Bought some new speakers for my cab...

[GuitarIv]

Hey guys,

yesterday I finally got my hands on a piece of equipment I've been yearning for for a long time: a pair of Celestion Vintage 30 speakers. Paid 150 bucks for them, they are from 2008, Marshall labeled and Made in the U.K.

Now I went ahead and opened the JCM 800 cab to replace two of my G12-65s for them, I have a few questions.

To x-pattern or not to x-pattern? The V30s have an efficiency of 100dbs compared to the 97dbs of the 65s, I'm afraid if I go for an X-pattern here the V30s will overpower the 65s - the additional mid spike could make it worse. The 65s have more mids compared to the G12T-75, less lows and less highs. So they are EQed somewhat flatter. Efficiency is the same. I know I can just go ahead and try, but I've been thinking about placing the V30s in the bottom and have the 65s serve as my "monitor" since it's a slant cab.

And second question: does somebody have specs for the screws that secure the back of the cab? I needed lots of elbow grease and pliers to get them out since the metal has been so stripped, I wanna replace them cause if I put them back in I risk never being able to open up the cab ever again. Is there a harder variant? Something that will not leave metal flakes everywhere when I use a screwdriver?

Pics are attached, cheers!

[GuitarIv]

You can see how badly the screw is stripped in the last picture

[GuitarIv]

Wanted to get it done anyway so I just went ahead and installed the V30s in the bottom row. Soldered the connections, used the screws that were still usable to mount the back and gave it a quick testrun.

I can't crank the amp today anymore but my first impression on low to medium volume was that the cab gained some grit, sounds fuller yet tighter. I looped myself with a Boss RC-3 and held my ears close to every speaker, odly enough the loudspeakers don't sound that far apart. The G12-65s have a bit more warmth and bass, the V30 have a bit more grit and aggression as expected. However I can instantly tell that they are broken in as they sound a lot more pleasing and not as raspy and spikey like all the new V30 cabs I played in local music stores.

I'll try to report back with more findings as I spend more time with the cab, will probably do some micing shootouts and see how the character changes with higher volume levels, but for now I'm happy it all worked out. The 2 spare 65s will be stored away in my closet to serve as a replacement should one of the 2 I have in the cab ever go bad. Great speakers, if you can find some original ones from the 80ies like mine are I highly recommend them!

On another note, what are some common and good mods for those Marshall cabs? I heard of replacing the plastic handles with metal ones, sealing the gaps, using some heavy duty wire and tightening the back to the post, anything I missed? And is there a site where I can look up the mods and have material I need listed? First thing I'll do of course is go to my local supply store and get some new screws.

Cheers!

[gwEm]

One thing I learnt my recent research is that the 'sensitivity' number is an *average* value. It's averaged over a number of frequencies.

You'll probably find the 65s 'fill-in' some of the frequencies the V30s lack.

I would definitely go for an X pattern.

[gwEm]

Heres what I mean in some more detail.

The frequency response of the G12-65:



and here is the Vintage 30:


The Vintage 30 has that upper mid spike, and the G12-65 has a little scoop. But the G12-65 also has a little bit stronger low and high end.

Response from 100Hz to 1kHz is pretty much identical between both speakers.

[CommonCourtesy]

3 years ago I put 2 V30's into my Marshall JCM900 4 x 12 and I instantly noticed a brighter sound, with more cut, coupled with the bassier G12-75's. I did the X formation as well, with the bottom left and top right being the V30's.

[GuitarIv]

Thanks for the input Gwem. The graphic confirms what my ears hear, the speakers aren't that far apart in sound. What really makes a difference though is that popular V30 spike, I finally got some aggression and bite that I sometimes missed with the 65s. The fact that I have the Marshall labeled ones probably helps as well as those are said to be EQed differently than the Chinese and the Mesa ones.

For now I am very happy with the top/bottom configuration, I will however try the X-pattern once I redo the wiring and get a new set of screws. The V30s don't drown out the 65s as I would have expected, sure they are louder but the blend sounds very good (to my ears). Very crunchy, full and throaty. Think of the Adam Jones Tool sound. I can now pull off modern metal as well, whilst previously I got all the sounds up to 80ies metal, I lacked the grind for heavier stuff. Problem solved.

So all in all I really recommend this combo, first time mixing speakers for me and can't wait to try out some more combination! 

Cheers