Celestion Classic Lead

The Celestion Classic Lead, also known as the CL80, is one of the famous speakers in the rack world. It’s a standard 12’’ guitar speaker that can handle 80 watts of power, comes in either 8 or 16 ohm configuration, has a round copper voice coil, ceramic magnet and pressed steel chassis.

Those who have been around the LA session musician scene will know this speaker fairly well. Back in those days, everyone was looking for the perfect, even sounding speaker. They wanted stuff that would not color their tone, and this was their go-to speaker for that type of style. The speaker itself is fairly even without too much bass, too many mids or too much high end. It seems to fit just about perfect in the guitar spectrum when it comes to standard tuning guitars.

I enjoy the tones that I get out of this, and it’s a very solid speaker. Usually, I mix it with another speaker, but it’s not bad on its own. Because it’s so even, however, I feel that there’s a bit of a lack of character. I generally like to have some midrange in my gear as it gives it this unique “guitar” quality. It also helps you cut through the mix. When something is too even, I find it to be a bit bland sounding, and that’s probably the biggest issue I experienced with this speaker.

In the end, it depends on what you’re going for. If you’re looking for a very even sound, definitely check this speaker out. It’ll probably be what you’re looking for. However, if you’re looking for a strong midrange or strong bass, you might want to check out another speaker. Unfortunately, there aren’t many speaker cabinets that have this installed, so it might take a bit of searching until you’re able to test them out.

I discovered this recently, HP and 4 * 12 2 * 12.
Immediatly loved the clarity and precision of sound. Not only is it clear, precise and dynamic, but also it's beautiful. This HP is a marvel too little known. Attention is thought to brilliant solos well, not too trashy for rhythmic metal with heavy bass drooling. For this reason, I suggest to associate with G12T75 such as X on a 4x12 if you want to go into the metal while keeping one hand clapping and very loosed in solos.
I know pretty well the whole range Celestion guitar, with several cabins equipped with various G12 and G10.
For fans of the 70's and crystalline solos, like Made in Japan Deep Purple is the HP gain. Bogner is a cabin with 2xG12T75 2xG12Vintage30 which has become a reference. I suggest a combination 2xG12T75 2xG12Classic Lead with 80, you will see, it's very interesting. Go and listen to demo the Classic Lead 80 Celestion on the site.