Celestion century NEO speakers

fakeplastic · September 4th, 2007, 12:41 AM

I was at the store the other day and noticed a used twin reverb ri and it looked like the previous owner had put some celestion century neo speakers in it, I remember reading lots of good things about 'em, so I plugged in and tried it out for a while and thought they seemed EXTREMELY bright and harsh, I had the treble knob on 1 or 2 and it was still too much, now I know twins are bright amps and I have played stock ones and they were not nearly as bright as this amp, so I can attribute this to the speakers.

Anyone else have this experience with these neo speakers? I've read nothing but good reviews of these online, but maybe they're just meant to be used with darker amps?

JohnnyCrash · September 4th, 2007, 01:46 AM

Neodymium speakers can tend to be a tad brighter than their ceramic or AlNiCo counterparts... but this case sounds extreme.

One thing it could be is that it is so very different from what your ears have grown accustomed to.

I'd played for years with a certain amp, then I went in for a Marshall. I couldn't stand the sounds out of the thing and thought something was wrong with the amp. After a few weeks/months, I finally realized how awesome the amp sounded and quit trying to tweak the EQ/Guitar to make it sound like the old amp.

Coulda been the room acoustics, the guitar/pickups, or a number of things... including the fact that you just may not like the way they sound.

Tremo · September 4th, 2007, 02:29 AM

I have also read that the Neo speakers can be brighter than alnico or ceramics.

A Twin is no brighter than any other Fender of the same era, they all have basically the same preamp circuit and voicing. If it's too bright, turn off the bright switch or turn down the treble. If the switch is already off and the treble is already down and it's still way bright, something is wrong with the amp.

Chicago Slim · September 4th, 2007, 07:12 AM

The Eminence Lil' Texas neodynium speakers, seem to retain the Fender sound better than most.

Wayne Alexander · September 4th, 2007, 10:14 AM

My Vox AC30CC1 (single 12 format) came stock with a Celestion "Vintage" Neo (there are two types of Celestion Neos, not sure of the difference). It sounded pretty good, though a bit cold and harsh and bright compared to the Celestion Blue or the Celestion Gold, and it had less of that rich harmonic complexity and shimmer in the semidirty and dirty sounds that you expect from a Vox. I think that it'd work best in a darker - voiced amp where weight savings are an important factor. If you don't need the weight savings, I'd say to look for another type of speaker especially for a Twin, which is bright and clean already.

Red Planet · September 4th, 2007, 05:14 PM

Itried both the Celestion Neos. Neither one had enuff bottom.

September 4th, 2007, 12:41 AM	#1 (permalink)
fakeplastic TDPRI Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: teleland Posts: 67	Celestion century NEO speakers I was at the store the other day and noticed a used twin reverb ri and it looked like the previous owner had put some celestion century neo speakers in it, I remember reading lots of good things about 'em, so I plugged in and tried it out for a while and thought they seemed EXTREMELY bright and harsh, I had the treble knob on 1 or 2 and it was still too much, now I know twins are bright amps and I have played stock ones and they were not nearly as bright as this amp, so I can attribute this to the speakers. Anyone else have this experience with these neo speakers? I've read nothing but good reviews of these online, but maybe they're just meant to be used with darker amps?

September 4th, 2007, 02:29 AM	#3 (permalink)
Tremo Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Silicon Valley, CA, USA Posts: 3,643	I have also read that the Neo speakers can be brighter than alnico or ceramics. A Twin is no brighter than any other Fender of the same era, they all have basically the same preamp circuit and voicing. If it's too bright, turn off the bright switch or turn down the treble. If the switch is already off and the treble is already down and it's still way bright, something is wrong with the amp. __________________ Exposing the CONs. www.myspace.com/59tremolux

September 4th, 2007, 05:14 PM	#6 (permalink)
Red Planet Tele-Meister Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: North Georgia Posts: 421	Itried both the Celestion Neos. Neither one had enuff bottom. __________________ RC Cola and a moon Pie!

September 4th, 2007, 01:46 AM	#2 (permalink)
JohnnyCrash Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Lost Angeles and Orange County Posts: 7,128	Neodymium speakers can tend to be a tad brighter than their ceramic or AlNiCo counterparts... but this case sounds extreme. One thing it could be is that it is so very different from what your ears have grown accustomed to. I'd played for years with a certain amp, then I went in for a Marshall. I couldn't stand the sounds out of the thing and thought something was wrong with the amp. After a few weeks/months, I finally realized how awesome the amp sounded and quit trying to tweak the EQ/Guitar to make it sound like the old amp. Coulda been the room acoustics, the guitar/pickups, or a number of things... including the fact that you just may not like the way they sound.

September 4th, 2007, 07:12 AM	#4 (permalink)
Chicago Slim Tele-Meister Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Sebastion FL Posts: 271	The Eminence Lil' Texas neodynium speakers, seem to retain the Fender sound better than most.

September 4th, 2007, 10:14 AM	#5 (permalink)
Wayne Alexander Tele-Holic Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Los Angeles, CA, USA Posts: 997	My Vox AC30CC1 (single 12 format) came stock with a Celestion "Vintage" Neo (there are two types of Celestion Neos, not sure of the difference). It sounded pretty good, though a bit cold and harsh and bright compared to the Celestion Blue or the Celestion Gold, and it had less of that rich harmonic complexity and shimmer in the semidirty and dirty sounds that you expect from a Vox. I think that it'd work best in a darker - voiced amp where weight savings are an important factor. If you don't need the weight savings, I'd say to look for another type of speaker especially for a Twin, which is bright and clean already.