Celestion Century G12

[lonewolf]

I just finished up installing a pair of Celestion Century G12 neodymium speakers and thought I'd post a review.

At 4-1/2 pounds, and a sensitivity of 102db these are the loudest and nearly lightest speakers Celestion has ever made.The keyword for these speakers is definition. Whether chugging a power chord or running thru 32nd notes, these have more definition than any guitar speaker I ever played thru. Everything is crystal clear with loads of that Celestion "sparkle"...but with the smooth, gradual clean breakup of an EVM12L.

I tried them in several configurations and they work best in open-back or ported cabs. The bass is extremely tight on these speakers, so most people would want to enhance the bass with the cabinet design. The closed back cabinets did very little to enhace the bottom, although I didn't have a 2-12 straight cab to try--its possible that a pair of these in a 2-12 straight sealed cab might have enough acoustic coupling to create the perfect bottom. My angled, sealed 2-12 did not. The open-back cabinets enhanced the bass a bit, but the biggest effect I saw was in the Mesa/Boogie Thiele cabinets. Individually, the bass sounded better in these cabs, but stacked together, the acoustic coupling between the two brought out a sound as beefy and loud as a Marshall 1960 cabinet, only much more defined.

When using only one in a typical combo cabinet, many people might be disappointed with the tight bottom on this speaker. You may find yourself turning up the bass significantly to get the same bottom as before--this works. It will significantly extend the volume of such a rig and will make an EL84 style power amp keep up with the 6L6s as far as volume.

Keep in mind that for a given wattage, this speaker is nearly 4 times louder than the Celestion G12T-75 found in the Marshall 1960 4x12 cabs. Two Centurys in a cabinet(s) with good bass characteristics is louder and cleaner than a Marshall 4x12 hands down. The smooth breakup of these speakers even gives you the feeling of "more speaker paper". Put 4 of these in a 1960A 4x12 cab and it will be as loud as 3 stock 1960 cabs, but weigh 24 pounds less. At $195 each, this would be one pricey Marshall cab, though.

[bassist_25]

My bass cab has Neos in it. It's really easy to stick in the car after a long gig. I'm planning on purchasing a 2x12 to switch with my 4x10 when I want a different sound or run stereo when I don't have PA support.

The speakers seem to have a mid-range bump to them, but I like mids so I like the speakers a lot.

[lonewolf]

My bass cab has Neos in it. It's really easy to stick in the car after a long gig. I'm planning on purchasing a 2x12 to switch with my 4x10 when I want a different sound or run stereo when I don't have PA support.

The speakers seem to have a mid-range bump to them, but I like mids so I like the speakers a lot.

Not all neos are created equal. I'm not sure these Centurys would work well for bass, but if you want to find out, you can come over and check them out.