Mesa Boogie Mark V Speaker Comparison C90 vs Celestion Vintage 30

The Mesa/Boogie Mark V can be ordered with either the stock Celestion C90 (Black Shadow) speaker, or with a Celestion Vintage 30. These speakers have quite a difference in tone, and I get asked quite often which one is better. This video is designed to give you a side by side comparison of these two speakers so you can decide for yourself which speaker has the best voice for you.

Both amps were mic'ed the same (Shure KSM27 & EV Raven), and had the exact same signal path.

For more information on the Mesa/Boogie Mark V, please visit our website at: http://haggertysmusic.com/shop/mesa-boogie-amplification.html

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Category:

Music

Tags:

• haggertysmusic
• mesa
• boogie
• mesa/boogie
• mark
• celestion
• c90
• black
• shadow
• vs
• vintage
• 30
• v30
• speaker
• comparison
• c90 vs v30
• c90 vs vintage 30
• black shadow vs vintage 30

[pipesstratman]

Hey Don! Two questions: what is the weight difference of the amp with the two speakers? Have you played a Strat through the two speakers? I have the C90 and my Strat seems very brittle on the high end and there doesn't seem to be enough low end. And yes, I've reduced the treble and increased the bass but still it doesn't sound great like I think it should. In your vid, I prefer the warmer, fatter V30. Oh oh, another queston: are there other speakers that sound even better in the combo?

[haggertysmusic]

@pipesstratman I'm not sure how to answer the weight question. I agree with you about the C90... there is a certain high frequency that I don't care for, and it's present no matter how you set the amp. I would love to hear a Warehouse Speaker Veteran 30 or ET-65 in the combo. Haven't tried it, but when I have compared Celestion to Warehouse in the past, the Warehouse takes the cake every time.

[diogomtpinto]

What's the name of the song on crunch channel ? Please answer, I really wanna know the name of that song ! I love it. My choice goes to v30 =D awesome

[haggertysmusic]

@diogomtpinto "The Core" by Eric Clapton on the Slowhand album. Awesome tune! Thanks for watching!

[gearslut69]

What song is played on the clean channel? Is it Time by Pink Floyd?

[haggertysmusic]

@gearslut69 It's "Breathe" by the Floyd.

[ottawadrummer]

V30

[haggertysmusic]

@Erock09291 That's a good question. I think a Mark V in a closed back 2x12 combo format would do really well. The only reason I can think of why they don't is simply because Mark's have always been 1x12 combos. Boogie was the first company to do a high powered 1x12 amplifier and perhaps they are trying to preserve that lineage.

[lespaulguy32]

v30

[Prodigyofwar88]

is it just me of does the C90 sound a bit more...Tinny? Some might characterize that as crispness but it sounds a bit more..Tinny imo...

[fuckyou334]

both vintage and celestions are top, with a slight preference for celestions, for extreme speed/black/death/gore/grind metal - the question was which one between a vintage marshall cab and a mesa boogie vintage cab was better, in some comparaison vids, mesa sounds better, and sometimes marshall is just the best. so still very difficult to find out.

[anonymityrocks]

Very cool vid, thanks for doing this. I own both.

Basically use a V30 if you want a spongy, and rolled off top end. Good for vintage feel. Downside is that it lacks definition and some desirable upper frequencies.

C90 much tighter, and more balanced throughout the frequency spectrum. Good for metal. And the clean sound was nice and tight. Downside a little harsh and paper-like on the top.

[klblackstar]

V30 by a long way.

[usalespaul59]

@MartyCannava What do you mean, it's not good, you are gonna blow the speaker out, if you crank the amp up. This is the first time I hear a manufacturer puts a speaker of lesser wattage than the amp itself. Very dubious. I thought the Marks came only with a C90 or an EVM in the 1x12 config. I play a 100w nomad head through a 1x12 EVM, specifically got an EVM as it handles bigger loads. Otherwise might've considered other speakers as well

[MartyCannava]

Both sound good, V30 sounds warmer and more sweet to the ear.

But V30 blow C90 on high gain sound

[MartyCannava]

@usalespaul59

V30 can handle that power, even if it's 60w.. Of course, it may not be good if you crank master on full power ^^

[SEIJITV]

V30 hands down, the C90 sounds cheap and has too much high end for me.

[lilnetty2]

@wariomt agreed ....more mids. V30 sounded compressed, or like he stomped on a CS2