# Rola Celestion G12-30



## GuitarsCanada

Since I ended up going direct to Celestion to gain some info on these speakers I have, I am posting it here for future reference and before I lose the email and forget what he said.. I will get a pic up when I can. I had pulled them out of an old amp and wanted to find out what I could about them. They had a model number of T3319 and all searches came up blank.

Celestion G12-30 15 ohm speakers. Silver label from ROLA CELESTION, Ditton Works, Foxhall Road, Ipswich, Suffolk, England.

Inquiry to Celestion came back as follows:



> T3319 was the G12-30 standard catalog speaker in 15 ohms (exactly the same as 16 ohms today). It was issued on the 2nd of October 1979, and produced for a few years into the mid 80's until it was replaced by the newer G12S-50, which was almost identical but had a slightly larger magnet.
> The G12-30 uses a 1.5" diameter coil with a Kapton bobbin, and a 24oz magnet. These combine to give quite a neutral tight, bright balance with nice bite and crunch in the mid, but reasonable warmth. The efficiency is around 96dB ([email protected]), and the feel should be quite responsive, and quite versatile. They will work well with FX and a wide variety of amps and styles, but may be a little bass light for some styles, and aren't as loud as speakers like the G12T-75 or Vintage 30.
> The closest current model is the G12E-50, but if you listen to our Tone Selector files on the website, the G12T-75 is the closest reference, but they would sound a little thinner, brighter and quieter. Although called a 30W speaker, they will take up to 50W as long as there isn't a large amount of bass.
> Best regards,
> The Doctor


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## thedukewestern

*I have the same speakers*

I found you as tonight I pulled apart the main cabinet that I have used for some time with two of these exact speakers. It is a 4-12 with an additional two rola celestion g12m's. I would be interested in hearing what your thoughts are on these speakers, as well as if you replaced them perhaps... and if so any comparisons you have made?

Thanks for posting
dave


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## GuitarsCanada

thedukewestern said:


> I found you as tonight I pulled apart the main cabinet that I have used for some time with two of these exact speakers. It is a 4-12 with an additional two rola celestion g12m's. I would be interested in hearing what your thoughts are on these speakers, as well as if you replaced them perhaps... and if so any comparisons you have made?
> 
> Thanks for posting
> dave


As for these speakers... I did not find them the same or close to the G12T-75 as mentioned in the response from Celestion. They are not as deep and bassy as the G12T and I would agree with his assessment that they are brighter and thinner. I have never come across the G12E-50 speakers so can't compare them to those. Most everything Marshall wise that I have owned has had the G12T-75 in them, in a closed back cab. They are not a bad speaker but I found mine in a vintage Band Master cab and they were not suited to that at all. I put a pair of Jensens in that cab and still have the G12-30 on the shelf.


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## gtone

I've been finding quite a few of my vintage speakers suffer from degaussing (loss of magnetism), which often results in low volume output, a thin bottom end and a general overall lack of
depth. Some speaker rebuilders have equipment to remagnetize them, which can help restore the tonal qualities in large part. Notwithstanding, there may be some folks out there thinking that they've found the "grail" tone just because they have a vintage speaker when in fact, a properly broken-in modern speaker may be sonically superior. 

FWIW, Doug Scarrow of Western Speaker Works told me to just use the 'screwdriver test' as a quick'n'dirty method to guage a speaker magnet's strength. (Note: works well with ceramics, but alnicos may require the bell to be removed).


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## Buzz

So I'm bringing this thread back up because I have a Celestion G12-30. This speaker can get nice and crunchy. I'm not sure what amp to use it with and what wattage it is? So far Ive hooked it up to a Pignose amp/pedal for fun. I had two but one was shot and I dont know what I did with it. 

I've got a bunch of old speakers, whats the screwdriver test?


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## notjoeaverage

You place a screwdriver close to the magnet and see from how far away it will pull it in, then see how much force it takes to pull it off the magnet.


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