[SOLVED!] Celestion G12T-75 vs Vintage 30: Two Great Guitar Speakers – Which One to Buy?

Many of the speakers made by Celestion have achieved great success and at the moment, Celestion G12T-75 vs Vintage 30 is a hotly discussed topic. Needless to say, taste varies from person to person so the music community is at odds regarding the speaker that comes out top. If you seek an in-depth comparison that lay out the characteristics of the Celestion speakers, you should find this article useful.

Celestion G12T-75 Overview

If you are longing to hear that classic British sound out of your guitar amp, get the Celestion G12T-75. It’s a 12-inch speaker designed to supplement high-gain amplifiers. With this, you can achieve plenty of bottom end, smooth mid-range, and colorful top-end. You can achieve sweetness to overdrive and extreme volume handling.

Celestion G12T-75 is featured in a world-renowned 4×12 cab, and perhaps, it’s the best-selling guitar amp speaker of all time. The speaker choice of Yngwie Malmsteen and Joe Satriani – shouldn’t you also get this speaker?

Celestion Vintage 30 Overview

Introduced in 1986, Vintage 30 is the flagship speaker of the British manufacturer. The Vintage 30 was created in order to meet the demands of hard rock players during that time. This speaker features the ‘H’ magnet along with a new cone and coil assembly to better handle more power and overdrive.

This 60-watt speaker is capable of delivering warm lows, rich mids, and detailed highs. It’s twice as loud as other speakers with the same wattage and power level. Hence, this speaker can be found in the cabs of famous players like Steve Stevens and Peter Frampton. Don’t you think it’s something worth checking?

Features & Specifications

The G12T-75 comes with a very versatile loudspeaker and found in the world’s trusted amplifiers. It has a wide frequency range and sensitivity to accommodate various music styles like rock, metal, high-gain sounds, and the like. Made of high-quality materials to ensure reliability and consistency of tone from whatever cab and amp it may be.

What separates the Vintage 30 from the G12T-75 is the ‘H’ magnet, which Celestion described its performance as closer to Alnico. The development of Vintage 30 was a long process, so you are assured of its top performance. It’s designed to handle high power amplification of modern music styles.

In addition to these features, here’s a comparison of their specifications. You might get some information that will help you decide whether to get a GT12-75 or a Vintage 30.

	CELESTION G12T-75	CELESTION VINTAGE 30
Nominal diameter	12in/305mm	12″, 305mm
Power rating	75W	60Wrms
Nominal impedance	8Ω or 16Ω	Available 16Ω
Sensitivity	97dB	100dB
Chassis type	Pressed steel	Pressed steel
Voice coil diameter	44mm	1.75″, 44.5mm
Voice coil material	Round copper	Round copper
Magnet type	Ceramic	Ceramic
Magnet weight	35oz/0.99kg	50oz, 1.42kg
Frequency range	80-5000Hz	70-5000Hz
Resonance frequency, Fs	85Hz	75Hz
DC resistance, Re	6.77Ω or 12.9Ω	Available 7.3Ω or 12.9Ω

Performance

Embodying Celestion quality, these two speakers are great on their own. Depending on the preference of the player, one speaker is excellent over the other. However, in general, they have their own strengths and weaknesses. And, the choice of amplifier or cabinet plays an important role in maximizing the capacity of these speakers.

To put this into perspective, some guitarists love to put the G12T-75 on their Marshall Plexi amps (guitar amps from the later of the 1960s that featured Plexiglas panel). Plexi amps have a more pronounced midrange. Combining it with the scooped sound of the G12T-75, you’ll get a balanced output.

For the Vintage 30 speakers, they can be best paired with a Traynor Blue YCS50, for example. At the upper-mid peak, Vintage 30 can sound a bit unbalanced, but if you pair it with a great amp, the sound can be fantastic.

Although these speakers may achieve great performance with the right amp, it seems that the G12T-75 is more consistent from amp to amp, and from one venue to the other. G12T-75 is more flexible. But, if you are performing in a band, Vintage 30 could be a great choice – which also depends on the kind of sound output you want to showcase.

Sound

There’s a reason why even great players and guitarists have their own take when it comes to these two Celestion speakers. Generally speaking, G12T-75 is perfect for traditional metal, while the Vintage 30 is for modern stuff. For amps with more pronounced midrange, G12T-75 is a good fit, while for high gain amps with more lows, Vintage 30 is a better choice.

Metal rhythm player will appreciate the scooped-sounding G12T-75, while the lead player is best to have the other. In this way, all grounds are covered, and it’ll definitely give a wonderful performance.

Though it’s really nice if you can put your ears to hear their unique sound physically, here’s a good YouTube video reference to how these speakers differ. This will give you an impression of how great these speakers are – so, you can choose which is best for you.

Price

These speakers are just affordable. But, among the two, the G12T-75 is cheaper. Although it’s dubbed a cheaper alternative to the Vintage 30, based on the discussions earlier, you know these twos speakers are great in their own way. They are a must-have, though, especially if you are into recording.

Pros & Cons

Celestion G12T-75

Pros

• Worth the price as it sounds really great
• Nicely fits hard rock to metal music styles
• Has more versatility

Cons

• Might not that good at overdrive with a lot of gain
• May sound ‘80s

Celestion Vintage 30

Pros

• Quality speaker as expected from Celestion
• Can handle a wide range of tones
• Offers warmth to the sound you wanted

Cons

• Can have distortion when the amp is pushed harder
• Prone to unwanted noise at low volumes

Conclusion

When it comes to speakers, Celestion is the best choice. And, between Celestion speakers, you’ll always end up torn between Celestion G12T-75 vs Vintage 30. While there are tons of Celestion speakers – from Greenbacks, Creambacks, to Celestion Alnico, among others – these two are widely used.

There’s no right or wrong when you choose one or the other, the greatness of these speakers depends on your amp and the kind of sound you want to produce. If you are geared towards traditional metal, get the G12T-75, while for modern music styles, the Vintage 30 is the best fit. Better talk to Celestion if you’re having a hard time in choosing between the two.