Green Back vs. Vintage 30 vs. something else

[Blues Trucker]

So thinking about a new speaker and Im torn between the vintage 30 and a greenback. I guess in a perfect world I would get both and build an interesting cab setup to go between the two whenever I wanted, but I need to start with one. Either one seems to have a good tone, with the vintage 30 sounding bigger to me while the vintage 30 sounds more classic. Thinking the greenback would give me a better Blues sound and classic rock sound while the vintage 30 would give me more of a late 80s early 90s metal sound?
So whats the consensus?
Looking at the back and reading some other posts am I correct in understanding if I go with an 8ohm speaker in a 1x12 cab I can only use the cab or the internal combo speaker, not both at the same time...........
And if I use a 16ohm speaker in a cab I can use an extension cab and the internal speaker at the same time?
So if I build a 2x12 cab using 16ohms I can run 3 speakers at once?( the combo speaker + the 2x12 cab??)
Also, I read the blackbird is a 50 watt speaker. What will changing that to 20 or 25 or 30 watt speaker do?????

[thephantum]

You're spot on with your analysis of the two. They actually compliment each other really well in 2x12 or 4x12 setups. I'm not a Celestion guy, but if I had to pick it would be the Greenback. Thing is, that's irrelevant. It really all depends on your style and what you play.

The Blackbird in the combo is 16 ohm, so any cab should also be 16 ohm in order to run them together. You can then run both the cab and combo on the 8 ohm tap.

• - For a 1x12 cab, use a 16 ohm speaker.
  - For 2x12, use 2 - 8 ohm speakers and wire them in series. That will make the cab 16 ohms total.

Changing the blackbird for a lower wattage speaker isn't going to really do anything. The general rule for speakers is to make sure they are at least 1.5x the power of the amp. So in the HT-5 anything over 7.5 watts is fine. The main thing is to stick with 16 ohms, so that you keep your options open and can run it with other cabs.

[Blues Trucker]

THX for the response. So it sounds like I am getting this.
One last thing. I have a plug in for 2 16ohm speaker cab in the back. So I can run a cab with two 16ohm speakers out of that plug in, right?
Now if I am understanding what you are saying about running 8ohm in series, If I get 4 8ohm speakers running in series I should be able to plug them into that 2 16ohm plug in. Right?

[thephantum]

One last thing. I have a plug in for 2 16ohm speaker cab in the back. So I can run a cab with two 16ohm speakers out of that plug in, right?

Yes, but only if the cab let's you run the speakers in stereo. In other words, each speaker has it's own connection to the head (some cabs have a switch that lets you run them in either mono or stereo). In that config, you would only be able to run one speaker from the cab with the speaker in the combo. Ideally, you would want both speakers in the cab run by a single connection. That way you can run both the cab and the combo speaker.

The key thing to remember is that the head has two taps from the output transformer and you can only use one tap at a time:

• An 8 ohm tap (wired in parallel)- labeled "1x8 ohm or 2x16 ohm"
  A 16 ohm tap - labeled "1x16 ohm"

So you have to pick one impedance setting to run at any given time. Trying to use both taps at once will cause damage to the output transformer. That's why (for the HT-5) I'm recommending everything be 16 ohms, it gives you the most options.

If you want to run:

• - just the combo speaker OR just a cab, you can do it on the 16 ohm tap
  - both a cab and the combo speaker, you can do it on the 8 ohm tap

...again, as long as everything is 16 ohms.

Now if I am understanding what you are saying about running 8ohm in series, If I get 4 8ohm speakers running in series I should be able to plug them into that 2 16ohm plug in. Right?

To do that you would need a four speaker cab that can be run in stereo. In other words, each pair of speakers is a channel, wired in series, and has a connection to the head. Four 8 ohm speakers in series will be 32 ohms total. To get a 4x12 cab to run at 16 ohms, you would need either four 4 ohm speakers wired in series or four 16 ohm speakers wired in series/parallel (each pair wired in series and the pairs connected in parallel).

[Blues Trucker]

right on man, thanks for the info. It will be awhile before I get to that point, so Ill worry about it when/IF, I get there.

[BowerR64]

What about watts?

I always thought the greenbacks were like 25-30 watts but the vintage 30 are like 70?

Depending on how many your going to run i think that would play a role in your decision.

IMO greenbacks are designed to be in a full stack running a 100 watt head into a 4X12 is running a greenback on the ragged edge of detonation. Where the V30s can handle a 4X12 all day.