CELESTIONG12M Greenback Guitar Speaker

Posted on Marshall Forum.Greetings,This is my first post to these forums, just signed up. I actually have been reading the extensive post regarding the DSL5C amplifier. As a new purchaser of that amp I wanted to share my recent experience - like right now recent.First, I do like the amp very much. I have a modded Blues Junior Tweed III with Cannabis Rex speaker and recently sold a Tweaker 15, which essentially funded my DSL5C purchase. The BJr. III and the 5C complement each other nicely. The Blues Junior is very loud so I have a Rivera Rockcrusher on it. Great amp and great attenuator.But I wanted something that had more gain to learn some of my favorites like Black Sabbath, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC etc. The Tweaker was nice but it seemed inconsistent for some reason. I don't know, maybe something was going bad in it - I bought it used. I figured it might be the tubes so I put two new power tubes in - JJ 6V6's. But it still seemed to vary when I used it. So I traded it in and got the DSL5C.This is my first Marshall in quite some time, my only other being a White 50 watt head I got back in the 90's. In any case I like the 5C very much. BUT, big but, I just put a 10" Celestion Greenback in it and let me tell you, if you get this amp, get this speaker. Holy Cow! I mean the speaker is brand new and will open up even more but what a difference. And there is plenty of bass - I do not feel any need to go 12" whatsoever. I am using a 2015 Gibson Les Paul Traditional with 59 humbuckers and I also have a 2013 HSS American Standard Strat with a Diamondback Humbucker in the bridge and Fat 50's in the other two positions.I am also running a Seymore Duncan Vapor Trail analog delay and a TC Electronics HOF reverb through the effects loop.First off, the amp is quieter, which I am very happy with. I play in a townhouse and sound carries throughout the place very easily. Not so much to the neighbors, but internally. So the headphone option is great and works pretty well. But this new Celestion reduced the volume enough, and just changed the character really, that it allowed greater use of the controls, and, by extension, allowed the sound to open up more because I could turn it up more.Second the really glassy, and fizzy, distortion is gone. It now really sounds like a real amp. Seriously. The tone is more balanced and much less fizzy sounding. A real growl instead of an over emphasized sizzle. I mean I got so excited when I heard it I ended up login in here and writing an excessively long first post ;-).But seriously. I was reading all the posts about the different mods analyzing everything. But this speaker change, at least with my setup, which I took particular care to describe above, totally changes the sound characteristic of this amp.Which leads me to my last point. After hearing how this sounds, I am not so sure the amp was not designed with this speaker in mind. Obviously they were building to a price point and putting a $120 speaker in this amp changes that considerably when the original speaker costs $35. But I really think this amp was designed with this speaker in mind.So I will stop here. But given all the reading I have been doing I thought my experience would be helpful to someone contemplating the purchase of this amp. In its current state I can get a variety of tones on both channels and do so, as one would, by adjusting volume and tone on my guitar. And one other point. Historically I have found it much more difficult to get good tone out my Les Paul then out of single coil guitars. Another reason I sought out this amp. But this amp sounds very very nice with my Paul.Sorry for the long post but I really wanted to share this.Take care,john

I purchased a Greenback (8 ohm version) to try out in different amps and to blend with other speakers. I have a red stripe Peavey Bandit 112 that I like to test and break in speakers since it is relatively easy to install and uninstall speakers and I am quite familiar with the sound of the amp. I also have a dozen or so different 8 ohm speakers (I generally avoid 16 ohm speakers due to them having more high end and less mids) in my possession including early 90s V30s, early 2000s V30s, M65 Creamback, H75 Creamback, H30 Anniversary, Texas Heat, the Governor, Canabis Rex, Private Jack, EVM 12L, and so on. To my ears and in comparison to other speakers, the Greenback (8 ohm version) has little to no high end harshness (8k and up), little to no sizzle and fizz (think mesa boogie sizzzzz and fizzzzzzz) in the presence region (5k-7k), increased mid mids (500-2k) and upper mids (2k-4k), fairly neutral low mids (200-500), and slightly less low end (80-200). Overall, the frequency response of the Greenback (8 ohm) with its slight bump in the mid mids and upper mids and smooth, rolled off presence and high end make it sound very warm yet clear in both clean and overdrive applications. I would highly recommend the 8 ohm version of the Greenback for those who are wanting to tame a bright amp (too much sizzle and fizz in the presence and harshness in the high end) and want a British crunch that cuts through the mix (warmth due to slight bump in the mid mids with clarity and cut due to the slight bump in the upper mids). I also find that amps with a "presence control" will be better at dialing in a crunchy yet more or less cutting tone in regards to using a Greenback.

I watched way too many YouTube videos before settling in on the famous Greenback. I have a 1/2 watt and 5 watt tube amp and was unsatisfied with the sound from my other cabinets so I upgraded to this speaker. Although lighter then the Vintage 30, this speaker produces clearer sounds with the low lower amps.

Replaced the stock 10” Vox Celestion X with this in a Vox ACTV4. Started with a tube swap to JJs, which made some difference, but the greenback turned it into a new amp entirely. Much more low end, much tighter. The rest of the range is also much wider and the breakup now sounds just like my AC15, also with a greenbacks but 12”. The little thin sounding practice amp is now a gig-worthy mini AC15. It’s amazing. Of course, $160 in upgrades to a $250 amp might be a lot, but it should have been designed this way in the first place. These are going for $300+ used with no upgrades. I’d put this one easily at $450, once you play it. I’d also note that some have suggested opening the back or porting the AC4TV. If you have one and have not opened it up, fear not. It’s ported out the top (heat vent) and across the top of the speaker mount (1/2 inch x 8 inches) and on both sides on the bottom sides of the speaker (1/2 inch x 3 inches).

Item arrived in good functional shape, and timely. It is everything you expect from a Celestion Greenback.

First of all, I was quite surprised to see the Greenback speaker I received was made in the UK and not made in China. The UK ones, in my opinion sound better. Smoother and not harsh sounding like the newer ones. I combined it with a Celestion Creamback into a 2-12 speaker cabinet. I am using a Marshall Plexi head. The tones are incredible. If you are looking for that 70s rock band tones like Led Zeppelin, Bad Company, Free etc etc etc this is the speaker to get.