If Scumbacks are so Superior...

[wildshoetwt]

Is there any good reason why cab companies, amp companies, still use Heritage Celestions?

I'm considering a Port City Wave 2x12 with a Heritage G12M and a H55 or H75, and I was wondering why nobody stocks Scumbacks if they're that good...

If it's because Jim wants to keep it a one-man-show type of thing, I can respect that, but damn I'm finding it hard to lay down 400 for 2 of his speakers when top-of-the-line cabinets are built ONLY LOADED and ONLY LOADED with Heritages, and many many people get gobs of tone from them on a daily basis.

[dbeeman]

Probably best to try them yourself and see. I don't personally think they are for everybody and every application. However, a good number of folks really like them.

[diagrammatiks]

Because they are expensive, because they are in limited supply, because cab manufactures cannot get volume discounts on scumbacks because they don't exist in volume.

That's like saying if 1959 Les Pauls are so good why isn't everyone using them. umm...obvious answer is obvious.

[chillerthanmost]

[rbehm]

I'll Stick with Celestion thanx

[nealyu]

i love mine!

[inmusica]

Guitarists are so name brand driven, that many manufacturers stick with what everybody knows. Not that I have a problem with Celestion. I still have many sitting around the house.

[dumbell78]

Best for Jim to answer, he's great to communicate with. Ive been more then happy with mine, well worth the coin.

[shadesofgray]

Well, First off alot of people on boutique-forums are under the impression that celestion speakers are bad because jim badmouths them everywhere

They're not bad however, you have to realize that for example he really dislikes the celestion blues because they don't sound the same as the vox silvers he has heard and complaints that they aren't up to spec

He's right that the celestion blues don't sound identical to old vox silvers, but ironically they're closer to vintage specs than the scumnicos are since scumnicos use a neodymium coated alnico-magnet, not the mueller cone, wrong chassis etc.. - soundwise however.. who knows, no one involved has heard new vox silvers with unaged magnets.

Celestion puts out some speakers that are really crappy, like the g12h30 anniversary series

But they also have some really great ones, the new celestion gold is one of my favorites.. It's not a recreation of the old vox silver but it just sounds deeper

Their heritage g12m and g12h are pretty great too, as are their g12m and g12hs..

Eminence have been up and coming lately aswell, showing off really interesting speakers and really good sounding ones.

That being said, the scumback speakers are not bad either, in fact they're great
but jim does exaggerate the differences since he's been obsessing over those differences for a long time

Either way, whichever speaker you choose you're going to get a really awesome speaker. Jim doesn't make bad speakers, just different ones. Same goes for Celestion.

The scumnicos compress the sound a lot less than a celestion blue or gold, which caused a friend of mine to sell his and buy a celestion blue for his ac15 because he was specifically after the compressed alnico chime

But he thought that the scumnico was a great speaker nonetheless, if you're after a celestion blue but you think that they're alittle too bright, alittle too flabby in the bass and too compressed then it's right up your alley

Personally i'm staying with celestions.. I honestly think they sound more vintage correct in a lot of cases.

[wildshoetwt]

so a heritage g12m and a h55 would be a viable mix?

[Lespaulsignature 74]

I've read a lot of Jim's post here and I can't ever recall him bad mouthing Celestion speakers? His speakers are based on the tones of pre rola Celestions.

[shadesofgray]

Originally Posted by Lespaulsignature 74

I've read a lot of Jim's post here and I can't ever recall him bad mouthing Celestion speakers? His speakers are based on the tones of pre rola Celestions.

I've read his posts across a number of forums, in fact, if you google for "celestion gold + forum" chances are you'll find his posts on most of the threads that turn up.

He usually complaints about celestion speakers not being "vintage correct" or sounding like their vintage counterpart
at the same time his own speakers are even further away from vintage spec than celestions own reissues which I think
makes it hypocritical of him to criticize his main competitor for not being up to vintage spec..

In fact, i'd be more obliged to buy his speakers if he wrote that they were his take on the original classics which they are (unless you've seen many vox alnicos that were made with neodymium mixed in) than how he's currently marketing them.

But in the end specs doesn't matter, what matters is if you like the speakers he makes regardless of if they are vintage correct or not.

His scumnicos compress less than celestion blues and celestion golds and have firmer bass, which i'm sure is something that will appeal to alot of people

[diagrammatiks]

I'm pretty sure he loves celestion speakers. He has more celestion speakers then anybody. He loves them to death. He loves them so much that he spent his own money to grab every example good and bad and get the best possible ones recreated. If Celestion still knew how to make the speakers that he loves he wouldn't have needed to make scumbacks.

[Roe]

jim never claimed to recreate the silver alnico's construction

[Scumback Speakers]

Originally Posted by wildshoetwt

Is there any good reason why cab companies, amp companies, still use Heritage Celestions?

Scumbacks cost more to make than other speakers, so I don't have the profit margin to court that business. In addition, since I have limited quantities, and a 30 day build/lead time, that is outside some cab maker's build time frames.