Which Guitar Cab Or Speaker? - Barefaced Audio

Here's our 'standard' range of AVD guitar cabs:

Reformer 112 - our most popular guitar cab. It’s the best 1x12” you can buy, as the AVD makes it easier to hear wherever you stand whilst giving you a bigger fuller tone.

Upsetter 110 - a lot smaller but still sounds big - not as huge sounding but far more like a 12” than a conventional 10”.

Usurper 210 - for that 10" speaker sound but more output and a bigger tone.

Uprising 212V - sounds like two Reformer 112 cabs would when stacked - louder, bigger, more of the same awesomeness.

Radical 212H - sounds thicker, deeper and fatter than the Reformer 112, more like that big 412 vibe.

Reality 112FR - for use with acoustic instruments or electric guitar with modelling or profiling systems (DSP preamps usually paired with solidstate power amps to emulate other designs). Cabs like this are often referred to as FRFR - if you want an FRFR cab that can also handle bass duties then the Big Baby 3 or Big Twin 3, or one of the other 12XN-T models are the correct choices.

 

Our 12” guitar cabs use Celestion Vintage 30 drivers as standard - many of you will know what they sound like in a conventional cab, be it closed or open-backed. Our 10” guitar cabs use G10 Vintage drivers as standard - Celestion did a great job of making a 10” that sounds like a Vintage 30; a bit more highs, bit less fullness but similar vibe overall.

If you want a different sound then we also offer all the best Celestion speakers as custom choices - about half the cabs we sell have custom drivers. You can also mix and match speakers in our dual driver cabs, we that one stock speaker and one custom speaker or two different custom speakers. So many options to get the sound you want! We also offer unloaded guitar cabs if you want to fit a driver that we don't sell.

 

If our "standard" AVD cabs don't tick all the boxes for you we have a range of specialist guitar cabs, so that you can have the exact right solution to your personal guitar amplification needs - if you're interested in one of our models but wish it was wider to look good under a larger amp head, we have the following wider/larger versions:

Reformer 110W - this is the Upsetter 110 scaled up to Reformer 112 size. 10" tone but with even bigger lows in a Wide 1x10" enclosure.

Usurper 112W - this is the Reformer 112 widened to Usurper 210 size to make a Wide 1x12" cab.

Radical 112SW - this is the Radical 212H turned into a Super Wide 1x12" cab, for when you don't need the output of a 2x12" but want that big look. Even bigger sound than our Reformer 112 because of the larger lower-tuned enclosure.

Upsizing 212 - this is a wider deeper version of the Uprising 212V. 24" (610mm) wide for bigger heads and the larger lower-tuned enclosure gives it a huge sound.

Furthermore we have various special versions of our guitar cabs for guitarists after specific tones - from bi-amp/stereo version of our dual driver cabs, to lower tuned cabs for serious downtuning or baritone guitars, or dual AVD version of the Usurper and Radical for guitarists using mixed drivers and wanting the full-range tone from both. Email us to find out more!

Full list of the guitar cab widths - compare these to your amp head(s):

15" / 380mm - Upsetter 110

18" / 450mm - Reformer 112 (and Reality 112FR and Reformer 110W)

19" / 480mm - Uprising 212V

24" / 610mm - Usurper 210 (and Usurper 112W and Upsizing 212)

29" / 740mm - Radical 212H (and Radical 112SW)

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Celestion make a LOT of different guitar speakers. Here’s the 10” ones we offer:

G10 Vintage - stock Upsetter 110 speaker. Punchy yet fat with clarity and weight. 97dB + 60W = 115dB max SPL

G10 Greenback - this is the classic British sound in 10” form. Mellower highs, thicker low mids, less aggressive high mids, lower efficiency, breaks up earlier, lower power handling, less output. 95dB + 30W = 110dB max SPL

G10 Creamback - this is the G10 Greenback sound but with greater efficiency and power handling, so it’s the one to choose if you have a more powerful amp and/or want to play louder. 96dB + 45W = 112.5dB max SPL

G10 Gold (alnico) - smooth yet clear highs, tight lows, strong midrange presence without harsh edges (alnico magnetic compression effects), and loud. 98dB + 60W = 116dB max SPL

Ten 30 - this is the American sound as done by the Brits. Sweet honest Fender-sounding speaker which breaks up like a Celestion when pushed. Lovely little speaker! 95dB + 30W = 110dB max SPL

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I made a video to try to explain the Celestion 12" guitar range - have a watch or scroll down to keep reading!

NB: There are three new 12" speakers not in this video: 1: the Neo V-Type which sounds like the V-Type but weighs less; the G12M-50 Hempback which sounds rather like a cross between a Creamback and an A-Type; and the G12M EVH replaces the G12M Heritage for the most old school Greenback sound.

 

Alnico family - these share the common theme of smoothing out the edges in your tone when playing loud, which is a corollary of the magnetic “softness” of alnico causing electromechanical compression in the loudspeaker motor. There’s a reason lots of guitarists like alnico magnets - they are very expensive though, sorry!

Blue - very detailed and clear, low power handling. 100dB + 15W = 112dB max SPL

Ruby - literally halfway between a Blue and a Gold tonally. 100dB + 35W = 115dB max SPL

Gold - warmer more complex mids, softer attack, rounder lows, smoother highs vs a Blue. 100dB + 50W = 117dB max SPL

Cream - a high power version of the Gold. 100dB + 90W = 120dB max SPL

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G12M family - that original "British" Celestion tone

G12M Greenback - the rock sound of the ’60s. Need we say more? 98dB + 25W = 112dB max SPL

G12M EVH (Greenback) - even closer to that original sound. 96dB + 20W = 109dB max SPL (replaced the G12M Heritage)

G12M-65 Creamback - the mid ‘60s sound of Clapton, Page, Hendrix, Beck, like a G12M with bigger lows as well as more power handling. 97dB + 65W = 115dB max SPL

Neo Creamback - a lightweight version of the G12M-65. It doesn’t sound exactly the same but it does sound good and it’ll make for a crazy light Barefaced AVD cab. 97dB + 60W = 115dB max SPL

G12M-50 Hempback - similar vibe to a Creamback in the lows and mids but smoothed off highs more like an A-Type to better suit brighter amps or fuzzed out tones. 99dB + 50W = 116dB max SPL

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G12H family - big magnet version of the G12M

G12H Anniversary - more upper midrange aggression, a harder edge, cool clear top-end, for blasting through rock mixes. 100dB + 30W = 115dB max SPL

 

G12H-75 Creamback - a high power version of the G12H or a tighter punchier more dynamic version of the G12M-65 Creamback. A great lead guitar speaker. 100dB + 75W = 119dB max SPL

G12H-150 Redback - like the Creamback H but with bigger lows, smoother highs and even more power handling. 100dB + 150W = 122dB

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V-Type - halfway between a Greenback and a V30. V-Type has more solid lows, quicker mids, more treble detail than the Greenback but the V30 has even bigger lows, more aggressive mids and more forward treble. 98dB + 70W = 116dB max SPL (now available in a neodymium magnet version for near identical tone and output but massively reduced weight).

Vintage 30 - our stock 12" guitar driver - warm lows, forward vocal mids and strong detailed highs. Sits in between the more vintage toned G12M/H models listed above and the more modern sounding twelves listed below. 100dB + 60W = 118dB max SPL

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G12-65 Heritage - UK made, crisp, aggressive, hard punching rock favourite from the early ‘80s. 97dB + 65W = 115dB max SPL

G12T-75 - the most common 412 sound, tight lows, aggressive mids and softer treble, to better suit overdrive and distortion. 97dB + 75W = 116dB max SPL

G12K-100 - massive lows, hard mids and restrained highs for modern high gain sounds. 99dB + 100W = 119dB max SPL

Classic Lead - made for lead guitar, tight lows, punchy upper bass / low mids, aggressive mid attack and controlled treble for high gain solos. 99dB + 80W = 118dB max SPL

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A-Type - a great American guitar sound from a British speaker. Very nice, we like a lot! 98dB + 50W = 115dB max SPL

Neo 250 Copperback - tight lows, neutral low mids, clear and open upper mids and smooth controlled treble, which lets you hear all the detail of your clean sounds but softens the highs when using powerful distortion. Almost a PA speaker rather than a guitar speaker. If you've played and liked an EVM 12L then this is what you need. Immense power handling and very high sensitivity but it weighs almost nothing due to the neo magnet. 100dB + 250W = 124dB max SPL