Anyone used Celestion G12-T75's with a DR103?

[sethwid]

Hi all,

I have a 1978 DR103 and am considering what speakers to get for it. I have a nicely worn-in Marshall 1922 cab with Celestion 75's in it which I really like. I have used it with my Laney VH100R and other amps like JCM800 & 2000, TriAxis, Mesa Express, Fender Supersonic, even made a spider iv sound much better. But because I moved to Germany and it still lives in Australia, I need another cab.

It will cost me just over €1000 to buy a Fane-loaded HItone cab (€400 postage ahhh!) and I can score a good condition Marshall 1932 for €200 when Im lucky. With the change of job and moving and what-not I am definitely not cashed up enough to spend a grand euro on speakers for at least a year or two... And I could always drop fanes into the marshall cab if they are worth it. Or maybe they really need to be in the right cab like the hitone cab... I dont know!!

So just wondering if anyone has some positive or negative experiences with other speakers and cabs they would like to share. Some recommendations from the good HIWATT community would be lovely.

Cheers people.

[OldSchoolDave]

Welcome to the Vintage Hiwatt forum!

Disclaimer: G12T-75's are perhaps my least favorite Celestions - even under Marshall power. And, for the record, I'm not anti-Celestion. I own a few green/blackback loaded cabs, a quad of Hellatone 60L's ("special" V30's) and a couple of silver alnicos (in a VOX cab).

To me, Hiwatts sound better when the speakers have wider and flatter frequency response and don't break up until really pushed.

But, with the difference in price you mention, I would also be tempted to snag the M cab and live with it.

What other speakers are readily available in Germany? Maybe there's something that would get you closer to the classic Hiwatt Fane sound without breaking the bank.

Dave

[sethwid]

Dave! Thanks for the welcome, and I am honoured to get your reply!!

Yeah, lots of people dont like the 75's thats cool. I have tried them against the revered (by many a least) Vintage 30s loaded in a nice Hughes and Kettner cab and really didnt rate them. Then recently with a bunch of new speaker research under my belt due to my new conquest, I realised the V30's may not have been worn in yet, so my comparison might be bogus. I can get a pair of V30's for under €200 and a pair of Fane Medusa's for around €260 here in germany. I can get whatever speakers really, just the full hitone package wont really work for me price-wise unfortunately.

I have found this guy - The Tube Amp Doctor - here in Germany with a few different options including:

610€ - Cab with V30's
http://goo.gl/MLhy0

680€ - Cab with Fane Medusa
http://goo.gl/XUb2V

I really do need to go and play these cabs, but even then I think I will be playing brand new stiff speakers and will be comparing them mentally to my old cab. But if I bought a marshall cab and upgraded to the right speakers later, i might be able to get away with 99% tone at half the price...

[OldSchoolDave]

I can get a pair of V30's for under €200 and a pair of Fane Medusa's for around €260 here in germany.

The Fane Medusas will get you closer to vintage Hiwatt sound than the V30's.

Keep your eyes open for old Sound City, HH, Simms-Watts, etc. cabs. What's the German equivalent of Craigslist (for music gear, not for "escort services" )?

Dave

[sethwid]

Cheers Dave. I had a feeling the Medusa's would be better, probably worth a little extra cash. But I will definitely keep my eye out on Ebay for the cabs you mentioned, its the closest thing to an escort service I know of in Germany.

[ak-47]

Just a thought.. and as always, a matter of taste.. but I just love 15'' speakers I have an eighties marshall JCM800 bass 2x15 cab with celestion sidewinders in it that I feel really compliments my Hiwatts and the sound and feel I like. Picked it up really cheaply a few years ago as it is a lot deeper than a 4x12 and the shop therefore deemed it 'a hard sell'..

I'd love to try a Hi-tone cab though.. and there was talk of doing some 15" speakers there too if I recall correctly..

[Pinus]

I have used it under a DR103 and sounds good , also tried a DR103 into single G12H 30w cone and sound good also at high volume

[sethwid]

15" speakers - interesting... Do you think they still give a warm, mid-rangey tone without too much harsh treble? I have a Roland JC 80 with a 15" and dont like it near as much as the JC120 and I think its because the 120 uses 12" speakers - but of course they are completely different beasts. I will keep 15"s in mind

@Pinus - do you mean you tried T75s with your DR103 and liked them? Im sure i would like them too, but now im keen to hear broken-in fanes or vintage/heritage celestions after so many people bag the T75 speakers.

[mhuss]

I have a Marshall cab with vintage T75s in it, my least favorite of all the cabs here. Ok, maybe the MG cab sounds worse. This is with Marshalls and other heads as well. However, it's really a matter or personal preference, of course!

--mark

[sethwid]

nice to know mark, cheers! I definitely need to expand my speaker exerpiences if its your least favourite, as well as heaps of other people saying the same thing...

[philmanatee]

My bottom cab is loaded with the Medusa 100's, I like them a lot. Phil

[Pinus]

to my taste, the best that i have tried are weber thames, also with marshall. I have tried also a cab with vintage greenback, but i don't love it with hiwatt, g12h are not bad. There is also weber fc12 that are inspired by fane crescendo, sound really good for soloing very dark sounding, big, for solo with pedal like a big muff and delay. I love jensen c12n for light boosted solo or chords sound really old, dinamyc, something close to the sound of shine on you crazy diamond, but with big distortion don't sound good to my taste, a better choice for a fender style amp. Of course an old hiwatt cab would be sound good eheheheheh You know there are many things out there, you can try www.mercatinomusicale.it

[Voddi78]

G12T-75's are perhaps my least favorite Celestions - even under Marshall power.

I have a Marshall cab with vintage T75s in it, my least favorite of all the cabs here. Ok, maybe the MG cab sounds worse.

I had 2 Marshall JCM 900 cabs (both slant) that were loaded with the G12T-75's, back when I was using a 1973 Marshall Super Lead 100 (mine was hand-wired before they went to the printed circuit board) & I didn't like them. I ended up getting rid of both cabs. One of the slants I traded for the Hiwatt cab that I still have, but unfortunately they're loaded with Celestion G12T-75's.

I fully agree with OldSchoolDave. Even though I do love Celestions, the G12T-75's don't do it for me.


But then again, Yngwie Malmsteen is (or was) a big fan of them.


David

[ak-47]

But then again, Yngwie Malmsteen is (or was) a big fan of them.

[sethwid]

OK. Im thinking I will get a pair of Fane Medusa's and be done with it. Its good to know there are other guys that like them (cheers for posting). I could probably try a whole host of different speakers but Im sure I couldnt go wrong with Medusa's. I am not trying to reproduce any specific famous tone, I just want the clearest, beefiest, mid-rangey tone possible with some bite to it... I hate subjective adjectives but hey.

Since the medusas are each 100W rated, I will put them in a stereo/mono cab so I could run my dr103 into 1 speaker at times where I want to push the speaker harder, closer to breakup. Could be a opportunity for experiementing.

Anyone else out there with experience with the Medusa's and a dr103?? (if not go get me a doughnut lol)