Vintage 30s can be too harsh. any suggestions?

I have the same problem and have been tempted to try some of the new Eminence speakers, but have not done so yet. There are tons of comments on this forum from fellow users. I'd be curious to know what you end up with and your comments.

 

Eminence Governors are probably what you want. They have the agressive midrange of the Vintage 30s, but none of the harsh high/high-mids. My favorite Eminence for sure.

 

I'd go with a pair of Blues, Weber AlNiCos or Red Fangs, depending on your finances.

I have a pair of Blues, and even in their pre-broken in state, they already sound better than I could've imagined.

 

Most people seem to think so. For the best deal, though, talk to Dave at Avatar. He'll set you up right. Great cabs, too.

 

I NEVER likes V30's, stiff sterile, YUK!!

Try G12H's or GB's, I always thought the G12h's to be warmer, others disagree.
If you have the coin try the new Heritage G12M's, they are my favorite for sure. Avatar has them now at a reasonable price.

 

Both my V-30's and G12H-30's were harsh until I put about 10-15 hours at volume on them.I almost gave up on them it took so long for them to break in!

 

just before i sold my orange ad30 head and cab, i got to play the head through my new divided by 13 cab loaded with a g12h30 and a blue. The speakers made a world of difference and i loved what it did to the amp. The amp is kind of harsh as it is, i had it tubed with jj's and that helped, but the speakers made the biggest difference. you may want to try a g12h30 and either a blue, or a weber.

 

get a weber beam blocker - they can help to tame the high end a bit, and are a lot cheaper than buying a new speaker.

 

+1 on the Weber beam blockers.
Instantly turned my scowl into a smile

 

You can try Scumbag speakers or some of Ted Weber's C1230-55's or his C12V which has a similar tone to the V-30 but smoother in the highs and mids.....Ted will even break them in for you so they sound smooth right out of the box. Hope that helps.

 

oh man make a list. i've been hearing A LOT of good stuff about those red fangs. they seem to be a popular choice

 

I think V30's are very cabinet dependent. I have a pair in a Jenkins 2-12 (standard deep version) and man these speakers with this cabinet are heaven to my ears. I run this 2-12 closed. The G12H's sound good but a little scooped to my ears. I've read where others like 1-V30 and 1-G12H to balance.

tapp

 

I absolutely love V30's!!!!! But! I'm only going by my experience with my V30's I bought in the early 1990's and I've played the hell out of them so they are very broken in. They are very edgy and articulate with a tight and arrogant bottom end. I do find I prefer them in a mix with the G12H30. It could be that it's just me and my tastes, I can't stand the Celestion Blues where everyone else seems to think they are the cat's whiskers, so one man's treasure is another man's garbage. It all comes down to different players are into different tones.

 

Plus one on Governors. I like V30s in closed cabs rearmounted, but the Governor seems to retain the V30 attitiude without that wicked upper-mid spike you're probably objecting to. Still has that great cut in a band mix!-Eric

 

My fave combination, and a very popular one on Gear Page, is the H30/V30 in a 2X12. So you could experiment rather cheaply by just buying a H30 and pull one of your V30's. If you don't want to break it in, buy a Hellatone from Dave at Avatar Speakers, and he does the breaking in for you. I have one cab with the Hellatone V30/H30 combo and it definitely has the old speaker vibe about it, ie. a softer high end.

 

Plus 2 on the Emi Governors. They may just be what you are looking for. I have a set (16ohm) e mail me if your interested in a swap as I prefer the grittier quality of the v-30's.