Does anyone not like a Celestion Blue in an AC15?

[brewbaker]

i just got a new Vox with the upgraded Blue and though I know it's not quite broken in yet, But so far I'm finding it splatty-blatty, strident, with a dispersed, not tight bottom. I'm wondering if there are those that would rather a G12H 30 or a Greenback or any other choices in this amp. Or am I being impatient about the break-in period?

Are the current production Blues as good as their ancestors?

 

[Reg18]

Blues are beautiful once broken in and being pushed into some compression, but this needs some volume. I personally really like a G12H in an AC15, more so than a Greenback. I find Greenbacks a bit mushy in the bass end for my liking but most people generally like Greenbacks in a Vox. If you can play the AC15 at resonable volumes I would say stick with the Blue, it will be kinda stiff and sterile for a while but they do loosen up. What sort of sound are you looking for?

 

[brewbaker]

I plugged the AC15 into a 2x12 cab that I have which has a Hellatone G12H30 and a Vet 30. Instantly the sound was rounder, smoother with no harshness to the breakup. Granted the bottom was huge due to the larger cab and two speakers. Maybe I'll try some stuff to speed up the break-in. Thinking about playing variety of things into a looper and then turn it up and let it go for a couple of hours. Thanks for your reply.

 

[Stratobuc]

Break that speaker in a good long time before you make a decision. I believe the Blue is THE speaker for a Vox amp.

 

[DiPa]

Break that speaker in a good long time before you make a decision. I believe the Blue is THE speaker for a Vox amp.

Blues need to be broken-in, and just play the heck out of it for a while, it should get better.

 

[s360guitarist]

Are you playing at home or with a band? Some of the things you may not like can disappear in a band mix.

 

[71strat]

Going by a General Rule... ( Some May Disagree. IMHO X YMMV ) Especially if you crank your amp, Possibly use pedals ? and still expect the speaker to hold together and sound good ? Expect to have any kind of clean headroom?

You need Speakers that are Minimum of Double the amps RMS. As you found out there is a HUGE DIFFERENCE when you hooked up 2 speakers up

I also don't like 2 Blues in a Cranked AC30. 4 is better. But Id rather have 2 x Celestion Creams.

Also for me. I like 0000+ speaker flub, cone cry or any kind of funny noises when I crank my amps. I like to hear the paring of the Amp/Speaker, and all the tonal coloration that comes with whatever combination ect, but no speaker distortion.

Also not saying that sometimes a sound of this type might be whats wanted. Its all good. But a 15 watt amp, with a 15 watt speaker for me wouldnt work.
I wouldn't want to live with it seems limited, and if you are constantly pushing the speakers, they will have a shorter than average life.

Ive got a Hayseed Head. I love the sound of Blues. Don't get me wrong. But only when I have enough of them.

The Blues are also renowned for their sweet highs, and mids. The Bottom, not so much. The Gold has a better bottom, but the Blue has better highs/mids.

IMHO I love the Celestion Cream... Not Creamback

Its 90 Watt Alnico, only $20 more than a Blue/Gold.

It has the Mids/Highs of the Blue, and even better Lows than the Gold. They also work great with a Low Watt Amp.

They are the best of the Gold/Blue, plus 90 watters x 100db, making them very versatile.

 

[WhoJamFan]

Blues take forever to break in. Go to Celestions Dr Decible section on how to break in a speaker. This is a good place to start. Seriously though, Blues take a good 40-50 hours before they start giving up the goods.
Blues out if the box can be a big disappointment, so just hang in there, and you'll fully understand why they are the Voxs ACs standard speaker.

 

[morgan918]

I think in terms of tone you either like the blues or not in a vox. They do take a while to break in and soften somewhat, but some of that is the character - chimey, lots of high end, glassy. The low end should tighten up and the top end settle down, but also depends on tubes and guitar as well. I've tried other speakers in various voxen and they can sound good but to me it only sounds like a Vox with the blues in it.

 

[Crowder]

There's nothing wrong with a Greenback in a Vox. Try it, you may like it.

 

[Coldacre]

i just got a new Vox with the upgraded Blue and though I know it's not quite broken in yet, But so far I'm finding it splatty-blatty, strident, with a dispersed, not tight bottom. I'm wondering if there are those that would rather a G12H 30 or a Greenback or any other choices in this amp. Or am I being impatient about the break-in period?

do you have a looper pedal? play some rythmic patterns on your neck pickup preferably with humbuckers, really dig in. loop that. face the amp front face down, go into the next room and watch some sports loudly for the afternoon...

once you get 50 hours on those speakers you'll hear a difference. once you get 100 hours, you'll again notice a difference. the other thing to do is to clip off the bright cap. the speaker will play nicer with OD pedals.

Are the current production Blues as good as their ancestors?

yes. they have the 1777 Muller cone. it was only the Blues being manufactured prior to 2010, shipped with the CC2X & H2X that had the wrong speaker cone.

 

[ChampReverb]

I prefer the Scumback Scumnico to the Blue.

It seems sweeter and more supple.

-bEn r.

 

[MHG]

I prefer Greenbacks over Blues with my Vox style amps.