Well at last I had a chance to put one of the 'new' Celestion 10" Greenbacks ( G10 ) into my Classic 20. I was taking out a jensen C10R, which I had been happy with - but it had the wrong impedance to stay in there over time. I mention this to firstly declare that I was comparing an 8ohm Jensen with a 16 Ohm Celestion - and so would expect a degree of variance even with a speaker of the same type. Also neither of these speakers is broken in, so what I was listening to provided reasonably consistent grounds for comparison. Please note that I do not tend to 'crank' my amps - so someone else will have to tell you what the extremes of breakup are like. Initial tests done with a Stormy Monday equiped S.G. standard with burnished nickel strings. Later tried Fender '57 re-issue Strat, with naughty ( i.e non BKP pickups ) for brief confirmation of results.
I am used to hearing the Fender / Eminence / Jensen type sounds - and sure enough, before swapping anything I ran the amp with the master volume full on - and tone controls / pre-amp at half through the Jensen C10R to remind me what it was like.
The C10R had a lovely even sonic balance across the frequency range, good presence - with clear if somewhat moderate bass projection. Picking dynamics on single notes and deliberatly induced fret/ handling noises were less pronounced, but rhythm playing rang out openly and spacious. At the same volumes, the Jensen is not known for breaking up - more a 'wall of twang'.
So in goes the Celestion G10. The first thing I noticed ( at the same settings ) was the immense warmth. For Jazz and Blues, this was a real 'find' . The next thing I noticed ( which seemed slightly 'unreal' ) - was the aural illusion that I was listening to a 15" speaker when running onto the bass response. Not Boomy, or 'woofy' - just huge for it's diminutive size. The speaker was very heavy in the low end and lower mids and even at modest volumes you could hear that this speaker wanted to go into an earlier ( albeit soft ) break up. Surprisingly however, those fret scr@pes and dynamics could be heard in detail - even though the surrounding sound stage was much darker and in many ways more compressed than the Jensen.
Of course this amp has a modest 2 x EL84 output stage, so I could not expect it to sound like a 6L6 driven output - but there was that paradox again , the really 'surround sound' bass response and note detail within this otherwise warm and 'intimate' sound stage. That is when I discovered the spell binding quality of the G10 - I just wanted to keep playing in order to experience that lovely 'warm in the pit of your stomach' feeling - and really relaxing tone. It actually made me more relaxed by listening to it, quite addictive !
I did of course at one point adjust the E.Q so that I was back in the ballpark of the Jensen, bass and mids had to be taken back another 25%. But that was the beauty of it, the e.q. soon got set back so the G10 could sound all warm and vibrant again. If this was my first taste of the Greenback family, then I was 'hooked'. I can however see how this could be a one trick pony ( albeit a very nice one ) - and perhaps beyond woody, smokey midnight blues tones - or early breakup saggy, sensuous 60s / 70s Blues / Rock tones , it would need a crisp Vintage 30 / Jensen / e.t.c to partner it in a larger cab.
I ended up happy with both the Jensen and the Greenback really, each for a different market - two useful tools in the same tool box. The Jensen for Rockabilly, 50s Rock'n'Roll , Country and 'spanky' Soul riffs - and the Greenback for the laid back.
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