12M is very defined. This makes him a great bedroom rocker speaker.
Even with the bass completely turned out, the G12M Reissue has a bit too much wobbly bass for my JTM45 for my taste. The Heritage G12M is a bit leaner in the bass and therefore fits better to the JTM45. My JMP sounds great with both G12M-models.
The Heritage G12H-75 sounds similar to the Heritage G12M in the upper mids and trebles, but louder, a bit harder, more stable in the bass and with less warmth and very low self-compression. This speaker seems to reproduce all the right frequencies perfectly. With this speaker all my amps sound neither too vintage nor too modern.
The Heritage G12H-55 has similar characteristics as the Heritage G12H-75, but in comparison it lacks the upper mids. However, the Heritage G12H-55 it is not worse in comparison with both other speakers. For harder rock sounds at higher volume, it's perfect for master volume amps like the 2204 the 2550 and the Ceriatone Yeti.
Conclusion: all four Greenback models have their right to exist and can find their appropriate application with the right amp.
First place: my personal winner is the G12H-75, which sounds fantastic with Marshall master volume models and also very good with the non-master volume models.
Second place: surprisingly for myself, the new G12M Reissue and the Heritage G12M share the second place. Both sound very good with the model 2204, but the Heritage G12M sounds too vintage and compresses a little too much with the model 2550. The price-performance-ratio and boost performance of the G12M Reissue is better compared to the Heritage G12M. On the other hand, the Heritage G12M is slightly ahead of the G12M in terms of sound quality on my models JTM45 and JMP, precisely because it goes into a compression that I like with non-master volume amps more easily. Because of its lower sensitivity of 96db, the Heritage G12M is perfect for home rockers.
Third place: The G12H-55 sounds rather mediocre with the non-master volume models JTM45, JMP and the 18 Watt TMB. It has simply too weak mids and far too little compression for these amps. But it sounds very good with the 2204 and 2550 master volume models.
Until a couple of years ago, I was never very happy with Celestion-speakers. I bought and sold almost every model they produced, but I always thought that they did not deliver what I wanted. When Eminence started their Redcoat-line, I tried many models as well: Wizard, Private Jack, Governor, Tonker and later the CV-75.
The reissue of the G12H-55 brought me back to Celestion. I liked this speaker a lot with Laney Lionheart amps and several Marshall JVM amps. This speaker is definitely a very good choice for Marshall master volume amps. I like to use this speaker with my handwired clones of the Marshall models 2204 and 2550 (which is very picky about the right speaker!) as well as my Ceriatone Yeti (which is a great clone of the Jose Arredondo-modded JMP amps). It has a great clarity and punch.
However, I never liked the G12H-55 much with my other homemade handwired Marshall clones, the models 1987, JTM45 and 1974 (18 Watt TMB). All these amps have specs very identical or close to the originals made with vintage specs transformers, Piher resistors, Mullard C296 caps and F&T filter caps.
A few weeks ago I decided to sell my 1960 AHW cabinet with G12H-55 speakers (only because of the weight and the limited opportunity to use this wonderful 4x12 for gigs) and to use four different 2x12 boxes (660 x 570 x 280 mm) in the future instead.
Each cabinet contains exclusively the models Heritage G12H-75, Heritage G12-55, Heritage G12M and the G12M Reissue with 15 ohms each in parallel wiring. This gives the possibility to mix two different cabinets with each other if more volume is necessary and the music fits.
When it comes to choosing the right Celestion Heritage Greenback, my model 2204 doesn't seem to be picky at all. All four cabinets sound great with this amp and give an own great musical character. I could hardly say which speaker I like best with this amp. If a had to chose one cab, I would chose the G12H-75 which sounds a little more glorious than the others.
However, it is very clear to me that my Model 1987 and especially my JTM45 sound best with the Heritage G12M speakers. These amps are really coming to life with this cabinet (I must mention that I am currently musically travelling in Southern Rock and Americana).
I can't share the criticism that the Heritage G12M has too little bass, sounds too warm or even gets muddy. I've never had such a good sound with these amps before: a very good transparency, no obtrusive highs, pleasant bass, simply an excellent crunch sound. By the way: I'm not afraid of blowing through these speakers, because I have a PPIMV built into both amps and anyway it's not possible to play anywhere with cranked non-master volume amps unless the host and the mixer are both deaf.
One reason for the great sound of the Heritage G12M is definitely the fact that you can set your amps louder for the same volume because of its lower sensitivity of 96db compared to 100db of the Heritage G12H models. The Heritage G12M also has a greater inherent compression at lower volume compared to the G12H. This speaker is highly recommended for JMP or JTM45 amps for use as a bedroom player, for rehearsals or small gigs without miking. From my point of view, these speakers sounded even great right out of the box.
A very big surprise is the G12M Reissue from the latest UK-production Made in 2019. There are quite a few guitarists who prefer the G12M Reissue to the Heritage G12M. Actually, I never really liked the G12M Reissue in the past. I tried it a couple of times, including the older English models and their Chinese successors. Although all speakers were supposedly well-rehearsed, they all had thin bass and lower mids, intrusive high mids and very fizzy highs for my taste.
But a few days ago I bought two new G12M Reissues from UK production. Now, I am amazed at how good these speakers sound right out of the box. They have a massive bass, assertive, very balanced and clear mids and no fizzy highs at all.
The G12M Reissue has slightly more headroom than the Heritage G12M. This makes it a little easier for the G12M Reissue to achieve a solo volume boost with overdrive or boost pedals. This is rather difficult with the Heritage G12M. Even a clean boost on the Heritage G12M tends to result in greater compression rather than a higher volume. A difference between both speakers is their sound at very low volume level. In this category, the Heritage G12M is hard to beat. Even at whisper volume, the Heritage G12M is very defined. This makes him a great bedroom rocker speaker.
Even with the bass completely turned out, the G12M Reissue has a bit too much wobbly bass for my JTM45 for my taste. The Heritage G12M is a bit leaner in the bass and therefore fits better to the JTM45. My JMP sounds great with both G12M-models.
The Heritage G12H-75 sounds similar to the Heritage G12M in the upper mids and trebles, but louder, a bit harder, more stable in the bass and with less warmth and very low self-compression. This speaker seems to reproduce all the right frequencies perfectly. With this speaker all my amps sound neither too vintage nor too modern.
The Heritage G12H-55 has similar characteristics as the Heritage G12H-75, but in comparison it lacks the upper mids. However, the Heritage G12H-55 it is not worse in comparison with both other speakers. For harder rock sounds at higher volume, it's perfect for master volume amps like the 2204 the 2550 and the Ceriatone Yeti.
Conclusion: all four Greenback models have their right to exist and can find their appropriate application with the right amp.
First place: my personal winner is the G12H-75, which sounds fantastic with Marshall master volume models and also very good with the non-master volume models.
Second place: surprisingly for myself, the new G12M Reissue and the Heritage G12M share the second place. Both sound very good with the model 2204, but the Heritage G12M sounds too vintage and compresses a little too much with the model 2550. The price-performance-ratio and boost performance of the G12M Reissue is better compared to the Heritage G12M. On the other hand, the Heritage G12M is slightly ahead of the G12M in terms of sound quality on my models JTM45 and JMP, precisely because it goes into a compression that I like with non-master volume amps more easily. Because of its lower sensitivity of 96db, the Heritage G12M is perfect for home rockers.
Third place: The G12H-55 sounds rather mediocre with the non-master volume models JTM45, JMP and the 18 Watt TMB. It has simply too weak mids and far too little compression for these amps. But it sounds very good with the 2204 and 2550 master volume models.
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