Celestion G12H-150 Redback And Limited Edition G12-35XC

CELESTION CONTINUES TO PUSH AN “it’s back” theme as a distinguisher of variations on classic guitar speakers, this time with the über-powerful 150-watt G12H-150 Redback ($169 street) topping out well above the Greenbacks and Creambacks of this world. Alongside it, the G12-35XC ($169 street) is a Limited Edition that applies the company’s cumulative knowledge to a new vintage-meets-modern take on the legendary Pulsonic cone. I tested each speaker in a 1x12 StoneAge cabinet with a Les Paul and a Stratocaster into JTM45-style and AC15-style amps.

- Dave Hunter

G12H-150

The “H”—for “heavy magnet”—rendition of Celestion’s G12 guitar speaker has been applied to several variations of the breed since the late ’60s, when it was first introduced largely as a bass speaker, but one that found favor with many heavy hitters, Jimi Hendrix among them. The new G12H-150 Redback applies the same 50-ounce ceramic magnet to a 75Hz cone and a large 2" voice coil to achieve Celestion’s highest-rated guitar speaker yet, with 150 watts of power handling, meaning it can contain the rage of a 100-watt head all on its lonesome. It’s also a sensitive speaker at 100dB (@ 1 watt measured at 1 meter), but Celestion claims that, unlike many other high-power-handling drivers, you don’t need to slam it before it starts to sound good, and that it will be equally clear, rich, and characterful with low-powered amps.