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Hatsubai « Fairly even sounding »
Published on 06/18/11 at 08:50The 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.
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.