Celestion Classic Lead 80's? - love / hate / just meh?

fitz

fitz

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I'm looking for a pair of 8-ohm speakers that I haven't tried before.

Planning to do one of my 4-ohm parallel / 16-ohm series switchable wiring shenanigan set-ups in a 2x12.
Need some 50w + in the 4-ohm mode to handle a 100w MOSFET.

I know nothing much about the Classic Lead 80, so please educate me.
 
“Meh” here. I used to hate them. There was a brief time that a select few had a ”love” for them…IDK why….perhaps they were stripping the 75s from their 1960 series cab’s….preparing to sell them, loaded with the 80s. Great way to increase profit. Ditch the cab for okay coin, locally, and sell the drivers on the bay of despair. $
 
Thatbastarddon said:
“Meh” here. I used to hate them. There was a brief time that a select few had a ”love” for them…IDK why….perhaps they were stripping the 75s from their 1960 series cab’s….preparing to sell them, loaded with the 80s. Great way to increase profit. Ditch the cab for okay coin, locally, and sell the drivers on the bay of despair. $
Click to expand...
I'm also open to other speaker suggestions, just need a pair of 8-ohm that will handle 100w.

I was asked why and how on that "other" forum, so while you enjoy S&G, here's some snippets from my replies.

Here's how:
There are multiple ways to do this, but the easiest is with 2 switching jacks.
If you have a 1936 or 1922 style cab, all you need is some wire and a soldering iron - you already got the 2 jacks.
This is basically like the center 2 jacks of a Palmer Cab Merger box that just direct wires the speakers instead of the outer 2 cab jacks on the Palmer.

1st pics shows the wiring layout
Blue lines are the built-in jack lug connectors - White lugs disconnect with a cable inserted.
2nd & 3rd pics show the active connections when either jack (highlighted) is used.

1729995387628.png

Here's why:
I'm looking for a pair of 8-ohm speakers because I have a house full of 16-ohm speakers that won't work with the above set-up.
It's not a tone thing - it's an impedance thing.
At 4-ohm, the 100w SS runs full power, but at 16-ohm the power is attenuated to about half (AFAIK).

Currently have a pair of 112's (w/ 70w Heritage 8-ohm's) under the 5100 that does this with a switch on one cab.
The plan is to wire up the 2556A under the 3210 with the 2-jack method shown above.

Just kinda in the mood to try some different speakers while I'm at it.
Low watt speakers are not the best idea in this scenario, so GB's and H30 Anni's are out.
Not a huge fan of T-75's or retail 60w V30's, but open to other suggestions.
 
fitz said:
I'm also open to other speaker suggestions, just need a pair of 8-ohm that will handle 100w.

I was asked why and how on that "other" forum, so while you enjoy S&G, here's some snippets from my replies.

Here's how:
There are multiple ways to do this, but the easiest is with 2 switching jacks.
If you have a 1936 or 1922 style cab, all you need is some wire and a soldering iron - you already got the 2 jacks.
This is basically like the center 2 jacks of a Palmer Cab Merger box that just direct wires the speakers instead of the outer 2 cab jacks on the Palmer.

1st pics shows the wiring layout
Blue lines are the built-in jack lug connectors - White lugs disconnect with a cable inserted.
2nd & 3rd pics show the active connections when either jack (highlighted) is used.

View attachment 103590

Here's why:
I'm looking for a pair of 8-ohm speakers because I have a house full of 16-ohm speakers that won't work with the above set-up.
It's not a tone thing - it's an impedance thing.
At 4-ohm, the 100w SS runs full power, but at 16-ohm the power is attenuated to about half (AFAIK).

Currently have a pair of 112's (w/ 70w Heritage 8-ohm's) under the 5100 that does this with a switch on one cab.
The plan is to wire up the 2556A under the 3210 with the 2-jack method shown above.

Just kinda in the mood to try some different speakers while I'm at it.
Low watt speakers are not the best idea in this scenario, so GB's and H30 Anni's are out.
Not a huge fan of T-75's or retail 60w V30's, but open to other suggestions.
Click to expand...
Ahha….I missed that angle. Seems I have a similar conundrum here, with a stereo SS amp that likes to put out 60watts per side at 4 Ω…the 4x12 cab that it’s paired with is loaded with(edit…sorry) 8 Ω speakers…the math doesn’t work out in an advantageous fashion.
Doable, but weak in mono mode.
 
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Thatbastarddon said:
Ahha….I missed that angle. Seems I have a similar conundrum here, with a stereo SS amp that likes to put out 60watts per side at 4 Ω…the 4x12 cab that it’s paired with is loaded with 16 Ω speakers…the math doesn’t work out in an advantageous fashion.
Doable, but weak.
Click to expand...
If the 4x12 is 8-ohms per side, you should be fine running stereo to the 4-ohm taps.
The speaker load will just cut the output to about 70% at one step up in impedance.
Should just be somewhat reduced volume and perhaps a slight tonal difference, but no harm to either amp or speakers.
 
fitz said:
If the 4x12 is 8-ohms per side, you should be fine running stereo to the 4-ohm taps.
The speaker load will just cut the output to about 70% at one step up in impedance.
Should just be somewhat reduced volume and perhaps a slight tonal difference, but no harm to either amp or speakers.
Click to expand...
See my edit please…sorry, not my cab…I keep putting it out of my mind. I wish it had 16 Ω speakers. It has 8 Ω. Been watching hockey…
 
Thatbastarddon said:
See my edit please…sorry, not my cab…I keep putting it out of my mind. I wish it had 16 Ω speakers. It has 8 Ω. Been watching hockey…
Click to expand...
Ok - you could actually make that 4x12 of 8-ohm speakers work.
Parallel sides on stereo jacks would give you two 4-ohm loads for the stereo amp.
 
So… he also likes to run his tube amp through it, and it likes to see 8 or 16…never 4. I know him well enough to know that if I give him access to a 4 Ω load, he will find a way to fry his OT in the tube amp.
 
Thatbastarddon said:
So… he also likes to run his tube amp through it, and it likes to see 8 or 16…never 4. I know him well enough to know that if I give him access to a 4 Ω load, he will find a way to fry his OT in the tube amp.
Click to expand...
Yep, best leave it at 8-ohm for failsafe.
Some of the stuff I do is not in the manual for a reason...
 
So, in a poll, so far, I got 1 for "just meh", from a former hater...

Any other suggestions?
Looking for good, but relatively inexpensive.
I don't have much into the amp & cab as it is, and it's just one of my workshop rigs.
Not popping on a set of new Redbacks, but I'd do Eminence Tonkers if I could find a deal.

I usually see V-Types on the cheap.
Actually have a pair of 16-ohm V-Types in the cab ATM.
 
There was once a great article on Celestion speakers by Solo-Dallas called Celestion Speakers, From Blues to Greenies, and Beyond. It no longer exists, but it has been preserved in various forum posts. Here's a link to what he had to say about the 80s. I have no experience with them, so I have nothing useful to provide other than this link.



G12-80: the G12-65′s big brother
The G12-80 was the reworked version of the G12H 30w (just like the G12-65 was the reworked version of the G12M). It had the same 50oz magnet, handled 80w, had 8ohms and 16ohms options and, again, lead cone and bass cone versions (a few reports of success using the bass cone with guitar, but I'm not very sure). It's said to have a similar tone to the old 30watters, but with more bottom end and less treble, retaining the strong punch and a lot of volume (efficiency of 100db).
The bass version was found on the Marshall 1982A and 1982B cabs from around 1978 onwards. Not very sure about the lead version though. Information about these old Marshall cabs is rather scarce. I've heard of folks who found the lead version instead of the bass version inside de 1982 cabs.
JCM800 1982A cab with bass G12-80 speakers
The G12-80 had a short life too, being replaced by the G12H-100. The G12-65 was replaced by the G12M-70 in 1983
Not much info about these speakers, but they don't have that good of a reputation. Probably they work better with 80-ish high gain tones.
Names here start to get messy too. I wonder why the magnet sizes were omitted in the G12-65 and G12-80 (their names should be G12M-65 and G12H-80, at least in theory).
Anyway, it seems that the G12-80 also evolved into the Classic Lead 80 (still in production to this day)and the G12M-70 became the Modern Lead 70 (discontinued, it seems).



Here's a link to a post with the entire article. It's a good reference article to have.

GREAT Article about Celestions!!!!
 
SG John said:
There was once a great article on Celestion speakers by Solo-Dallas called Celestion Speakers, From Blues to Greenies, and Beyond. It no longer exists, but it has been preserved in various forum posts. Here's a link to what he had to say about the 80s. I have no experience with them, so I have nothing useful to provide other than this link.



G12-80: the G12-65′s big brother
The G12-80 was the reworked version of the G12H 30w (just like the G12-65 was the reworked version of the G12M). It had the same 50oz magnet, handled 80w, had 8ohms and 16ohms options and, again, lead cone and bass cone versions (a few reports of success using the bass cone with guitar, but I'm not very sure). It's said to have a similar tone to the old 30watters, but with more bottom end and less treble, retaining the strong punch and a lot of volume (efficiency of 100db).
The bass version was found on the Marshall 1982A and 1982B cabs from around 1978 onwards. Not very sure about the lead version though. Information about these old Marshall cabs is rather scarce. I've heard of folks who found the lead version instead of the bass version inside de 1982 cabs.
JCM800 1982A cab with bass G12-80 speakers
The G12-80 had a short life too, being replaced by the G12H-100. The G12-65 was replaced by the G12M-70 in 1983
Not much info about these speakers, but they don't have that good of a reputation. Probably they work better with 80-ish high gain tones.
Names here start to get messy too. I wonder why the magnet sizes were omitted in the G12-65 and G12-80 (their names should be G12M-65 and G12H-80, at least in theory).
Anyway, it seems that the G12-80 also evolved into the Classic Lead 80 (still in production to this day)and the G12M-70 became the Modern Lead 70 (discontinued, it seems).



Here's a link to a post with the entire article. It's a good reference article to have.

GREAT Article about Celestions!!!!
Click to expand...
Thanks!
I briefly had an 8-ohm G12H-80 black frame with a date code from 2001.
(Transition year from leg stamps to mag stickers.)
Which, btw, had a sticker that said G12H-90.
Not sure if this was a transition version of the G12-80 to G12H-100, or some sort of OEM speaker.
I had nothing to pair it with and sold it.

h80.01s.jpg

h80.02s.jpg
 
fitz said:
I'm looking for a pair of 8-ohm speakers that I haven't tried before.

Planning to do one of my 4-ohm parallel / 16-ohm series switchable wiring shenanigan set-ups in a 2x12.
Need some 50w + in the 4-ohm mode to handle a 100w MOSFET.

I know nothing much about the Classic Lead 80, so please educate me.
Click to expand...
The only speakers that Celestion makes worthwhile, are made in UK / England.
The China Celestions are "Celestion" in name only, and not the sound or quality.
I will not be buying any Celestions from China. I have seen these and characterize them as the great lapse of quality control.

Want good speakers? They cost more money than cheapo speakers.
Is it worthwhile to spend $$$ to buy good speakers? Yes.

The total wattage rating of the speaker(s) should be at least 2X the power of the amplifier.
This is for reliability.
 
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Amp Mad Scientist said:
The only speakers that Celestion makes worthwhile, are made in UK / England.
The China Celestions are "Celestion" in name only, and not sound or quality.
I will not be buying any Celestions from China. I have seen these and characterize them as a great lapse of quality control.

Want good speakers? They cost more money than cheapo speakers.
Click to expand...
I'm looking at a pair made in UK (2020).
Asking $210 for the pair shipped.
A little high for what I want, but a fair price compared to NIB ($160-ish ea.).
I haven't made an offer yet, but I've also seen them go for way less.

1730036360578.png
 
See…I was watching hockey….whenever I see Celestion and 80…I picture these :facepalm: sorry.

celestion-seventy-80-8-ohms-2001736.jpg

Back to smoking salmon….
 
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