Joe Bonamassa has never hidden the fact he’s lifted tips and tricks from blues legends like Eric Clapton and B.B. King throughout his career. Taking tone hacks from an Ozzy Osbourne guitarist, however, has proven more surprising.

Bonamassa is actually immortalized in the Prince of Darkness’s vast guitar canon (even if he couldn’t believe he was being asked to feature on a track back in 2005), but taking amp setup cues from Zakk Wylde? That wasn't on our bingo card.

In a conversation with Guitar World around his new signature combo amp with Fuchs alongside company founder Andy Fuchs, Bonamassa confessed to taking one particular idea from Ozzy’s former guitarist, even if doing so is “heresy.”

“I've had great luck doing the exact opposite of what the internet tells me,” he says. “The internet says, when you see a Marshall, you put a Celestion [speaker] in it. I put in Electro-Voice, or EV, speakers in the cab. And when you see a Fender, Fuchs, or Dumble amp on my stage, chances are it has Celestions [in it].”

“This is heresy,” returns GW's Paul Riario.

“It's about the sound you have in your head, and how it feels under the strings,” Bonamassa details. “Everybody's tweaked their way out of a good sound, so if I find a guitar that I like, I won't change it. I won't even solder it.”

But when it comes to amps, he’s far less precious.

“I nicked that from Zakk Wylde,” he says of his speaker/cab philosophy. “I believe he used to split the cabs [to mix and match speaker cones]. What I like about Electro-Voice [speakers] with Marshall amps in particular is that it takes the fizz away, and the bottom end is very true and bell-like.

“I chose Celestions for this amp [the Fuchs] because they were giving the harmonics and mid-range a human voice. These speakers have their roles in certain things; you'd see Stevie Ray Vaughan putting EVs in his [Fender] Vibroverb amp because he wanted a big bottom end. Eddie Van Halen split his cabs with JBLs and Celestions.

“If you have a dynamic range, you don't have to hit the guitar that hard to get it to bloom,” Bonamassa continues. “Those kinds of things make a big difference. If you're splitting the load so one thing is not doing everything, it helps. It's not gonna collapse as fast.”

It’s for this reason that impulse responses have become such a powerful tool in the digital amp modeling world. It's the same idea, just with less drilling. Sometimes, gear is perfect as is. Sometimes, one key tweak can make all the difference.

In related news, Bonamassa recently offered cost-saving advice for buying amps and explained why he is yet to become an amp modeler convert.

NAMM 2025: Speaker manufacturer Celestion has released the Peacekeeper, a new loudspeaker designed to let players find their amp’s “sweet spot” at lower volumes.

Tube amps shine brightest when pushed hard, often excelling at ear-piercing volumes, but are shadows of their selves when the volume knob is rolled back. For players averse to headphone jamming, the Peacekeeper offers a valuable alternative that will keep their neighbors happy, too.

“The Peacekeeper disrupts the conventional limitation of great amplifiers,” Celestion says, “with its unique dual voice coil design.”

Its in-built attenuating technology works to “significantly reduce output sensitivity,” so amps can be driven hard, without the volume blaring out of the speaker cones rising in tandem.

Moreover, tone is said to be achieved “organically through the natural operation of the loudspeaker,” without any extraneous tonal coloring, while its standard 12” sizing and 8Ω impedance – with a maximum power rating of 50W – means it is compatible with a fairly wide range of amplifiers.

“Until today, many guitar players have been limited by the volume constraints of their environment, whether it’s avoiding disturbing someone else in their household, or keeping the peace with neighbors,” says Nigel Wood, managing director at Celestion. “The Peacekeeper empowers guitarists to unlock the true sonic potential of their amplifiers without worrying about the volume.”

Notably, Celestion talks of “modest,” and “manageable,” volumes which is a fairly vague parameter, but the concept is intriguing and could provide a worthy solution to an age-old issue.

The 50-watt limitation does rule out a decent chunk of the amp market, but the arrival of the Peacekeeper represents a fresh approach to an old headache.

The rise of amp modelers and headphone amps has previously offered one such alternative and it’s increasingly commonplace for modern tube amps to offer built-in attenuation, but Celestion is now coming to the aid of those who don't want to ditch their beloved vintage noise-makers.

What’s more, while we’ve not yet confirmed the price, it seems highly likely that the Peacekeeper will offer a less costly – albeit less flexible – alternative to the home or studio player than a traditional loadbox.

When it comes to loadboxes, for instance, even the relatively affordable offerings such as the recently announced Boss Waza Tube Amp Expander Core come in at $699.99, whereas a good quality speaker tends to cost a half or a quarter of that amount.

Visit Celestion for more.

Prestigious speaker maker Celestion has announced its debut series of signature impulse responses, with heavy metal godfather Tony Iommi’s collection marking a key expansion of its digital collection.

For the uninitiated, impulse responses capture the essence of a guitar cabinet – typically mic'd up in a room – to bestow that same feel to digital amps that have no cabinet. It's a way of faking the power of a 4x12 stack for digital amp users.

Celestion speakers sit in amps of all shapes, sizes, and budgets, from almighty tube amps to travel-friendly combos and beyond, and, moving with the times, it has been steadily producing IR versions of some of its famed speaker cones. But, until now, the company has never worked on a signature release.

The project sees Celestion teaming up with the Black Sabbath riffsmith for “a collection of IRs that faithfully capture the tones of two iconic closed-back cabinets that have been used extensively by Tony Iommi,” across Sabbath’s history.

The IRs can be used in any digital format, whether that’s powering plugins, amp modelers, and beyond, placing the guitarist’s iconic Laney tones within reach of all.

The collection traces his game-changing career. There’s the “‘60’s grind of a cranked LA100 BL 100W head,” which has been boosted with a modified Arbiter Dallas Rangemaster for extra heaviness, and a capture of his signature GH 100 TI head through a TI412S cabinet, which encapsulates his ‘90s tones.

While the two IRs might seem small for a collection, they are a true reflection of the speakers that have defined Iommi’s body of work in Sabbath and beyond.

He used four 12” Green label Goodmans speakers from 1969 through to the early ‘80s, while the four 12” Celestion G12H speakers partnered with his signature head was the sound of Sabbath’s latter era.

The capturing process saw three different microphones used in six positions, alongside room mics totaling 12 configurations.

Both cabinets are available individually, at £18.98 (approx. $24) each, or for a combined collection price of £22.49 (approx. $29).

Head to Celestion Plus for the full details.

The release follows Iommi's reveal that he has been using Kemper captures of his favorite Laney amps as he continues to work on his new solo album. He has been impressed by their likeness, saying it “can be hard to tell the difference” between the tube and digital versions.

Iommi has released two singles, Deified and Scent of the Dark, this year (and a signature fragrance). However, he's confirmed that those tracks will not feature on the upcoming LP.

Marshall Amplification has announced a new, extremely limited-edition hand-crafted Studio JTM head and cab, developed in celebration of Celestion’s 100 anniversary.

If you’re not familiar with the Studio JTM, it is Marshall’s down-sized 20-watt take on its iconic JTM45 head. This version incorporates the same tube combination – two ECC83 tubes in the preamp, two 5881 power amp tubes and an ECC83 phase shifter – with Celestion’s 100 Alnico speaker in a matching 1x12” cabinet.

This limited-edition take has been hand-built in the UK and refinished in a fetching cream covering, with period touches like a poured enamel ‘coffin’ logo paired with new white control knobs. It is, appropriately, capped at a run of just 100 units – as Marshall notes, it’s “the amp that’s one in one hundred”.

The Celestion 100 speaker was debuted back at NAMM and is intended to commemorate the firm’s centenary with a design inspired by the G12 (e.g. the famed Alnico Blue) and T652 speakers that propelled its successful collaborations with British amp-makers – including Vox and Marshall – in the 1960s.

“The tone of Celestion 100 is very much based on those really early Alnico guitar speakers,” says Celestion’s John Paice.

“We spent a lot of time listening to several of them just to get the right tonal benchmark... We believe we made these hundredth anniversary speakers into something truly special.”

"Celestion has been part of the Marshall family right from the very beginning, and more than six decades later that union is still thriving,” adds Marshall’s Steve Smith.

“Over the years we have cultivated a truly genuine relationship built on our shared passion for British craftsmanship and world-class sound… I can’t think of a more iconic way of celebrating this 100-year milestone.”

Celestion also teased the arrival of the Marshall Celestion 100 back at NAMM, sharing a closely cropped pic of the Celestion 100 union flag badge – on what we now know is the limited-edition Marshall cabinet.

Marshall, meanwhile, has invested heavily in its UK amp-making facility since its 2023 takeover, shoring up its legacy credentials with an immediate focus on reformatting its legacy tube builds in smaller, home-friendly formats.

However, new CEO Jeremy de Maillard recently told Guitar World that the firm has big plans for expanding its contemporary product lineup and is looking into everything from modeling to Marshall-branded FRFR speakers.

The Celestion 100 Studio JTM is available from £2,059.99 (approx. $2,612). For more information, head to Marshall.

As with many things these days, head to YouTube and you’ll find a reactionary video about almost any topic – and this is especially true when it comes to guitar speakers. 

You’ll hear stories about how a certain speaker from 1997 sounds best if it was made before lunch on a Tuesday, or that another speaker is the worst thing ever but only if it has the blue sticker, otherwise it’s amazing. 

A lot of this is generally just to get clicks, and even if there is a bit of truth somewhere, it tends to get lost beneath a million and one assumptions. To me, rarely has this been more true than for Celestion’s G12T-75.

The T75 was released in the early ’80s and soon became the go-to speaker for Marshall amps. Not too long before and up until the late ’70s, the Greenbacks (or more accurately Blackbacks at the time) were Marshall’s favoured speakers, but the lower power ratings of the Greenbacks of between 25 and 30 watts was seen as too low. Therefore, and after a few alternatives, the 75-watt G12T-75 was settled upon. 

The T75 was quite well received at the start and it’s easy to see why: it has a certain aggression and plenty of cut that can be useful for a lot of ’80s guitar tones. However, somewhere between then and now, it seems to have become one of the more divisive speakers out there.

I spend a lot of time recording speakers, playing dozens of them each week, as well as listening to multiple speaker recordings and combinations in a studio setting. But over the years I really didn’t come across the T75 that much.

Maybe guitarists looking for a custom cab moved away from the most common guitar speaker out there, which makes sense, but I just didn’t hear it too often.

That said, when I heard murmurs of disappointment over the T75’s sound, it did prick my ears. At first, these video appraisals seemed to focus around heavier playing styles, but I have to say, for the few T75s that we use at Zilla, the majority were for heavier players, often mixed with a V30.

Horses for courses

At this point, I decided to have a closer look at how the T75 varied through the ages. I’m sure you can imagine, the most-used speaker is also probably one of the most-replaced speakers, too, and therefore, due to the T75 being so common, it’s quite cheap and easy to get hold of some good examples of it throughout the years. 

In general, well-looked-after speakers will sound softer and warmer with age (although at the same time, speakers from 4x12s tend to sound worse than from combos), so after finding multiple examples of T75s from the mid-’80s up to the present day, I found the differences weren’t actually night and day.

The older models did sound that bit softer, but for heavier recordings there were certain qualities from the straight-out-of-the-box models that sounded better.

In fact, the aggression in the sound could actually be useful in some styles. After recording each of our T75s with multiple different amps and tracks, we found it sounded pretty cool for some bluesy ‘edge of break-up’ stuff, especially in smaller combos.

This demonstrates not only do we have different ears, each colouring what we hear, but we have different opinions on what sounds good. I managed to find the T75 useful for many different styles, and really quite good for a few.

Sure, it can be a bit aggressive and there are plenty of speakers I’d recommend before it for many scenarios, but unless we have played every speaker, in every style and in a sufficient number of cabinets, then we might not have the authority to place a label on it. Instead, maybe just stick to saying, “I prefer something else.”  

NAMM 2024: This year marks the 100th anniversary of guitar speaker specialist Celestion, which has celebrated its centurion milestone in style with the release of a special edition 12" speaker.

Appropriately called the Celestion 100, it looks to channel 100 years of heritage by revisiting the company’s roots, going all the way back to the G12 speaker design that was developed in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s.

In other words, the 30-watt Celestion 100 faithfully revives the legacy and tone of Celestion's historic G12 speakers, most notably the Alnico Blue, which was the first speaker ever purpose-built for the electric guitar.

For a bit of history, in the late 1950s Les Ward – Celestion’s chief engineer until 1979 – developed a new, strengthened version of the original G12 radio speaker in response to the need for a dedicated guitar speaker in the wake of the instrument’s skyrocketing popularity.

The need for more powerful amps and a speaker that could withstand the increased heat and vibrations from a guitar signal lead to the creation of the T530 – otherwise known as the Alnico Blue.

From there, the Alnico Blue blossomed in popularity, and was soon being fitted into Vox AC15 and AC30 tube amps, both of which helped power the British Invasion of the ‘60s.

The Alnico Blue’s close sibling, the T652, likewise found favor in Marshall amps, and soon became the go-to speaker unit for some of the most iconic guitar amps in music history – think the 1962 'Bluesbreaker'.

Though Celestion already has a handful of throwback speaker models on its books, the Celestion 100 aims to be pick of the bunch, sitting “at the head” of the firm’s product table.

Not only does it take inspiration from the Blue Alnico and T652, the speaker also looks to harness the tonal nuances of some earlier models, too, including the rare B024 and CT3757.

To help it achieve this goal, the brand formulated an all-new cone design, which was crafted with reference to “perfectly preserved vintage cones”. Edge treatment, likewise, is supposedly thin and light, and has been fashioned to enhance tonal performance and resilience.

“Players and listeners can expect a blooming low end and bell-like treble coupled with a sweet, shimmering midrange presence,” Celestion says of the special release. “When driven into distortion, the Celestion 100 compresses gradually and musically, softening the notes’ attack in the tradition of great Celestion alnico speakers.

“It all adds up to tone and aesthetics that are as credibly vintage as any speaker can achieve, but with performance that is perfectly at home in a modern live performance or music production context.

“Musicians who acquire the Celestion 100 anniversary guitar speaker will have the pleasure of owning a true retro-styled, vintage classic based on the first loudspeakers created specifically for the electric guitar.’

While the unveiling of the Celestion 100 is of course a significant release itself, it doesn’t look to be the only product that the firm will drop to celebrate its 100th birthday this year. 

Indeed, Marshall teased that there is “something extra special” the two parties have been working on by way of an Instagram post that showed a ‘Celestion 100 Years’ plate on an amp grille cloth.

Remember what we said above about those vintage Marshalls that were fitted with early-years Celestion speakers? Well, could we soon see a collaborative reissue between the two brands at some point in the future?

Now Marshall is back making amps – and amps that are similarly inspired by its heritage, no less – it seems likely. Concrete details won’t arrive until Spring, though, so we’ll just have to be patient.

To find out more in the meantime, head over to Celestion.

Remember when we all had a full stack? A 100-watt head on top of two 4x12s, crammed on the stage of the Dog & Duck? When guitar amplification first started, achieving high-enough power and having speakers that could actually handle that power were the limiting factors. 

All those extra speakers, larger chassis and bigger transformers came with a price – physical as well as monetary.

Regrettably, once higher powered guitar amps became available, lower powered amps were often associated with lower quality, probably due to their more affordable cost. 

Although some of these attitudes still persist, in the early 2000s we started to see the growth in good-quality, low-powered amps, to the point where these days most amp manufacturers will have at least one high-quality amp producing up to around 15 to 20 watts. 

Let’s face it, whether we play country, pop, rock or metal, there are now multiple small amps out there that sound great, don’t weigh much and are still loud enough for the sound guy to tell you to turn it down.

Rightly or wrongly, many focus more on their amp than their cab, and we’ve just halved the size and weight of our amps... so can we do the same with cabs? Yes, we can, but due to the laws of physics and personal tastes, there are limits.

Make a cab too small and you can lack the lower frequencies. A cab that’s too light can result in a reduced low-end and things can sound too ‘boxy’. A lot of us like to feel air hitting us when we play – it somehow feels more energetic and can give a certain kick on stage – so reducing the number or size of speakers isn’t always the answer, either.

Porting a cab can get around some of these factors, helping to produce a large, full tone in a smaller box, but this option can often lack ambience – and if the science is followed too closely and the art of real speaker design is ignored, they can lack some musicality.

So if we’ve established that size is something that shouldn’t be messed with too much, and the weight of the materials used can result in too large a compromise considering the minimal weight saving, then we’re left with the speakers. Luckily, we have a perfect solution in neo speakers. Neo is an abbreviation of neodymium, a rare-earth element that can form an alloy with iron and boron to produce neodymium magnets. 

As most people will find ‘the why’ a not very interesting read, I’ll skip to ‘the what’... and that is a very high magnetic field strength, or a stronger magnet or – more simply put – that big heavy thing on the back of a speaker/driver. The magnet, doesn’t need to be as big. In fact, it can be around a 10th of the size to produce the same effect.

Before you throw your device across the room shouting “Why didn’t anyone do this sooner?!” The answer is simple: they were only invented about 40 years ago, they were expensive and they were originally only available on licence. 

As the price has come down, the viability of using them in guitar speakers has increased to the point where nearly all speaker manufacturers now produce at least one neo speaker, and they nearly all sound good to the point where we often use them for their tonal characteristics alone.

As of yet, the tonal palette probably isn’t as broad as what you’ll find with standard ceramic magnet speakers, but these are early days and comparing Celestions’ 4.7kg Vintage 30 to its 1.7kg Neo Creamback immediately shows a 3kg weight saving per speaker.

It’s true that not everyone wants their 2x12 to sound like a 4x12, and a lot of people love the sound of 1x12 cabs. When this is the case, the size of the speaker cabinet tends not to be a problem because there are plenty of compact options on the market that will add to the sound, rather than detract from it.

But when the ideal sounds are big, full tones, reminiscent of the full stack, we can’t just jump down to a tiny cab as we’ll often hear too much of a difference. In these cases, by using a lighter speaker instead of a smaller, lighter cab we’ll end up hearing less of a compromise.

With Celestion approaching its 100th birthday, it’s clear, given its age, that Celestion didn’t start as a company focused on electric guitar products. 

But the brand’s ability to innovate and the experience it gained up until the early 60s helped it develop a range of drivers (speakers) designed for the guitarist, and one in particular that would allow Marshall amplification to become ‘the sound of rock’.

As with most companies, when Jim Marshall and Ken Bran started making guitar amplifiers in 1962, they found restrictions in the materials that were available to them, especially for speakers. 

Importing relatively large, heavy items such as 12-inch speakers would have been difficult in post-war Britain, not to mention costly, so turning to a local brand such as Celestion is likely to have been an obvious choice. 

By 1962, Celestion had already been producing guitar speakers for several companies including Vox, designing the now legendary Alnico Blue specifically for the brand. The Blue would not have been available to Marshall, but Celestion’s off-the-shelf equivalent, the T652 was. 

Now, being silver and having no magnet cover at the time, its appearance may have been quite plain, but it sounded great and would be heard – and seen (from the back of combos) – until at least 1965.

For several years before this point, speaker manufacturers were starting to develop ranges of ceramic-magnet speakers, partly in response to volatile magnet prices. Rather than the costly Alnico magnets (an alloy made of aluminium, nickel and cobalt), ceramic magnets (often called ferrite magnets) are made of the much more cost-efficient strontium carbonate and iron oxide. 

Enter the Greenback

Luckily, ceramic magnet speakers tend to be slightly more aggressive sounding than their Alnico cousins, lending themselves to the more overdriven guitar tones of the '60s and allowing them to slide into common use around this time.

Celestion released its first ceramic-magnet speaker, the T1134, in late 1964, though Marshall didn’t adopt them until around late 1965 when the company started using the T1221, more commonly known as ‘the Greenback’ due to its green plastic magnet cover.

The '50s and '60s saw a drive for ever more powerful amps – and in turn this required more powerful speakers. After blowing multiple 2x12 cabs, Marshall partly addressed the issue with its 4x12, but with the first Greenbacks only being 20 watts, the result was an 80-watt cab. 

Luckily once more, however, larger magnets can absorb more heat meaning they can also take more power, and in late 1966 we saw the introduction of the G12H (12-inch Guitar speaker with a Heavy magnet). 

One version, the T1281, found itself in Marshall’s high-power 4x12s (the ones with the 100 logo in the top-left corner), which were often used for guitar and bass, partly down to the H’s lower bass resonance and also, I imagine, because of its higher sensitivity rating making the H sound louder still. 

Although the 75Hz cone version (T1217) seems to have been used more regularly in the 70s, it is the T1281 that holds a place in many guitarists’ hearts for its warm lower mids, as well as being the speaker Jimi Hendrix was often seen to be using.

Cone but not forgotten

In 1967, due to developments in voice coil design, the Greenback speakers all increased their power by five watts. This took the G12M (Medium magnet) from 20 watts to its now-familiar 25 watts, and the G12H from 25 to 30 watts, making the standard Marshall 4x12 100 watts and the high-power version 120 watts. It wouldn’t be until the introduction of the G12-65 in 1979 that a 2x12 would surpass the 100-watt mark. 

The '70s saw several colour changes of the Greenback’s plastic magnet cover, but they were just that, a change in colour – unlike the modern Creambacks, which are high-powered versions of the Greenback models. Up until the introduction of the G12-65 and its leap in power rating, the main change in this period would have been the switch from Pulsonic cones in around ’74 to ’75, following a fire at the Pulsonic factory in 1973. 

Legend has it the secret sauce went up with that fire and some say cones would never be as soft and fluid-sounding again. Once these Pulsonic cones were depleted, we started to see slightly more aggressive-sounding Kurt Mueller cones appearing on a lot of speakers to feature in Marshall cabs, including the ‘Blackback’ speakers of the late 70s through to the G12-80.

The 1980s saw many changes, but the most significant of all would be the introduction of two of the biggest-selling speakers of all time: Celestion’s Vintage 30 and G12T-75. 

Although speakers have changed through the years, whether due to technical advances or the availability of parts, the story of guitar speakers and their development certainly plays a major part in the musical icon that is the Marshall cab.

Nothing speaks to a guitar aficionado like the sound of a well-chosen guitar speaker. Funny though, isn’t it? Everyone, from geeky audiophiles to spotty boy racers in their earth trembling, modded wagons, knows that speaker choice has a vital part to play in the pursuit of paradisical tone. So, why is it that we guitarists hold back when it comes to swapping out one speaker for another? That's what this guide to the best guitar speakers is here to answer.

The often-overlooked guitar speaker is significant because it’s the last link in your audio chain before your ears or, if you’re recording, your mic. Every piece of carefully curated kit that comes before it, from precision-formed string, through hand-wound pickup to point-to-point wired amp will sound compromised if they’re being fed through a duff speaker. Or the wrong speaker, for that matter.

You see, speaker upgrades aren’t just for those of us with inexpensive combos or cheap cabinets. Even if you’re fortunate enough to own a boutique amp, changing the speaker or speakers for alternatively voiced models can get you closer to that dream sound that’s been bugging your brain for years.

The good news keeps coming too. Guitar speakers can be surprisingly inexpensive and are usually remarkably easy to fit. Trust us, if you know one end of a screwdriver from the other, then you’re already more than halfway there.

Best guitar speakers: Guitar World Recommends

The Celestion G12M Greenback will give you that authentic British ’60s rock tone, and works beautifully for rhythm or lead, crunchy or clean. Rated at 25-watts it’s a relatively low-powered speaker, but that’s more than enough for most small tube amps and, of course, you can always invest in a pair or even built yourself a small stack. It’s relatively cheap too.

If you’re into southern rock, blues or jazz then you’ll love the character of Eminence’s Texas Heat speaker. It has a rich, buttery smoothness that blues guitarists swoon over, yet the treble has bite a plenty, enabling you to cut through any mix.

And for you modern, high-gain players? Well, you really can’t go wrong with the Celestion G12H-150 Redback or the Electro-Voice EVM12L.

Best guitar speakers: Product guide

Think ‘60s British rock – Hendrix, Clapton, Beck, Page – and a key ingredient of that classic tone will be a dash of Greenback. OK, we’re aware than Jimi was from the US, but he was famously into British amplification, so I think we can be forgiven for including him here. A little later on Angus Young also championed the Greenback, and it was allegedly a favourite of Van Halen’s too.

Which just goes to prove that there’s no shame in choosing a speaker with a ceramic magnet. The Greenback has changed a bit since the swinging sixties, but it still retains its characteristic mid-range punch and restrained top end. Perfect if you’re after a speaker that will deliver no-nonsense, aggressive, vintage lead tones.

In case you’re wondering, the M in its name refers to its Medium/35-ounce magnet. Originally, there was a G12H in Celestion’s catalogue too, fitted with a ‘Heavy’ 50-ounce magnet. Apparently, the heavier magnet produces a tighter low-end – here’s hoping Celestion reintroduce it.

No prizes for guessing the kind of player this speaker is aimed at. As its name suggests, the Texas Heat is perfect for southern rock tones, but it’s more than capable of producing classic rock, blues and even jazz sounds too.

Armed with a 38oz magnet and a 2” voice coil it sings with a warm, fat tone that just loves a touch of rich saturation. However, its pronounced top-end bite brings clarity to the Texas Heat’s character, enabling it to cut through any mix while maintaining a buttery, bluesy tone.

It responds instantly to player dynamics, making it a superb choice for nuanced blues lead work. The 150-watt rating provides oodles of headroom in lower powered amps too.

The ‘Blue’ can trace its lineage back to the 1920s, which was when Celestion started out life making speakers for radiograms and gramophones. In the late ‘50s it was asked to repurpose the G12, one of its most celebrated radiogram speakers, by the team at start-up amp brand Vox. They were looking for a beefed-up speaker to stick in a brand-new guitar amplifier.

Celestion obliged and two stars were born – the AC15 amp and the Blue speaker. Strictly speaking, it was painted a variety of colours until Vox later squeezed a pair into the AC30, at which point blue became the default.

Everyone from the Stones to Matt Bellamy have played Vox AC30s, and all have managed to sound notably different. Perhaps the best tonal example is Brian May, in whose playing you can easily hear the characteristic rich lows, smooth upper-mids and brilliant bell-like top-end. Pushed hard, the Celestion Blue will compress in the most musical way. A true classic.

Perhaps the most iconic vintage Jensen speaker, the P12N is easily recognised by its huge bell-shaped magnet cover. Famously, back in the ‘50s it was installed in Fender’s Tweed Twin, where it’s crystal-clear highs positively influenced what guitarists came to recognise as the Fender sound. Look up ‘clean tones’ in the dictionary and the definition will read P12N.

Not that it’s icy and brittle, far from it. The P12N is still a full-bodied, warm sounding speaker with a powerful mid-bite but its transparent top end is its calling-card. Generate some overdrive and it will respond with a bright and colorful crunch.

The P12Q is the P12N’s little brother – they’re closely related but, like most siblings, have entirely different characters. Here, the cone size remains the same but the P12Q features a smaller voice coil, a substantially lighter weight magnet and lower power rating.

These key differences endow it with a smooth, warm voice that’s very balanced but has a recognizable bite in the upper midrange. It’s a good all-rounder for a variety of musical genres but is especially well-suited to jazz and blues.

The P12Q, which was nicknamed the ‘hot dog’ because of the sausage-shaped cut-outs in its basket frame, was originally found in amps such as the vintage Tweed Deluxe, the Ampeg Jet and the Gibson GA-20. A notable vintage American-style speaker.

If your djent is more thunderous than the hooves of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse then the Redback is a devilish choice. Fitted with a humongous magnet more powerful than the gravitational pull of the sun (OK, we made that stat up) it’s rated at a whopping 150 watts. Will it wake the dead? Maybe. Your neighbors? No question.

Paradoxically, if you shy away from the dirt to live a life that’s clean and pure this could be the speaker for you too.

Match it to a similarly rated high-gain amp and it’ll take all the pummelling you can throw at it. Use it with a lower-gain amp though, and you’ll never run out of clean headroom.

To handle the power, and resulting heat, the Redback features the aforementioned 50oz magnet, together with a supersized 2” voice coil. This stocky combination gives the speaker a dark, meaty sound that’s well suited to down-tuning or for taming a bright amp.

The Redback is also a great choice if you want to replace a 4x or 8x cab with a single speaker. So much easier on the back…

The GA-SC64 is a wonderful example of a modern speaker that’s voiced to sound vintage. A little less than a decade ago Eminence teamed up with respected boutique amp builder George Alessandro and tasked him to help them build a speaker with similar sonic characteristics to a vintage Jensen.

The result was a speaker that some argue sounds even more Jensen than Jensen. Like a Jensen C12N (one of Fender’s go-to speakers in the mid-sixties) but better. Certainly, it’s a delightful bit of kit, exceptionally well balanced with tight, punchy lows, warm mids and open highs. It sounds fantastic and responds beautifully whether played clean or dirty.

Many Fender Deluxe Reverb owners have gone mad for this speaker, ripping out whatever lies within their black- or silver-faced beauties and replacing it with a GA-SC64. In fact, it suits almost any Fenderish tube amp, so if you fancy an upgrade this is a worthy choice.

No one can accuse the marketing bods at Electro-Voice of being modest but at least they’re direct. Is the EVM12L really the World’s Greatest Guitar Loudspeaker, as they would have us believe?

Well, Joe Bonamassa is a fan, and Zakk Wylde uses a hot-rodded version, the EVM12L Black Label. What they, and countless other guitarists, love about this speaker is its neutral voicing, high power rating and bomb-proof build quality. This bad boy is so tough it could probably survive a direct hit from a nuclear device, which is allegedly the only thing more destructive than a Black Label tour.

Treble sparkles, bass oozes richness and everything in-between sounds just as it should, even at crazy-high volume levels. That’s why artists adore the EVM12L, it delivers night after night, tour after tour. It’s not cheap, and it weighs more than a small child, but it’ll probably outlive you. And your grandkids.

The color kinda gives it away doesn’t it? The Boss site doesn’t explicitly say as much (it does, however, drop a ton of hints) but this is a Japanese stab at improving on the iconic Celestion Greenback.

You see, when Boss was developing its flagship Waza Amp Head it wanted a matching speaker that recalled the quintessential British half-stack sound of the ‘60s. A sound that, back in the day, would have flowed from a cabinet rich with 25-watt Greenbacks. Unfortunately, the Waza Head would have overpowered a standard Celestion Greenback so the engineers at Boss had to have a rethink.

Their solution was to build a 100-watt speaker that replicated the same wide dynamic range, characteristic mid-range punch, restrained top end and expressive response. Initially, production was limited to fulfil Waza cabinet orders, but Boss has since made them available as individual units and marketed them as suitable replacements for any 12” speaker.

If you dream of filling your high-gain combo or cab with a modern set of high-powered Greenbacks the Waza G12W-8 could be just the ticket.

Best guitar speakers: Buying advice

Different speaker models, even from the same manufacturer, tend to have distinctive sonic characteristics that can usefully be categorized as either modern or vintage, and within the latter camp you’ll find a couple of other terms bandied about, namely American or British. So, hold on to your poodle skirts and plaster on some Brylcreem, it’s time for a very quick ‘50s-inspired history lesson.

Vintage-inspired 

Back in the crucible of rock ‘n roll, amplifiers were small, low powered affairs fitted with similarly low-rated, inefficient speakers. The average wattage back in those days was around the 15-watt mark, which didn’t provide a lot of clean headroom, especially as their inefficient speakers needed a lot of power to output a decent level of volume.

When pushed, not only could these amps be readily overdriven, but their speakers would break up in a pleasing manner too, providing added grit or bite. This tone, forever associated with the sound of teenage rebellion, became a hallmark of rock ‘n roll and pretty much every ‘popular’ genre that followed. Even as amps grew in power throughout the ‘60s and ‘70s, they still tended to be fitted with inefficient speakers equipped with thin paper cones that would break up at higher volumes. What started out as a flaw, matured as a well-loved feature.

In the US, the go-to speaker brands back then were Jensen and Eminence. Jensen’s speakers were characterized by their bell-like highs, open mids and saturated lows, so it’s no surprise to learn that Fender was a loyal customer. In fact, many US amp builders of note used Jensen speakers, including Ampeg and Gibson.

Over in the UK, Celestion was making similar products but with a more pronounced mid-range and aggressive highs. Guess what? These speakers with their characteristically focused tone found their way into Vox and Marshall amps.

It would be an exaggeration to claim that these speakers from either side of the pond defined the British Invasion and American sounds of the ‘60s – amp design was more influential – but they certainly added a spicy kick to the sonic soup. Today, you’ll find British- or American-inspired products in almost every speaker manufacturer’s catalogue, regardless of country of origin.

Modern

When Soldano introduced the first ‘modern’ ultra-high gain amp in the late eighties, it quickly became apparent that inefficient, low-powered vintage speakers weren’t going to cut it in the contemporary metal genres. Instead, modern electric guitar players needed efficient, powerful drivers with plenty of headroom that could authentically convey the character of a fully cranked preamp.

A few brands, notably JBL and Electro-Voice (EV), had been producing just this kind of product for decades, but soon every manufacturer joined them. JBL dropped out of the market some time ago, but EV is still a force to be reckoned with.

Ceramic, Alnico or Neodymium? 

Speakers work by converting electrical energy into mechanical energy. Yeah, great, but how does that actually play out? Well, in a nutshell, the electric signal from your amplifier travels along a coil of wire, known as the voice coil, that sits at the very heart of your speaker. It produces an electric field that interacts with a cylindrical magnet that’s placed just to the rear of it.

The stronger the current in the coil, the more forceful the attraction to the magnetic, which causes your speaker’s diaphragm (aka the cone) to move. If the current is varied over time, the cone will pump in and out, generating sound waves.

Clearly, the magnet plays a significant part in this transformation, which is why engineers have experimented with different types in order to discover which performs best. You’re likely to find three types in guitar speakers.

Alnico magnets, made from an alloy of aluminium, iron, and cobalt, were traditionally used in vintage speakers. They exhibit a sweet, warm tone at lower volumes and respond well to playing dynamics. Because of their cobalt content, Alnico magnets are expensive.

Neodymium magnets have a well-balanced frequency response and also respond well to a player’s touch. They weigh significantly less than other magnets, making them a good choice in heavy, multi-speaker combo amps. They are slightly less expensive than Alnico magnets.

Ceramic magnets, made from a combination of strontium carbonate and iron oxide, are cheaper than Alnico and Neodymium but they handle high power well and sound great at high volumes. They can be heavy though, something you’ll be reminded off every time you lift your cab from van to pub door.

Logically, high-powered speakers require larger magnets, which adds to both cost and weight.

Power Rating and Impedance 

Follow a couple of simple rules and you’ll find that this is an area that’s less daunting than it initially appears. Firstly, make sure the wattage of your speaker matches or exceeds the wattage of your amplifier. Choosing a higher wattage speaker may increase low-end frequency response, for a richer sound, but you’ll be sacrificing volume.

Yes, some guitarists like to specify lower-wattage speakers in a high-powered amp to increase distortion but crank the volume too much and you may damage them. If you’re planning on using more than one speaker then it’s safe to divide the wattage between them. In other words, a four 25-watt speaker cab will work fine with a 100-watt amp.

Impedance is not something you’ll want to experiment with unless you love forking out for new amps or speakers on a regular basis. Just make sure the output impedance of your amp matches the speaker rating or damage is almost certainly guaranteed. Many amps have switchable impedance – usually 4, 8 and 16 ohms, which makes life easier.

If you’re hooking up multiple speakers or even multiple cabs then you’ll have to calculate the correct impedance, which can be nerve-wracking but you’re in luck because Guitar World’s sister publication Bass Player has published a handy impedance guide.

Bit of a squeeze?

Guitar speaker size is specified using the outer diameter of the cone as a reference, with 12” being the most popular but you’ll find plenty of great sounding 10” speakers too. However, go much smaller and you risk compromising the low end.

In theory, one 12” speaker can be swapped out for any other 12” speaker, and most of the time this is reliably the case. If you have a screwdriver handy, the whole job could take less than 5 minutes, as this video from Fender demonstrates.

Sometimes however, speakers can be too deep to fit into a combo or cabinet, especially if they feature a closed-back design. So, if you’re upgrading an existing speaker to another model, spend a bit of time researching its exact dimensions or you’ll risk turning a pleasurable five minutes into hours of tantrum-inducing frustration.

Related buyer's guides

• Play harder with the best rock guitars
• Go down low with the best baritone guitars
• Got the blues? Check out the best blues guitars
• These are the best electric guitars under $1,000
• Get more low-end with our guide to the best 7-string guitars
• How low can you go with the best 8-string guitars

Hotone has teamed up with Celestion for the latest iteration of its Ampero amp modeler – the Ampero II Stomp – which comes loaded with 20 of the guitar amp speaker specialist’s most popular Impulse Responses.

The second-generation modeler and effects processor, much like its contemporaries, features a compact pedalboard-friendly chassis that houses a four-inch dynamic touchscreen and an intuitive control layout that dictates the unit’s digital processing powers.

Of course, the real magic happens under the hood. In a bid to eliminate the “dull, lifeless sound” that plagues digital multi-effects units – arguably an outdated critique, given the quality of recent products – Hotone has developed the CDCM HD + F.I.R.E modelling technology.

Combining white box and black box modelling technologies, the software promises to recreate every component of the original device and produce emulations that track authentic dynamic variations.

This technology is paired with AD/DA from ESS Sabre Series – a high-tech digital to analog converter – and up to 2048 IR sampling points, twice as many as the first Ampero, in a bid to capture studio-quality cabinets and acoustics.

The chances of the brand’s success in this quest are bolstered by its partnership with Celestion, which grants the Ampero II Stomp access to 20 IRs that have been attuned to a variety of Celestion speakers.

Included in the list are a number of Blue, Anniversary, Creamback and Vintage speakers, all of different varieties, with an additional 50 custom IR slots available for experimentation.

A full list of the included Celestion IRs can be found below.

• Celestion Blue 112 C Hi-Gn All
• Celestion Blue 112 O Hi-Gn All
• Celestion Blue 212 C Hi-Gn All
• Celestion Blue 212 O Hi-Gn All
• G12-65 412 C Hi-Gn All
• G12H Anniversary 212 C Hi-Gn All
• G12H Anniversary 212 O Hi-Gn All
• G12H Anniversary 412 C Hi-Gn All
• G12H Creamback 112 C Hi-Gn All
• G12H Creamback 112 O Hi-Gn All
• G12H Creamback 212 C Hi-Gn All
• G12H Creamback 212 O Hi-Gn All
• G12H Creamback 412 C Hi-Gn All
• G12M Creamback 212 C Hi-Gn All
• G12M Creamback 212 O Hi-Gn All
• G12M Creamback 412 C Hi-Gn All
• G12M Greenback 212 C Hi-Gn All
• G12M Greenback 412 C Hi-Gn All
• Vintage 30 212 C Hi-Gn All
• Vintage 30 412 C Hi-Gn All 

Lining up alongside these speaker options are a wealth of amp, cab, preamp and pedal models. Though there is no indication as to what the models actually are, the Ampero II Stomp offers 87 amps, 68 cabs, over 100 “legendary pedal models” and more than 60 Hotone original effects.

Other appointments include a 60-second stereo looper, highly customizable dual effect chain that can support up to 12 simultaneous effect modules, and MIDI I/O jacks for expanded control.

And, in terms of integrating it with your wider rig, the unit can be used in a regular effects pedal signal chain, and features a versatile eight-in/eight-out USB audio interface for at-home recording.

The Ampero II Stomp is available now for $499.

To find out more, head over to Hotone.

“When you’re looking at choosing a speaker, the first spec you need to consider is impedance,” says John. “Every amplifier has an output impedance, and the idea is to match that with the speaker(s). Power rating is the other important thing to be aware of. 

“You need a power rating that is equal to or greater than the max output of the amplifier. In essence, changing a speaker is quite simple; in most cases it’s a straightforward thing to do. Some amps are trickier than others, but it’s normally a 10-minute job for an experienced tech.

“There is a big movement towards mixing speakers. If, for example, you have a 2x12 unit, you can pick and choose some interesting sounds. It is a nice thing to experiment with and can really broaden your range of tone. 

“I tend to like blending speaker models that have noticeably different characteristics. Get it right and it can sound massive. A G12M Greenback and a Vintage 30 is a popular combination because they’re dissimilar. Putting them together is nice to listen to.

“You could also take say a bass-y, girth-y-sounding G12H-150 Redback and pair it with something more treble-y like a Vintage 30 for some extra depth and contrast.”

1. Celestion Blue

“The company has been around since 1924, so we’re coming up to our 100th anniversary! We were one of the early developers of moving coil loudspeakers and in the early days we focused on radios and gramophones. 

“In the late 1950s, we had a good relationship with Vox, and we set about developing one of our radiogram speakers – the G12 – to give it more power-handling capability for guitar amps. That speaker was put into [Vox’s first dedicated electric guitar amplifier] the AC15 in the late 50s. 

“Fast-forward to the early 60s and that became the ‘Vox blue’ [model T.530] – the original purpose-built guitar speaker. Alnico became affordable again in the 90s and the Celestion Blue is a recreation of the original ‘Vox blue’. George Harrison and Brian May used it in their Vox amps and people love those sounds. It has a certain chime and a kind of gritty jangle.”

2. G12M Greenback

“Marshall came along in 1962 and we started making an Alnico speaker similar to the ‘Vox blue’ for them called the T.652. Because of various geopolitical issues around the time, Alnico suddenly became very expensive, therefore we started using iron-based/ceramic magnets, and that’s how the G12M and G12H came about. 

“Alnico has a more laid-back, softer feel, whereas ceramic speakers tend to be a little punchier and more aggressive sounding – which was perfectly in tune with how rock music was progressing in the 60s.

“The G12M is iconic and very much of its era. Clapton, Page, Beck and Hendrix all used them. Later on, Van Halen and Angus Young used them, too. Up until the early 70s, the G12M and G12H were about all the choice you had! The key difference between them is the magnet – M being Medium/35 ounces and H being Heavy/50oz. The bigger magnet produces a tighter low-end.”

3. Vintage 30

“There’s a logic to the way Celestion speakers have evolved – it comes down to power handling. As amplifiers became more powerful, we had to build speakers that would take more power. 

“After the 15-watt ‘Vox blue’, 25-watt G12M greenback, and 30-watt G12H greenback, the Vintage 30 was developed in the mid-80s to work with the hot-rodded amps of the time. The original idea behind it was to go back to the tonal benchmark of the ‘Vox blue’ and replicate that as closely as possible, but with a ceramic magnet speaker. 

“Although the name implies 30 watts, it’s actually a 60-watt speaker; we think the name comes from its 30cm diameter. The Vintage 30 is versatile and virtually bulletproof and has been adopted as an industry standard for rock and metal. It’s famously used by Slash and Peter Frampton, although producers love it, too, because it tends to record well.”

4. G12H-150 Redback

“Most of our speakers follow specific recipe, and with a 12-inch cone that means a 1 3/4-inch voice coil – that’s the ‘house sound’. But that does impose certain limitations in terms of power handling. Aside from needing to use more robust materials, more powerful speakers also need to deal with heat. Power and heat are inextricably linked, and when you up the power there comes a point when you need to reconfigure the system.

“Whereas the previous three speakers all have 1 ¾-inch voice coils, the G12H-150 Redback has a larger two-inch voice coil combined with a 50oz (H/Heavy) magnet. Along with its more robust materials, that enables us to up the power rating to 150 watts. Changing the voice coil – and, therefore, its relationship with the cone – changes the speaker’s tonal signature. Consequently, these speakers have a darker, meatier sound, which is great for down-tuning or taming a super-bright amp.”

NAMM 2021 isn't taking place in the physical realm this year, but you'll find all the hottest January gear launches in our guide to the biggest guitar, amp and pedal releases of 2021 so far.

Celestion has introduced the G12M-50 Hempback guitar amp speaker.

The new 50W design combines a hemp cone specifically chosen for its tonal character and a medium-weight (35oz) ceramic magnet, resulting in a sound that Celestion describes as retaining a powerful low-end “thump,” balanced midrange (with just a little Celestion crunch thrown in) and smooth, singing highs.

Celestion recommends the 99dB-sensitivity hemp-cone speaker for mellowing out brighter-voiced amps for a – what else? – “smooth and ‘smoky’ sound.”

For more information, head to Celestion.

Whole Lotta Love by Led Zeppelin? Glamour Girl by T-Bone Walker? Cliffs of Dover by Eric Johnson?

The list of songs with killer guitar tones is endless, and singling out any single song as the best is, of course, subjective.

The most memorable guitar tones don't scream out for attention; instead, they pull at the melody and cut across the bed created by the rhythm section without being too showy, abrasive or predictable.

In a sense, great tone conveys something about the songs without using words.

John Lennon’s rhythm guitar intro to I Feel Fine is a great example, as are Carlos Santana’s solo on Black Magic Woman and Mick Ronson’s work on David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust - although none of them made the cut here. Instead, we tried to choose songs from across genres that speak to something indescribable and primal and that can get a conversation started.

Note that these songs are presented in no particular order. We repeat: they are presented in no particular order - and we hope to expand on this list in the years to come.

On that note, enjoy!

1. Back In Black - AC/DC (Angus Young)

Much like punk rock, the sound of AC/DCs Back In Black (the album and the song) launched a million garage bands.

It’s the sound of an SG through a Marshall stack, unadorned by effects. What could be simpler? Yet Angus Young’s signature riff - and particularly his serrated solo - is impossible to replicate.

Chances are you know the song by heart. So maybe just scroll to 1:52 (and again at 3:36) and watch Young attack his Gibson with gusto while maintaining impeccable vibrato and tone. Classic.

2. Sunshine of Your Love - Cream (Eric Clapton)

Clapton’s tone on his solo in Cream’s 1967 breakout hit Sunshine of Your Love was so unique, so unlike anything else on the charts at the time, it demanded a name. He called it his 'woman tone'. Clapton used it throughout his tenure in Cream, and fans always love and give each other a wink when he’s pulled it out since.

Any player will tell you the woman tone is as simple as putting an SG in the neck pickup, turning the volume all the way up and the tone all the way down. But it’s not. The 'woman' tone is as much in Clapton’s hands and attack as anything else, and this track is the perfect example of how hard it is to replicate.

Here's a clip of Clapton demonstrating his woman tone for a BBC film crew (on his psychedelic 'Fool' SG):

3. In Memory of Elizabeth Reed - The Allman Brothers Band (Duane Allman/Dickey Betts)

The twin guitar attack of Duane Allman and Dickey Betts is legendary, not just because Allman died before his time or because their performance together on the Allmans’ 1971 album Live at the Fillmore East sounded like two parts of a whole, but because the tone and attack of the pair is unparalleled.

There are plenty of examples from Allman and Betts’ short time together that are a masterclass in dueling guitar work - Whipping Post, also from Live at the Fillmore East springs to mind - but nowhere do they lock horns and push each other to greater heights than here.

4. The Fly - U2 (the Edge)

Like Clapton’s woman tone, getting the Edge’s sound is hardly as simple as using a Les Paul through a Vox AC30 with Alnico Blue speakers and a couple of effects.

As with all the best U2 songs, the Edge’s guitar work in The Fly leaves lots of space. It also seems simple, but his choices (and tone) are unique and play to the strengths of the song. That way, when he takes off, the sound truly reaches the stratosphere. Throw in a little wah on the solo and the magic really happens.

5. Free As a Bird - The Beatles (George Harrison)

Considering his notoriety, George Harrison is still probably one of the most underrated guitar players in recorded history.

But as Bob Geldof said upon Harrison's passing in 2001, he’s also probably the only lead guitarist that if you asked 10 strangers on the street to hum one of his solos they could do it without hesitation.

There’s a long list of great tones from Harrison, both in the Beatles and as a solo artist.

The stunning, heart-wrenching lead on Something, the fuzzed-up riff on What Is Life? from All Things Must Pass or the strident slide on the 1973 hit Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth) from Living in the Material World are all George, and each one employs a tone that perfectly pushes and pulls at the song and the listener.

Say what you will about the 'reunion' recordings the Beatles released in the mid-'90s, but Harrison’s stunning slide solo completes John Lennon’s demo in ways no one else could have ever conceived. And that tone!

“That was all George,” engineer Geoff Emerick told me in 2006 of the sessions. “He plugged in and there it was. All I had to do was put up a microphone.”

6. Mary Jane’s Last Dance - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (Mike Campbell)

Tom Petty often refers to guitarist Mike Campbell as his secret weapon.

Not only has Campbell co-written some of the band’s most enduring songs, like his hero (George Harrison), he’s consistently delivered guitar parts that are instantly recognizable and tuneful over more than 30 years as the Heartbreakers’ co-captain.

While his Telecaster guitar lines on Refugee are biting and warm, sitting perfectly in a perfect recording, his riffs and soloing on 1993's Mary Jane’s Last Dance convey the confidence of a player who knows exactly where he wants to take the song and the listener.

7. Soul Man - Sam & Dave (Steve Cropper)

“Play it, Steve!”

That’s what you hear just before the solo on 1967s Stax Records mega-hit by Sam & Dave. And play it guitarist Steve Cropper does.

Perhaps one of the greatest ironies of the late-'60s R&B/soul boom is that the band that delivered the grooves on the most enduring of those records included some of the most lily-white guys you might stumble on. But boy did Cropper and his bandmates in Booker T. & the MGs (not to mention the Mar-Keys Horns) have soul!

Cropper delivered the goods on countless hits from the era. He co-wrote and played on Eddie Floyd’s Knock On Wood, Otis Redding’s (Sittin’ On) The Dock of The Bay, Wilson Pickett’s In The Midnight Hour and countless others. His tone and licks always hold his signature, but nowhere is his tone and style better encapsulated, and featured, than on Soul Man.

8. Champagne Supernova - Oasis (Paul Weller and Noel Gallagher)

In his days with the Jam, Paul Weller took a bit of Pete Townshend and a pinch of Dr. Feelgood’s Wilko Johnson and stirred them up into a potent mix, delivering serrated, staccato riffs with, as the band’s legend goes, fire and skill.

Just listen to the band’s cover of the Who’s Disguises and you’ll get the idea.

After the Jam’s 1982 split, a new crop of guitarists who’d been raised on Weller’s licks as much as anyone else stormed the charts. The Stone Roses' John Squire and the Smiths' Johnny Marr paved the way for Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead, Graham Coxon of Blur and Noel Gallagher of Oasis.

By 1995, Weller was in the midst of a career resurgence and Britpop was ascendant. And no one was riding higher than Oasis.

On Champagne Supernova, the final track from the band’s international smash (What’s the Story) Morning Glory, the master joined the student and magic transpired. Weller took the lead, with Gallagher in a supporting role, and delivered a glorious, tone-drenched solo that took a really good song into the stratosphere.

The secret? Weller played a white Gibson SG through a Vox AC30, so nothing special there. But the warmth and vibrato he coaxes from his strings evoke the past and the future all at once.

Britpop never reached higher.

9. Voodoo Chile - The Jimi Hendrix Experience (Jimi Hendrix)

If you were to put an example of Jimi Hendrix’s writing, recording and playing into a time capsule you’d probably have to choose Electric Ladyland’s Voodoo Chile.

Hendrix’s longest studio recording tells the history of the blues and points to where Hendrix was heading. Billed as the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Hendrix is in fact supported by Traffic’s Steve Winwood on organ, Jefferson Airplane’s Jack Casady on bass and Mitch Mitchell on drums. It’s a loose and sprawling jam, and its live nature showcases Hendrix’s virtuosity in a way that probably no other studio recording of his can match.

But mostly it showcases just how unbelievably perfect Hendrix’s tone was. Guitar lovers can argue about Clapton or Beck or Vaughan or whomever. But here, in 18 cathartic minutes, Hendrix lays claim to the past, the present and the future of the electric guitar. If no one ever tops Voodoo Chile - and no one probably ever will - we will still have this wonderful, intimate recording forever.

10. Enter Sandman - Metallica (Kirk Hammett and James Hetfield)

Whether it be Nirvana, Soundgarden, Stone Temple Pilots, Rage Against the Machine or Metallica, the 1990s were full of monster riffs and monster tone.

But the undisputed kings of the most over-the-top of those gargantuan sounds were surely Metallica. And the band’s Enter Sandman, which propelled the band’s 1991 self-titled album to 30 million-plus sales, is a case in point.

Metallica had been known before 1991 for their complex songs, but Enter Sandman is relatively straightforward. Building toward Kirk Hammett’s wah wah-laden solo, the real tone is in Hammett and James Hetfield’s larger-then-life and irresistible dueling rhythm guitars.

11. Bargain - The Who (Pete Townshend)

“When I hit on doubling an acoustic guitar with an electric guitar, a whole new palate of sounds was suddenly at my disposal,” the Who’s Pete Townshend once told me of the signature sound that adorns the band’s landmark album Who’s Next.

While some may argue that Townshend’s 'tone moment' was his solo on Heaven and Hell during the band’s circa-1970 live shows (Check out the expanded Live at Leeds reissue, Live at Hull or Live at the Isle of Wight), and in a career filled with signature sounds, the twin guitar, rhythm/lead attack - combining a Gretsch 6120 Joe Walsh had given him with a Gibson J-200 - that he employed on Who’s Next is probably Townshend’s most enduring signature sound.

In fact, every track on Who’s Next is great and has bucketloads of tone.

Baba O’Reilly, Goin’ Mobile, Won’t Get Fooled Again, Behind Blue Eyes…. Considering it came from the ashes of the aborted Lifehouse project, it’s a remarkable accomplishment.

But probably nowhere does Townshend’s inimitable strumming and combination of lead and rhythm playing shine more than on Bargain. Using a Fender amp and a volume pedal with that Gretsch/Gibson combo creates a warm bed that - against the volcanic Keith Moon/John Entwistle rhythm section - is unbeatable.

12. Midnight Rambler - The Rolling Stones (Mick Taylor)

Arguing the Brian Jones-era Rolling Stones are the ultimate lineup is always a losing cause. Without alienating millions of early Stones fans, suffice to say the band didn’t truly take off as a first rate musical unit until guitarist Mick Taylor joined the band.

While Keith Richards always laid down distinctive and rich acoustic (and even electric) parts that propelled the band, it wasn’t till he teamed up with Taylor for what he always calls their 'ancient art of weaving' that things got really interesting.

By the time the band hit the road in 1972, they were in full flight, and Midnight Rambler on the live release Get Yer Ya Ya’s Out! is the ultimate example. While Mick Jagger wails on harmonica, and Keef lays down a comfy bed, Taylor wails on top. Up, down and sideways, it’s a masterclass in where a great rock band can take the blues.

13. Shine On You Crazy Diamond - Pink Floyd (David Gilmour)

Comfortably Numb, Wish You Were Here, even On An Island: the list of songs that are lifted from great to astonishing by David Gilmour’s signature tone is a long one. Both instantly recognizable and impossible to imitate, Gilmour in many ways is the sound of post-Syd Barrett Pink Floyd.

Nowhere is that more evident then on this ode to Barrett and the madness he succumbed to, from the band’s 1975 album Wish You Were Here. Long and adventurous, but never boring, this track epitomizes everything that was great about the band, who were stretching their progressive muscles in the mid-'70s. Meanwhile, Gilmour charms an irresistible tone out of his Fender Stratocaster.

Rumor is that Gilmour records his parts at staggering volume. While most players can’t coax more than a croak out of their rig at that level, Gilmour clearly has a remarkable touch beyond mere mortals.

Normally broken into parts, the link below includes parts 1 to 9 - the whole shebang- for your listening pleasure.

Jeff Slate is a NYC-based solo singer-songwriter and music journalist. He founded and fronted the band the Badge for 15 years beginning in 1997 and has worked with Pete Townshend, Earl Slick, Carlos Alomar, Steve Holley, Laurence Juber and countless others. He has interviewed and written about everyone from the Beatles and Kiss to Monty Python and rock musicals on Broadway. He is an avid collector of rock and roll books and bootlegs and has an encyclopedic knowledge of all things Dylan and the Beatles. For more information, visit jeffslate.net.

Sometimes you just need to make a change!

With that in mind, we asked our very own Paul Riario to create a video showing you how to change the speaker in your guitar amp.

In the video below, which is presented by Celestion and Guitar World, Riario installs a Celestion G12 V-Type 70-Watt speaker into a Blackstar combo.

You'll also notice Yngwie Malmsteen makes a brief appearance! Regardless, check out the clip and let us know what you think in the comments below or on Facebook.

For more information about Celestion speakers, check out celestion.com.

And if you like this sort of thing, be sure to check out Riario's first feature film, How to Build a Pedal Board," which features a brief appearance by Mick Mars. Enjoy!

I’ve always maintained that the single most important swap that makes a clear and notable difference in tone is changing the speaker in your amplifier or cabinet.

I know the very idea of changing a speaker seems so elaborate because most guitarists are conditioned (or swayed) to constantly change simpler components such as pickups and cables, strings, hardware and bridges, amps and even effect pedals in order to upgrade their tone. But—perhaps naively—guitarists often woefully neglect the only audible voice of their tone: the guitar speaker.

Don’t get me wrong, finding the right speaker can be an elusive and somewhat expensive journey, but I can tell you I’ve recently come across two 12-inch guitar speakers from Celestion, the Cream and the Neo Creamback, which have dynamically supercharged my tone for the better. Both speakers are sonically different, with the Cream having more of a vintage-focused character and the Neo Creamback having a punchier and highly detailed voice that’s tailor made for rock and metal. Depending upon your application, both are outstanding replacements speakers if you want to take charge of your tone.

FEATURES
The newer of the two is the Neo Creamback, which is available in eight- or 16-ohm impedance, has a 65-watt power rating and covers the 75-to-5,000 Hz frequency range. Its most noticeable feature is its employment of a neodymium magnet, making it super lightweight at 4.2 pounds, but preserving all the tonal characteristics of the Celestion G12M Creamback, which it’s based upon and which is almost four pounds heavier because of its ceramic magnet.

The Cream is a beautiful 12–inch speaker with a creamy retro paint job, but its tonal magic comes from its pure Alnico magnet. The speaker is available in eight- or 16-ohm impedance, has a whopping 90-watt power rating for incredible headroom and also covers the 75-to-5,000 Hz frequency range like the Neo Creamback. However, for all its good tone, it is a heavier speaker clocking in at 9.3 pounds.

PERFORMANCE
I spent a lot of time swapping both speakers in my open-back, custom Baltic birch ply cabinet, which has incredible musicality and a huge sound that belies its 1x12 stature. I began with the Neo Creamback, only because the speaker I had been using up until this point was a Celestion G12M Creamback (which I love), so this made the most sense in hearing whether the Neo sounds similar at half the weight and with a different magnet. Using a Les Paul and a Tele, and Marshall and Vox heads, the Neo came very close to replicating the growl and focused vocal-like midrange of the ceramic Creamback. I would venture to say the sound is more transparent, with a high-definition top end that is sweetly compressed. It handles low end with remarkable clarity and fullness, especially if you use a lot of amp distortion or high-gain pedals.

There’s little doubt the Cream is the more vintage-styled speaker but with so much more application and responsiveness. I found that the Cream loves pedal-based rigs, and because of its expansive headroom and higher wattage, it adds spacious dimension with delays and reverbs. With some overdrive, it responds with warm bell-like highs, articulately sweet midrange and a firmer bottom end that is structured rather than being mushy, which an Alnico magnet is sometimes guilty of. The Cream is by far Celestion’s most organic and expressive Alnico speaker that sounds like it’s been broken in for decades.

STREET PRICES: Neo Creamback, $169.99; Cream, $299
MANUFACTURER: Celestion, celestion.com

• The Neo Creamback has the entire frequency spectrum and Celestion “growl” of their flagship Creamback G12M speaker but at half the weight.
• The Celestion Cream is a superbly voiced Alnico speaker with an enormous 90 watts of headroom and bell-like tone.

THE BOTTOM LINE
The Celestion Cream is an incredibly detailed speaker that rings with warm vintage chime, while the lightweight Neo Creamback delivers high-definition response and punchy hard rock tones.

Members of the Guitar World crew paid a visit to the Celestion booth at the 2015 Winter NAMM Show in Anaheim, California.

As you can see in the new video below, we got the run down on the company's new speakers.

For more about Celestion, visit celestion.com.

For more NAMM 2015 coverage, visit GuitarWorld.com's official NAMM 2015 Zone, get updates on Facebook and photos and more on Twitter and Instagram. It's like you're at the show!

As always, Guitar World paid a visit to the Celestion booth during this year's Winter NAMM Show.

We learned about two brand-new items from the company, the Limited Edition G12-35XC speaker, which was created in honor of the company's 90th anniversary, and the A-Type model.

You can find out about both models in the top video below.

From the company:

The 35XC is built using tried-and-tested materials and construction methods, and incorporates several new design features and techniques. Drawing on 90 years’ experience, we’ve been able to create a uniquely versatile speaker whose attributes will be familiar to those who know Pulsonic coned speakers.

Capable of delivering open and musical cleans without sacrificing an immensely satisfying crunch or searing, overdriven lead lines, the 35XC is made to engage your musical soul. This speaker exhibits poise, tonal evenness and freedom from souring colourations, characteristics typical of speakers with Pulsonic cones, as well as adding a little more sparkle and air to your sound.

A 90th Anniversary gift from Celestion to players who won’t compromise in their search for great tone.

For more about the G12-35XC, visit celestion.com. Stay tuned for more info about the A-Type!

And speaking of the company's 90th anniversary, check out the birthday video created by Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi (bottom).

Below, check out several videos pertaining to some new gear from Celestion — namely, the company's V-Type speaker, which was introduced in 2013.

You'll find a review by our own Paul Riario, plus a demo video by Windowpane’s Tony Abreu and an extra video by Scott Sill, who compares a V-Type to a Celestion Creamback H and Celestion Gold.

Combining decades of experience with advanced measurement and analysis, the Celestion V-Type has been built using a carefully balanced "recipe" of old and new design techniques.

It produces a heady, exciting modern vintage sound that just makes you want to keep on playing: a speaker that delivers authentic Celestion tone whatever your style.

The V-type is a sweet sounding speaker with a superbly balanced tonal signature that imparts a vintage musicality to your tone. Clean sounds are true across the lows, mids and highs, with just enough upper-mid chime and HF sparkle to add clarity and definition.

Crank it up for a sizzling overdrive and raw rock tones, with plenty of mid-band warmth to give body and substance to lead note playing. Available in 8 ohm or 16 ohm variants, this pressed steel frame, ceramic magnet guitar speaker delivers 70-watt power handling and an output sensitivity (SPL) of 98dB.

For more information, visit celestion.com.

Guitar World's Paul Riario reviews the V-Type:

Windowpane’s Tony Abreu demos the V-Type:

Scott Sill compares a V-Type to a Celestion Creamback H and Celestion Gold:

Guitar World visited the Celestion booth last week during the 2012 Winter NAMM show in Anaheim, California, to speak to John Paice about the company's new offerings.

These include two new upgrade options: 8- and 10-inch guitar amp speakers known as the Eight 15 and the Ten 30.

The new small-format guitar speakers are best suited for use with practice amps and “bedroom blasters" -- but they still deliver authentic British tone.

The Eight 15 is an 8-inch diameter guitar speaker that delivers 15-watt power handling and a sensitivity of 94dB. The biggest sounding eight inch speaker that the company has ever created, this speaker produces well-balanced mids and highs, complementing a surprisingly meaty bottom end.

The Ten 30 is a 10-inch diameter guitar speaker that delivers 30-watt power handling and a sensitivity of 95dB. Tonally it is rich and expressive, combining warm lows with a vocal mid-range and an articulate top end. This speaker delivers a clean sound that is both open and revealing and when pushed hard and will reward players with full-blooded Celestion grind.

Guitar World stopped off at the Celestion booth last week during the 2012 Winter NAMM show in Anaheim, California, to speak to John Paice about the company's new offerings, including the G12M-65 Creamback speaker.

The G12M-65 Creamback has the look and sound of a vintage G12M, yet it delivers some big power, easily handling the needs of modern amps.

The G12M -- also known as the Greenback -- is considered the definitive vintage Celestion ceramic magnet guitar speaker. The speaker, which was developed in the mid-'60s. was adopted by players like Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page, who typified the louder, more aggressive blues-rock styles that came to characterize that era.

The new G12M-65 Creamback produces that familiar, woody G12M tone, but handles greater power making it ideally suited for today’s amps, when a vintage tone is desired. The increased power handling brings with it low end grunt that complements the warm and vocal mid range, crunchy upper-mids and sweet, refined highs.