Metropoulos Forum

Here is my G12M speaker shootout video:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GLVcvwq4C8[/youtube]

The video explains the rig and approach. A few notes I didn't mention:

The amp was dialed in for each clip, IOW the settings were different for Pete's clips, Doug's clips and my own Les Paul and Strat clips.

All of the speakers had some level of break in, except the Heritage 20W. Those came right out of the box, and you can hear it. We did warm up each set of speakers for 20-30 minutes before hitting record though.

No processing was done on any clip. There are relative volume differences which may affect your perception of each speaker. But I prefer to keep them unprocessed. This also shows the relative sensitivity of the speakers. All were within a few dbs.

I have lots of footage left over and may make some audio only clips and possibly a shorter video that gets right down to the comparison.

George

I dig it G.

The ones I thought I'd like best...I did...but a couple surprises for me.

Cool Vid......wow dig the old unobtainable celest....very sweet!
They Austin and the Scum were sound very good as well..
The re-issue seems very close......
Thanks for doing that!

I think I liked the 25w greenback reissue the best, but I also liked the '67 G12M and the Heritage G12M.
I think the Heritage had a bit more "sizzle" than the others.

The 25 watt Geenback reissues really surprised me. Didn't expect them to sound that good probably due to internet jargon and bias. Overall the tones all sounded great.
Great job VG!

The Austin had the most difference among them all. More mids ..... but someone may really want that for their personal preference.
Now the 25 reissue note the warmer less sharp top that makes mids more hearable maybe even gainier slightly. Not less treble per sey but a cozier high end..
Now these are the chinese reissues right?? They hold their own imho.
Other than that not a real ton of difference really. They all work and sound fine to me. And in my experience alot of these speakers acted how I thought they would here.

I actually like the Celestion reissue the best!

bman5150 wrote:I actually like the Celestion reissue the best!

That one surprised me! I liked it too but thought i wouldnt. all the celest's are really cool with me on all levels and the scumback has good tone too. very nice!
The only one in the shootout i could not see myself ever buying or using would be the ASW
There is something about the tone it gets that reminds me of playing through a digital modeler, that plastic sort of quality i hear in those, i am hearing in this speaker even though it is NOT being played with anything digital.
it just made the Metro head sound wrong/ not as impressive to me? even though all clips are the same player,guitar,pu's,cable,cab,etc.
opinions you gotta love em!
someone out there probably would say they thought the ASW sounded the most "british" or Vintage.
Ps, my computer is hooked up to a massive 250W a side stereo system with Bose speakers as monitors so i dont think that was a problem hearing the ASW i had it cranked and the others sounded real, really good!
was a nice treat to hear the old original 67' and a metro head

I also have to say that the way this was done was a stellar fair and square comparison-all the anomalies were pretty much weeded out and that makes comparing so much more intense and hearable. Couldn't have made this comparo any better any other way

VG, not to call anythin' out on that awesome production, but the ASW's sound pretty far out of the pack. Do you think the mic's being out even a 1/4" could 'cause a shift like that? Or do they really sound like that in the room too? I think they're awesome for someone who wants that particular color of the M. They all are. Killer job, again!

somethin'else wrote:VG, not to call anythin' out on that awesome production, but the ASW's sound pretty far out of the pack. Do you think the mic's being out even a 1/4" could 'cause a shift like that? Or do they really sound like that in the room too? I think they're awesome for someone who wants that particular color of the M. They all are. Killer job, again!

He wasn't micing just one speaker it was with a ribbon mic 4 feet away. This was to demonstrate how the cabinet sounded with the speakers standing in front of it rather than just how one speaker sounds.

Did George say whether the "reissue" was a current model Greenback or the ones with the 6402 cones. I also didn't care for the ASW. That doesn't mean they are bad speakers, it means for my ears and tone that I am chasing, they probably are the right choice. Would have also been great to hear the blackbacks too. But, I am sure the "it would be great to..." list is endless.

Thanks George. Your latest videos are awesome for tone chasers like us!!!!

After listening to this a few times in the past day...

Greenback Reissue was a winner for me. Very surprising actually. I believe the reissue has 1777 cones?

Worst.. AWG! Never have I ever heard of AWG? That speaker really did suck. I would never use it!

Close second... Scumback. However; the Scumback Blackback; which should of been in this shootout, would rank equal for me with the Greenback Reissue. I have the Scumbacks. Very aggressive!

Thanks Roger, sorry to bring it up in any way really, just surprised on how "which one of these does not belong" the ASW sounded, while still being in the same family! Should've listened/read again for tracking specs.

I'd love to hear the ScumBlacks, and the G12Cs and the Taydens too, but I have the ScumBlacks, and that kinda vid is a LOT of (fun) work. It's just too cool to have solid studies like this.

Thanks again George!!!

I'm very happy with the positive response to the video format. It inspires me to do more of these types of clips.

I don't really know what to say about the ASW Crossroads in these clips. I absolutely LOVE those speakers when I play them in person. The way they tame a non master volume lead spec amp is fantastic.
No question that they have the most subdued highs out of the bunch. But, somehow the video didn't capture the glorious vocal mids that makes those speakers so appealing for me.
I guess mic placement, amp settings etc could have been better for showcasing them.

For comparison sake, check out the video from my shop comparing Crossroads to my old cab:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vR7Rn9erHew[/youtube]


george

I liked the reissue too. I thought the ASW sounded a bit muddy on some notes.

Which cones are in that reissue. I've seen both 6402 and 1777 cones in them.