Celestion, a manufacturer of transducer technology and raw frame drivers for guitar and bass amplification for more than eight decades, marks the 20th anniversary of its Vintage 30 speaker.
The Vintage 30, originally introduced in 1986, was developed after extensive research into crafting a speaker that could reproduce the classic Alnico sound with a ceramic magnet, a more cost-effective material.
At a time when Alnico was prohibitively expensive, Celestion found its “H” magnet came closest in performance to Alnico. Pioneering methods like Laser Doppler Interferometry were employed to analyze the cone behavior of an original Alnico Blue, and Celestion’s R&D department was able to capture a precise model of the vintage speaker characteristics and apply it to this new speaker design. A new cone was used (similar to that of the Alnico Blue) and a new coil assembly was added using modern materials with similar mass and physical properties to the originals, yet better able to handle the extra heat generated by operating with higher-power equipment.
The result was an authentically vintage-sounding speaker, released during a rising demand for classic loudspeakers such as the G12H30; this is why the speaker became known as the Vintage 30.
For more information, visit www.celestion.com.
