Most people will consider the G12T-75 among the Top 5 speakers offered by Celestion. For hard rock tones, I wager it’s in the Top 3. It also kinda sorta says something that it’s the current stock speaker for the Marshall 1960A and 1960B.
I’m digging the G12T-75. Now, there is a bit of commentary out there about how the mids are scooped. Dudes (and dudettes), it sounds fine to me. But first things first…
For this evaluation, the G12T-75 is loaded in a X-pattern in a Peavey 6505 4×12 slant cab. The 6505 comes with 12″ Sheffield 16 ohm speakers which are commonly considered to be an approximation of a Celestion G12M Greenback. This cab got hit with 4 to 8 to 16 ohm settings. I also ran that cab in tandem with a Marshall 1960B cab loaded with 4 Celestion Heritage Series G12-65 at 16 ohm loads per cab.
Is this where you’re wondering why I matched the G12T-75 up with the equivalent of a Greenback? Yeah, lots of players seem to like the G12T-75 paired up with the Vintage 30. And while I hope to try out that combo as well, let’s just go with what we have in front of us for now.
Gotta say, I really like the G12T-75. Lows are punchy and have definition, but not too tight are sterile and you can still manage a touch of “sag” if you want. The highs come across with a balanced delivery that affords the sweet rudeness of blues and the deliberate focus of shred. About those mids. I concede that you will hear it in the comparison below. I think there is also consideration due to the cab you use and the rig you are running. For my preference, I like me some mids. And I do not feel the G12T-75s robs me of mids in any way.
Running through several guitars and many amp settings, the G12T-12 definitely meets expectations. It’s a versatile option that pairs well with other speaker models and performs well at all the settings I configured. And it does mate well with the Greenback style speakers like peas and carrots.
The G12T-75 is the selection of players from Joe Satriani, Glenn Tipton (Judas Priest), Dustie Waring (Between The Buried And Me), Yngwie Malmsteen, Stephen Carpenter (Deftones), Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins), Bill Kelliher (Mastadon), Buz McGrath (Unearth), Jim Root (Slipknot), and Mark Sissel (Chris LeDoux). That’s neoclassical metal to NWOBHW to alt-rock to metalcore to alt-metal to country musical styles.
Take a listen to a video from Celestion of the G12T-75 going up next to the Vintage 30:
G12T-75 Specs
Speaker Size: 12″
Voice Coil: 1.75″
Magnet: 35 oz Ceramic
Power Handling: 75 W
Resonance: 85 Hz
Sensitivity: 97 dB
For reference, this evaluation was conducted with a Fractal Audio Axe-Fx II XL+ through a Carvin DCM200Lpower amp.
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Darth Phineas is a long time music industry insider who provides his readers with unbiased reviews on musical instrument and guitar gear. You can read more of his reviews and check out industry news on his Facebook community Darth Phineas, Twitter or his website is darthphineas.com