Celestion Vintage 30 Speaker

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emoshurchak

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I'm considering the purchase of a 100 watt Mark II combo that is equipped with a Celestion Vintage 30 G12 speaker which is rated at 60 watts. The amp is a 1982 model; not sure if the speaker is original. Is this speaker too light for this amp?
 
Yes. The vintage 30 is rated at 60-70 watts depending upon when it was manufactured.
 
Just dont push it and switch the amp to 60 watt if so equipped. Then still don't push it too hard.
 
I'd be VERY careful with that. A lot of people play with fire when it comes to speaker ratings. Most amplifiers are rated for CLEAN power with up to 10% distortion. Guitar amps, especially modern ones, are designed to go FAR beyond that, usually peaking out at about double the rated wattage. Guitar players usually like the sound of power tube distortion. That means even with your amp switched down to 60 watts RMS, the amp is capable of pushing almost 120 watts when it is cranked up really loud. The power section gets a lot more efficient when distorion is not considered (this is why so many people say that Boogies are rated very conservatively - when in reality they just reach their ratted wattage lower on the volume control and can push further beyond that into distorion) The saving grace for most is the fact that most speakers are rated RMS as well, and they are capable of handling peaks of much higher wattage. That's peaks... not continuous playing. If all you do is play at bedroom volume, then you're probably fine, but I would never gig or play loud for any extended period of time with a 100 watt amp into a 60 watt speaker. At best you'll just ruin the speaker... at worst you'll fry the speaker and take out the output transformer in your amp and possibly more. Plugging the speaker into a lower ohm output, such as plugging an 8 ohm speaker into a 4 ohm output, will help cut down on the wattage demands for the speaker too. Your safest bet is put in a higher rated speaker or get an extension cab to divide the load and wattage up.
 
Thanks for your advice. I decided to pass on this particular unit. Although the speaker could have been replaced, the cost was a factor.

Ernie
 
Sorry to hijack the thread a little but I'd like a precision on the subject:

When I use the internal V30 of my 1x12 Nomad with my 2x12 V30s external cab both in the 4ohm outputs what power capacity do I have? 3x60W=180W?

In my case it's a Nomad 45 so 1xV30 should be enough if I don't crank it.
I just swapped the original MC90 speaker for the V30 and I find the tone has improved, smoother highs, still Mesa aggressive but less fizzy. I find the V30 better than the MC90 for EL84, MC90 is probably voiced for 6L6.

Fabien
 

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