New Celestion G12H-75 Creamback - evaluation.
Posted: Mon 08/18/14 3:25 pm
I have recently taken delivery of a Celestion G12H-75 Creamback. These are new speakers that supposedly capture the 12h 30 watt speaker sound but with the higher 75 watt rms power handling.
I fitted it into my 1 x 12 Mashall style 18 watt combo cabinet. The cabinet is similar to an original 1 x 12 cabinet except mine is around 100 mm deeper.
My amp is basically a Lite IIb. I have the volume set a little over halfway around 2 'o' clock. I run the amp into a dummy load and feed a line out from the OT into another amp. This allows me to get the sweet spot at whatever volume I want - lower or higher than original. I find this better and closer tone wise than using an attenuator or VVR. It also means I don't have to always rely on the PA guys... I like a decent 'crunch' for rhythm which cleans up on the guitar volume control. For a bit more gain when soloing, I sometimes use a booster.
The speaker does indeed sound in the 'ballpark' of the original G12H 30's (I have small collection of originals from the late 60's and early 70's).
The biggest difference in tone is a slightly smoother, more 'syrupy' midrange. Possibly because the my 18 watt clone doesn't push or stress the speaker so hard as it does a 30 watt one due to its 75 watt handling.This is not a bad thing as the 12H 30 could sound a little harsh sometimes. I do occasionally miss the slightly 'harsher' or more 'gritty' edge of the G12H-30's.
This speaker also has more bass - not bloated or excessive but a bit more 'thump'.
The other big difference is that the new Celestion encourages harmonic feedback somewhat earlier. At a recent gig whilst trying this new speaker out for the first time, I found myself damping the strings more often in order to keep feedback under control. Nothing excessive but nonetheless there. It does sing nicely when you let it go though.
No doubt the speaker will bed in some more as up to this point it has only had about 30 hours of playing in.
All in all I am very happy with this speaker and will definitely be getting more.
I fitted it into my 1 x 12 Mashall style 18 watt combo cabinet. The cabinet is similar to an original 1 x 12 cabinet except mine is around 100 mm deeper.
My amp is basically a Lite IIb. I have the volume set a little over halfway around 2 'o' clock. I run the amp into a dummy load and feed a line out from the OT into another amp. This allows me to get the sweet spot at whatever volume I want - lower or higher than original. I find this better and closer tone wise than using an attenuator or VVR. It also means I don't have to always rely on the PA guys... I like a decent 'crunch' for rhythm which cleans up on the guitar volume control. For a bit more gain when soloing, I sometimes use a booster.
The speaker does indeed sound in the 'ballpark' of the original G12H 30's (I have small collection of originals from the late 60's and early 70's).
The biggest difference in tone is a slightly smoother, more 'syrupy' midrange. Possibly because the my 18 watt clone doesn't push or stress the speaker so hard as it does a 30 watt one due to its 75 watt handling.This is not a bad thing as the 12H 30 could sound a little harsh sometimes. I do occasionally miss the slightly 'harsher' or more 'gritty' edge of the G12H-30's.
This speaker also has more bass - not bloated or excessive but a bit more 'thump'.
The other big difference is that the new Celestion encourages harmonic feedback somewhat earlier. At a recent gig whilst trying this new speaker out for the first time, I found myself damping the strings more often in order to keep feedback under control. Nothing excessive but nonetheless there. It does sing nicely when you let it go though.
No doubt the speaker will bed in some more as up to this point it has only had about 30 hours of playing in.
All in all I am very happy with this speaker and will definitely be getting more.