This simple speaker modification can help guitarists get the most out of their Vox amplifier.

Since its introduction in 1958, The Vox AC15 amplifier helped kicked off the British invasion and defined the sounds of famous musicians and bands from the Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Queen, U2 and Wolfmother. After 60 years, Vox tube amplifiers are still the go to amplifiers for musicians, its British voice offers a wide range of tones from sparkling clean to punchy overdrive. Though the modern Vox amplifier lacks certain sonic qualities that can only be achieved by other amplifiers. One of the best ways to get the most of a new or vintage Vox is to replace the speaker with a Celestion G12M-65 Creamback.

What makes the creamback different than the traditional Celestion Greenback or Alnico Blue speakers found in most modern Vox amps is its rich vintage vocals and strong power handling. The creamback speaker’s origin dates back to the late 70s to give amplifiers a classic tone with the ability to handle a large amount of output volume. Like the greenback, the creamback speaker has a tight low-end, crystal clear highs along with a pronounced and focused midrange. This is ideal for a Vox amp because they don’t have a midrange control in the amp’s EQ section, so having a speaker with extra midrange will help the amp stand out in a band during live shows and in the recording studio. Because the creamback also handles up to 65 watts of power and most Vox amps have an output of 30 watts, musicians can turn the master volume up to achieve the highest output and max out the gain (or preamp volume) to get warm and aggressive overdrive that won’t shred the speaker cone. Luckily replacing the speakers is the easiest modifications a musician can do to their amplifier and not take it to technician to have it worked on.

If you own a Vox amplifier and want to get the most tone and sonic capabilities it has, the Celestion G12M-65 Creamback is the speaker that will unleash it’s tonal and harmonic secrets.

 

For more information on the Celestion Creamback speaker and replacing speakers in your tube amplifier, visit https://celestion.com/

 

 

 

Gibson Guitar comes back from the dead one year after filing for bankruptcy and strives for a “back to basics” direction.

On May 1, 2018, Gibson Guitar filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Over the past decade, the guitar giant has struggled to keep its legacy alive trying to enter the consumer electronics industry to appeal to new players while keeping guitar enthusiasts happy. Unfortunately for Gibson, their new investments in entering a new and unfamiliar industry while trying to be a “lifestyle brand” saddled the company with a large amount of debt. They also faced some harsh criticism from customers about the guitar’s poor quality control, high prices and the decision to have robot tuners on every electric guitar model on their Gibson USA line. Gibson was also facing struggles internally with their leaders of the business including then CEO, Henry Juszkiwicz, who in previous interviews blamed their financial troubles on “problems with the guitar retail industry” and “purists” according to Music Radar.

Chapter 11 bankruptcy is intended primarily for the reorganization of a business with heavy debt burdens, according to FindLaw, and allows the debtor to propose a plan for profitability post-bankruptcy. The decision to file for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection was made after the company failed to pay back its lenders and banks over $500 million dollars. Since then, Gibson’s financial lenders have been given equal ownership of the guitar giant and replaced a majority of the stock holders. Juszkiwicz was removed as Gibson’s CEO and largest stakeholder on October 3, 2018. Following the removal of Juszkiwicz, lenders and shareholders brought on former Levi’s president, James “JC” Curleigh on October 23, 2018. Joining Curleigh in Gibson’s business restructure are Cesar Gueikan as CMO (Chief Merchant Officer), Kim Mattoon as CFO (Chief Financial Officer) and Christian Schmitz as CPO (Chief Production Officer) according to Music Radar.

In early January of 2019, Gibson showcased their new guitar models while sharing the changes under their new leadership at the winter National Association of Music Merchants Show (NAMM). Since then, it’s been nothing but praise and thanks to the guitar giant’s new leadership for listening to customer feedback and giving them what they want; better quality control, lower prices and no robot tuners. On April 29, 2019, Gibson officially released two new electric guitar lines to the market, the original and modern collection. The original collection is marketed towards musicians and Gibson enthusiasts looking for a modern-made classic version of guitars made during the late 1950s and early 1960s. The modern collection is marketed for the modern guitar player looking for a guitar with familiar and traditional design with modern features.

For 130 years, Gibson Guitars has been an influential and revolutionary brand for the guitar industry, from Orville Gibson’s version of the mandolin to Les Paul’s game-changing solid body electric guitar, the brand has been the go-to guitar for many well-known musicians. Guitarists like Jimmy Paige, Gary Moore and Peter Frampton have all played on a Gibson and gone on to inspire other musicians, as well. Gibson is no longer a dying brand; like climbing out of the grave- the only direction they can go now, is up.

For more information on Gibson’s new guitars, visit https://www.gibson.com/