Replacing G12T-75's in my late '70's Hiwatt cab. Any ideas?

[Voddi78]

Now before the questions start pouring in about this, let me give you a little information about the Hiwatt 4x12 that I have in my possession.

Back in 1998, I ended up trading my Marshall JCM 900 including a few dollars for the Hiwatt 4x12 (Hylight cab with the thin black grill cloth) at Guitar Mart (I mean Guitar Center). I just couldn't pass on it. I HAD to get it and was going to go through great lengths to snag it.

After taking it home and blasting my '82 Hiwatt DR-103 Biacrown head through this cab for a few months, I decided to poke around and see if the speakers inside were Fanes. To my surprise, the speakers were Celestion G12T-75's.

I want to replace these speakers. No - I WANT THEM GONE!

I'll start by saying that getting Fane Medusas are out of the question. I saw the prices on these speakers & they're out of my reach. BUT, I do want to go with a Celestion type of speaker. And if I do, I'll purchase the clones instead from Warehouse Guitar Speakers.

Two part question.

1. What Celestion would anyone recommend?

G12H30
Vintage 30
Classic Lead 80
G12K-100
Or any other Celestion that I didn't mention.

2. Which Celestion comes closest to the Fanes? Rumour has it that the Classic Lead 80's comes close to the Fanes.

Opinions welcome.

David

[mhuss]

I like vintage Celestions, but only with Marshall flavored amps.

Have you considered Eminence? They make many British flavored speakers at a reasonable price (see threads elsewhere).

--mark

[OldSchoolDave]

I have one original G12-80 (what the Classic Lead 80 is based upon) and really like it. That said, I haven't tried it with Hiwatt power.

I'm with Mark - take a look at the Eminence line. We recorded several combinations of their off-the-shelf offerings and posted them to our YouTube channel. A little time spent there might help with your search:

http://www.youtube.com/user/HITONE2011

Dave

[Voddi78]

Although alot of people like Eminence Speakers, I'm not a fan of them. I had an Eminence Legend in my GIbson GA20-RVT amp (2005 model) & ended up replacing it with a Jensen P12N Reissue. To my ears, the Jensen sounded better.

I'm thinking about getting the Reaper 30's (clones of the Celestion G12H30's) from Warehouse Guitar Speakers.

I heard that the Celestion Classic Lead 80's would be another ideal choice since I heard that the sound is a bit dark. The Vintage 30's is sort of a split decision for guitarist love or hate them in a Hiwatt cab. Any opinions for the speakers that I mentioned?

David

[OldSchoolDave]

I heard that the Celestion Classic Lead 80's would be another ideal choice since I heard that the sound is a bit dark. The Vintage 30's is sort of a split decision for guitarist love or hate them in a Hiwatt cab. Any opinions for the speakers that I mentioned?

The first option would seem worth investigating.

Re: V30's - be aware that there are two versions of those. The standard one, which uses a lead cone (1777) and tends to have a distinctive voice (and, sometimes, cone cry). Some OEM models have the bass cone (444) and are warmer sounding. Not sure of any other differences - the cone codes are the visible clues. Anyway, that may account for the mixed reviews.

I won't keep shoving Eminence down your throat, but will mention that ALL new speakers need a suitable break-in period to sound their best. It's not fair to judge any speaker before it's fully broken-in. That's the reason all speakers VHR/HI-TONE sells are pre-"exercised".

Dave

[Dr.HI-TONE]

Although alot of people like Eminence Speakers, I'm not a fan of them. I had an Eminence Legend in my GIbson GA20-RVT amp (2005 model) & ended up replacing it with a Jensen P12N Reissue. To my ears, the Jensen sounded better.

I'm thinking about getting the Reaper 30's (clones of the Celestion G12H30's) from Warehouse Guitar Speakers.

I heard that the Celestion Classic Lead 80's would be another ideal choice since I heard that the sound is a bit dark. The Vintage 30's is sort of a split decision for guitarist love or hate them in a Hiwatt cab. Any opinions for the speakers that I mentioned?

David

That is a brilliant reason to write off all Eminence products!

[mhuss]

To the Doc's point, the Legend is a pretty generic speaker, and not one I particularly care for either. Eminence makes a broad spectrum of guitar speakers, and they sound very different from the Legend (and each other).

I don't really like any of the Celestions with a Hiwatt head, and I have been underwhelmed by the WGS speakers I have heard. YMMV. You might want to consider a modern Fane speaker such as the Axiom if you don't like Eminence and want the best Hiwatt vibe.

--mark