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Yesterday I removed the stock Celestion Vintage 30 from my combo and put in an Eminence Legend V12 and now I know what people mean when they say such things as sounds 'sweet', 'smooth', rounder', etc. It really made a noticeable difference-more so than a tube change.

Maybe a speaker that sounds good in one amp doesn't necessarily sound as good in another for various reasons. All I know is that I'm really lovin' the sound of my amp and wondered if any others prefer the V12 over the V30.

I guess not.....

Well, I've never played through the V12 before, but if it's as good as you say it is in the YCV, I may have to check it out! Would you say it's fuller sounding than the Celestion? One of the things I've noticed about the YCV is that it lacks some lower mids and the highs sometimes get just a tad harsh, especially on lower gain settings. I attributed it to the open back design, but maybe a new speaker would do the trick. What do you think?

i plan to get some V12's for my Fender cab. Mainly because Dave at avatar described them exactly like you did. I love V30's, but have never actually heard the V12's.

How do you find the YCV50 Blue? ( Celestron and Post-Celestron). I'm always curious about the tube Traynors. I'm only a 15 minute drive from where they build them.

I know exactly what you mean. I HATE V30's though. They're harsh, way too focused, and have a nasty fizz to them.

That said, they do sound really good mic'ed up. But, for now, I'll take my V12's!


Originally Posted by Robert1950How do you find the YCV50 Blue? ( Celestron and Post-Celestron). I'm always curious about the tube Traynors. I'm only a 15 minute drive from where they build them.I've got the same amp as SoCalSteve (the YCV50) so I'll answer that!

It's just plain good. The clean channel is the best EL34 clean I've ever heard. I use only basswood and mahagony guitars and still rarely have the trebble above half way because the tone isn't dark at all. It's very defined and not flubby or boomy at all. It doesn't quite have the sweetness of a Fender, but it's quite good. I find that there's just enough headroom with the stock tubes and speaker to stay relatively clean up to band rehearsal volumes. I suspect with a tube change, it could be even better.

The dirty channel without the boost engaged takes you from that raw, gritty plexi tone right up to a lower volume JCM 800 tone. At low volumes it sounds quite nice, although lacks some deffinition. Crank it up and you better be prepared to turn down the trebble. For whatever reason, it gets very bright.

Kick in the gain boost and I'm in tonal heaven. Even with the master around two or three, it really sounds fantastic. Kick it up around five and you start to notice the poewr tubes getting nice and hot. Roll the gain back to about 1/3 with a lower output neck pickup and I can do a fairly convincing Slash woman tone. Crank up the gain and channel volume and suddenly I'm Adrian Smith.

Overall, I'm quite happy with the amp. The tone can get a little gritty at times for my tastes, but keep in mind I'm running it entirely stock.


Originally Posted by mnbaseball91Well, I've never played through the V12 before, but if it's as good as you say it is in the YCV, I may have to check it out! Would you say it's fuller sounding than the Celestion? One of the things I've noticed about the YCV is that it lacks some lower mids and the highs sometimes get just a tad harsh, especially on lower gain settings. I attributed it to the open back design, but maybe a new speaker would do the trick. What do you think?'Highs get a tad harshquot;. I found that to be true also, mostly at higher volumes. Now the V12 I put in was already broken in from my previous Traynor but man, it is really smooth. For some reason 'sweet' keeps coming to mind. It is a really pleasing sound to my ears. I like this amp even more than before!

V12 is a little darker and is more of a hi and low speakers as opposed to the v30s focused mids. The v12 almost reminds me of mixing a g12t75 with a v30. I think the v30 is a little more alive sounding but has some annoying qualities in the highs. Try mixing 2 v12s on top and 2 v30s on the botom and you may be real happy.

I prefer the Governor to all the above mentioned speakers. Better highs thsn the V12 and better mids and less honky and harsh yhsn newer V30's. However,
I have heard a pair of V30's that are older, made in England and well broken, I mean really well broken in and they sound great.

gt5litre

The V12 is a good speaker. It actually has a lower high range capability than a lot of other speakers. With this being the case a lot of the unwanted highs or trebly sounds that some amps seem to have are attenuated out. It's a good speaker to tame a spikey amp. Go to the eminence web site and compare the specs on the V12 with the Governor, for example. FWIW, the Governor is also a great speaker.

i ordered a V12 after i read this thread last sunday, it will arrive tomorrow. i'll put the v12 on the traynor and put the v30 on my marshall mg50 and use it as an extension cab. i'll post a review tomorrow. i love the sound of the amp stock but i want a little bit more low-end.

^Ooh, someone else with the YCV50!

The only reason I haven't gone ahead and bought the speaker myself is that there isn't anything specific that I want to change about my tone right now. It's not perfect by any means, but I can't quite pinpoint what it is that I don't like as much. It'll be interesting to hear what you think of it.

I haven't tried that amp myself (YCV50) but I've heard that the Private Jack sounds good in it, FWIW.

How's the V12 in a closed back? Would it be a good mix with a Celestion V30?

If you guys like your distortion smooth, also try the Celestion G12m70 speakers. No longer made. So you need to keep an eye out for them.
They give your gain a much smoother voicing than the raspiness of the V30.
Mids also seem a little more pronounced.
I really like the G12m70s for lead.

just installed the v12 on my traynor(an hour ago) and right out of the box, i like it too better than the v30. it has more low-end, a bit less mids and less harsher highs than the v30. i'll install the v30 on my mg50(closed back) and use it as an extension cab or maybe i'll just make a cab. i think the v30 will sound better in a closed(sealed) cab. the v30 sounds a bit middy and the low-end is a little loose in an open-back cab. BTW, i only played with the v12 at medium volume, i'll see tomorrow if i'll like it at full volume.

I'm going to be switching amps soon, and the amp I'll be using is a Carvin Legacy. The amp was designed to be used with Vintage 30s, and up until a few months ago i didn't really like those but they seem to have finally found a sound with me. But DSS3, whose opinion I trust, says he likes his V12s better so I think I'll try two of those in my 2x12. I'll need to change anyway to increase wattage handling, so it'll be interesting to see how this will sound.

I'm running Weber C1230's now, which are supposed to be vintage G12H30 clones.