Celestion C90

[Anomaly]

Question for the MarkV Combo owners, how does the stock C90
Sounds like compared to V30's? In the process of aquiring the combo
Here. Youtube demo comparison of C90 vs V30, C90 sounds harsh trebly
On the demo. :?:

 

[MrMarkIII]

The Mark V is a 90 watt amp.
The V-30 is a 60 watt speaker.
Do the math.

The C-90 is a 90 watt speaker, still short of necessary horsepower IMO.
If you play on the 90 watt setting with the master at 5 for any appreciable length of time, the C-90 will go bye-bye.

 

[knotts]

If you play on the 90 watt setting with the master at 5 for any appreciable length of time, the C-90 will go bye-bye.

You mean the V30 will get toasted...right?

 

[MrMarkIII]

A 90 watt amp is too much power for both, as stated in my original answer.

 

[Anomaly]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lJYmOKC4h0&feature=youtube_gdata_player


Demo here show's the tonal difference.. To my end V30 sounds much better :?:

 

[BoogiePete]

I've just fitted the V30 and I like it much more than the C90. Warmer, more rounded, not so wiry sounding and I'm not experiencing the 'ice-pick' highs some have mentioned is a characteristic of the V30. So to sum up...it's more Vintage sounding

IMO you'd have to push the amp pretty hard to blow the speaker but it's easily cured by running in 45w mode which still peels the paint off the walls for me!

 

[SBG200]

I've always run my Mark combos with a V30. They're conservatively rated, and if you ever did happen to blow one, you just go get another. No big deal.

 

[SteveO]

The C90s are also very conservatively rated, you'll probably blow your ears out before you blow a C90 in a Mark combo.

 

[Anomaly]

Just bought (finally!) a MKV combo last weekend. Plugged it to my Avatar 2x12 cab w/ V30's .
Sounded way better than stock C90. I guess I might have to swap speakers :wink:

 

[kdorsey]

I'd venture a guess that most of us do not push our combos to the power limit much. The cleaner you set the gain, though, the higher the likelihood of a pick dynamics related accident. My master is set to 2+ regardless of the output...combo speaker or 2x12 cab, so that's a constant. The current speaker in my combo (WGS ET65) gets a pretty good workout and I know that if I go much farther, it will start to fail. If you don't use booster pedals (I have the EP-Booster on 100% of the time) you probably won't spike beyond 60-70W. If you really need the kind of output 90W presents with a single speaker, consider a 2x12 or 4x12 cab instead and spread out that power.

With all that crap aside, I love my C90s for later era classic rock in the 2x12s. Cuts great and presents fantastic articulation. Seems more tonally flexible than the V30s. V30s have a one-track midrange, IMO.

 

[Khorah.pds]

I think the c90 fits my style better. But it's all personal preference.

I will offer this bit first. Break the speaker in before you decide if you hate it.

I found the mv sounded a tad sterile and flat when i first bought it, but after a year of playing the speaker is sounding better and better every day.

Hope this helps!

 

[NR2112]

My C90's always sounded too sparkly, missing the mids. The v30s cured this. More balanced sound. The C90's were really good for clean playing, though...

I have been running a v30 in my 1x12 port city cab at the 90w mode and have it cranked up quite a bit, and never have blown anything...but my mind.

 

[MBJunkie]

I guess I am one of the few that really like the C90 in my MkV combo. I would also agree with other posters to give the C90 a chance to break in prior to swapping out speakers.

I have also played my MkV combo (disconnected the internal C90 speaker) through my Mesa Boogie 2x12 recto (closed back with 2-V30's) with very different, but good results. I found myself having to adjust the EQ settings with the 212 Recto, but was able to achieve great sounds through it as well.

I believe one can achieve a good tone from the MkV through many speaker options due to its incredible versatility.

Personally, I am very happy with the sounds of my MkV combo through the stock C90 speaker and usually play through it as such. YMMV?

 

[screamingdaisy]

I have a Mark V head that I use with a pair of the matching Widebody 1x12 extension cabs. If I use one it's basically the same as the combo format.

IMO... I prefer to use a Recto 2x12. The 1x12 produces lots of mids without a whole lot of bottom end, which gives a bit of a boxy sound when used on it's own. The Recto 2x12 is a little smoother and a lot fuller sounding. It's V30s produce more low mids vs the C90s slightly higher mid emphasis. The C90 actually produces a lot more bass than a V30, but the small open back cab design chokes the bottom end off so the end result is that the closed back Recto cab produces more bass. Additionally, the V30 is a very punchy/percussive speaker compared to the C90, which is more crunchy.

That said, the boxiness disappears the second the bassist kicks in. All those mids put it in a really good spot in the overall mix. The 1x12 is a good case of something that doesn't sound stellar in the bedroom working really well on stage.

 

[NR2112]

That said, the boxiness disappears the second the bassist kicks in. All those mids put it in a really good spot in the overall mix. The 1x12 is a good case of something that doesn't sound stellar in the bedroom working really well on stage.

I find this to be incredibly true... well put.

 

[Laskyman]

IMO... I prefer to use a Recto 2x12. The 1x12 produces lots of mids without a whole lot of bottom end, which gives a bit of a boxy sound when used on it's own. The Recto 2x12 is a little smoother and a lot fuller sounding. It's V30s produce more low mids vs the C90s slightly higher mid emphasis. The C90 actually produces a lot more bass than a V30, but the small open back cab design chokes the bottom end off so the end result is that the closed back Recto cab produces more bass. Additionally, the V30 is a very punchy/percussive speaker compared to the C90, which is more crunchy.

This answer is absolutely correct- the gain channels through the C90 are stiffer, although i prefer a clean channel with a C90. A Vertical recto 212 is IMHO *the* cab for a Mark V...

 

[screamingdaisy]

the gain channels through the C90 are stiffer, although i prefer a clean channel with a C90. A Vertical recto 212 is IMHO *the* cab for a Mark V...

The C90 is cool if you're looking for a little more raunchy, classic rock sort of sound.

The V30 is it if you're looking for the standard "Mesa" sound we all love.

I think the problem is that a lot of people (including myself for the most part) keep trying to dial in the standard "Mesa" sound on the C90, and it just doesn't do it all that well. I hated the C90s I have and was planning on ditching them, but in the last month or two I've slowly started to figure out what they're good at and have found a new appreciation for them.

Still... the Recto cabs are my preference. I'll use the 1x12s when there's lots of stairs or if I'd be better served with an open back cab that can spread the sound around the room better.