Mark IV Owners: V30s vs. C90s?

[ibanez4life SZ!]

Hey guys!

If everything goes as planned, I should be adding another Traditional 4x12 to my rig very soon! I'm really excited, and can't wait to have one of these bad boys on EACH side of my drummer :twisted:

Now, I'm considering doing some speaker experimenting with this one....how do you guys like the C90s with yours IVs? How would you compare them to the V30s? I'm very happy with the tone on the V30s...can be a little "sharp" at times, but it's not in a bad way....I'm definitely willing to try something different though, and if I like the results, I'd also be willing to do a mix of speakers on the two cabs...

So, opinions are greatly appreciated!

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a Happy New Year btw

 

[vic]

ive got a mix of one each in my 212 and its really good i like it better than the all v30

 

[ibanez4life SZ!]

Sounds like it might be a good combination to me aswell...

What would you guys say they compare?

 

[Whoopysnorp]

I don't like all V30s in any cabinet. I just replaced two of the V30s in my Mesa Roadready with G12H-80s. The improvement of the tone you get when standing in front of it is notable, but the real advantage came in recording. Put a dynamic mic on a V30 and a condenser on a G12H-80 and blend them and you've got a great sound that doesn't have that V30 honk.

Here's a clip: www.genitalhercules.com/~mcrowe/StudioPre.mp3

 

[ibanez4life SZ!]

Any other input? I'm debating between the Mesa C90s or Celestion Lead 80s to mix with my V30s....as far as I know, they are pretty much the same speaker anyway

 

[Jarrod]

I have a 3/4 back 1x12 loaded with a C-90.

I love it so much, I'm getting another matching cab. The speaker is thick and smooth. That's the only I can describe it.

 

[Scorch]

I have RoadKing cabs which have both C90 and V30 speakers with the added benefit of being able to use both or either one. Out of the two I think the C90 is a better match with the Mark IV. It fits in well with the Mark IV's EQ curve. The V30, especially on cleans sounds a bit harsh in the upper mids. The V30 really fits the Marshall EQ curve better.
But its funny, when I blend both the C90 and V30 together, the C90 being slightly more sensitive therefore louder, they sound really good together. The V30 sort of 'fills up' the C90 mid-scoop sound.

 

[ibanez4life SZ!]

Looks like it will just be easiest to buy a pair of c90s, throw them in in an x-pattern, and just give it a try.

Any other input would be GREATLY appreciated!

Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and a happy new year to all you guys btw!

 

[Paul Secondino]

Any other input? I'm debating between the Mesa C90s or Celestion Lead 80s to mix with my V30s....as far as I know, they are pretty much the same speaker anyway

With all due respect they are definitely not . I can promise you that the CL80 is a more balanced speaker. And while it has quite a bit of midrange (mostly non boinky) it isn't a ridiculous amount like the 90 watters. I think the 90 watters serve a small/useful purpose but the midrange is really in your face and your amp will bot be able to compensate.

Anyway, I don't want to scare you away from the 90's but the CL80 is tighter and the 90 is very one dimensional in my opinion

Also consider Eminence speakers. I never really paid much attention to Eminence til I tried one and they are every bit as good or better than Celestion. The Governor from Eminence is a absolutely perfectly designed speaker. IT is everything good about a V30 without any of the midrange peak, cone cry ,etc . V30's mixed with Governors is killer. Plus the governor handles 75 watts and is a veyr eefficient speaker so it sounds as loud as a CL80.

 

[ibanez4life SZ!]

I've actually been thinking about Eminence for a long time aswell....would you guys recommend mixing V30s with the Governors, or maybe just go straight eminence speakers? That actually sounds pretty intriguing

 

[Jarrod]

FYI, the governers are V30s replicas. The sound of the patriots and red coats will vary depending on speaker, but something I have known, the best speakers for the mark amps by eminence is the man o wars.

They are american made as well compared to the china celestions. Contruction is top notch, and the replicas sound better than the celestion counter parts.

 

[Paul Secondino]

I've actually been thinking about Eminence for a long time as well....would you guys recommend mixing V30s with the Governors, or maybe just go straight eminence speakers? That actually sounds pretty intriguing

You can do either or. It depends on what you really want out of your amp and cabinets. In this case, the aspect of tone that we're dealing with is speaker response so it's not always about wattage or EQ curve. It's what we humans perceive of the speaker's output.

So for instance, V30's have their weaknesses but one of those weaknesses is its somewhat inefficient power handling. On paper , this is a number but in the real world, it sounds like "compression" And a lot of metal heads love the V30 because of that compression or perceived compression.

What I like about the Governor is that it doesn't sound compressed compared to the V30 but still gives the same kind of EQ . So maybe you'd prefer one over the other . Tone Guru John Suhr prefers the Governor in a 1x12 or 2x12 but prefers the V30 in a 4x12. This kind of makes sense to me. And since a 4x12 has a lot of real estate inside it, I would tend to recommend mixing speakers in a X pattern.

So if you're looking for a combination, start with your style of music. Classic Rock, blues etc might call for greenbacks paired with G12-H 30's. Or maybe something like Celestion gold's with Greenbacks

For hard rock or metal, I think V30's paired wit ha CL80 are a good combination or V30's paired with greenbacks if you want a really hairy tone. I personally like efficient sounding speakers like the Eminence Governor or Wizard. I haven't tried the Mano war but heard good things about them. So maybe the compression of two V30's paired with the efficiency of two Eminence Governors would sound great to you

 

[Force]

Dude, the MC90's sound amazing w/ the mark IV.

enjoy the holidays & your new cab!