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AD15 - Speaker change?

Posted: Mon Jul 01, 2019 10:42 pm
by gazman83
Hi guys,

I love my Oraneg AD15, but am curious to try some different speakers (some say it's almost like getting a new amp, becasue it can make such a difference). I play mianly classic rock, indie, britpop styles, and have a natural tendency towards British sounds/amps.

Does anyone have an experience/thoughts?

Options I'm considering:
- Celestion Greenback (I was told by my amp tech that would help reduce volume a little bit, due to lower efficiency. I play mainly at home.)
- Celestion G12H
- Celestion V-Type
- Celstion Alnico Blue

Cheers,
Gaz

Re: AD15 - Speaker change?

Posted: Mon Jul 01, 2019 10:43 pm
by Jondog
I vote the Blue Alnico

Re: AD15 - Speaker change?

Posted: Tue Jul 02, 2019 6:19 am
by Les Paul Lover
They're all good choices.

The V type is the one most similar to your V30, something to bear in mind.

Re: AD15 - Speaker change?

Posted: Tue Jul 02, 2019 9:38 am
by gazman83
Thanks guys

I'm particularly curious about the Greenback, but with the AD15 being a little Dark in nature, would the Greenback accentuate that by tapering the top end and upper mids of the stock V30?

Doing some research, it looks like Greenbacks and G12H Anniversary speakers have been used at various times in AD5 and Tiny Terror combos, but core speakers for Orange range still seem to be V30...is that because the V30 cuts through better for the darker orange tone?

Also the V-Type is meant to be mix of V30 and Greenback, has anyone tried these with Orange amps?

Re: AD15 - Speaker change?

Posted: Tue Jul 02, 2019 10:21 am
by Jondog
They were putting the G12H in the TT combos for a bit, If it wasn’t to thicken up the sound from a small cab it was just to do something different. I’d pick a G12H over a greenback in a single speaker configuration. I owned two V type speakers. I personally didn’t like them compared to a V30. Just sounded thinner, they were just OK.

Re: AD15 - Speaker change?

Posted: Tue Jul 02, 2019 5:00 pm
by Ronnie Robinson
Yep just go for it it's part of the fun of playing guitar.

Just don't buy new and then compare it to what you already have in presumably a broken in speaker....the new one will sound harsh and sterile.

Buy used then if you don't like it sell it for the same price.

Re: AD15 - Speaker change?

Posted: Tue Jul 02, 2019 5:03 pm
by Boy_Narf
I vote for a Jensen P12R. Some kind of magic sparkle that I don't hear from the C brand.

Re: AD15 - Speaker change?

Posted: Wed Jul 03, 2019 9:17 pm
by Les Paul Lover
gazman83 wrote:
Tue Jul 02, 2019 9:38 am
Thanks guys

I'm particularly curious about the Greenback, but with the AD15 being a little Dark in nature, would the Greenback accentuate that by tapering the top end and upper mids of the stock V30?

Doing some research, it looks like Greenbacks and G12H Anniversary speakers have been used at various times in AD5 and Tiny Terror combos, but core speakers for Orange range still seem to be V30...is that because the V30 cuts through better for the darker orange tone?

Also the V-Type is meant to be mix of V30 and Greenback, has anyone tried these with Orange amps?
We just practice and played a small gig recently, and i lent our s8nger guitarist my AD15 whilst I was using my Genz Benz Black Pearl 30.

The AD15 wit V30 cut through the mix effortlessly, in a great musical way. He was playing a strat, gain around 12 o'clock. Great sound.

I'm a big V30 fan.
If you want better cleans, I'd go for the G12H30.

Then it depends how you play your amp. Home alone, pick which ever speaker you want, but with a band, see what fits best with the mix.

Re: AD15 - Speaker change?

Posted: Thu Jul 04, 2019 3:20 am
by gazman83
Thanks for all the advice and feedback guys, always much appreciated.

Nothing really wrogn with the V30, it is UK made and nicley broken in, so not too harsh sounding. Just curious to try some options.

The Alnico Blue would be great, but probablyt too much of an investment for me, but the G12h 70thA might be a good one to try. I;d love to try some WGS/Warehouse speakers, they get some good wraps, but hard to get here in Australia and a bit more expensive now becasue of the lower $A vs $US.

Will let you know how I get on!

Thanks again

Re: AD15 - Speaker change?

Posted: Fri Jul 05, 2019 5:26 pm
by steamboat
I have used the AD15 a lot over the last 12 years. I have owned many of them and still have some. It's my favorite modern Orange Amp.

The best speakers in to my ears are either a Vintage Celestion G12H that you could find off ebay or the Celestion Alnico Blue.
I take the V30 out of every AD15 I have. It's not the best choice for this amp but I can understand why orange put them in trying to keep cost down.

Here's an AD15/10 and four AD15/12's one of them has been modified to a head.

Image

Re: AD15 - Speaker change?

Posted: Fri Jul 05, 2019 10:31 pm
by gazman83
Thanks for the feedback Steamboat

I get a bit lost with all the G12H speakers, there seems to be a few, Heritage and Modern, and then the Heritage have different Bass Resonence ratings too, which I also don't understand!

Are you able to provide a bit more info around the vintage G12h you mentioned? Is that the Heritage series?

Re: AD15 - Speaker change?

Posted: Sat Jul 06, 2019 1:14 pm
by steamboat
gazman83 wrote:
Fri Jul 05, 2019 10:31 pm
Thanks for the feedback Steamboat

I get a bit lost with all the G12H speakers, there seems to be a few, Heritage and Modern, and then the Heritage have different Bass Resonence ratings too, which I also don't understand!

Are you able to provide a bit more info around the vintage G12h you mentioned? Is that the Heritage series?
Yea they make a few different versions these days but what i'm talking about is the original Celestion G12H from the 1970s, Its not called anything like a heritage or modern it's just a G12H. So it's clearly going to be a used speaker. You can find one on ebay they pop up fairly often. Just search "vintage celestion G12H" They usually aren't cheap but $175-$300usd will get you a nice original one or even a nice re coned one that will be good to go for years to come yet. The 1970s G12H came in a few different colors too as far as the magnet cover, so don't let that fool you. I have them as Greenbacks, Blackbacks, Creambacks I even have one in a Greyback. Even a Celestion G12M from the 60s-70s would be a great choice. The G12H is a 30 watt speaker and depending what G12M you might stumble across they were either a 20 or 25 Watt speaker.

Re: AD15 - Speaker change?

Posted: Sat Jul 06, 2019 4:57 pm
by a.hun
+1 on the G12H-30. For me a pretty perfect match for Oranges. The V.30 is good when there are 2 or more of them but just don't quite do it for me as a singleton.

The current H-30 'Anniversary' model is pretty much the standard model, and nothing wrong with that.

Indeed, the colour of the plastic magnet cover made no difference with the vintage ones. Back in the day the main real differences were between the normal '75Hz resonace' models and the '55Hz' ones which were originally used for bass, but are also great for guitar. They have a bit more low end, otherwise just as brilliant sounding. A '70s Blackback 55Hz one I found years back is still my single favourite all round rock guitar speaker.


Andy.

Re: AD15 - Speaker change?

Posted: Sat Jul 06, 2019 6:33 pm
by steamboat
a.hun wrote:
Sat Jul 06, 2019 4:57 pm
+1 on the G12H-30. For me a pretty perfect match for Oranges. The V.30 is good when there are 2 or more of them but just don't quite do it for me as a singleton.

The current H-30 'Anniversary' model is pretty much the standard model, and nothing wrong with that.

Indeed, the colour of the plastic magnet cover made no difference with the vintage ones. Back in the day the main real differences were between the normal '75Hz resonace' models and the '55Hz' ones which were originally used for bass, but are also great for guitar. They have a bit more low end, otherwise just as brilliant sounding. A '70s Blackback 55Hz one I found years back is still my single favourite all round rock guitar speaker.


Andy.
Good point on mentioning the Hz. that would be something else to consider but both are great sounding speakers. I have both versions in my AD15s as well as the alnico blue in another one. You can't go wrong with any of these combinations.

I too like the 55z. I have a nice creamback in the cabinet underneath the AD15 head in my picture posted above.

Image

Re: AD15 - Speaker change?

Posted: Mon Jul 08, 2019 10:52 am
by gazman83
Thanks guys, thats really helpful.

I'm not sure I'm overly confident buying vintage speakers that have been refurbed, but very keen to try the G12H30 range. Listening a bit on YouTube for a guide, they do sound a bit less compressed and more open that V30's, but still with plenty of clarity, top end and solid bottom end, should be a great speaker with Orange.

I'll do some more investigation and pull the trigger, will let you know how I go.

Thanks again!
Gaz