Celestion Blue Alternatives

[Jerry G]

I hope this has not been covered many times, but here it goes anyway...

Love the Blues, need more wattage.

I hear the Golds are not as nice sounding as the Blues.

For a vintage sound, what are our alternatives?

It seems as though most people will go Celestion Heritage or Gold, what about Scumback?

[908ssp]

Yes I feel the Scumback alnicos have a better balance to the frequencies so better tone than reissue blues. Weird in a way the Scumbacks sound exactly like a pair of 1967 silver Celestion alnicos I got from a nearly new AC-30 extension cab. Luckily the Scumbacks cost half what the silver Celestions are worth.

[Jerry G]

Yes I feel the Scumback alnicos have a better balance to the frequencies so better tone than reissue blues. Weird in a way the Scumbacks sound exactly like a pair of 1967 silver Celestion alnicos I got from a nearly new AC-30 extension cab. Luckily the Scumbacks cost half what the silver Celestions are worth.

Thanks for the input, I went to the scumback website and listened to some of the sound clips.

Also listened to the Pete Thorne demo.

Although I very much like the sound of the Scumico, I think the H75 sounded closer to the Blue.

The Scumico sounded a little darker but maybe more rich or complex.

Boy, this is going to be a tough one.

[aside]

Personally I found the Scumnico very dark - still a nice sound but doesn't have any of the sparkle of a blue. The golds are pretty bright and crunchy, maybe good for a very warm amp but otherwise kinda harsh. The H75 is an awesome speaker, probably my all time favorite. I wouldn't say it's like a blue though.

I'm very interested to try the Scumback S75-PVC, reckon this could be a real winner

[Jerry G]

Any opinions how a Celestion Blue and a Scumback H75 mix would sound?

Or, would the Celestion Blue and Scumico be a better combo?

Jerry G

[EFK]

I've used a good number of the golds (in amps I've built for sale) and I think they are your best bet if you like what you hear from a modern blue. The scumnicos do sound very, very close to an old pair of pulsonic coned silvers that I had, but they do not sound like a new blue. Fane AXA speakers - my favorites by far - can handle immense power but they too have the thicker, darker sound of the old silvers. Weber blue dogs come somewhat close to the sound of a new blue, although they too seem to shave just a touch off the high end. They do sound fairly similar though. People seem to love or hate the golds, and some do find them harsh, but I have found they do change after you get some time on them at high volume and the top end definitely smooths out a bit; it's quite noticeable if you record them new and record them after 30-40 hours or so.

[Jerry G]

I've used a good number of the golds (in amps I've built for sale) and I think they are your best bet if you like what you hear from a modern blue. The scumnicos do sound very, very close to an old pair of pulsonic coned silvers that I had, but they do not sound like a new blue. Fane AXA speakers - my favorites by far - can handle immense power but they too have the thicker, darker sound of the old silvers. Weber blue dogs come somewhat close to the sound of a new blue, although they too seem to shave just a touch off the high end. They do sound fairly similar though. People seem to love or hate the golds, and some do find them harsh, but I have found they do change after you get some time on them at high volume and the top end definitely smooths out a bit; it's quite noticeable if you record them new and record them after 30-40 hours or so.

Excellent info, thanks much

[Maverick]

Celestion Blue is the king of tonality! I think a very well broken in gold will be very close.