Celestion Vintage 30 - 8 Ohm

I bought this speaker as an upgrade for a Laney Cub 12R in which the stock speaker wasn't up to the job. I have a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe which has also been modded with one of these speakers and the amp really sings. I use it primarily with pedal steel guitar in which I need it to remain clean whilst playing at relatively high volume. It does this really well. The Laney is a much smaller amp and, at 15 watts, is naturally going to break up a little earlier. However, since swapping in the Celestion V30, there is way more headroom available before the amp begins to show any signs of breaking up, providing a really good emulation of the clear highs and solid lows of a Fender amp. And even when this does occur, only the slightest bit of gorgeous saturation can be heard. It makes available a huge amount of volume to what would otherwise be a generally quiet amp. This is a great speaker.

Well the Vintage 30 seems to be one of the most generic speakers on the market today.
When I bought it planned to have it installed in either a Suhr 1x12, or to replace my Celestion Greenback in my Zilla 2x12.
So far I have tried it in the Suhr cab and I didn´t really like it. The sound is ok, but compared to the 2x12 (with a G12-H30 and a Greenback), it was much harder and squeky. It also have a really uncomftortable harmonic that tends to feedback from the speaker while muting your strings. I don´t know if this is something that will go away when it is properly broken in, but that remains to be heard.

Other then that it seems to be a well built speaker, and time will tell if it is a keeper.

You just can't go wrong for good heavy tones with V30s. I'm writing this review after a year for an unbiased opinion because we all fall in love with our gear the moment we get it.

Tone-wise, I have nothing to complain. I have been using plugins and IRs based on V30 and having the real deal is just amazing. Yes, they are Chinese made but I don't think it has any impact on the tone and the quality looks like it is made to last. Even Nolly of GGD would agree - take it from an expert not just a random dude's review.

Overall solid speakers, works really well with my DIY cab, nothing to complain.

Since installing this speaker in my fifteen year old Fender Hotrod deluxe amp I've found a new love for this amplifier.

I believe it's the most effective modification that can be made to these well-loved amps. The amp can now handle those drive pedals much more capably than before, with a tighter sound than the old speaker could give. I believe it to be an excellent choice for general rock and blues styles.

Furthermore, the reputation these speakers have for reliability is second to none, and for that you only have to look to see how widely employed they are by many manufacturers. You know that you're in safe hands when installing a Celestion Vintage 30. Mine is breaking in nicely!