Celestion Black Shadow Speakers...opinions?

[Dylan S]

Hey guys,

So my friend sold his XXL ENGL cab, and is now keen to buy a new Mesa Traditional or Recto cab (we're going to try both) but he found a guy selling a used Mesa cab a short drive away from us, and we're considering going to check it out.

The cabinet is loaded with Celestion Black Shadows, and they're speakers I've never heard anything about before. I was just wondering if any of you guys had experience with them? The cabinet is a considerable amount cheaper than a brand new Mesa cab, and although I'm quite sure the general consensus is going to be "the v30s for sure...you know they're great and they're reliable, industry standard, etc etc", but I thought I'd just see what you guys thought or if you'd had any experience with Black Shadows first.

Thanks guys.

 

[viggen666]

the black shadow is mesa's version of the celesion classic lead.
don't have any experience with them myself.

 

[mr.L.]

I have a 1x12 that has a 80watt black shadow in it. It's great for really clean stuff, nice and phat sounding, but it doesn't really give much speaker break up obviously.

 

[Jaymz]

http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/...test-new-rig-liquid-saffire-56-content-2.html

All Black Shadow & another clip: http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/451140/OWAM.mp3

Its a Mesa Trad btw, haven't had chance to record a full song with them yet but I think they smoke.

 

[Metaltastic]

"the v30s for sure...you know they're great and they're reliable, industry standard, etc etc"

 

[mr.L.]

In no way are v30s the only speakers that work great for metal. In fact most of my favourite tones are actually recorded with other speakers (mainly greenbacks and T75s). The Black Shadows can definitely get you a good metal tone, but they are a different taste. In the end its just a matter of what you like best, so don't be afraid to go in a less popular direction (might even help you stand out between all the people running a 5150 into a mesa cab).

That clip by The Shred sounds great and has that character black shadows have. So if you like that kind of sound get the cabinet. For what it's worth I personally do not even like the mesa cabinets with vintage 30s in them.

 

[beyond dead]

if you sold the engl, go v30 or go home! otherwise you might as well have kept the engl

my 2 cents

 

[mr.L.]

why? The XXL cabinet also has V30s in it, so maybe that was even what he disliked about the ENGL .

Anyway I would be very surprised if the ENGL XXL sounds similar to a different cabinet with an entirely different type of speakers in it (which are also mounted differently btw).

 

[beyond dead]

i doubt somone could dislike v30s that being said, I use the 75 watt celestions, so im no v30 fan boi...

 

[mr.L.]

hehe ok, although I've witnessed stranger tastes

 

[Allu83]

I own a Mesa Oversized with Black Shadows, it sounds great live! But for my recordings I'm getting better results with the ENGL Pro loaded with v30!

maybe I still have to find the right spot for the mic, or the right settings on he amp for the Mesa cab, but I'm really in love with my ENGL at the moment...

 

[Lasse Lammert]

I own a Mesa Oversized with Black Shadows, it sounds great live! But for my recordings I'm getting better results with the ENGL Pro loaded with v30!

maybe I still have to find the right spot for the mic, or the right settings on he amp for the Mesa cab, but I'm really in love with my ENGL at the moment...

wow, surprises me..I'm digging my Mesa OS WAAAY more than the Engl....

 

[cobhc]

wow, surprises me..I'm digging my Mesa OS WAAAY more than the Engl....

But your Mesa OS has v30's, Allu83s cab is loaded with the Black Shadows.

 

[Dylan S]

The XXL had v30s, but it sounded too bassy which was more to do with the construction of the cabinet. My friend has played his Powerball through my Mesa Traditional cabinet and it sounded much MUCH better, so we've figured it's more of a problem with the XXL cabinet itself rather than v30s.

We're going to try the MEsa cab with Black Shadows out and see how it sounds. He doesn't record very much so he'll just be interested in how it sounds to jam too, so we're definitely going to give it a chance, but again if all else fails, we can just get a regular Mesa cabinet and be confident it will sound great.

Thanks guys.

 

[53Crëw]

The XXL had v30s, but it sounded too bassy which was more to do with the construction of the cabinet. My friend has played his Powerball through my Mesa Traditional cabinet and it sounded much MUCH better, so we've figured it's more of a problem with the XXL cabinet itself rather than v30s.

Mesa's V30's are proprietary and voiced a bit differently than a standard Vintage 30. So the difference you hear is not only the cab, but the speakers as well. (They are also rated at 70 Watts each instead of 60.)

 

[Dylan S]

Wow. I never knew that. I'm sure my Mesa cabinet is one of the Traditional/Stiletto ones and on the Mesa website it says they're rated at 240 watts, which would equal 60 watts per speaker still. Am I missing something here?

 

[53Crëw]

The literature says 240 watts, but the actual cabs still say 280 watts and have the 70 watt speakers. I asked them about six months ago if they had changed speakers or specs because of what the literature said, and they said no. They are still being made in England at the Celestion plant to their specs, as before.

 

[Dylan S]

I just checked the back of my cab and it says 280 watts.

thanks for the info man.

 

[53Crëw]

No problem.

 

[Metaltastic]

Yup, my Recto cab can't be more than a few months old and it says 280 watts on the back too! The V30s look identical as far as I can tell though (label-wise, anyway), but hey, at least they're still UK made!