Classic Speaker mixes, Battle Royale - which one wins?

We decided to have a bit of fun and have a little contest, choosing our favourite speaker mixes and see which stand up against the other. Sometimes we chose classic combinations and sometimes we chose slightly more odd ball choices. Don't forget to tell us which your favourite is.
On the list are
H Heritage 55Hz/H anniversary mix
Neo creamback/T75 mix
H Heritage 55Hz/Alnico Blue
V30/H Heritage 55Hz
V30/M greenback
Alnico Blue/M greenback
www.zillacabs.com/

[@scottdavidson6066]

G12H Anniversary mixed with 21 different speakers? Thanks much! You’re doing the Lord’s work.

[@jcwear89]

i really like this video and excited about the series. It's nice to have go to combinations recommended by people who really know cabs and speakers. Saves the rest of us faffing around and wasting time on poor decisions ☺️

[@0800338833]

Brilliant video guys. Great to see you again. Hope you had a banging Christmas! Cheers

[@ZillaCabs]

Thanks, you too. I hope you're having a lovely holiday.

[@hungry4des]

I almost have the same mix, Blue and G12M Heritage, and I absolutely love it. It's good for cleans, overdrive, and distortions.

[@ZillaCabs]

It's a great combination isn't it. Thanks for watching.

[@hungry4des]

That mix of the G12H 55Hz and the V30 is absolutely killer. I haven't tried that mix even though I have one of each. I have tried the G12H 55Hz with G1235XC, and it was good too. Right now I have the G12H 55Hz mixed with the G12H 75Hz, both Heritage series, and I'm digging the growl.

[@ZillaCabs]

The V30 normally gets mixed with the H creamback, but I find the H heritage brings more warmth to the mix. The 55Hz and 75Hz mix is nice and subtle. I do that with a quad of neo creambacks that I have (I had some custom 55Hz neo creams made last year).

[@NINEWALKING]

That’s what’s great about mixing speakers. You can get end result that no single speaker can do on it’s own. Wanna go for driven sounds well you got V30 combinations for it. Wanna have cleaner option and lower gain any of the blue alnico options will work. Blue dog brings open sounds to more nasal ceramic speakers and the combination is awesome. Gotta love it.

[@ZillaCabs]

Thanks, glad you agree. There is so much fun to be had.

[@PhuketMyMac]

Sounded dawn awesome!

[@escritaemdia3414]

awesome guys.. keep them coming :)

[@ZillaCabs]

Thanks mate.

[@hungry4des]

It just occurred to me that with this new format, you guys can even mix 4 speakers, like in a 4x12! Right now I have a G12H Creamback on the bottom right, G1235XC on the bottom left, G12T75 on the top right, and V-type on top left. I'm in absolute heaven right now.

[@ZillaCabs]

That is a good idea. I do think the overall mix would be quite subtle in a 4x12. I think the biggest use would be in recording where you can mic four different speakers, but I bet that is a really useful mix in your 4x12.

[@Ollonskog]

I'd love to hear a mix of the Eminence Governor and the CV-75! Pretty please!

[@emanoelraiffnobrega7419]

Heritage G12H 55Hz + G12H 70th Anniversary (both are 30W) 1:23 Neo Creamback + G12T-75 2:32 Heritage G12H 55Hz + Alnico Blue 3:48 Alnico Blue + Heritage G12M 75Hz 9:14 Vintage 30 + Heritage G12H 55Hz 5:14 Heritage G12M + Vintage 30 7:32

[@samuelmeluch394]

7:32 there is M not H

[@emanoelraiffnobrega7419]

@@samuelmeluch394 thank you for remember me this.

[@hungry4des]

9:14 is M not H

[@whisperthiefmusic]

That was really interesting, thanks for making that! How do you go about micing a cab with a combo speakers? A mic per speaker and blend or something backed off to get a bit of both? I always shy away from micing both speakers coz phase is my nemesis 😂

[@lucianobranchese4344]

Heritage G12 55Hz + G12H30 70th Anniversary would be my choice. Great video! Thanks

[@ZillaCabs]

Good choice!

[@scottdavidson6066]

Got that in my Ampeg Reverberocket 212 combo!!

[@jimshomestudio4669]

I did buy a bunch of single 8ohm speakers to test them. I have a halfway decent collection of cabs now. 1, 2, & 4x. Mostly Celestion but a few Eminence as well. Jensen to start of with but I melted all of them. I had a hard time with 1x speakers because my amps are 50w and 100w, so I was being too cautious after melting 4 Jensen. I couldn’t get the full picture unless I got loud with them, so I went back and bought 16ohm pairs of all the Heritage Greenback and love them. Once I had two of each I could pull up the volume on my 50w amps and as soon as they got loud the whole experience came into light. Greenbacks work wonders for my Marshall amps, as though they were meant to be. I have two Alnico Blue on a 50w amp and so far they’ve held together for years at moderate volumes. Contrary to popular belief I use them for my screaming lead guitar patch, with pinch harmonics and all. They work because they don’t have a harsh or brittle top end like the Vintage 30 does, and they’re on a Peavey EL84 amp. So I can run my treble and presence up, the way I like my 80s tones and the Blues are my go to. Finding a good chugga chug tone was not easy, for the Mesa amps. I basically had to go with Vintage 30, because it’s as though it was intended. However to compliment that I went with G12M-65 Creamback, and honestly that’s my preferred speaker for my Mesa amps. What didn’t work for me, Alnico Gold. It would probably be great in place of any Jensen, because it’s voiced up top and doesn’t have any real scooped mid or bottom. Eminence Texas Heat was my preferred Mesa speaker prior to the V30/G12M65. I still like it. The G12-65s came in my 4x cabs and I have 8 of them. I tried them but they sound weak and lifeless compared to any of the others. If you have a Really bright amp, they might work for you, but I can’t get any character out of them. The Redback is my ideal single speaker for a Marshall, because it has a thick Greenback honk. So I use it with a Victoria Sovereign JTM style amp and always love what it does. What I need now: the regular G12M 25w Greenback. The G12M is the sound of rock and roll in my opinion and as much as I don’t want to spend the money, your videos make me want to get a pair right away and stuff them into a 4x cabinet. So in summary, I like pairs of 16ohm speakers in a 4x cab. I add an input to get two inputs on each 4x cab, so I can get more cab resonance. I use only one mic and tend to push away from the dust cap to hear more of the cabinet while dialing in more presence on the preamps. I stopped using my 1x cabs altogether. Yours may sound great, mine just don’t. Keep rocking! 🤘

[@logrinn]

Awesome! What a great idea this is. Been enjoying several of your cool videos lately. Hopefully it won’t be too long before I can order myself a cab from you. Speaking of ... do you have or plan to make a video that shows all your cool tolexes? I’ve been looking at green ones and I see several with ”black on green”, but haven’t found one with the ”green elephant” tolex. Anyway - love your work. All the best!

[@ZillaCabs]

Thanks, that's really kind of you. Yeah we should do a video on the tolexes we have, I don't know why we haven't. There is a lot of mix up wth the green tolexes and actualy a few we haven't added to the website so it would be a sensible video to make.

[@logrinn]

@@ZillaCabs Sounds great. Looking forward to that. Oh - and by the way - Happy New Year!

[@scottdavidson6066]

Hey, Zilla! Can you pair the G12H-30 Anniversary with 21 different speakers? Thanks much!! You’re doing the Lord’s work.

[@padgreen]

Great video. Thought it was a tie, my two favourites were the Blue with the H Heritage and the Blue with the M Greenback!

[@ZillaCabs]

By tie, you mean I won right ;) I do think there were some good choices here, all classy speakers.

[@RG-yz8ov]

@@ZillaCabs do you think the blue and the g12m greenie would sound best in open or closed back, or pretty good in both. Cheers.

[@tobymoorhouse]

Ooooh.. think a speaker swap in the new year for me now. I really like the Blue and the G12M (classic!) together, it has a nice balance of mids. I have a closed back 1x10/1x12 with a G10M Greenback and a WGS Reaper 55Hz. Think I'll swap the Blue in place of the Reaper. The open back combo the Blue is in is also lacking a bit of bass so putting the bass speaker in this could also work nicely. Cheers guys!

[@tobymoorhouse]

@@GCKelloch Thanks for the info but please don't make me buy more stuff! I run multiples of 5W amps and play small clubs (when I'm allowed) so I get nowhere near the max power ratings. Good to know though.. I'm a big fan of WGS (as well as Celestion obvs)

[@davidbucket]

I have a Marshall 1960 cab with two celestion century vintage and two M Greenbacks, really cool mix I think.

[@ZillaCabs]

Great, I can't remember trying that one, if I did it was a good while ago but I can imagine it sounded cool. Do you have them in an X pattern?

[@davidbucket]

@@ZillaCabs Yeah, there in a X pattern, what's really cool is there both 98db Sensitivity, so you can hear them both and one not overpowering the other one in the cab. You did the video of the Celestion Century vintage about a year ago, what a really great watch. kzbin.info/www/bejne/nHq2eZJ4lKefndE

[@bluesful]

I expect not to like, but ended up really liking the H Heritage 55Hz/H anniversary mix.

[@ZillaCabs]

That's great, I was the same, I wasn't sure that was going to work but it did.

[@scottdavidson6066]

That’s what I’m using in my Ampeg Reverberocket 212 combo. It rocks!

[@tgvettes]

my favorite is Alnico Gold and G12 H anniversary, from your combos alnico blue and m greenback

[@ZillaCabs]

Ooh thats a really interesting combination...... good choice from the video, that was my choice so Im putting a score up against my name ;)

[@halehakuseabury4352]

If you could make a video of a Creamback H75 and a Classic Lead 80, with the Marshall 100 watt, that’d be fantastic!

[@ZillaCabs]

That'll be on the way I am sure. If you don't see it in the next few months make sure you keep asking us ;)

[@tommartin7833]

Vintage 30 h55...of those...fun vids.

[@ZillaCabs]

Thanks Tom.

[@scottdavidson6066]

I actually like the Greenback with the Vintage 30. Each one complements the other’s shortcomings.

[@KennSteinersen]

My favorite 2x12 is with a Celestion G12H heritage 55 and a Scumback M75 pvc. Both 8 Ohms. Question for you Zilla: i have 3 Celestion G12H heritage 55's and even through I bought all of them new, from 3 different dealers, broke them in for 48 hours using a variac, and they still actually sound noticeable different! Have you had the same observation? Did they change the design during the production time? Great videos you share with us, thanks 👍

[@davidhovey5152]

Great video.. Planning on loading a set oh G12H-30 (55hz) Heritage but sort of now wondering (and would like to see) how much (and if) there would be a noticeably fuller tone with a 55hz plus 75hz "Heritage" mix? I'm not a big fan of the anniversary but it doesn't sound half bad here.. just think the two heritage would be even better?

[@scottdavidson6066]

The Anniversary has a nice gravelly, gritty sound thatI really like-like it’s always on the edge of distortion.

[@fredeichenauer4568]

Please, please, please, please, please.......... Alnico Cream and Alnico Ruby!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I need to hear if it sounds as good for real as I imagine in my head.

[@bluesful]

I've run that mix in IR form and it sounds great.

[@ZillaCabs]

Good call. I've not been blown away by the Ruby so haven't used it all that much. I know it will have it's place though so I think it is time to use it a bit more, see how it mixes with other speakers. Thanks for the suggestion.

[@KenjiKitahara]

@@ZillaCabs I wonder if the Ruby needs some serious break-in hours...

[@SCOTT-ki3ve]

Joe wins. His first choice was bold and sounded fantastic. Also he played the riffs. But this was like Ali vs Frazier. Cool new format. You could do it pull the amp type out of a hat and you both have to pick your best combo for that amp I'd love to hear Alnico Gold with Vintage 30, also Alnico gold with Heritage G12h 55hz both with Laney and JMP.

[@ZillaCabs]

ooh that's a good idea... I'm going to ignore your comment about Joe winning though ;) That is a really cool idea about the format though, I think that will be good fun. When covid is over and we can be in the same room I think we'll do that.

[@scottdavidson6066]

What speakers are you guys using in your personal combos or cabinets? Just curious.

[@simon73862]

I would like to hear alnico blue with g12m with gain, you did only clean.

[@ZillaCabs]

We were just doing short clips here. We should be putting out an alnico blue vs 21 other speakers w=video shortly, that has more gain on it.

[@OperationEndGame]

Blue + greenie = winner! Winner! chicken dinner!

[@ZillaCabs]

haha you can;t beat a chicken dinner! That is one of my favourite combinations too.

[@bluesful]

BTW lads, if you ever get a chance, run a EV12L with a Alnico Cream. I've run them together in separate 1X12s (which I really liked) but never together in the same 2X12.

[@ZillaCabs]

Ooh thats a good shout!

[@bottleneck1100]

hi guys! would love it if you got some typical mini heads - e.g. mt15, dsl20, HT20 - and tried speakers with popular small heads :)

[@ZillaCabs]

Yeah we should do. We have an OR15 and it is one of the best amps here, we do most of our tests on it when cabs are going out.

[@alaincousineau9321]

V30 + Greenback G12M...not the most versatile but the best for the style.

[@ZillaCabs]

Yeah there is something about that mix.

[@ryanshook8284]

Super classic/versatile

[@CraigFlowersMusic]

Hey did you see that hat and have to have it? Were you thinking, "That is the exact same color of green as the plastic on the back of a celestion," and throw your money at it? Or is it pure coincidence?

[@rep1979]

What would be the best combo for a Vox AC30?

[@ZillaCabs]

I guess Vox a predominantly known for the M greenback or Blues in their AC30s, but if you wantedto mix speakers I'd say the H heritage 55 and a blue is one of my favourites, that would sound great.

[@rustyl.6358]

Sorry I'm late. I had a V30 and Greenback G12M in a 2x12 and didn't like it. Didn't like similar combos presented here. My 2x12 has a V30 and G12H-75 Creamback. My winner here is somewhat similar, the AlNico Blue and the G12H Greenback. Sounds fantastic! (The G12T and Neo were 2nd place for me.)

[@ZillaCabs]

Yeah you picked some nice combinations there, I'm glad you liked them.

[@alaincousineau9321]

Make a comparison between originals Celestions and the clone version of other brands

[@ZillaCabs]

Yeah I've been thinking about that one.

[@KenjiKitahara]

G10 Gold w/ G12M 25?

[@ZillaCabs]

That's a great shout.

[@KenjiKitahara]

@@ZillaCabs pretty similar efficiency too

[@andrewgarcia3136]

next time either play them all clean, play them all dirty, or both. this isn't a comparison in any sense of the word. waste of time watching is more like it. so thanks for that.

[@ZillaCabs]

Why? I think you've missed the whole point here, it was a quick run through some of our favourite mxies and we chose the style we prefer for each one. They were taken direct from much more in depth and lengthy videos on those mixes where you can hear many more styles. It amazes me at how angry some people can get on the internet.

[@nariadelimerc7409]

I'm Single 😍😥

[@ZillaCabs]

You prefer single speaker cabs?