I've always been a v30 guy. Let's talk about Greenbacks.

GreatGreen

GreatGreen

Power User
Update: EVH 4x12 cabs use heritage greenbacks, not standard greenbacks. Good to know, and that clears up a lot of confusion I had about these things.

So I've recently started playing an EVH 50w head. I still love the Axe-Fx and play it all the time of course, but every now and then a change of pace is good so... here I am. Anyway I'm using it with a Mesa Recto 2x12 at the moment. It sounds really good, but admittedly I do run an EQ in the loop to:

1. Turn down the overall gain to manage the volume because it jumps from 0 to LOUD at like 0.3
2. Scoop out some (not all) of those v30 mids when I'm playing at home for a smoother sound.

This weekend I went to a music store and played this same amp through an EVH 4x12 which is stock loaded with Greenbacks. All I can say is... I should have noticed these speakers years ago. They're incredible. They sound balanced, even, and thick, they don't immediately ice pick your ears. And their lower sensitivity means amp volume controls are way more forgiving at low volumes, so amps won't blast you into the next room if you breathe on the volume knob too hard, etc. Basically, I was completely impressed with these speakers, even as a guy who often goes for extremely high gain kinds of sounds.

What's going on here? Is the 5150 III just the only high gain amp out there that happens to sound great with a Greenback loaded 4x12? Are Greenbacks generally just this good for super high gain stuff across the board?
 
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I love the combination of Greenbacks and V30s. The Greenbacks are smoother and warmer while the V30s give great cut and have a tight bottom. There's several different kinds for each speaker (UK, Chinese, made for Mesa, etc.), but I've combined a few different types with both IRs and real cabs to great effect... or at least the effect I'm looking for.

I wouldn't think that just Greenbacks would work across the board for all types of metal. I would think that most high gain metal players would want something with a tighter bottom, but with the right amp and EQ who knows?

Or maybe it's just a case of the grass seeming greener with different gear in a different environment?

Also, I thought all EVH cabs were loaded with his signature Celestion G12EVH speakers? I think Eric Peterson from Testament and Scott Ian from Anthrax have used those cabs live.
 
The sound of classic rock. The Celestion “greenback”, and variants with other back colors (black and cream, IIRC), were loaded into the Marshall 1960 A/B cabinets of many guitar legends of the 60s and 70s. You’ve heard them many, many times without knowing it.

They‘re not ”do everything” speakers, but what they do, they do magically.
 
Pretty sure the EVH are the 20 watter greenbacks and not the common g12M-25 as others have mentioned above. They are not the same speaker. They may be Heritage edition Greenbacks with a EVH sticker on them as mentioned too. Pretty sure thats the case. They cost more than standard greenbacks and are different. Never played thru any yet.
 
Holy crap guys, I've been wrong this whole time. You guys are right! The standard G12M and the G12EVH speaker aren't the same. The EVH speakers are Heritage Greenbacks, not standard G12M's.

My apologies. I'll update the first post.

The speakers in the EVH cab are still technically greenbacks, just apparently not G12M standard greenbacks like I thought they were. I've listened to a few clips A/B'ing the standard and heritage greenbacks and the EVH cab is starting to make more sense to me.

The Heritage GB's seem to pair with very high gain amps better than regular greenbacks. They emphasise a bit more sizzle, and they sound slightly smoother but also more forward in the mix than regular greenbacks, which sound darker and a bit raspier in the mids by comparison. I was wondering how the EVH cabs were doing that, lol.
 
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Also was a V30 guy until I tried some Greenbacks.
In fact, it took me many years to figure out that actually, I'm not really a V30's guy!

Today, I'm more of a Greenback or G12H guy, although I'm using a lot of V30 IRs with the Axe-FX
 
sluice said:
Also was a V30 guy until I tried some Greenbacks.
In fact, it took me many years to figure out that actually, I'm not really a V30's guy!

Today, I'm more of a Greenback or G12H guy, although I'm using a lot of V30 IRs with the Axe-FX
Click to expand...

I feel like I'm moving in this direction too. The more I really pay attention to speakers, the more I see that while I like V30 IR's (especially blended with other IRs), I don't really favor all-V30 loaded cabs in the room.

In the room, you're exactly right. Greenbacks, Heritage Greenbacks, and G12H speakers sound killer. Way more appealing than V30's.
 
I've got a cab with 4 different speakers for studio work and it's amazing how much of a difference speaker selection makes.

 
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