Are Vintage Speakers Worth it Anymore??? | Celestion Alnico Shootout!

[@YeatzeeGuitar]

Alright let's hear it, what did you think? Any strong takeaways? Favorite? Least Favorite? Drop it below! And if you appreciate this kind of content, consider contributing to the cause and helping fund the next one: www.buymeacoffee.com/yeatzeeguitar

[@PsionicAudio]

Silver #1 paired either with Silver #3 or the Blue. One of those combinations should shine.

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

The silver #3 is the one that made me forget there's a speaker there. I love it when the gear just dissolves into a whole experience with no single thing attracting attention. Now the question is what to pair it with. I'd like to hear it with the Gold to fill out the bottom end.

[@YeatzeeGuitar]

That's a great way to put it. Normally I feel a bit more connected to certain ones in my comparisons because I'm playing the guitar with each one and there's something more you get from being the player, but for this video it was a looper so I'm a bit more detached and didn't get that "sucked in" feeling I tend to get with the standouts. I don't prefer it, but for a comparison on YT it's better. Still I had a standout favorite listening back, but in the room listening to the looper honestly they all sounded pretty good.

[@kenichi407]

anxiously awaiting for the part 2 with early 60's silvers!

[@matthewf1979]

The Silvers are some of my favorite speakers made. The Gold and Scumback held up extremely well. If it were me and I wanted to use my vintage AC30 to gig, I'd use a pair of Golds/Scumbacks. If it was a home studio amp, I'd use the Silvers.

[@YeatzeeGuitar]

If I were smart I'd do what you're saying... unfortunately I can't help but play the vintage stuff out for better or worse

[@matthewf1979]

@@YeatzeeGuitar I admire people who do that. Speakers are a finite resource when they're 40+ years old. There's some really good recone parts out there, but they never sound exactly the same. At least we have new speakers that get to 90% of those vintage speakers....and you can just buy them online. It's a good plan B.

[@ericjenks9596]

Really surprised at how thin the blue sounded, and how close the gold got to the tone, especially given how much more wattage it can handle. Fun comparison.

[@ojaisherpa]

Silver #3 is epic. This is awesome

[@YeatzeeGuitar]

Thanks! What did you like about #3? It definitely had some stand out qualities imo

[@YeatzeeGuitar]

Correction on the Scumback, I kept calling it the SC75 PVC but it's actually the S75 PVC. SC75 is a different speaker. My bad!

[@LandMarciante]

The silver two sounded in the right place for my ears. It has tonal balance and sonic beauty. The Silver three has some imperfections but it sounds musical. I would go with the silver 2 and 3 combo OR try the Silver 2 with the Alnico Blue for a more alchemy experience. Thanks for the video.

[@Impractical_Engineer]

I have a pair of Golds in an open back cab playing a Ceritone JM50 through it. It's the first amp and speaker combo I've played that makes every guitar sound great. The low end is astonishing through the amp and speakers. I imagine that silver #3 would take the JM50 to another level.

[@kevinafflack]

Great demo! You hit the guitar and have a good recording. So many demos they barely strum and it just doesn’t show what it will be like on a gig or real recording. Thx!

[@YeatzeeGuitar]

🙏

[@halvach1998]

Silver#2, followed by the Blue for me

[@rcole3321]

The real questions is how many times did you actually had to swap the speakers for this shoot-out?! I appreciate the time, money and effort you put into this adventure. I've been following your Vox journey a bit, as I'm taking a similar journey. Finding the right Vox amp and speakers for my taste has been most difficult, painful, and expensive than anything in my 'tone improvement journey.'

[@YeatzeeGuitar]

9 speaker swaps.. plus re-installing the speakers to their normal homes so really like a dozen lol. Thanks! It's a worthwhile journey to embark on if you've got the stomach for it!

[@ampyamps]

They all sound really great. Well, except that WHF recone. This video was really well done. Nice work. Heads up, Jim at Scumback could do a proper recone on that WHF. He did a pair of blown Vox silver bells for me and they sound super close to the pair I own with pulsonic cones. Whatever that guy treats his cones with, it nails the sound.

[@YeatzeeGuitar]

Thanks! What cone did you go with for yours?

[@ampyamps]

@@YeatzeeGuitar I had him recone them as the SC75 65w Scumnico. Didn’t ever wanna worry about blowing them again.

[@horizoneer3531]

Silver 3 for me. Amazing how different they can be. I've got a '72 silver that I love above all else (also got a '67 silver and a re-coned '63 blue), I actually think the extra doping they acquired makes them better all-rounders to my ears

[@YeatzeeGuitar]

Yeah it's interesting. How does your '67 and '72 compare?

[@ReWind-Electric]

The Silvers (not the Waldham recone) basically smoke the rest, to me, but the Blue stands strong and the Gold has a sort of different appeal in some of the gainer parts.

[@danielkelley7769]

I liked the Silvers 1 and 3...I have a pair myself with original cones.

[@mkii1964]

Agree, I thought they all sounded good, a couple I thought sounded better to my ears. It seems to me the biggest difference is in the mids of all of the speakers, which is the overall "voice" to me. Excellent video!!

[@YeatzeeGuitar]

Thanks for watching!

[@Fr0stbyte89]

If I had to pick a pair, I think the Silver #1 and #3 were my favorites. No bad speakers, though. I thought the Gold had the most different character from the rest of the pack. I thought the Scumback sounded similar to Silver #2 or the reconed one. Maybe it'd continue to improve with more playing time on it, but already off to a good start. Thank you so much for doing these comparison videos. It costs a ton to round up this many excellent examples of vintage speakers, and many of us players wouldn't have a chance to hear them if not for videos like this.

[@YeatzeeGuitar]

Thanks for watching! These types of videos are a labor of love 🤘

[@MarkB.Guitar]

Wow, great video! That must have taken so much work to film and edit 😅 Silver #1 was my favourite, followed by Silver #3. Both had a really nice combo of roundedness, chime, clang, and bite. I thought the Blue, re-coned Silver, and Scumback all shared a slightly raspy quality and sounded reasonably similar in that regard in some clips - and, in a slightly different way, the Gold had a raspy quality too that sometimes sounded kinda similar to the Scumback. I don’t know which I'd pair, but Silvers 1-3 sounded great!

[@YeatzeeGuitar]

Thanks! Can confirm, silver 1 and 3 sounded great together and what I ended up pairing in my ac30's cab 👍

[@MarkB.Guitar]

@@YeatzeeGuitar Ayy, very nice! I love Blues and Silvers but they're not very practical for me using high powered amps. I wasn't too keen on the raspiness of the Gold I used to have and Scumbacks are pretty pricey to get in the UK too. It's much cheaper to get something made in UK/Europe, so I'm taking a gamble and gonna try DV Mark's high powered neo take on 60s Blues/Silvers next. Wish me luck! Congrats on finding the right speakers for your amp! 😄

[@gernblenstein1541]

Silver #2 with Gold please

[@joeschlicht]

Ok after listening a second time, now with a good pair of headphones (rather than just my phone as before) Still like the silvers best (excluding #4) but now it's a toss up between silver 1 and silver 3 as my favorite. And I really like the gold too, especially with the Les Paul. Wonder where the creamback sits in this, I remember in other shootouts really liking the creamback best for a modern Celestion.

[@JackFossett]

I liked Silvers 2 & 3, the Gold and the Scumback

[@YeatzeeGuitar]

What'd you like about them Jack? I feel like those four had some differences so I'm curious :)

[@JackFossett]

I found the various combinations of clarity and warmth worked great on them. The Scumback had the most twang - I thought the gold had the most both clarity and frequency range (at least thats it seemed to me) - and the other two were just great @@YeatzeeGuitar

[@oms1]

Silver 2 and 3 for me.

[@joeschlicht]

Loved the silvers, especially 1 through 3, blue was least favorite. Scumback was nice too. I have the reissue silvers in my AC 30 and AC15 60th anniversaries.

[@YeatzeeGuitar]

Nice!

[@AuntAlnico4]

Great idea !!

[@IAmChrisR]

Haven't heard your conclusions yet but Silver 3 and Silver 1 were consistent favorites for me. They weren't too compressed sounding and had an open high end. #3 seems to have a bit more bottom but overall similar character to #1. Silver 2 was also very good, but had slightly more subdued highs. Silver 4 just sounded weak in every example - there's a lot of bottom and low-mids missing on that one. The Blue and Gold were more compressed sounding with more pronounced and throaty mids - could be good with a different EQ profile. Those might be a little more rock and roll. The Scumbuck worked well on cleaner sounds, didn't like it so much as the gain increased. Ranking them, I'd say Silver 1/3 are a tie, Silver 2 next, then maybe Blue, Gold, Scumbuck, then Silver 4.

[@YeatzeeGuitar]

Appreciate the in depth breakdown! Good overall takeaways

[@talpajam]

my pair of stock pulsonic '65 silvers are untouchable in the vox application [jmj-30] - they came in an ncm cab w/ trolley rig on tgp for $365 in 2009. greatest single gear buy [steal] in my life. in the jmj [a world-class touring ac-30] simply untouchable.

[@talpajam]

fwiw, the scumback sounded very nice relative to vintage production/pulsonic pulp/etc.

[@spencerdeaton7202]

Awesome comparison! Did speakers 1,2,3 all have the same polsonic cone?

[@YeatzeeGuitar]

@@spencerdeaton7202 same cone codes yeah

[@rcole3321]

Favorite Showing: Silver #3 and #1, they also come across as louder and fuller on this recording. Heavenly with the thinline tele with the medium gain strumming. Thats the sound in my head. Ahhhhhh. The Scum -is a bit more scooped than I realized and just feels lighter and politer. But I really liked it the Les Paul and distortion! The Goldy-is very shimmery and paired better well with Les Paul. Overall a different voice. IT had its moments here but I wish I like it more. I have a S75 PVC and a modern blue in my Vox cab. So, If you wnat to sell one of your Silvers HMU haha :)

[@YeatzeeGuitar]

Love it! How do you feel the scumback and blue compare in your cab?

[@rcole3321]

well, I went from 2 Greens, to a Blue and Green, then Blue + Scumback S75-PVC. I think its a nice combo, I feel like I'm hearing the Blue being louder within the set. I can never have enough chime.@@YeatzeeGuitar

[@YeatzeeGuitar]

@@rcole3321 yeah the blue should be a good deal louder than the scumback so I was curious. I've been wanting to try a g12h30 with the alnico in mine

[@hoboroadie4623]

Well, it seems like the answer is just hook up the lot. I am getting an 8X12 box specifically for this, eight 8 Ohm speakers will yield 16 Ohms and should handle about a hundred Watts okay. Some of the cones are pretty trashed but they all have tone. It sure is a vector for failure to get the wrong re-cone done!

[@brenthorrocks]

Silver 1 was my favorite. I didn’t like the blue, which surprised me.

[@taggmanibanez]

I'm surprised you didn't try an old medium magnet greenback.

[@YeatzeeGuitar]

Why's that?

[@taggmanibanez]

@@YeatzeeGuitar Because although they didn't come stock in old AC 30s, they're a really common speaker to use. In fact most people I know that can't afford the old silver bells for their ac30, go with an early medium magnet pulsonic greenback.

[@YeatzeeGuitar]

@@taggmanibanez I feel like those cost just as much if not more 🤷‍♂️ different sound for sure

[@taggmanibanez]

@@YeatzeeGuitar Average price for an original G12M is between 500-600, an original silver is between 700-1000. Yea way different sound.

[@YeatzeeGuitar]

One doesn't do ya any good, gotta buy a pair. And I've heard you can't pair a G12m with an original alnico due to their different efficiency ratings. I guess the G12m would get drowned out? I bought a 70's G12H30 to try and pair with the alnico but it arrived with issues so I'm still trying to work it out with the guy.

[@middle_pickup]

Honestly none of them sounded bad, and you can mitigate the problems with mic adjustments. The scumback sounded a little thin, but if you moved the mic a bit or added a ribbon mic with the 57 you'd probably be happy. Vintage speakers are fun, but I don't think the new celestions are bad at all. Edit: I take it back. That reconed silver sounds weird. I wouldn't use that one.

[@kenichi407]

i see one of the "pair" of silvers you show at the beginning appear to be post '67 "heavy dope" T1088's. Can you specify which # silver those are? I'm almost convinced these later 60's T1088's have a different sound profile than earlier T1088's. The "silver" is the same as T530 "blues" but with a paint job isn't really necessarily accurate as many tend to believe.

[@YeatzeeGuitar]

All of the silvers are the later model here with the speaker lead mounting on the board vs speaker chassis. I've since picked up early t1088's and would like to do a follow up at some point to test that.

[@kenichi407]

@@YeatzeeGuitar great, look forward to it. you're doing excellent work. might i request you add a modern day "off the rack" celestion alnico blue into the mix?

[@YeatzeeGuitar]

@@kenichi407 I'm hoping I can find someone with one to borrow, too expensive to just buy for the video since I make no money doing this

[@kenichi407]

@@YeatzeeGuitar silly me, totally forgot these things cost money. perhaps an easy oversight in looking at all the silvers you've collected thus far. just mentioned the modern blues as they are really the only "like for like" modern day replacement for the blues/silvers, apart from say a scumnico or weber (which is a very different profile if you're a cork sniffer like most of us). the blues would also be a good reference to any "reconed" speakers using today's available celestion 53 H1777 kits, as many argue celestion recone kits are the only way to go (rather than scumback's) to get that alnico "celestion sound".

[@mzblues1]

#3 was my favorite (#1 & #2 a close second). I think @BradsGuitarGarage explained it best for me, that it was so sweet that you kinda didn't notice it. Nothing got in the way (nothing too harsh, too biting, too raspy, or not enough mids, bass, etc.). I believe that all the Celestions are 100 db, so I think the Scumback S75 PVC with 98 dB might need a volume boost to really get a more fair comparison. The Gold was a bit more raspy than I prefer. The Blue was surprisingly duller than expected (based on other videos of Blues I've heard before). But after the Silvers 1-3, the Gold, Blue and Scumback were next best (depending on the guitar and amp's settings). Like others have mentioned, the reconed Silver #4 sounded lifeless to me. @YeatzeeGuitar I know costs are prohibitive. But maybe you can get Celestion to lend you one of their new 100th Anniversary "Celestion 100" Alnico Silver, for a demo against your Silvers #1-3. That would be great to see how it's new specs and their take on recreating a combination of vintage Silver's sounds really stacks up? From the little I've heard of the new 100 combined with a Blue (at the end of Zilla Cabs video), I also think the new 100 with your #3 Silver combined might be a killer!

[@taylorclayton3402]

Silver #1 & The Blue.

[@dannyharris5300]

#1 with #3. The #4 recone was my least favorite followed by the gold, then the scumback.

[@RustyTaylorGuitar]

a pair of the original silvers either 1,2, or 3

[@YeatzeeGuitar]

Can't go wrong!

[@scottjua]

Gold and Silver #1 and #3

[@YeatzeeGuitar]

What'd you like about those ones in particular?

[@jb-zr7nw]

Cele gold FTW

[@YeatzeeGuitar]

Lots of people liking the gold!

[@aleksik4028]

Hmm difficult to choose, maybe Scumback. What a strange name for speaker, mine as well call it condom?

[@YeatzeeGuitar]

😂 Is that a British thing or something?

[@aleksik4028]

@@YeatzeeGuitar Well I read the explanation/history on his website for the name. I think recall hearing the origin for the word, what would make sense 😆🤮🙄Maybe he would have thinken twice... dont know, Im not british...

[@pharmerdavid1432]

Silly name - great speakers!

[@pablokagioglu2546]

Silver 1, Silver 3, Silver 2, Gold, Scum, Blue, Silver 4.

[@YeatzeeGuitar]

Nice! What did you like / dislike about those overall?

[@pablokagioglu2546]

Clarity and balanced tone was better with the top choices and gradually getting duller and murkier with the last choices. I think the Silver 4 has a botched re-cone, sounds kinda dead.

[@ampyamps]

Somebody likes Billy Corgan

[@YeatzeeGuitar]

Oh that's funny 😂

[@drpaul0]

Silver 1&2, surprised the blue didn't cut it and the Gold was my favourite modern speaker

[@YeatzeeGuitar]

The blue was quite different! I really enjoyed it in person, a bit warmer and rounder but still that classic alnico sound. Add some more treble at the amp and I think it'd fair better for this kind of comparison.

[@omarmolina207]

Silver 3 and Gold. The others had a honk that was unpleasant.

[@YeatzeeGuitar]

Interesting!

[@michaelorton9887]

Scumback speaker sounds hoorible

[@YeatzeeGuitar]

Oof

[@kenichi407]

i wouldn't say horrible, but after listening to this, it's no longer on my list of considerations. a bit odd, as jim has done so much r&d from literally working on hundreds of vintage silvers and blues....and so many others have had such glowing reviews.