by bordonbert Fri Nov 22, 2019 8:40 am
Hi Dangercow.
Yes, H&K have confirmed to me that the V30 that they use is specially voiced for them by Celestion so how close it is to a stock version is really anybody's guess. And the design of their own 2x12 is a bit of a mystery. It seems to be vented with no real need for it. That said, it is one of the best sounding cabs to use with H&K gear in my opinion. I have used my GM36 with V30s and my own feeling on that combo is that I wouldn't put them in the same room together. The V30 emphasised the GM36's top end edge and turned it to shrillness and gave it a nasally quality which I didn't like at all. And the tone controls proved to have very little ability to dial any of that out. That said, I play 60s/70s classic rock and the GM36 is not good for that genre anyway, so someone playing more modern stuff may very well like the edge that the V30 gives. We have had people say that they personally liked the combination. If you are a high gain player then it may suit, if you are an oldie like me it probably won't.
I now use a pair of modern 16ohm G12M Greenbacks or a pair of late 1960s 16ohm G12Hs which are both much more laid back and less in your face. I have an old 60s Marshall 4x12 which I have divided internally into two 2x12s, (completely reversible), and have fitted a new handle with switching built in so I can run it with options. I can set it up as either of the 2x12 pairs at 8ohm, all 4 series/parallel at 16ohm, or all 4 in parallel at 4ohm. To be honest, there's not too much between these options other than power handling and loudness. The tone is pretty much the same barring break up levels no matter what I choose. I'm really not into tonal cork sniffing as I'm only interested in playing with other musicians in a live band situation (...but others are toneoisseurs and may swear it is night and day!)