good replacement for a Celestion G12C-30?

[batsbrew]

i really like this speaker, can't find anything like it.

anyone have a suggestion for a good aftermarket that comes close?

not looking for any standard Greenback variants, that is not what this is.

 

[stratovarius]

Not sure if you came across the following, but I have seen this quote in several places:

"The G12C is modeled on an original G12M from 1966 to 67.

The G12C greenback's were referenced from a particularly fine set of mid 60s G12Ms.

The G12C is a G12M but voiced after a particularly nice vintage reference we had access to. We couldn't call it a G12M because that was already taken obviously, so we called it G12C which simply stands for G12 Ceramic. It is exclusive to the Limited Edition Hendrix and the Vintage Modern Series.

The G12C has been voiced to be the same as an original 'Golden Reference containing G12M's' we had which was absolutely beautiful - warm, balanced and woody.

On the difference between the G12M Heritage and the G12C: They are both versions of the original G12-Ms. They shouldn't really differ in punch, only voicing. They are both great speakers but the G12-C was specially devoloped to complement the Hendrix SUER100JH.

The G12-C is the speaker I developed with Celestion when I was doing the SUPER100JH. I couldn't find a current 'off the shelf' greenback that sounded 'right on the nose' for the early Hendrix sound (especially when a full stack of them was used) so I made some tweaks and tunings and finally arrived at what we eventually called the G12-C.

We couldn't call it a G12-M as that was already taken so we decided on G12-C which is what Celestion called their greenbacks before dividing them into Ms and Hs (The C stands for 'Ceramic' by the way which refers to the magnet material).

I decided to use the G12-Cs with the Vintage Modern range because it's fundamental tone is from that same period - 66 to 68.

SPKR-00095 = G12C with spade terminals and manufactured in China by Celestion’s OEM partner ‘GPE’ as used in the Vintage Modern series.

SPKR-00092 = G12C with solder terminals and manufactured in Celestions UK factory in Ipswich, as used in the Hendrix SUPER100JH 1982A and B cabs.

There is absolutely no sonic difference between the two at all."

 

[batsbrew]

i think the "G12-C" has a larger magnet than this one, which is 20 oz, and ceramic

also, this has a 1.25" voice coil.

i have a Heritage G12H-55, and side by side these sound nothing alike.

my old greenback sounds completely different as well.

i've had a pair of these since 1985, and the guy i bought them from, had them for a few years before that......
so i honestly don't know where they came from

 

[Tommy_G]

There are at least 3 current celestions that are "Greenbacks"....The Heritage, which is interestingly referred to as a G12M-1967 (is that the reference speaker date, 1967?), the "C", and the "M"

I haven't heard a Heritage or M1967, but if anyone has heard both, side by side, I sure would be interested in getting feedback. There's a VM cab kicking around my area for $700.

 

[batsbrew]

my greenback dates back to mid 80's, english version...

my Heritage G12H i bought 3 years ago......

this thing, tho, sounds nothing like either of those....
makes me question whether or not it's a true variant, or something entirely different.

 

[batsbrew]

still looking

 

[gearhead63]

i think the "G12-C" has a larger magnet than this one, which is 20 oz, and ceramic

also, this has a 1.25" voice coil.

i have a Heritage G12H-55, and side by side these sound nothing alike.

my old greenback sounds completely different as well.

There is a big difference there, that G12H-55 has the low frequency cone in it, and a reproduction of the original voice coil and coil former.
And your green back, it's an "H" series too isn't it? But totally different voice coil and possibly different cone.
Look over on Vintageamp forum, there's some really good guys that know Celestions inside out.
And I'm not sure how you'd compare ceramics vs. the heavy variety.

 

[batsbrew]

thanks for the headsup gear......
vintageamp, check.

yep, the ceramic vs alnico.... you know, the magnet doesn't have a 'sound'...
and it's interesting how these things go, as you compare the same basic setup of a speaker with alnico vs ceramic


i've pretty much always used alnico, but i've always liked this speaker the best, and when i found out it had this tiny little magnet, and that it was ceramic, my idea of tone shifted.

 

[batsbrew]

never did find an answer to this one...

it's kinda twilight zone-ish