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Why is a Vintage 30 ...


ugameus

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Celestion has it listed as 60 watts.  But still, where does the 30 come from?  Also, it is not a repro of an older model is it?  I thought when it was first introduced it was a new design.  Why would you call it "Vintage" if it is a new design?

I am confused.

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ugameus wrote:

 

called a Vintage 30?  Does anyone know?

 

From "The History Of Marshall":

 

The well known Vintage 30 was introduced in 1986 after protestations from Marshall's Steve Grinrod that "ceramic speakers did not sound as good as Alnico speakers." Steve continues the story:

 

"The Vintage 30 was not intended to be (nor is) a G12H30, but rather a modern-day Alnico, and was originally intended purely for the Studio 15 (4001). The price and availability of cobalt [Alnico = Aluminum, Nickel, Cobalt] in 1985/86 was outrageous as a consequence of the Cold War; hence the use of a ceramic magnet. 

 

"We found that the "H" magnet came closer to Alnico in terms of measurable performance, and a new coil assembly was designed using modern materials having similar mass and physical properties to the Alnico 15 watt, but with a much higher flammmability rating; hence the Vintage 30's 70 watt power handling."

 

"Unfortunately, the original cone was not available, so we used the next nearest and added some quite severe doping. The result was a very fine loudspeaker, not quite but very close to the sound of an Alnico, with a fatter midrange. And since it's release date coincided with increased demand for classic loudspeakers such as the G12H30, it was marketed by Celestion as the "Vintage 30", which was where all the confusion came in."

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Thanks GD!  It makes perfect sense to me now.  I sense the GAS hitting me hard on this one.  I have a Celestion Classic Lead 80 and I think it needs a mate.  I am gonna try a Vintage 30 and probably make stops at Weber and WGS at some point to check out their versions.

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