Since the beginning of Rock guitar, Celestion speakers have been, pretty much, standard fare in most guitarists’ rigs. Whether it was the 25 (or 20) watt greenbacks, G12-65’s, Vintage 30’s or the now standard 75’s, each had it’s own distinctive sound, unique yet definitely Celestion.

In the not too distant past, Celestion moved most of their operations to (drumroll please) China. Sure, I can understand a company wanting to cut a little off expenses to help the bottom line. Problem is, though, that this moved resulted in a very audible difference in sound. Not a good difference. As a result, demand has grown for “original” British made Celestions. Tone aficionados have collectively turned up their noses at Celestion’s current offerings. Supposedly, Celestion has maintained a small production facility in the UK to supply those with special agreements, but I have it on very good authority (from the head of R&D of one of the top 3 amp makers in the world) that their supposedly UK made speakers are merely China made with a label saying it’s UK made.

My 2 Marshall 4x12 cabinets are pretty much Vintage (made in 1979 and 1982) and have been loaded with original Celestion G12-65’s, one of the most sought after (and expensive) Celestion speakers out there. For a classic rock kinda tone, they’re incredible sounding speakers. For what I’m doing, though, I need speakers that will give me a bigger, richer, more crunchy tone, while at the same time producing a wide, singing lead tone.

 A few years ago I discovered a new company called Warehouse Guitar Speakers. They caught my eye because as a new company, they were offering speakers at ridiculously low prices (lower than their cost to manufacture them). I ordered a set of their “Classic Lead 12” speakers, which were modeled after the old 80 watt Celestions. I installed them in a Marshall 4x12 top cabinet and was pleasantly surprised at how good they sounded.

Since then I’ve stayed in touch with David from WGS & recently ordered a quad of speakers from him to replace the speakers in one of my Marshal 4x12 bottom cabs. I got a pair of their “Veteran 30” speakers (modeled after Celestion’s Vintage 30 line (but improved upon) and a pair of their 75’s, modeled after Celestion’s 75 watt speaker, which is standard in most Marshall cabinets since the mid 80’s. I installed these in an “X” pattern in my cab. Trying it out at home (at somewhat neighbor-friendly volume, I really dug the sound immediately. Last night I finally got to use the cab at a gig, at full outside concert-stage volume and these speakers didn’t disappoint!!!!! Right outta the box they sound great, I can’t imagine how killer they’ll sound after they’re properly broken in, but this cabinet now possesses all the qualities I mentioned above - the sheer girth of the tone is amazing! I can’t wait to get another set to install in my other Marshall cab - running two cabs loaded like this will sound unbelievable!!!!!!!

So if you’re looking for something a little different for your speaker cabinet(s), I highly recommend you check out Warehouse Guitar Speakers (WGS). You’ll love the sound, they’re made in America (Paducah, KY) and they’re a GREAT company to deal with. If you do, tell ‘em I sent ya!