Weber Blue Dog vs Celestion Blue

On stage, you wouldn't notice the difference between them. That would hold true for the Weber with the 15 watt cone, lightly doped. At home, the difference is barely noticeable. The highs in the Weber aren't as present as in the Celestion, and to my ears, not as pleasing. This is with an el-84 style amp. The Celestion can't be beat at what it does. But the Weber comes so close that the price difference isn't worth it, IMO. If you're recording... I wouldn't know!
If you need options like more power handling, the Weber is unbeaten.
The next set of ears, mind you, might like the Weber better.

 

Sorry but I have to say that the Celestion Blue is the best guitar speaker on the planet bar none.
If you haven't used one you should at least give one a try. Someone you know use one?

Best, Pete.

 

I was very skeptical..........until I tried one. The Blue *definitely* has the mojo.

Not an apples to apples comparison, but I've had three Weber Alnico Blue Dogs, two undoped, one doped, all 30 watters. Different speakers alltogether.......nowhere near the character of the Celestion, to my ears and for my tastes.

 

Today I loaded one of my Jackson Ampworks 412 Straight Front with Weber 15W Lightly Doped Blue Dogs and it ripped! I was playing a Jackson Ampworks Britain through it, which is an EF86 in to a pair of EL34's running in Class A.

I've never understood what people meant when they say that their amp has "swirl" to it, but now I do. Those speakers, when lighly overdriven actually make the sound respond like it is moving around. Really a tremendous sound.

I've not tried the Celetion Blues, but the Weber are fantastic speakers, and for the cost, they can't be beat.

YMMV

 

Well then, when you're ready I'll sell you some!

 

Joe, the G12H30 is very different from the Blue. A Mercury is a Carr amp, right? Low wattage, Kt-66... I think the Blue would squeeze as much volume as possible from that setup and would be fantastic. I've never played a Mercury, but I have a Univalve that I have used with the KT-66 and it sounds great with a Celestion Blue. The only way to know is to buy one and try it. Keep your G12H30 (I have one, too... and it's a great speaker!) just in case you don't like the Blue. The G12H30 is a moe modern, smooth, and polite sounding speaker to me. More bottom end than a Blue. The blue has a magic all of its own. The resale on them is good, too. Buy used and you can hear it for free...

 

Great advice !

 

I think both the Weber, and the Emi Red Fang are great sound ALNICO speakers in their own right, but they don't have that same upper mid magic that the Celestion Blue has. If you are playing clean, or at the edge of breakup, there is probably not a better speaker on the planet IMO.

If you use lots of volume and gain, there are better choices, as the Cele Blues will flub out in the bottom end, and a pair tops out at 30 watts of handling capacity.

I love 100 watt Fane ALNICO Blues as well, for the higher gain/volume stuff.

 

Just want to pipe in with one comment:

The Weber Blue Dog Alnicos are excellent, but the 30 watt and 15 watt models sound VERY different. The 30 watters are not as efficient, and have a woodier, less lively and less chimey/tone. The 15 watters are very close to a Cele Blue, and have loads of swirl and chime.

I think the only fair comparison to make is between the RI 15 watt Cele Blue and the 15 watt Alnico Blue Dog. The 30 watt BD is going for a traditional (non-RI) celestion alnico tone, not the tone of the reissue 15 watters. I own the 30 watt Blue Dog, 15 watt Blue Dog, and 15 watt Silver Bell (all alnico) and they are just great speakers. I have played RI Cele Blues, though not extensively, and I personally can not understand why anyone would pay a ridiculous amount for the Celes. Just my humble $.02.

 

The Webers are only $50 less than an authentic Celestion Blue. To me, it's worth paying the difference, because there is a difference in tone, no matter how small it may be, I like the Blues better.

 

Isn't it more like $100.00 more? Anyway. I never tried a cele blue. I have a Ceramic blue dog and really like it. I also have red fangs. If you have the money, and the power handling is ok with you. Well obviously a cele would be a good choice. The only thing though.
A Blue has a very strong voice of it's own IMO so before you sell a kidney to buy one, you may want to find a way to try one. For classic rock you also may want to try a greenback, or even better, get a 1x12" extension cab and experiment with speakers. a G12H30 with a Red fang would rock for classic rock
I have a 4x12 loaded with 2 greenbacks and 2 red fangs.... sweet

 

Hey bro, I just went to check out your site. Early 2005 has come and gone. I wanna see some amps!!

 

Just a reality check here............we are talking speakers here. $500 Tops for 2 Blues. I've seen people drop that trying to sell a guitar bought new all the time. Just go to the Guitar Forum.

So spending an $extra $300 is not co$ting an extra Kidney. I am not Rich believe me. I hold down a lowly Civil servants job but when talking to Dave from Avatar he said the extra money spent on the Blues (around $300) was worth it. I think I can get 1/2 of that back if I don't dig them. But my Tone is worth a $150.00 gamble. I've seen people spend alot more then that and still not be happy................

 

Good point

Also.... There's a Blue in the emporium....

 

I think the Blue is a good fit for that style of playing. I think the G12H30 would also be a good fit. It just depends on what you want.

Re: the Cele Blue v. Weber Blue issue, I've owned a Cele Blue, and I just received a 15 watt Weber alnico Blue w/ light dope, so I'm about to perform that experiment myself. Granted it's been about a year since I had the Cele Blue, but I'll at least be able to tell if they're close or not... I don't care if I can hear a difference in an a/b test or not; if I hear the sound of the Weber and say, "hey, that sounds like a Blue," then good enough for me given the cost savings.

 

October 15, 2005 at the Arlington Guitar is my Official release day.

You and I both can't wait.