Arrived at the point where I started thinking about speakers...

[GuitarIv]

Well then I'm gonna change tubes and see how it alters the sound. Funnily, there actually exists a Valveking Wikipedia: http://ultimate-guitar-valveking.wikispaces.com/

Otherwise until I have the cash for a new cab I'll have to stick with my current setup *sigh*

[GuitarIv]

So funny that you guys have brought up the V128, I had a little surprising thing happen,

I'm working right now 14 hour shifts every day during the summer as a waiter in a big summer garden kind of restaurant and we had a live band yesterday playing. You know, all the top 40 stuff and popular Austrian music, not the kind of thing I usually play. However, being like a woman that sees shoes when I see guitars and amps, I walked up to the guitarist of the band and started to talk to him about the stuff he was using. Amongst the axes he played a VGS Les Paul and more important, a Warmoth Strat through a Cornford 30 all tube amplifier (don't know what the exact model name was) and a Palmer 4*12. I didn't fail to notice that he had a very warm and nice sound, especially when they played more bluesy/rocky stuff like Sweet Home Alabama and Thunderstruck.

Surprise, surprise: he told me he had Eminence V128s in the cab and that Soldano uses them in all their stuff. I must say, allthough it wasn't metal, now I have a good reference point from personal experience.

The Warmoth Strat played and sounded like a dream, I don't know if he did the build and setup himself or gave it to someone to do it, but man if this is what their stuff is like, then you can't go wrong with them :D

Edit: it was a Cornford Roadhouse 30, looked it up online

Anyway, off to work so I can earn money and acquire more gear I don't need, hooray!

[Toe-Knee]

Oh trust me they are more than capable of metal.

[dave_mc]

^ yeah

[Alex]

The Celestion T75 is actually not so boomy on the low end - it holds the low end quite well. The bigger problem is that its mids just don't cut the mix too well, which is why I consider it one of the worst speakers ever (on a purely subjective/personal basis). The V30 doesn't have that problem, and I think its popularity is really more down to the fact that it sits well in the mix rather than its sound. You just can't go wrong with V30s.

The Eminence Governor is very similar IMO. I used that as well for a while (replaced a T75 with it actually). It can be quite harsh and "in your face" IMO, but, again, that's kind of good in the mix. If the V128 is like the one that Krank uses (I actually think the Krank one is a customized version of it "tuned" to be louder), then I think t it does sound nice, but I also think there is quite a lot of natural compression going on very quickly, especially on the low end. It's certainly good for metal.

[Telerocker]

I totally agree with Alex about the V30: you don't get lost in the mix.

[dave_mc]

yeah i think the thing about the v30 is that it's totally overused (IMO) in totally unsuitable amps- but that doesn't mean that it's a bad speaker or doesn't excel at what it's good at. there's a bandwagon that v30s are the only good speaker, but then the backlash that they're terrible is kinda silly, too.

Also they get a lot less harsh when they break in. I've got some broken in v30s and some newer ones, and when i tried them head to head the difference was pretty obvious. the eminence v128 almost sounded more like the broken in v30s out of the box (not exactly the same, of course, there were still some differences).

[Brow]

yeah i think the thing about the v30 is that it's totally overused (IMO) in totally unsuitable amps- but that doesn't mean that it's a bad speaker or doesn't excel at what it's good at. there's a bandwagon that v30s are the only good speaker, but then the backlash that they're terrible is kinda silly, too.

Also they get a lot less harsh when they break in. I've got some broken in v30s and some newer ones, and when i tried them head to head the difference was pretty obvious. the eminence v128 almost sounded more like the broken in v30s out of the box (not exactly the same, of course, there were still some differences).

Yep, this!

For the last 6 months or so I've been thinking about replacing 1 of the V30s in my Zilla 2x12 with 1 of the new Celestion G12H75 Creambacks, G12H30 with more power handling, when they became available. It seems that all the extra playing and gigging I've been doing with the 2 bands I'm in whilst waiting for the Creamback to be released has really broken in the V30s and practically everything that made me want to change 1 of them is gone.

They've lost the sharp high mid spike they had and they seem to have rounded out a bit. They still cut through a mix really well, but aren't anywhere near as 'strident' in the mids as they were.

[GuitarIv]

While I recognize that V30s seem to be a safe choice the most times, I'm still wondering how much cut you get with the V128s. I'm always looking for alternatives, so I'm not just a part of the mass so to say, I know the easiest thing to do is to get a Cab with V30s and be on the safe side, but then again one has to experiment in order to be "unique".

So how do these compare to V30s, or rather already broken in ones? Do they have less cut?

[Toe-Knee]

While I recognize that V30s seem to be a safe choice the most times, I'm still wondering how much cut you get with the V128s. I'm always looking for alternatives, so I'm not just a part of the mass so to say, I know the easiest thing to do is to get a Cab with V30s and be on the safe side, but then again one has to experiment in order to be "unique".

So how do these compare to V30s, or rather already broken in ones? Do they have less cut?

I find they cut equally as well they just have less fizzy high end and the low end isnt as extreme and theyre tighter/punchier.

Also it's worth noting that i swapped from some v30s that have been used for years by 3 different owners to the v128s so they were definitely broken in

[Toe-Knee]

Also heres a clip of the v128s.

No boost

https://soundcloud.com/boyes/extralonglife

excuse the sloppy playing.

When i was using v30s i found i had to boost the amp to keep the lows in check. With the v128s I don't have that issue

[dave_mc]

Yep, this!

For the last 6 months or so I've been thinking about replacing 1 of the V30s in my Zilla 2x12 with 1 of the new Celestion G12H75 Creambacks, G12H30 with more power handling, when they became available. It seems that all the extra playing and gigging I've been doing with the 2 bands I'm in whilst waiting for the Creamback to be released has really broken in the V30s and practically everything that made me want to change 1 of them is gone.

They've lost the sharp high mid spike they had and they seem to have rounded out a bit. They still cut through a mix really well, but aren't anywhere near as 'strident' in the mids as they were.

yeah the broken in ones are far smoother etc. It's still not a tone I'd use for everything- but it is a tone I'd use for some things.

I can't really comment on the cut as I don't gig, lol. So bear that in mind. I'll defer to the other guys on here for that. :)

[Brow]

Also heres a clip of the v128s.

No boost

https://soundcloud.com/boyes/extralonglife

excuse the sloppy playing.

When i was using v30s i found i had to boost the amp to keep the lows in check. With the v128s I don't have that issue

I really want to try your V128s with my Splawn! I have no doubts they'd fit really well with the SLO clone, but I can't seem to find anyone that's posted about using them with a Splawn.

[GuitarIv]

That sounds pretty nice Tony :)

I just played an oversized Mesa Cab today equipped with V30s (EVH 5153 with a Jackson Dinky and a Holydiver in the bridge) and it sounded just amazing. Fat and juicy organic sound with depth and bite, just amazing. Any cabs that use the Eminence V128s stock so I could play them in my guitar store as a reference? I won't be having enough money too soon to get a new amp and a new speaker so any first hand experiences I can make are highly appreciated.

Cheers

[Toe-Knee]

That sounds pretty nice Tony :)

I just played an oversized Mesa Cab today equipped with V30s (EVH 5153 with a Jackson Dinky and a Holydiver in the bridge) and it sounded just amazing. Fat and juicy organic sound with depth and bite, just amazing. Any cabs that use the Eminence V128s stock so I could play them in my guitar store as a reference? I won't be having enough money too soon to get a new amp and a new speaker so any first hand experiences I can make are highly appreciated.

Cheers

I think some of the Krank cabs have the 16ohm version which is OEM only and the soldano cabs do too. Other than that I have no idea.