Vintage Celestions but what year?

[norton]

I've got a pair of older celestions and want to make sure i've got the dates right.

one's a G12M 25 watt 16 ohm T2633 KK13
and a G12H 30 watt 16 ohm T1234 DD2J


That translates to a 1977 and a 1971 doesn't it?

They've both got the solder only lugs.. green/gold magnet covers ipswitch england... and the baskets are the hammered oyster kind of paint.

The reason i'm asking is that i'm thinking of switching at least one of them out for an alnico blue. am i nuts? mostly open back combo.

thanks.

[RocksOff]

If you're gonna switch one out, i'd go with running a blue and the G12H. In my opinion, the H will make up for the softer bass response of the blue.

[zaphod_phil]

+1

The G12H-30 and the Blue will also match each other better in terms of loudness, as they're both 100W/dB efficiency. This is a golden combination.

[norton]

Thanks

I do like the idea of a mismatched 2x12 for sure.

Does it look like i'm in the ballpark date-wise on the speakers?

The amp's a little on the vox-y side of things with an ef86 and I'd like to emphasize that chime. Do you like the celestion blues better than the other "blue-flavored" drivers on the market?

thanks again.

[Shrapnel]

I forget the exact link over at celestion, but I do know that in their FAQ section (IIRC) they explain their date codes... used it to ID a '91 greenback I have.

... and yes, the KK13 and DD21 are the date codes. (as if there was any question there)

[norton]

thanks shrapnel.

the celestion site was the ticket. took some digging but i found the info.

the other speaker code sites had the same info, of course... but weren't as concise RE celestion's.

So thanks for that.

I'm hoping i don't regret swapping out the g12m for a blue.

[zaphod_phil]

Ipswich made speakers would have to be from the 70s or later, since previous to that Celestion was based in Thames Ditton. According to "Dr Decibel" on Celestion's web site:

1968 - 1991

YEAR CODE MONTH CODE

1968 A January A
1969 B February B
1970 C March C
1971 D April D
1972 R May E
1973 F June F
1974 G July G
1975 H August H
1976 J September J
1977 K October K
1978 L November L
1979 M December M
1980 N
1981 P
1982 Q
1983 R
1984 S
1985 T
1986 U
1987 V
1988 W
1989 X
1990 Y
1991 Z/A

The date codes from 1968 to 1991 are written in the form: Month, Year, Day. For example: KH7 = 7th October 1975

So "KK13" = 13 Oct 1977

"DD2J" doesn't fit any of Celestion's date schemes. Possibly, like Shrapnel says, it's actually DD21 or maybe it could be DD27. So you might like to look at the date stamp again. I any case it would correspond to April 1971, possibly either the 21st or the 27th.

Edit: I see you already found this information

[norton]

Zaphod Phil

one of each thames ditton and ipswitch. so the 1971 must be from a leftover magnet cap or something.

Thanks again for all the help....

The question still remains... stupid idea selling a mid 70's greenback for a new celestion blue? Or should i just stick with what i have and be happy?

The speakers were the best part of an early 90's bluesbreaker combo I picked up years ago. The original owner left the upgraded speakers in it when he sold it.... lucky me. The amp started to blow transformers and the trem NEVER worked... despite being painstakingly rebuilt and all components replaced. I kept the speakers sold the amp and have been using the speakers ever since.

zack

[zaphod_phil]

... stupid idea selling a mid 70's greenback for a new celestion blue?

Yes, I'm afraid so. Vintage Greenbacks are wonderful speakers with great warm tones. And once they're all gone, they're gone. I wouldn't ever part with one of those. I have one myself running in a 1X12 combo. I recommend you just save up your pennies if you want to put in a Blue. A Red Fang is also a pretty good alternative for a Blue.

[norton]

Thanks.

It's not often that you get the chance to thank someone for calling you stupid... but that's kind of what i was thinking... that i might regret it.

so thanks!

zack

[zaphod_phil]

But note that I was careful to only say that the idea was stupid. And the very fact that you asked about it proves that you aren't stupid.

[Shrapnel]

ENQUIRY : I have a Celestion G12M here that on the green cover states
"Celestion International, LTD." In trying to date the loudspeaker, I
have noted the cone printed with "6402" printed on a leg 16Ohm(symbol
for) and then printed "31AE11221/7" Stamped into the basket is
"Celestion." I see no lone date code. Does this mean that this model's
date code is under the magnet cover, or is it part of "31AE11221/7?"
Please let me know either way.

The date code is 31AE suggesting the 31st January, 1995. The rest is
T1221 which is the Celestion part number for a 16ohm G12M and the 7 is
the quality inspectors stamp.

Regards
The Doctor

OOPS!!! I err'd... a '95 not a '91 is what I got.

So "KK13" = 13 Oct 1977

"DD2J" doesn't fit any of Celestion's date schemes. Possibly, like Shrapnel says, it's actually DD21 or maybe it could be DD27. So you might like to look at the date stamp again. I any case it would correspond to April 1971, possibly either the 21st or the 27th.

Edit: I see you already found this information

Very well could be either. As you can see from my correspondance with Dr.Decibel above, could easily be an error in the code in either direction.