Cheers guys! If you want to support me build a fort out of speaker boxes, please consider using my affiliate link the next time you shop at Thomann! Thanks! Mwua! Mwua! www.thomann.de/de/index.html?offid=1&affid=3394
This is my first super thanks and it is from no one other than the legend Euge Valovirta! Euge, you just made my entire weekend! I appreciate you and your work so much!
Thanks very much for doing this, I can fully appreciate the amount of work that must have gone into it, and it's very reassuring to see my theories being supported by your tests!
I've been wondering why one of the 2021 V30s sounded closer to the early 2000s while the other didn't. Well, I missed one GLARINGLY OBVIOUS reason... They have different cone batch codes. Smooth #49 has batch code Z26 while bright #50 has batch code Z09. Damn. This isn't over, is it? I need to check out more new ones!
Awesome work John. Loved your vídeo series about V30s. I'm now actively looking for a smooth #49 MIC V30 or an early 2000s one to pair with a Creamback 75H. What's your opinion on the T4139 backframes V30s? How do they compare with the smooth ones? Again, thank you so much for all your work 🙏
Thank you so much for taking the time to do this. There's so much misinformation and misunderstanding about the V30 speaker(s). You really helped clear the air on a lot of that misinformation as well as showcase The effect of tolerances and production considerations. It's criminal that you don't have more than 550 some odd likes for the amount of work you did here. I hope it drives to the top as it should. 1 million thank yous
First of all: THANK YOU! This must have been a lot of work and all of us guitarists and geeks are very thankful you'd do this. I recently bought a Marshall Silver Jubilee Halfstack and I was a bit surprised about how good the cab sounded. Even my 2203 fit very well with the Marshall Vintage Speakers in it. Checked the date and the speakers are from end of September 2022. I have another Marshall Cab loaded with V30s I randomly bought through the years (would have to check the dates) and it sounds harsh compared to the Jubilee Cab, even today after many hundreds of hours of use at band volumes. In the end all I know is: if it sounds good, it is good. You debunked a lot of nonsense with this video. Liked and subbed!
Awesome, man! Thanks for commenting and subscribing. I appreciate it more than you might think. Seems like you got some speakers from the possibly short lived "new smooth phase". At this stage I'm willing to bet that the cones on those have either A or Z batch code designations stamped on them.
I bow my hat to you, this was a lot of painstaking work! And I must say I was amazed at how different the V30 speakers sound trough the years and from UK or China. Thanks. But now I see that there is quite a bit of "luck" involved when buying speakers.
Wow dude that was so informative! Thank you so much for taking the time to put this together. You have no idea how happy the nerd in me is right now. And now I know exactly what years I don’t like when it comes to v30s. 2008 to 2020!
Congratulations! Not only is this the BIGGEST V30 test, it also is the BEST! This is a really good comparison across the board and the way to go, for a test engineer. There is less to argue against your conclusions. There are some results where I find my own observations confirmed. But, there are some surprises also. Especially the MB and Marshall OEM production and that there is more a production years thing than a production place thing going on, surprised me. Thank you, again...
My pleasure and thank you, my friend! I feel the same on some things. I was surprised how obviously different the early 2000s speaker curves were for example. The Marshall and Mesa Boogie thing surprised me less than it disappointed me. I was kind of hoping to find some secrets. It would be more exciting if they were different or had a signature characteristic but ultimately it seems that the relevance of the production location and for whom the speaker is built is largely based on guitar forum myths.
Guitar speaker history right here, absolutely fantastic. It was fun to be on the sideline, I really admire your persistence. I look forward to playing with the dataset. And thanks for the shout-out!
This was fantastic! You have the approval of this internet stranger. I started looking into V30 mystery and lore VERY recently because -- after giving up on V30's in the mid-late 00's -- I bought a new production V30, fully expecting it to sound like the fizzy mess. I thought I would experiment with some physical treatments and break-in to try to mellow it out, BUT to my great surprise and delight: the speaker sounded fantastic right out of the box. I took to the internet to see what changed. I just watched Glenn's video yesterday, and this vid popped up in my feed as a result.
Thanks, Alex! I appreciate the comment. Yeah it seems that newer V30s are actually moving towards sounding smoother again, similar to how they did around the year 2000.
As someone who enjoys your videos this was by far your best video ever. Not just in terms of content and detail (I subscribe because of how thorough you are), but also amusement factor (with the tape and hats commentary for example). This is a ton of work and thank you for doing it.
Jim Lil has his match now/ Out of this planet comparison. Can't wait to watch the rest of it. So far I am 21min in/ Thank you so much for sharing your experiment with the world.
I really liked this rundown, it was the most scientific I have seen so I hold it in higher regard than most video comparisons. Thanks for making me not a v30 snob, I have no problem with the newer chinese made versions.
Awesome video! Thank you for putting so much work into it. As proud owner of eighteen g12t-75 speakers in 5 Marshall cabinets I know, that there are distinct differences between them. And those are all from the 90s. A rabbit hole indeed.
This video is awesome! Thanks for the hard work! This is by far the best documentation and comparison between this speakers ever made and it's extremely helpful
I had an 8ohm v30 that I placed in a 1x12 peavy cab, and it was brittle to start, and then after a week of playing for a couple hours a day, it suddenly blossomed into the full v30 sound that we all know and love. I have two 16ohm v30s in a 2x12 and have been hoping for them to break in similarly, but so far it hasn't happened. They still have a lot of more harsh highs and less fullness in the vocal mids. I was thinking I was crazy, but this video shows that the 16ohm speakers are generally less mid and low present, and have harsher highs. I'm about to build out a 4x12, and speakers aren't cheap, so I have been doing a lot of research on what to place in it. I keep coming back to the v30 in the demo videos (which are generally 8ohms) even though I am not happy with my own 16 ohm v30s. I didn't think that the impedance would make that big of a difference. But it would seem so.
I think you are right on in nearly everything you claim. I love the mesa label theory. Sometimes the most simple answer is the correct one. Thank you for spending the time and collecting the data. It is much appreciated.
This is fantastic, thank you! I've definitely found in my own experience that the 8 ohm Vintage 30's sound more full and have less high end brittleness than the 16 ohm ones. This is a super interesting and helpful comparison, thanks!
Great, great video! What's wild to me is how profoundly the presence range affects how much I like each speaker. And that's the area where so many of them have production variation, so it seems like you might have to hunt a bit to find specific speakers you like best.
@@TheOtherJohnBrowne The modern tools we have are awesome. You mentioned you have an engineering background and I do too (electrical engineering here), and being able to see the FFTs helps me internalize what I'm hearing. Are you working on the break-in test? edit: fixed my grammar because dumb
@@booganaga123 automotive / commercial vehicle engineer here. Not yet. I need the iso cab for two short tests beforehand that I will process in the next few weeks. I am planning to start the break in test in August at the latest
I'm impressed you actually made it to the end of it. This came up in my TH-cam feed and I remembered reading your post on rig talk and thought cool but it will never happen. There are so much b.s. videos on this and so many variables.
Thanks, man! Yes, I was worried for a while that I had bitten off more than I could chew but ultimately the journey was very rewarding albeit quite tiring towards the end
I kinda just try not to overthink where the speaker is made/year etc. I would drive myself mad. Please do the speaker break in vid. I haven't really experienced night and day differences in my speakers after playing them for awhile. I am not sure if my ears just adjust or what. Congrats on pulling it together. I think this was an eye opener for everyone. Honestly not surprised that Nolly was probably right. He seems to really give good advice on the tech side(he has a mod for a splawn Nitro that I am going to try if I ever get one again). Oh I subscribed and liked! You earned it!
I bought four (4) Vintage 30's directly from Mesa/Boogie that were advertised as "up to their preferred spec" many (20?) years ago. I guess I'll need to pop the back on that old Marshall cab and see what I got. They sound phenomenal with my old block letter 5150. Cheers~
The variance in the paper from speaker to speaker is a huge factor. But you (and most people) are pointing the mic directly at the glue that attaches the cone to the coil.The glue has to be a big variable.
You are correct. At the same time that is the spot that is typically mic'd when recording these speakers. Since making this video, I have spoken to some expert and while the glue (type, application, amount, etc.) and the assembly have an affect, it tends to be drowned out by the tolerances of the cones. The composition of the cones would appear to have the largest effect.
Bloody hell this is awesome, and truly fascinating! Thanks for all your dedication and the work you put into this! Worked out great! I'd certainly go for one of the smoother variants - armed with all that info I might go looking for one of those. (and the 3:30 thumbnail is just amazing :D duct tape really is the fabric of the universe )
Fantastic video, really love these deep dives. Fully appreciate it's an hour or so's watch for the viewer but oodles of hours and late nights to put together, fait play sir. I'll need to watch it another time or two but think my initial take away is 'none of it matters'. I've 2 Mesa 412s... one has a pair of '93 and pair of early '00s in X pattern and the differences between them are considerable. My other one I think is around 2000/2001 and it's so different from either pair in the other. I previously figured these were all just different 'good' flavours of the 'good' V30s (the UK made, Mesa ones, right?) but I hear golden era stuff in your video I like less than a lot of other stuff. I think one of my favourites was an 8ohm Chinese V30 ('bad', right? ha!), seemed to have all of the good stuff I want in a V30. But.... eq tweak here, filter around 10-12k there, stick it in a mix...... I'm sure any would do. I'm all for getting it right as possible at source, but any of those in your excellent vid ought to get the job done.
Love this video! Methodology, process and data acquired really speak to the geek in me. This is the only TH-cam video I have seen on guitar speakers where I was able to draw any reasonable conclusions. I am just getting back into guitar after a 30 year hiatus. My go to speaker was the Vintage 30s that I acquired in 1990. They are long gone, so I have been considering a replacement. I have been rather disappointed in the current production PRS guitars compared to that era, and was wondering if the current V30's may have changed, also. Thank you for putting this together. Looking forward to more.
The only definitive break-in experience I have is when I stupidly bought a Behringer 4x12 cab years ago. The speakers changed significantly, so much so that I returned the cab as I hated how the sound changed. I believe that cab had Jensen speakers. It was the one where the top, slanted section of the baffle had the speakers also slanted left and right respectively.
FANTASTIC JOB!!!! Very very much appreciate the scientific approach to this, as so much audio stuff these days is hearsay. Blind listening tests would be a great next step. I think the thing I wanted to know the most was which was your favorite!? Also on first listen I heard a huge difference between the UK and Chinese ones, most of the chineses ones had more high end and sounded fizzy and almost harsh in comparison. But that was my first listen non blind. Thanks so much John! You KILLED IT. I’d also recommend doing a bunch of small short videos doing direct comparisons BLIND. Would probably bring in a lot of viewers who don’t have the patience to watch a whole hour long video. Cheers!
Oh, hi there! I remember you. I watched your VH4 videos when I had GAS for one! Good job on those too, man! Thank you for your kind words. It's hard for me to pick a single favorite. I generally prefer the 8 Ohm versions and I often gravitate to the 2002 and 2003 ones. They currently live inside my Engl 4x12 XXL. You're right about the shorter videos. I might do something like that in the future. I've made a few shorter follow ups to this and will do one or two more. Cheers!
My personal favorites were the 16 ohm ones from early 2000s, made in England or China didn't matter. After listening closely to all 50 of them. Also, a good V30 will always sound good whether broken in or not. A weird sounding V30 will always sound weird whether broken in or not. Thanks for all this hard work!
I am thinking the see-through cone is allowing the speaker to a resonate easier. Has anyone ever took like a safety pin and poked a few holes in the cone to see if this changes the tone where it lets the speaker resonate a little more and not holding back as much air ?
Great video man and huge respect for the insane amount of work that went into this! Just my five cents about the subject: I haven't done any testing like this but I've been recording, touring, playing etc. with various V30s in various cabinets since 90s (does that make me old ? 🙂) and in my personal experience I've noticed that in general the Marshall Vintages seems to be a bit warmer & fuller, and in lack of a better word, more vintage than the others. But I've also "experienced" some regular V30s that sounds quite like the Marshall Vintages. The cabinet also plays a big role and the Marshall Vintages are mostly in Marshall cabs so...yeah 😎. I've come to same conclusions than you regarding Mesa/Boogie V30 vs Regular V30 and Made in UK vs Made in China: It's quite random. I have three Marshall Vintages and one new "see through cap" Celestion V30 from 2021 in my Marshall 1960BV cab and they all sound great & balanced and not harsh but the Marshalls are a bit warmer & fuller & more "vintage" than the Celestion V30. And those three Marshalls sounds a bit different from each other too. They're all in the same ballpark but one of them has more lows and upper mids, one less lows and the one I use the most is just right. My conclusion has been and is that "if it sounds good it's good and if it doesn't it doesn't". Everything else is secondary. Cheers!
Thanks for the comment, Euge. I can't help but feel a little star struck 😂 I agree with your final conclusion. A lot of guitarists seem to worry about gear to much. Myself included. If it sounds good, it is good. I must also concede that there is a little uncertainty regarding the Marshall G12 Vintage as I didn't have an awful lot of those to test. Just because I could not find a strict pattern differenciating them from regular V30s, that does not mean there isn't one. Maybe one day, I'll grab a bunch more Marshall Vintages. Anyway, thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment! Cheers!
I did clean reamps too. I just didn't use them in the video. Check the dropbox link in the description. You can download EVERYTHING there. Graphs, photos, analysis and reamped tracks including the clean ones
Wow. Just wow. this is a FANTASTIC video! MAD respect for this! I have to say, I am biased since I am a massive fanboy of my Marshall 1960AV, but I do think that the Marshall V30s all had a certain honky smoothness to it compared to the normal V30s. But I will certainly dig into the data by myself. I have to really say, I was first really afraid to be bored to death, but your presentation was EXCELLENT! It was well thought out, extremely good prepared and your methodology and meticulousness in your execution of this video shows that you have a engineering background. I think this video is by far superior to any "myth busting" video like the Nolly interview, although that video was also very informative and a great conversation. But your video presents the COLD HARD FACTS, but does this in a great educative manner! Definitely subscribed, definitely liked, and yes please - do the break-in test, I will go check out the exotics videos. Another thing to ask: you have the Dover DA50 behind you - is there any chance on earth you can provide a ToneX tone model or a NAM profile of this amplifier?
Man, thank you! That is A LOT of high praise that I greatly appreciate. Funny you should ask that. I've been curious about both the Tonex and NAM. I'm definitely going to check out NAM and might pick up a used Tonex along the way. If you'd like to, send me an email or message me on Instagram. That way I can get a hold of you once I have a model/profile of the amp ready
Cheers guys! If you want to support me build a fort out of speaker boxes, please consider using my affiliate link the next time you shop at Thomann! Thanks! Mwua! Mwua!
www.thomann.de/de/index.html?offid=1&affid=3394
Nolly probably watches this to relax before bedtime
😂😂😂
lol
😂😂😂
That’s what I’m doing. lol
🤣
Thanks!
This is my first super thanks and it is from no one other than the legend Euge Valovirta!
Euge, you just made my entire weekend! I appreciate you and your work so much!
My pleasure man! Glad to hear! Thanks!@@TheOtherJohnBrowne
@@EugeValovirta230VEuge in da House , Yeah 💪
Thanks very much for doing this, I can fully appreciate the amount of work that must have gone into it, and it's very reassuring to see my theories being supported by your tests!
This is fucking insane. I love it. Standing ovation! I bet even the guys at Celestion are jaw-dropped too.
Thank you! Your comment is much appreciated
Agreed 💯!!!!
Thanks man! A significant contribution to the community, and the clips sound great. Cheers!
Thank you! That means an awful lot to me coming from you! I'm a long time follower of yours!
Now all heroes wear capes. Thank you so much for doing this.
Thanks, mate! I've been subbed to your channel for ages! Your JVM videos were especially great
@@TheOtherJohnBrowne will have to get you on the podcast when we do a V30 episode!
@@LeonTodd are you serious? I'd be delighted
@@TheOtherJohnBrowne let's do it. I'll be in touch.
You need an Oscar for this!!! Fantastic 💪❤️
Thanks so much, buddy
Give him the full EGOT
The greatest speaker video ever produced
I've been wondering why one of the 2021 V30s sounded closer to the early 2000s while the other didn't. Well, I missed one GLARINGLY OBVIOUS reason... They have different cone batch codes. Smooth #49 has batch code Z26 while bright #50 has batch code Z09.
Damn. This isn't over, is it? I need to check out more new ones!
Yeah. I screwed up in editing there. I got a bit impatient
Thank you!
@@TheOtherJohnBrowne It's pretty clear what you used your patience on. What an effort and achievement!
Awesome work John.
Loved your vídeo series about V30s. I'm now actively looking for a smooth #49 MIC V30 or an early 2000s one to pair with a Creamback 75H.
What's your opinion on the T4139 backframes V30s? How do they compare with the smooth ones?
Again, thank you so much for all your work 🙏
My god the amount of effort that went into this. Bravo dude!
The most scientific and full V30 comparison ever!!! Absolutely amazing video and great great work!!!
Thank you!
Thank you so much for taking the time to do this. There's so much misinformation and misunderstanding about the V30 speaker(s). You really helped clear the air on a lot of that misinformation as well as showcase The effect of tolerances and production considerations. It's criminal that you don't have more than 550 some odd likes for the amount of work you did here. I hope it drives to the top as it should. 1 million thank yous
This is superb! This is on par with the Jim Lill tone series videos for sure!
Wow ! That is a lot of work ! Surprised on the difference in sound !
Comparison between 2008 vs 2018 chinas 1:04:27 and 1:09:49 / 1:04:35 and 1:09:57
Thank you for the incredible effort here! I just dated my best V30's to 2001, so I am very happy that you confirmed my bias 😃
Awesome! Happy to read that!
First of all: THANK YOU!
This must have been a lot of work and all of us guitarists and geeks are very thankful you'd do this.
I recently bought a Marshall Silver Jubilee Halfstack and I was a bit surprised about how good the cab sounded. Even my 2203 fit very well with the Marshall Vintage Speakers in it.
Checked the date and the speakers are from end of September 2022.
I have another Marshall Cab loaded with V30s I randomly bought through the years (would have to check the dates) and it sounds harsh compared to the Jubilee Cab, even today after many hundreds of hours of use at band volumes.
In the end all I know is: if it sounds good, it is good. You debunked a lot of nonsense with this video. Liked and subbed!
Awesome, man! Thanks for commenting and subscribing. I appreciate it more than you might think.
Seems like you got some speakers from the possibly short lived "new smooth phase". At this stage I'm willing to bet that the cones on those have either A or Z batch code designations stamped on them.
@@TheOtherJohnBrowne I will check! 🤘🏻
I bow my hat to you, this was a lot of painstaking work! And I must say I was amazed at how different the V30 speakers sound trough the years and from UK or China. Thanks. But now I see that there is quite a bit of "luck" involved when buying speakers.
Wow dude that was so informative! Thank you so much for taking the time to put this together. You have no idea how happy the nerd in me is right now. And now I know exactly what years I don’t like when it comes to v30s. 2008 to 2020!
You're very welcome and thank you for the comment!
John, you are THE MAN! You did god’s work bro! Splendid!
Congratulations! Not only is this the BIGGEST V30 test, it also is the BEST! This is a really good comparison across the board and the way to go, for a test engineer. There is less to argue against your conclusions. There are some results where I find my own observations confirmed. But, there are some surprises also. Especially the MB and Marshall OEM production and that there is more a production years thing than a production place thing going on, surprised me. Thank you, again...
My pleasure and thank you, my friend!
I feel the same on some things. I was surprised how obviously different the early 2000s speaker curves were for example. The Marshall and Mesa Boogie thing surprised me less than it disappointed me. I was kind of hoping to find some secrets. It would be more exciting if they were different or had a signature characteristic but ultimately it seems that the relevance of the production location and for whom the speaker is built is largely based on guitar forum myths.
I appreciate your effort here.
Thank you!
outstanding vid! Thank you. I wish there is T75 speakers shoutout somewhere in internets, but unfortunately...
Guitar speaker history right here, absolutely fantastic. It was fun to be on the sideline, I really admire your persistence. I look forward to playing with the dataset. And thanks for the shout-out!
My guy
This was fantastic! You have the approval of this internet stranger.
I started looking into V30 mystery and lore VERY recently because -- after giving up on V30's in the mid-late 00's -- I bought a new production V30, fully expecting it to sound like the fizzy mess. I thought I would experiment with some physical treatments and break-in to try to mellow it out, BUT to my great surprise and delight: the speaker sounded fantastic right out of the box. I took to the internet to see what changed. I just watched Glenn's video yesterday, and this vid popped up in my feed as a result.
Thanks, Alex! I appreciate the comment. Yeah it seems that newer V30s are actually moving towards sounding smoother again, similar to how they did around the year 2000.
Probably the most underrated guitar gear channel on TH-cam rn in my honest opinion. I live for videos like this. Much appreciated
And I much appreciate your comment. Thanks, man!
@@TheOtherJohnBrowne You're welcome! Keep up the good work
Congrats man, amazing video and huge respect for the amount of work putting it together in such a good format!
Thanks, mate! Thank you for advice in the planning phase too
Uncle Fester!? Hahaha dude, that's terrific
Man the level of detail you went into here was awesome, great insights. I can only imagine how much time and effort went into this video.
Thanks, mate! Yes, I spent a lot of time on this project but for the most part, I really enjoyed the process
@49:00
Your theory definitely makes sense to me. Very plausible.
Gargantuan work! Thank you very much for taking the time to go through all of this!
Absolutely BRILLIANT; thank you!!
As someone who enjoys your videos this was by far your best video ever. Not just in terms of content and detail (I subscribe because of how thorough you are), but also amusement factor (with the tape and hats commentary for example). This is a ton of work and thank you for doing it.
Thank you, Chris! It's comment like these that help me come out of my shell and show you the walking paradox that is me. I really appreciate it!
Your work is greatly appreciated into the guitar community! You are the vintage 30 king haha
Jim Lil has his match now/ Out of this planet comparison. Can't wait to watch the rest of it. So far I am 21min in/ Thank you so much for sharing your experiment with the world.
I really liked this rundown, it was the most scientific I have seen so I hold it in higher regard than most video comparisons. Thanks for making me not a v30 snob, I have no problem with the newer chinese made versions.
Thank you very much!
That was one of the most humble mythbusters I ever seen. Great job, way to go!!!
Thank you!
Holy speaker shootout video Batman! This video is amazing!
Outrageous video! You are a great fellow! Continue in the same spirit! I'll be waiting for the next tests from you Very interesting!
Thank you very much!
Awesome video!
Thank you for putting so much work into it. As proud owner of eighteen g12t-75 speakers in 5 Marshall cabinets I know, that there are distinct differences between them. And those are all from the 90s. A rabbit hole indeed.
Oh, man! I believe it! I recently pickep up one from the 80s with a vented back that sounds great
This video is awesome! Thanks for the hard work! This is by far the best documentation and comparison between this speakers ever made and it's extremely helpful
@@brugvp Thank you! I appreciate it!
I had an 8ohm v30 that I placed in a 1x12 peavy cab, and it was brittle to start, and then after a week of playing for a couple hours a day, it suddenly blossomed into the full v30 sound that we all know and love.
I have two 16ohm v30s in a 2x12 and have been hoping for them to break in similarly, but so far it hasn't happened. They still have a lot of more harsh highs and less fullness in the vocal mids. I was thinking I was crazy, but this video shows that the 16ohm speakers are generally less mid and low present, and have harsher highs.
I'm about to build out a 4x12, and speakers aren't cheap, so I have been doing a lot of research on what to place in it. I keep coming back to the v30 in the demo videos (which are generally 8ohms) even though I am not happy with my own 16 ohm v30s. I didn't think that the impedance would make that big of a difference. But it would seem so.
I think you are right on in nearly everything you claim.
I love the mesa label theory. Sometimes the most simple answer is the correct one.
Thank you for spending the time and collecting the data. It is much appreciated.
Thank you very much for this. Awesome! 🎉
This is fantastic, thank you! I've definitely found in my own experience that the 8 ohm Vintage 30's sound more full and have less high end brittleness than the 16 ohm ones. This is a super interesting and helpful comparison, thanks!
Glad you liked it! Thanks for commenting
Is this the reason MEAS go with 8 ohms 4x12 cabs instead of 16 ohms 4X12 cabs?
Instant SUB Uncle Fester 🤣, amazing work and thanks for dropping the analytics too, way cool 🤟!
wow, what a comparison! I wish there was more gear videos done this accurate!
Thanks
Wow! What a Video! Great work!
Congrats ! I wish there were more technical comparative studies for gear as this. Thank you,
You just did amazing work. Thanks so much!
Thanks for checking it out and leaving a comment
wow prob.also variation on how much ea speaker is used also that was allot of work man ...
Immediately subscribing you mad lad
Happy to have you here!
Great, great video!
What's wild to me is how profoundly the presence range affects how much I like each speaker. And that's the area where so many of them have production variation, so it seems like you might have to hunt a bit to find specific speakers you like best.
Yep. I feel the same and I wouldn't have been able to pinpoint it without the plugins
@@TheOtherJohnBrowne The modern tools we have are awesome. You mentioned you have an engineering background and I do too (electrical engineering here), and being able to see the FFTs helps me internalize what I'm hearing.
Are you working on the break-in test?
edit: fixed my grammar because dumb
@@booganaga123 automotive / commercial vehicle engineer here.
Not yet. I need the iso cab for two short tests beforehand that I will process in the next few weeks. I am planning to start the break in test in August at the latest
I'm impressed you actually made it to the end of it. This came up in my TH-cam feed and I remembered reading your post on rig talk and thought cool but it will never happen. There are so much b.s. videos on this and so many variables.
Thanks, man! Yes, I was worried for a while that I had bitten off more than I could chew but ultimately the journey was very rewarding albeit quite tiring towards the end
I kinda just try not to overthink where the speaker is made/year etc. I would drive myself mad. Please do the speaker break in vid. I haven't really experienced night and day differences in my speakers after playing them for awhile. I am not sure if my ears just adjust or what. Congrats on pulling it together. I think this was an eye opener for everyone. Honestly not surprised that Nolly was probably right. He seems to really give good advice on the tech side(he has a mod for a splawn Nitro that I am going to try if I ever get one again). Oh I subscribed and liked! You earned it!
@@clintn6677 Thank you very much! I appreciate it! Definitely doing a break in test of some sorts.
Dude this is legendary
I bought four (4) Vintage 30's directly from Mesa/Boogie that were advertised as "up to their preferred spec" many (20?) years ago. I guess I'll need to pop the back on that old Marshall cab and see what I got. They sound phenomenal with my old block letter 5150. Cheers~
Nice work... no more internet superstition regarding these speakers now!
this is so informative and a crazy idea!! pure wow
Huge work mate .
Good job.
Wooow! Das ist ja unfassbar detailliert! Beeindruckend mit welcher Hingabe du da rangegangen bist. Danke für die ganzen Infos!!! Much respekt👍
Danke Dir!
Man, i really love your channel. Cant wait to watch this one all the way through after work tonight. Cheers brother.
Thanks, man! I appreciate it
You are one crazy guy, love it! Will watch this later on my monitors, really looking forward to this.
This is so awesome ! Holy moly. This was hard work for you ! Rock on !
The variance in the paper from speaker to speaker is a huge factor. But you (and most people) are pointing the mic directly at the glue that attaches the cone to the coil.The glue has to be a big variable.
You are correct. At the same time that is the spot that is typically mic'd when recording these speakers. Since making this video, I have spoken to some expert and while the glue (type, application, amount, etc.) and the assembly have an affect, it tends to be drowned out by the tolerances of the cones. The composition of the cones would appear to have the largest effect.
Bloody hell this is awesome, and truly fascinating!
Thanks for all your dedication and the work you put into this! Worked out great!
I'd certainly go for one of the smoother variants - armed with all that info I might go looking for one of those.
(and the 3:30 thumbnail is just amazing :D duct tape really is the fabric of the universe )
Thanks, mate!
Great video. Happy this sort of comparison has finally been made. Now time to find me the mythical 2003 V30!
Incredible work!
Thank you very much! I'm a fan of your work
Fantastic video, really love these deep dives. Fully appreciate it's an hour or so's watch for the viewer but oodles of hours and late nights to put together, fait play sir. I'll need to watch it another time or two but think my initial take away is 'none of it matters'. I've 2 Mesa 412s... one has a pair of '93 and pair of early '00s in X pattern and the differences between them are considerable. My other one I think is around 2000/2001 and it's so different from either pair in the other. I previously figured these were all just different 'good' flavours of the 'good' V30s (the UK made, Mesa ones, right?) but I hear golden era stuff in your video I like less than a lot of other stuff. I think one of my favourites was an 8ohm Chinese V30 ('bad', right? ha!), seemed to have all of the good stuff I want in a V30. But.... eq tweak here, filter around 10-12k there, stick it in a mix...... I'm sure any would do. I'm all for getting it right as possible at source, but any of those in your excellent vid ought to get the job done.
Thank you for watching and taking the time to write a comment and I agree. At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter all that much
Love this video! Methodology, process and data acquired really speak to the geek in me. This is the only TH-cam video I have seen on guitar speakers where I was able to draw any reasonable conclusions. I am just getting back into guitar after a 30 year hiatus. My go to speaker was the Vintage 30s that I acquired in 1990. They are long gone, so I have been considering a replacement. I have been rather disappointed in the current production PRS guitars compared to that era, and was wondering if the current V30's may have changed, also. Thank you for putting this together. Looking forward to more.
Thanks for that comment, man! I really appreciate it!
Oh wow ... Thank you The other John Browne, this is fantastic work :)
Thank you very much!
Just great! Thank you so much!
@3:30 I love your sense of humour man 😂
The only definitive break-in experience I have is when I stupidly bought a Behringer 4x12 cab years ago. The speakers changed significantly, so much so that I returned the cab as I hated how the sound changed. I believe that cab had Jensen speakers. It was the one where the top, slanted section of the baffle had the speakers also slanted left and right respectively.
Wow! That was a lot of information, good work!
Great job! 👏👏👍 It’s amazing to see that celestion can’t do the same speaker twice.... 🙄
You deserve congratulations for this shootout video! Million thanks!
Thank you!
excellent work!! I think your observation and conclusion make sense.
amazingly amazing, i've never seen such dedication. this is basically a PhD thesis
Thanks man! Ngl, I did feel a bit like the time I worked on my Bachelor thesis!
We need a Nobel prize for scientific contributions to the guitar community. And I’d nominate you easily.
Haha! Thanks, man! I appreciate it!
FANTASTIC JOB!!!! Very very much appreciate the scientific approach to this, as so much audio stuff these days is hearsay.
Blind listening tests would be a great next step.
I think the thing I wanted to know the most was which was your favorite!?
Also on first listen I heard a huge difference between the UK and Chinese ones, most of the chineses ones had more high end and sounded fizzy and almost harsh in comparison. But that was my first listen non blind.
Thanks so much John! You KILLED IT.
I’d also recommend doing a bunch of small short videos doing direct comparisons BLIND. Would probably bring in a lot of viewers who don’t have the patience to watch a whole hour long video. Cheers!
Oh, hi there!
I remember you. I watched your VH4 videos when I had GAS for one! Good job on those too, man!
Thank you for your kind words. It's hard for me to pick a single favorite. I generally prefer the 8 Ohm versions and I often gravitate to the 2002 and 2003 ones. They currently live inside my Engl 4x12 XXL.
You're right about the shorter videos. I might do something like that in the future. I've made a few shorter follow ups to this and will do one or two more.
Cheers!
Interesting to see the difference. If you look at the graph some years have 1-2dB difference in the mid to high mids.
Great work dude! lots of cool content in your channel.
we've got a genius! THANK YOU SIR!
Thank you very much for this great comparison. That's very helpful.
This video was very enlightening!!! Now make an auction for the speakers !!!
Well done. Thank you for your research.
My personal favorites were the 16 ohm ones from early 2000s, made in England or China didn't matter. After listening closely to all 50 of them. Also, a good V30 will always sound good whether broken in or not. A weird sounding V30 will always sound weird whether broken in or not. Thanks for all this hard work!
Thanks man and I agree
Im glad you touched on the "new" v30 dust cap thing. I bought a new one a few months ago and agree with Glenn that they are not nearly as fizzy
I am thinking the see-through cone is allowing the speaker to a resonate easier. Has anyone ever took like a safety pin and poked a few holes in the cone to see if this changes the tone where it lets the speaker resonate a little more and not holding back as much air ?
Wow. Great job. 👍🏻🤘🏻
Thanks, man!
Absolutely nuts!! Love it dude
Thanks very much, mate
Thanks for all of the time and effort you put into this.
The sound samples are killer.
Great video man and huge respect for the insane amount of work that went into this!
Just my five cents about the subject:
I haven't done any testing like this but I've been recording, touring, playing etc. with various V30s in various cabinets since 90s (does that make me old ? 🙂) and in my personal experience I've noticed that in general the Marshall Vintages seems to be a bit warmer & fuller, and in lack of a better word, more vintage than the others. But I've also "experienced" some regular V30s that sounds quite like the Marshall Vintages. The cabinet also plays a big role and the Marshall Vintages are mostly in Marshall cabs so...yeah 😎.
I've come to same conclusions than you regarding Mesa/Boogie V30 vs Regular V30 and Made in UK vs Made in China: It's quite random.
I have three Marshall Vintages and one new "see through cap" Celestion V30 from 2021 in my Marshall 1960BV cab and they all sound great & balanced and not harsh but the Marshalls are a bit warmer & fuller & more "vintage" than the Celestion V30. And those three Marshalls sounds a bit different from each other too. They're all in the same ballpark but one of them has more lows and upper mids, one less lows and the one I use the most is just right.
My conclusion has been and is that "if it sounds good it's good and if it doesn't it doesn't". Everything else is secondary. Cheers!
Thanks for the comment, Euge. I can't help but feel a little star struck 😂
I agree with your final conclusion. A lot of guitarists seem to worry about gear to much. Myself included. If it sounds good, it is good.
I must also concede that there is a little uncertainty regarding the Marshall G12 Vintage as I didn't have an awful lot of those to test. Just because I could not find a strict pattern differenciating them from regular V30s, that does not mean there isn't one. Maybe one day, I'll grab a bunch more Marshall Vintages.
Anyway, thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment! Cheers!
@TheOtherJohnBrowne 😎. And you have a new subscriber. Keep up the great work man!
i think mesa uses production speakers but they must do some sort of selection for particular sounding speakers
I believe you are correct
Great comparison, i think it will be very interesting a deep only mesa oem v30s speaker differences.....
good job mate
Fantastic job! I only wish there would be some tests with clean sounds. But still this video is very useful.
I did clean reamps too. I just didn't use them in the video. Check the dropbox link in the description. You can download EVERYTHING there. Graphs, photos, analysis and reamped tracks including the clean ones
Wow. Just wow. this is a FANTASTIC video! MAD respect for this!
I have to say, I am biased since I am a massive fanboy of my Marshall 1960AV, but I do think that the Marshall V30s all had a certain honky smoothness to it compared to the normal V30s. But I will certainly dig into the data by myself.
I have to really say, I was first really afraid to be bored to death, but your presentation was EXCELLENT! It was well thought out, extremely good prepared and your methodology and meticulousness in your execution of this video shows that you have a engineering background.
I think this video is by far superior to any "myth busting" video like the Nolly interview, although that video was also very informative and a great conversation. But your video presents the COLD HARD FACTS, but does this in a great educative manner!
Definitely subscribed, definitely liked, and yes please - do the break-in test, I will go check out the exotics videos.
Another thing to ask: you have the Dover DA50 behind you - is there any chance on earth you can provide a ToneX tone model or a NAM profile of this amplifier?
Man, thank you! That is A LOT of high praise that I greatly appreciate.
Funny you should ask that. I've been curious about both the Tonex and NAM. I'm definitely going to check out NAM and might pick up a used Tonex along the way.
If you'd like to, send me an email or message me on Instagram. That way I can get a hold of you once I have a model/profile of the amp ready