Nice comparison. Just to set things straight: A speaker does not ´have´ any watts - it will survive some watts. The loudness is listed as sensitivity, understood as how many dB it will put out at 1 m distance from the cone, when you feed it with 1 watt. Both speakers are listed as 100 dB, but that is an average number, in that a speaker puts out different amounts of dB according to the freq. it gets in. It is clearly shown in the curves of the Celestion datasheets. The Alnico has a little bit more output at low freq., but it should not feel much louder than the V30. Both of them puts more dB´s out at freq. around 2 - 4 Khz, that gives the Celestion tonality. And V30´s are not necessarily the same thing, as the UK made (old) and the Chinese made (new) types does not sound the same. Actually some people think the Chinese ones sounds better. I think it was Hope Studios that proved that a V30 8 ohms and a V30 16 ohms did not sound the same. Is that the speaker or the output transformer? Probably a little bit of both. A guitarists lIfe is not easy, and GAS is a serious disease :-)
Because the Vintage 30 has such a large reputation in the metal genre, many people don’t realise that the Vintage 30 was actually Celestion’s attempt to recreate as closely as possible the AlNiCo Blue with a ceramic magnet, and of all Celestion’s speakers, the Vintage 30 and AlNiCo sound the most like the AlNiCo Blue. I have a hard time choosing between them, which is probably why I still haven’t replaced the Vintage 30 in my Mesa/Boogie F-50 with an AlNiCo Cream, despite me having said I’m going to do just that for years. I think the AlNiCo Cream has a slight edge over the Vintage 30, but that edge is razor thin, and given the cost difference between the two, its easy to shrug my shoulders and continue to play the Vintage 30.
I think for clean tones the v30 sounds fantastic and I enjoy the extra aggressiveness that you get out of it. Once you start pushing it though, it very quickly turns into a much more nasally thing, which is still cool, but not the same as the smooth alnico's.
The Cream sounds a bit warmer, rounder, fuller, and just... "better" to my ears. I have a pair of them in a closed-back 2x12 that I use as a do-everything-REALLY-WELL cab. They sound great with both my Princeton Reverb and 100w Matamp GT1 -- two amps that are just about as polar opposite as you can get. Yes, these are seriously amazing speakers imho. Great demo, as always, and thanks!
i use a cream in a 68 deluxe reverb custom and its a perfect pair .....with strat avri 56 ,p-90's les paul i never had that 3-d sounding, touch sensitive but with tons of headroom tone before which i really dig....i try the cream with a marshall 1959slp too....being careful not to blow the cone with his massive 100 watts(180 in real world)...and with a open cab it sounded a bit shrill..but im sure in a close back 4x12 ppc it will shine...at his best....a must have for real musicians
Nice playing and another great video. I agree with your assessment but was also surprised by how good the vintage 30 sounds. Out here in LA , a lot of tone chasers put the 30 down because it’s so popular in hair metal. They are everywhere out here. I just installed an Alnico Creamback in my Dr Z MAZ Senior and it really kicked it up a notch. I have another one in a cabinet I use with different heads as well. I really feel they are a great sounder. I like pleasant mids and lots of it. These are just the ticket. They sound great with a tweed pedal as well. Keep up the great work!
The comment about the cobweb on the cardigan was the funniest thing I’ve heard in days! That alone was worth the price of admission. I’m not usually a V30 guy and I really love the Cream: I was super impressed with the V30 here, it certainly held its own. You’ve got some good mojo going on. Well done video
The cream had the warm feel that i look for. The other sounded more like a heavy metal speaker being played clean. in 2 years, which is how long they take to break in, the cream will edge it even more. The gold all day long for me, even at low volume.
With the cleaner tones it was almost impossible to tell them apart. But as soon as you added some gain that’s when the differences showed up. Nice comparison.
nice job my friend..im also a big fan of the g12-90 alnico cream speaker...I did put one in my deluxe rev and 2 more in a 2x12 cab which is for my marshall 1959slp ...love the natural , neutral balance and the sensitivity almost 3-d sounding ..
Thank you. Does it get fizzy in the room on higher gain? The v30 did a bit so I got rid of mine. My jensen p12n 50 watt RI as well as my weber 12a150 were fizzy and harsh in the highest highs with gain. However, I loved the depth of harmonic content on cleans better than any ceramic. I'm hoping to find that level of harmonic overtones without the tizzy fizz on gain. I play in a very broad range cover band that includes classic, funk. Blues, and ... beat it.
Not so much, no...that was the aspect of the V30 I didn't like and the Cream seems to be much more balanced in those fizzy mids even at higher gain. I do absolutely love the cleans though...Alnicos in general seem to have a much more pleasant sound when it comes to those!! But, this speaker is super versatile...so I'd say it'd be comfortable playing any type of music, aside perhaps from brutal metal! :P
@@JoePerkinsMusic I works great with metal as well. There is a video where someone is doing a demo with a 100 watt SLO. Sounds great to me. I use a Two-Rock Traditional Clean, and with all my overdrives on (4 in total), it's a metal amp, and still it sounds clear.
@@sojerz1044 yes. Celestion cream 8 ohm and celestion gold 8 ohm. Both have no fizz. The gold cuts harder aka brighter than the cream. The cream has more low end body/width. I run them both and love it.
I think you get "more" speaker compression from the alnico magnet, than the ceramic magnet speaker. Maybe less cone breakup though. I thought they both sounded wonderful. Those are two top shelf choice speakers, for different applications.
Aha, I think you're the first person who's known what the poster is! Thought I'd try to change things up a bit - hopefully it's looking more pro with the studio background & higher video quality :-)
I have one in my Two-Rock cab, and it's glorious with my Two-Rock Traditional Clean. Chimey, full, warm, clear, great with overdrives and fuzz. I've never heard a better speaker. But it's so expensive...
For clean to crunchy the Cream was a bit better but once the gain gets up the Cream isn't very pleasing to me. It looses the openness in a bad way. Similar results with other comparisons on YT. While the Cream does sound better the fact of the matter is a V30 can be had for $50 used and the Cream is more than 4x that but not 4x better.
I agree :-) It's all very amp dependent of course, but V30 wouldn't be my first choice for anything by default...something about that 1-3k mid-range that I don't enjoy.
Great video. Any chance you'd do a G12M-65 Creamback vs. G12 Alnico Cream comparison? I'm especially interested in their relative sound at comfortable listening levels (e.g., typical home solo practice volume).
I have used both with my Two-Rock amps. The Creamback doesn't have the detail, the chime, and has an annoying high mid frequency. The cream is detailed, clear, has chime, great bottom end, and the perfect mid spectrum to my ears. It's all subjective, but the Creamback will sound more 'muffled'.
They sounded very near the same except one is broken in and the other is spanking new which begs the question how will a good sounding speaker sound in a year or two of play? Love the sound of the cream, have a creamback in my blues deluxe, thinking of the cream but is there going to be much of a difference in those speakers?
I can’t stand V30’s... far too bright. Those alnicos sound incredibly good! I had V30’s playing out of a Marshall 410 and an Ibanez with low(er) output Satriani dimarzio pickups and I just could not turn the presence or treble down enough to rid the “icepicky” top end.
I would agree - it was the fizzy upper midrange for me...the 1-3kHz type area. Was trying for years to get rid of it in my recordings...then swapped speakers and it vanished!! :P
@@JoePerkinsMusic Haha yep! I just ordered a neo cream last night to pair with a g12m65 creamback in my repurposed 2x12 car subwoofer box last night and can’t wait to see how they sound together. Was going to go with the alnico cream, but I know that they typically are more efficient volume wise and wanted the g12m65 to be the dominant speaker because it sounds so darn amazing.
Couldn't agree more. I just ordered a nice 2x12 Slant Vertical cab from Friedman and it came with Vintage 30's. All my other cabs have Alnico Creams or Golds so maybe it's that I'm used to those, but the v30's sound absolutely terrible. Suffice to say I was super disappointed when the cab arrived and it sounded so bad. Ordered a set of Alnico Creams to put in it, they come tomorrow so fingers crossed...
@@cardbored_ Compared to the V30’s I bet it will sound like a million bucks! I brushed on a coat of countertop 2-part epoxy on the inside of my 2x12 and it really tightened the cab up and made it sound fuller. If your cab is MDF or particle board, the epoxy will soak in and replicate a solid wood construction making it sound even more amazing.
I Have Several Vintage 30. No more for me ! ghost notes Cone cry Can't deal with them any longer. Cream back 65 & greenbacks. My favorite speakers are JBL D120 K 120 and altec 417 all alnico I'm Finally done Chasing speakers But I do have a Celestion Sidewinder 150 Way underrated just kills for a ceramic speaker When you find What works for you will know.
If you spend the money to change your speaker, but you don’t turn the amp up it’s not going to be a difference that will blow you away. Playing at home with the amp down and getting the drive from pedals, you will still wonder why it doesn’t get you anywhere. It’s not wrong, especially if it’s fun for you, but if you play that way as so many do, you will have trouble getting the huge improvement you are hoping for.
Joe Perkins cool! I don’t mean it isn’t worth doing, but I have seen guys change the components of an amp, and then play with the amp on like 1, and then be mad that it doesn’t change things for the better. I could certainly hear your tone change in your video though, even though I didn’t use phones or my good monitors. They both sound great, but I could hear the fuller sound of the second speaker. It is important to think of the type of music you want to play, the v30 might suit your style better. I guess there’s no wrong answer!
@@jasong546 Yeah absolutely - you've got to get the amp 'working' to really hear it at its best, even if that's with headroom to spare. The output transformer needs to be firing at a decent level :-) And yes, completely agree - the fizzy upper midrange in the V30 always bugged me, so getting rid of that really worked for me. But so many people love the V30 - it's completely personal preference :-)
Think this is the full spec: celestion.com/product/151/celestion_cream/ The Cream is awesome! I've also recently been playing around with a Celestion Blue and also a Jensen P12Q Alnico...both huge upgrades on what I was using before. I'm definitely sold on alnico speakers...the detail & warmth is so lovely to play with :-)
Joe Perkins how do you think the Blue compares to the Cream? I have a Blue sitting around from an old amp but due to the low wattage rating cannot currently use it. Was thinking of moving on to the alnico cream.
Well, the Gold is the same price as the Cream....but, this might answer your question: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-4mTISUSb8T4.html
@Jon Merlin I hear you. If i had a choice of any speaker i might choose the Vintage 30. I haven't heard one in person, but i trust what i've heard in videos, etc. Alnico might not be my ideal speaker, but something bright enough and clear is ideal.
Wow they surprisingly sounded pretty close, at least in this demo. I do have the Alnico Cream, it's def my "that's it, finally!" moment in speaker search, followed by WGS ET65.
Funny I just bought a cab with V30, probably new but nonetheless it sounded like sharp ass :-) whereas the Cream sounded great out of the box. I don't believe in breaking in speakers, if anything it would only take a little bit of stiffness off the cone. But I do believe in ears adjusting to speakers, that you're gradually accepting them, as they don't really change their characters as much as some ppl would like to believe. Just my .02
"Is it all that?" Well, compared to the shrill, super mid-spikey V30, it's definitely all that. I cannot understand how anyone likes Vintage 30's. I just bought a 2x12 Friedman Vertical Slant and it came with V30's. Immediately ordered Alnico Creams for it, I'm curios to see how the cab sounds after swapping out the speakers because right now with the V30's it sounds like absolute ass cheeks, literally worse than a Line 6 Spider speaker. It's weird because your recording makes them sounds relatively close, the Vintage 30 you have sounds night and day different from mine.
