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Virtuoso Guitarist Oz Noy on Inspiration, Celestion, and the Importance of Playing Live

DiMeola. Holdsworth. McLaughlin. Metheny. Scofield. If you were to describe what these great guitarists have in common, it would be that they fused deep jazz scholarship with rock and soul rhythms as well as a borderless appreciation of world music. If you were to name the heir apparent to this legacy, it could only be Oz Noy. Beginning his career in his native Israel, he became a top studio and touring musician in his teens. Arriving in New York City in 1996, he quickly rose to the highest echelon of U.S. musos. His tenth studio album Snapdragon features such luminaries as Dennis Chambers, Dave Weckl, and Zappa alum Vinnie Colaiuta on drums; Will Lee and John Pattituci on bass; and the late Wallace Rooney on trumpet. Through it all, Celestion guitar loudspeakers have been a vital component of Noy’s equipment.

What was your early path to becoming the accomplished musician you are today?

I grew up in Israel and started playing guitar when I was about ten years old. I originally wanted to play drums. A friend who played guitar invited me to see his teacher, and I think the main thing that kept me interested in guitar was The Beatles, whom I really loved when I was a kid. I also liked a lot of Israeli pop. My parents bought me a crappy nylon-string guitar, and my dad bought me this little pickup you glued onto the guitar. Once I realized you could make noises through an amp, I was hooked on the idea of the guitar being electric.

But when realized I wanted to play professionally as a lifetime thing was in the mid-1980s. I was maybe 15 when Pat Metheny came to Israel on the Still Life Talking tour. I went to see Pat play, and after that I basically stopped going to school! [Laughs.]

Who were your formative influences as you were coming up?

When I started to get into jazz, it was mostly John McLaughlin, Al DiMeola, and maybe George Benson. Then I discovered Scott Henderson and Allan Holdsworth. Of course, Pat Metheny and John Scofield. After that, I started to study jazz more deeply and got into Wes Montgomery, Kenny Burrell, and Grant Green — the bebop guys. At the same time, I started appreciating more blues, so Stevie Ray Vaughan was huge in my book. These days, I feel like I’m influenced by everybody!

When were you first aware of Celestion as a “thing” apart from your guitars and amps?

When I was growing up, Celestion speakers were always around. I had a Marshall with a 4×12 [cabinet] that had Celestion G12T-75s in it. I used that cabinet a lot. That and a Fender Twin Reverb were pretty much my main amps in Israel. But the Marshall with the 4×12 was always the main thing.

When I moved here, before I had much money to buy gear, I had several mediocre combo amps at first. Once I was able to afford better equipment, I had a couple of Fenders with Celestion Vintage 30s in the cabinets. That speaker sounds great inside pretty much everything.

After that I had a little Suhr amp, and it always had Celestion — mostly Vintage 30s but I had one cabinet with Greenbacks. You kind of can’t get away from those speakers and that sound. For me, they work in any context.

How has your rig evolved since then?

What I’m using now are Two Rock amps, which I started playing about ten or 12 years ago. They’re a high-end amp on the order of Dumble and things like that. The speakers I mainly use with those are Celestion G12-65s in both 2×12 and 4×12 cabinets. I also still have a cabinet with Greenbacks in it. When I play through my Marshall head, the Greenback is the one speaker that really does it for me.

I also bought an old DeLuxe amp, and I just put a brand new speaker into it, the G12 Ruby. It’s the one with the red chassis and it’s simply fantastic in that amp. Then there’s a recording cabinet I have at home with a G12-65 in it, and sometimes I swap that out for a Vintage 30 depending on the sound I’m after.

What’s your most recent Celestion acquisition and do you like it?

There’s this new speaker that looks like the Alnico Blue but it’s gold and handles a higher wattage. I believe it’s just called the Celestion Gold, and I think it’s excellent. I installed it in my Princeton. The thing about Celestion is, it’s such an iconic sound. If you want that sound, there’s only one way to get it.

Let’s say you got a call for a recording session with a major artist, and it was in an hour. Which setup out of everything you’ve mentioned would you bring into the studio?

To be honest, these days I do most of that kind of work from home, because I have everything all hooked up here and technology makes it possible to, you know, record my track and send it back out. Let’s say I did get that call, though. If it was a quick one-off, I’d probably bring my DeLuxe or my Princeton. If it was a bigger deal, I’d also bring one of my Two Rocks.

Do you have any suggestions or wish list items for Celestion?

Yes. More 4-ohm speakers! [Editor’s note: Celestion currently offers three speaker models with a 4-ohm impedance option: the Eight 15, the Copperback, and the Hot 100.]

It’s difficult to pin you down genre-wise, and we mean that as a compliment. How do you identify as a guitarist?

Thank you. I see myself basically as a jazz player, but I’ve played rock and done all kinds of studio work since I was 15. I guess what I did was, I mixed my jazz chops with modern guitar sounds as well as some of the approach of rock, blues, and R&B. So, I guess it’s a mix of things. Some people call it fusion, but that’s kind of a loaded word these days.

Yes, the F-word! Let’s talk about fusion. Has the style and the word gotten a bad rap in your opinion?

I think the problem was that at a certain point in the ’80s, some fusion started being executed in a way that was synthetic and sterile. The soul got sucked out of it. When you think about it, fusion is Miles, it’s McLaughlin, it’s Weather Report, it’s Return to Forever, all those bands — really soulful stuff.

One of the places where fusion is making a comeback is on social media, where a lot of young players are posting what we might call “shred” videos. Many of them share influences with you and some are probably influenced by you. What advice might you give to these players?

My main advice is, you’ve got to get out of the house and play live with other musicians. I recognize that the pandemic has made that hard for everybody. But I’m familiar with this phenomenon of people at home, learning on YouTube, then making their own videos and posting them there or on Instagram or wherever. And some of them blow my mind — they’re very talented and technically skilled.

But it all only exists within those platforms, and I see that as kind of real and not real at the same time. Yes, there’s an audience for it and if you’re good, you will get followers. But it seems like kind of a lonely existence, you know? I’ve been impressed by quite a few of these players and so I tried to look up where they were actually playing a gig so I could go see them — and most of the time I couldn’t find anything.

Recording guitar videos in your room all day is all well and good, and getting likes is all well and good. But what will really make you a better player isn’t staying at home and shredding over existing tracks. It’s being creative on the spot with other human beings. So, get out there and play with a band!

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Celestion SpeakerMix Pro Nominated for 2022 Sound on Sound Gear of the Year Award

Our ground-breaking SpeakerMix Pro Plug-in has been nominated for a 2022 SOS Award by the editors of Sound on Sound magazine. 

SpeakerMix Pro is the self-contained studio-grade DAW plug-in which brings stunning levels of detail and realism to guitar and bass speaker tone, for use with Impulse Responses as well as the company’s next-generation Dynamic Speaker Responses (DSRs.) All of these Celestion Digital products are available at CelestionPlus.com.

Celestion Impulse Responses have become the go-to speaker emulation solution in studios and on live rigs of many professional guitarists, bassists and music producers. The SpeakerMix Pro plug-in is much more than just a top-level IR loader and convolution engine for hosting impulse responses—it offers pristine sound, mixes up to six channels of different IRs into a stereo or mono track and even fixes IR sample rate/project mismatches.

As the host program for the new Celestion Dynamic Speaker Responses (DSRs) — the next generation of digital speaker responses that capture the sound and feel of the speaker’s dynamic, non-linear response for even more tonal detail —SpeakerMix Pro presents a genuine next-generation virtual speaker solution.

With SpeakerMix Pro, users can:

  • Mix up to six responses together to create the perfect and unique guitar or bass speaker sound.
  • Integrate a personal library of Celestion and third-party Impulse Responses to make the most of the tools you’ve spent time and effort curating .
  • Add Celestion’s superb room responses (or incorporate your own) into the mix for an authentic ‘live’ sound.
  • Deploy the unique Z-curve function to closely model the dynamic electrical coupling between amp and speaker.
  • Add a new dimension of sound and feel with Celestion’s proprietary Dynamic Speaker Responses (DSRs), the next generation in Impulse Response technology: stunningly accurate guitar tone that also captures the sound and feel of the speaker’s dynamic, non-linear response for even more detail and realism.
  • Use with our new DSRs for the capability to fine-tune the mic position, enabling you to adjust the position of the microphone across the speaker until you’ve found the tone that’s just-right.

SpeakerMix Pro is available for VST, AU and AAX compatible DAWs, to allow users to achieve the ultimate guitar tone in recording.

Click this link to buy the SpeakerMix Pro plug-in, and to get each user started with the featured Dynamic Speaker Responses, the first ten DSRs are free with the plug-in purchase.

Vote for Celestion SpeakerMix Pro in the 2022 SOS Awards Here. Voting ends at midnight on 30 November 2021.

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The SOS Awards launched in 2010 with a mission to honour and celebrate the finest products in the industry. Now in its 12th year, each voting category consists of a shortlist of nominations selected by the SOS editorial team, with the Gear of the Year winners selected by the readers. The results will be compiled and announced at the end of January 2022.

Telecaster Master Jim Campilongo Talks Tone, Technique and Celestion

Jim Campilongo has been called “an American treasure” by Billboard and the “sultan of twang” in The New Yorker. In 2013, Fender honoured him by releasing the Jim Campilongo Signature Telecaster, a 50-unit reproduction of the 1959 Tele from which he’s been inseparable throughout a lifelong career that has presented opportunities to play with Charlie Hunter, Burning Spear, Cake, Martha Wainright, J.J. Cale, Nels Cline, and of course The Little Willies, a band he co-founded with Norah Jones.

His most recent collaboration, Two Guitars with Luca Benedetti, earned raves from music press across the globe. Speaking of press, he also pens the column “Vinyl Treasures” for Guitar Player magazine. Playing in an inimitable style that can pivot from country-swing to jazz on a dime, he is considered the premier exponent of the Telecaster guitar and all the musical history it represents. Campilongo graciously spent some time with us to discuss the other main ingredient in his signature tone — Celestion loudspeakers — not to mention chronicle his inspirations and offer some must-hear advice on career and practicing.

 

 

When and why did you first know you wanted to play electric guitar?

Well, I’d been listening to things like The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix since I was just a kid. When I was about 15 and growing up in South San Francisco, I was living and breathing guitar, but in the information void of that era. You couldn’t just Google things. My mother told me she worked with a guy who played guitar. I called him and said, “I don’t know what kinds of guitars and amps I like.” I think I was borrowing a Teisco electric at the time and had a Kalamazoo amp.

Did he point you in the right direction?

He asked me what guitarists I liked. At the time, I named Eric Clapton and Cream. I also mentioned Hendrix and Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple. This guy goes, “Oh, you’ll like Marshall amps.” Ironically, I’ve never owned one!

What amp did you end up with?

By chance I got a Fender Twin. After two or three more years, I’m getting good enough to play covers like “China Grove” and “Two Tickets to Paradise,” that kind of thing. I went through the trends in the ’80s — Gallien-Krueger, guitar synthesizers — but I always came back to Fender. To me, the Telecaster and a Fender amp just is the sound of the electric guitar. And then there’s Celestion!

Tell us more …

At one point I started playing through a Fender Princeton Reverb amp. I was used to Twins and the Vibrolux, and it felt like it was lacking a little headroom compared to those. It was fine if you miked it. So, I took it down to the Amp Lab, run by an amazing tech named Keith Reinegger. Keith said he really liked putting a Celestion G10 in a Princeton. I said, “Do it!” The next day I had a gig at the Make Out Room in San Francisco, and the amp just became this roaring little animal that had incredible dynamic range. I still have three Princetons with G10s in them.

Your playing is known for a lot of dynamic and stylistic range. Do you find the G10 a good fit in that regard?

What I like about Celestion speakers is first, they sound great right away. There’s no breaking in — they sound great as soon as you hit a note. It’s like you can drive the Indy 500 right away without doing test laps. I did a solo record in 2010 called Orange, and on the eve of a recording day I’d done a gig where I’d blown the stock Fender speaker in my amp. I replaced it with a G10 and many of the tracks on that record feature that amp.

Second, Celestion speakers are not super expensive, though I’d still use them if they were. I like them that much.

Last but not least, they have a really nice jazz sound but also a full low-end, and I can go from that to pretty twangy. In that respect I think they’re more versatile than, say, a Jensen driver.

It’s interesting that you say their jazz tone is pleasing, because a lot of enthusiasts equate Celestion with British rock and roots rock.

True, but what I think of as a jazz sound is not a Gibson ES-175 through a vintage Ampeg or Roland Jazz Chorus amp. Not to criticize Joe Pass, for crying out loud, but the jazz sound I like has a little more sass to it — like, if Louis Armstrong were a guitarist, he wouldn’t be playing an ES-175. A Princeton with a G10 inside has just the right amount of softness when I want it.

You’re known for being a minimalist about effects and technology …

Pretty much. I like the control of the relationship with my amplifier, particularly in terms of my right hand. If everything gets compressed, as it can with effects pedals, I feel like my pick attack is neutered. With minimal circuitry in between the guitar and amp, I could be set at 10 and get different tones depending on how I play. That’s another thing I like about the Celestion G10 — it’s very touch sensitive. The speaker assimilates my intentions accurately.

Let’s talk about your guitar heroes.

Let me tell you, living in the Italian-Irish suburbs of South San Francisco in the 1970s and discovering Eric Clapton with Cream — that was like striking gold. Now, his body of work was not as pyrotechnic as, say, Jeff Beck. I would listen to Blow by Blow all day then hear it coming from cars when I left the house. It wasn’t just for guitar nerds. But Clapton had such a robust sound, and there was a swing to his playing that isn’t talked about much anymore. That led me to Albert King, Freddie King, and Robert Johnson, which in turn led me to Roy Buchannan. Roy played through a Fender amp, which led to my buying my first one.

What do you think great guitarists have in common, regardless of genre?

When I learned guitar, one of the main priorities was, do you have your own thing? Jimmy Page has a thing. Eric Clapton does. Jeff Beck does. John McLaughlin certainly does. Jesse Ed Davis had his own thing, like on “Doctor My Eyes” with Jackson Browne. You hear it for the first time and go, “Who is that guy?” Whereas I can be in Bed Bath & Beyond and hear yet another invisible guitar solo. There’s a lot of technically proficient material out there that has no personality.

You also teach. What practice guidance do you give your students?

Great question. I have a lot of students who are a little apprehensive at first. Maybe they’re in their 40s, with kids and a job, and trying to get back into playing music. They’ll tell me, “I promise to practice two hours every day, Maestro Jim!” I’ll say, “Well, you can, but why not shoot for five or ten minutes at first?” Some get disappointed that I’m not being a taskmaster, but the best practice is the kind you’ll actually do. Sometimes the devil wakes up before me, and I just want to make a grilled cheese sandwich and watch Black Mirror. But if I commit to even five minutes, every day, at roughly the same time, I often become engaged and a half hour or more goes by and maybe I’ve learned a new section of a song.

How about advice on the career front?

Do one thing for your career every day. Learning a new riff or tune doesn’t count. So, I write for a magazine. I have a Patreon page. I give lessons over Zoom. I book gigs and travel. I organize set lists and get them to bandmates in advance. Let’s say I put a poster for an upcoming gig on Instagram. There — I did my one thing. In a month, you will have done 30 things, despite if you were tired that day, despite if you felt embarrassed about promoting yourself, despite anything.

Above all, have fun. I still remind myself of this if, say, I turn up to a gig and there are only six people in the audience. Having fun opens the door to so many solutions. And if you’re not having fun, what are you doing?

Celestion Launches Version 1.1.0 Software Update for its SpeakerMix Pro Plug-in, the Next Generation Digital Speaker Solution

Ipswich, UK (January 28, 2021) —Celestion, the celebrated manufacturer of guitar and bass loudspeakers, and professional audio drivers for sound reinforcement applications, is very pleased to announce the release of Version 1.1.0 Software Update for its SpeakerMix Pro, the professional studio-grade DAW plug-in dedicated to bringing ground-breaking levels of detail and realism to guitar and bass speaker tone.

SpeakerMix Pro is the company’s advanced virtual speaker solution designed for use with both with Impulse Responses as well as Celestion’s Dynamic Speaker Responses (DSRs), the next generation of digital speaker responses that capture the sound and feel of the speaker’s dynamic, non-linear response for even more tonal detail. The SpeakerMix Pro Solution enables users to capture and mix both IRs and DSRs for ultra-realistic guitar speaker tones in a DAW.

The new V 1.1.0 Software Update includes a number of key feature upgrades and fixes, as well as new functionality, including:

•Users can enjoy up to 7 days offline use before a login is required. If you have an internet connection during the 7 day cycle, everything happens in the background and you won’t need to enter your credentials again. No more logging in every 48 hours.

•Various fixes have been applied including those related to SpeakerMix Pro’s operation within some DAW packages, including fixes for crashes, window re-sizing issues and correction of visual glitches.

•New “Logout” and “Refresh” buttons. The “Logout” button clears the locally stored encrypted user credentials, so users can feel safe leaving a session computer after using an account. “Logout” will also clear the seat off our licensing server, allowing you to login to a new machine instantly. The “Refresh” button will refresh all of your DSR licenses. This is used when new DSRs are installed to instantly activate them locally and get struck into mixing tone as quickly as possible.

•The user IR-loading in now automatically tunes a dynamic model from your own favourite IRs. This uses our DSR algorithm to build a dynamic response from your existing IR to render feel and realism from your favourite impulse responses. Essentially turning your existing IRs into DSR-type responses.

•Mixer channel Copy and Paste functionality enabling the setting from one mixer channel to be copied to and from any other mixer channel.

The new SpeakerMix Pro plug-in is much more than just a top-level IR loader and convolution engine for hosting impulse responses; it offers pristine sound, mixes up to six channels of different IRs into a stereo or mono track and even fixes IR sample rate/project mismatches. Additionally, as the host program for the new Dynamic Speaker Responses, SpeakerMix Pro presents a genuine next-generation virtual speaker solution.

“SpeakerMix Pro has been designed to offer users the next step in digital speaker solutions, and we are pleased to offer these fixes and enhancements in the new update, V1.1.0,” says Ken Weller, Celestion Marketing Product Manager. “At Celestion, we make it a priority to listen and respond to the needs of our users and customers, and continue to enhance our products in order to assist them achieving excellence in their creative work.”

SpeakerMix Pro is available for VST, AU and AAX compatible DAWs, to enable users to achieve the ultimate guitar tone in recording.

Click this link to buy the SpeakerMix Pro plug-in, and to get each user started with the featured Dynamic Speaker Responses, the first ten DSRs are free with the plug-in purchase. For more details, visit Celestionplus.com

About Celestion Digital
The introduction of authentic Celestion Impulse Responses represented the company’s forward step in making their celebrated speaker tones available as digital downloads. Celestion IRs capture the essential behavior of a speaker in a particular cabinet in the specific space in which it was recorded, including the frequency and phase response of single drivers as well as the interaction of multiple speakers. They offer significant benefits in both recording and live production, enabling the desired tone to be precisely and consistently reproduced regardless of the recording or live sound environment. Explore, audition and download the extensive collection of Celestion guitar and bass Impulse Responses at celestionplus.com.

The introduction of Celestion SpeakerMix Pro sees the company delivering a truly forward-thinking studio software solution that enables users to get every ounce of tone from Impulse Response technology. The companion Dynamic Speaker Responses launched alongside the plug-in exemplify the next generation in speaker response emulation, representing a true advancement in the technology of digital speaker tone.
www.Celestionplus.com

About Celestion and Celestion Guitar Speakers
An important element to essential British guitar tone since the birth of Rock & Roll, Celestion Guitar Speakers are famous for their lively and vocal midrange character with plenty of sparkle and chime. With worldwide headquarters in Ipswich, England, Celestion design, develop and manufacture premium guitar and bass loudspeakers, and high-quality professional audio drivers for sound reinforcement. These world-renowned speakers are used onstage and in clubs, theatres and other venues the world over. Contact Celestion at: info@celestion.com and visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/celestion.
www.celestion.com

Introducing Celestion’s new SpeakerMix Pro Plugin with Dynamic Speaker Responses: the Next Generation of Digital Tone

The new Celestion SpeakerMix Pro plugin (VST, AAX, AU) is designed to be a studio-grade application, enabling you to produce stunningly realistic guitar tones in your DAW. Far more than just an IR loader and mixer, SpeakerMix Pro delivers pristine sound, while offering a whole host of features. All with an intuitive and instantly familiar interface.

Fully compatible with your personal library of Celestion and third party (.wav) Impulse Responses, you can mix up to six channels (each with individual parametric EQ functionality) of different speaker responses into a stereo or mono track. The software also fixes sample rate/project mismatches.

SpeakerMix Pro gives you ample opportunity to further enhance and finesse your speaker responses. Deploy the unique Z-curve function to closely model the dynamic electrical coupling between amp and speaker for ultimate accuracy and feel. Add Celestion’s outstanding room responses (included) or incorporate your own into the mix for a superb ‘live’ sound.

Perhaps most significantly, it’s as the host program for Celestion’s proprietary new Dynamic Speaker Responses where SpeakerMix Pro represents a genuine Next Generation virtual speaker solution.

So What Is a Dynamic Speaker Response and What Does It Do?

Celestion Impulse Responses have become the go-to speaker emulation solution in the studios and live rigs of many top professional guitarists, bassists, and music producers. Looking to define the next generation in digital tone with greater accuracy and realism, we have developed the Dynamic Speaker Response (DSR).

A traditional speaker IR captures the performance of that speaker in a specific cabinet with a particular microphone in a certain position, at a pre-determined level. But there are an additional factors at play when it comes to speaker tonality: the cone of a speaker played very quietly barely moves, the cone of the same speaker played loud does move: it ‘ripples’ and ‘shakes’ in a non-linear way. This adds additional harmonic complexity and character to the sound: it’s part of the reason why loud amps sound so exciting.

The IRs that we’ve been successfully using for several years represents the speaker’s frequency response captured at a single, optimum level. A Dynamic Speaker Response goes a step further, it reacts to the signal level. The DSR models the speaker’s sonic characteristic dynamically, shifting in response dependent on changes in the input level, for a more natural, ‘analog’ feeling and sounding output.

Benefit from a More Intuitive Workflow

When using Impulse Responses in the standard way, if we want to “move” or “change” the microphone we need to find a different IR that was recorded with our new mic in the new position;  that’s quite easy, simply scroll through an IR library and find the file that gives the sound that we want to hear. It’s not quite as intuitive as moving a microphone on a stand but it has worked very well for several years now and produced a lot of fine performances and recordings as well as having the well-documented advantages of convenience and repeatability.

Use DSRs with SpeakerMix Pro to provide a fast, simple and intuitive way to select microphone, speaker, and cabinet type with just a few clicks. The graphical interface enables rapid selection of speaker, cab and mic, as well as pinpoint positioning of the microphone across the speaker cone. What’s great is that this can be done while listening to the changes in sound as we make the adjustments, just like in the traditional physical studio.

For an additional bonus, we can also adjust the dynamic electrical coupling between the output stage of an amplifier (the Z-curve function) and the DSRs —or IRs, which are fully compatible with this function—and mix in room sound together with the speaker response to fine-tune the final sound of the performance.

Enhance Tone with a Highly Comprehensive Toolset

Celestion’s SpeakerMix Pro plug-in is designed to be a highly sophisticated and intuitive guitar speaker tone engine. It enables you to rapidly load your existing IR library into your DAW, while offering a comprehensive set of invaluable tools designed to make the most of your virtual speaker tone.

Beyond that Celestion have also integrated into the plug-in the next generation of speaker response, the Dynamic Speaker Response (DSR). Not only is it an accurate replica of a speaker’s frequency response in the digital realm that’s easy to use providing consistency and repeatability in the recording process. The DSR also responds to a player’s ‘attitude’ and playing intensity as well as the relationship between the amplifier and the speaker, capturing these subtle but important real-time nuances and injecting digital tone with true analogue realism.

SpeakerMix Pro – click here to buy now from our online shop

Browse our range of Dynamic Speaker Responses here

Find out how you can shape your perfect guitar tone with Robbie Miller’s demo of SpeakerMix Pro and our DSRs.

Celestion Announces the NAMM 2021 Debut of The SpeakerMix Pro Plug-in: The Next Generation Digital Speaker Solution

Ipswich, UK (January 18, 2021) —Celestion, the celebrated manufacturer of guitar and bass loudspeakers and professional audio drivers for sound reinforcement applications, is very pleased to announce the NAMM 2021 debut of SpeakerMix Pro, a self-contained studio-grade DAW plug-in dedicated to bringing ground-breaking levels of detail and realism to guitar and bass speaker tone, for use with Impulse Responses as well as the company’s new Dynamic Speaker Responses (DSRs),  the next generation of  digital speaker responses that capture the sound and feel of the speaker’s dynamic, non-linear response for even more tonal detail.

Over the past few years, Celestion Impulse Responses have become the go-to speaker emulation solution in the studios and on live rigs of many top professional guitarists, bassists and music producers.

The new SpeakerMix Pro plug-in is much more than just a top-level IR loader and convolution engine for hosting impulse responses– it offers pristine sound, mixes up to six channels of different IRs into a stereo or mono track and even fixes IR sample rate/project mismatches. Additionally, as the host program for the new Celestion Dynamic Speaker Responses, SpeakerMix Pro presents a genuine next-generation virtual speaker solution.

With SpeakerMix Pro, users can:

  • Mix up to six responses together to create the perfect and unique guitar or bass speaker sound.
  • Integrate a personal library of Celestion and third-party Impulse Responses to make the most of the tools you’ve spent time and effort curating .
  • Add Celestion’s superb room responses (or incorporate your own) into the mix for an authentic ‘live’ sound.
  • Deploy the unique Z-curve function to closely model the dynamic electrical coupling between amp and speaker.
  • Add a new dimension of sound and feel with Celestion’s proprietary Dynamic Speaker Responses (DSRs), the next generation in Impulse Response technology: stunningly accurate guitar tone that also captures the sound and feel of the speaker’s dynamic, non-linear response for even more detail and realism.
  • Use with our new DSRs for the capability to fine-tune the mic position, enabling you to adjust the position of the microphone across the speaker until you’ve found the tone that’s just-right.

SpeakerMix Pro is available for VST, AU and AAX compatible DAWs, to allow users to achieve the ultimate guitar tone in recording.

Click this link to buy the SpeakerMix Pro plug-in, and to get each user started with the featured Dynamic Speaker Responses, the first ten DSRs are free with the plug-in purchase. Click here for details for visit Celestion.com.

About Celestion Digital
The introduction of authentic Celestion Impulse Responses represented the company’s forward step in making their celebrated speaker tones available as digital downloads. Celestion IRs capture the essential behavior of a speaker in a particular cabinet in the specific space in which it was recorded, including the frequency and phase response of single drivers as well as the interaction of multiple speakers. They offer significant benefits in both recording and live production, enabling the desired tone to be precisely and consistently reproduced regardless of the recording or live sound environment. Explore, audition and download the extensive collection of Celestion guitar and bass Impulse Responses at celestionplus.com.

The introduction of Celestion SpeakerMix Pro sees the company delivering a truly forward-thinking studio software solution that enables users to get every ounce of tone from Impulse Response technology. The companion Dynamic Speaker Responses launched alongside the plug-in exemplify the next generation in speaker response emulation, representing a true advancement in the technology of digital speaker tone.
Celestion Plus.

About Celestion and Celestion Guitar Speakers
An important element to essential British guitar tone since the birth of Rock & Roll, Celestion Guitar Speakers are famous for their lively and vocal midrange character with plenty of sparkle and chime. With worldwide headquarters in Ipswich, England, Celestion design, develop and manufacture premium guitar and bass loudspeakers, and high-quality professional audio drivers for sound reinforcement. These world-renowned speakers are used onstage and in clubs, theatres and other venues the world over. Contact Celestion at: info@celestion.com and visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/celestion.
www.celestion.com

Celestion Introduces the Next Generation Digital Speaker Solution: The SpeakerMix Pro Plug-in Featuring Dynamic Speaker Responses

Ipswich, UK (November 23, 2020) —Celestion, the celebrated manufacturer of guitar and bass loudspeakers and professional audio drivers for sound reinforcement applications, is very pleased offer its’ digital customers SpeakerMix Pro, a self-contained studio-grade DAW plug-in dedicated to bringing ground-breaking levels of detail and realism to guitar and bass speaker tone, for use with Impulse Responses as well as the company’s new Dynamic Speaker Responses (DSRs),  the next generation of  digital speaker responses that capture the sound and feel of the speaker’s dynamic, non-linear response for even more tonal detail.

Over the past few years, Celestion Impulse Responses have become the go-to speaker emulation solution in the studios and on live rigs of many top professional guitarists, bassists and music producers.

The new SpeakerMix Pro plug-in is much more than just a top-level IR loader and convolution engine for hosting impulse responses– it offers pristine sound, mixes up to six channels of different IRs into a stereo or mono track and even fixes IR sample rate/project mismatches. Additionally, as the host program for the new Celestion Dynamic Speaker Responses, SpeakerMix Pro presents a genuine next-generation virtual speaker solution.

With SpeakerMix Pro, users can:

  • Mix up to six responses together to create the perfect and unique guitar or bass speaker sound.
  • Integrate a personal library of Celestion and third-party Impulse Responses to make the most of the tools you’ve spent time and effort curating .
  • Add Celestion’s superb room responses (or incorporate your own) into the mix for an authentic ‘live’ sound.
  • Deploy the unique Z-curve function to closely model the dynamic electrical coupling between amp and speaker.
  • Add a new dimension of sound and feel with Celestion’s proprietary Dynamic Speaker Responses (DSRs), the next generation in Impulse Response technology: stunningly accurate guitar tone that also captures the sound and feel of the speaker’s dynamic, non-linear response for even more detail and realism.
  • Use with our new DSRs for the capability to fine-tune the mic position, enabling you to adjust the position of the microphone across the speaker until you’ve found the tone that’s just-right.

SpeakerMix Pro is available for VST, AU and AAX compatible DAWs, to allow users to achieve the ultimate guitar tone in recording.

Click this link to buy the SpeakerMix Pro plug-in, and to get each user started with the featured Dynamic Speaker Responses, the first ten DSRs are free with the plug-in purchase. Click here for details for visit Celestion.com.

About Celestion Digital
The introduction of authentic Celestion Impulse Responses represented the company’s forward step in making their celebrated speaker tones available as digital downloads. Celestion IRs capture the essential behavior of a speaker in a particular cabinet in the specific space in which it was recorded, including the frequency and phase response of single drivers as well as the interaction of multiple speakers. They offer significant benefits in both recording and live production, enabling the desired tone to be precisely and consistently reproduced regardless of the recording or live sound environment. Explore, audition and download the extensive collection of Celestion guitar and bass Impulse Responses at celestionplus.com.

The introduction of Celestion SpeakerMix Pro sees the company delivering a truly forward-thinking studio software solution that enables users to get every ounce of tone from Impulse Response technology. The companion Dynamic Speaker Responses launched alongside the plug-in exemplify the next generation in speaker response emulation, representing a true advancement in the technology of digital speaker tone.
Celestion Plus.

About Celestion and Celestion Guitar Speakers
An important element to essential British guitar tone since the birth of Rock & Roll, Celestion Guitar Speakers are famous for their lively and vocal midrange character with plenty of sparkle and chime. With worldwide headquarters in Ipswich, England, Celestion design, develop and manufacture premium guitar and bass loudspeakers, and high-quality professional audio drivers for sound reinforcement. These world-renowned speakers are used onstage and in clubs, theatres and other venues the world over. Contact Celestion at: info@celestion.com and visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/celestion.
www.celestion.com

Celestion’s Highly Anticipated Axi2050 Axiperiodic Driver Now Available at Parts Express

Ipswich, UK (August 25, 2020) —Celestion, the premier manufacturer of guitar and bass loudspeakers and professional audio drivers for sound reinforcement applications, is pleased to announce that their highly-anticipated Axi2050 axiperiodic driver is now available for purchase at Parts Express.

Performing the role of two speakers in one, the Axi2050 is a high power, high-output driver which reproduces a frequency range of 300Hz-20,000Hz without the need for a midband crossover. The Axi2050 delivers an extended frequency range and an exceptionally accurate signal, particularly in the critical listening band: : enhancing clarity and speech intelligibility, as well as reproducing music more dynamically and with greater coherence.

In contrast to most existing high-sensitivity, wideband drivers which are designed with two separate diaphragms, the Axi2050 uses a single, large diameter, sculpted, circumferentially axiperiodic, annular titanium diaphragm. This breakthrough technology enables the device’s remarkable wideband output, as well as providing a number of other significant advantages.

The result of more than five years’ research, the Axi2050’s patented diaphragm design consists of many curved, axiperiodically symmetrical elements which adds immense strength to a very thin and light sheet of titanium. Consequently the shape of the mechanical vibration modes are tailored so they do not couple with the acoustic modes; enabling the device to deliver a very uncoloured performance by avoiding resonance peaks.

This single diaphragm has a diameter large enough (more than 175mm) to reproduce frequencies as low as 300Hz, while still having a small enough moving mass to facilitate high frequency reproduction. And the diaphragm’s large surface area and axial flexibility enables the generation of very high SPL, even at low frequencies.

The Axi2050 delivers unrivalled intelligibility and perceived audio performance, particularly in the critical listening band. Benefits include:

  • A large, single diaphragm enabling the device to cover a wide frequency range from 300 to 20,000Hz, so a midband crossover isn’t required.
  • A high sensitivity output: 140dB (measured at 1W on a plane wave tube), with 110dB-115dB on an appropriate large format, 2-inch exit horn.
  • 150Wrms (AES standard) of power handling capability.
  • A 2-inch exit throat and standard mounting.
  • Fully scalable technology.

More information on the Axi2050 is available here.

Click here to buy the Axi2050 at PartExpress.

About Parts Express

Parts Express is a worldwide leader in the development and distribution of audio components which offers various high-demand and hard-to-find products for the Home Audio, Commercial Audio, Professional Audio, Lighting, Prosumer and Mobile Electronics markets. Their extensive in-house knowledge and experience in speaker transducers, raw speaker drivers and general audio components has made the company a leader in the audio industry. The company has the ability to offer vast customized and off-the-shelf solutions for virtually any business application from OEM projects to reseller inventory. The company culture is customer-focused and they are commitment to excellence, ensuring that projects are delivered on-time and within budget.

Parts Express stocks over 18,000 audio components across more than 200 brands, from the unique to the most popular, in their 120,000 square foot warehouse located approximately 25 minutes north of Cincinnati in Springboro, Ohio. www.parts-express.com

About Celestion
An important element to essential British guitar tone since the birth of Rock & Roll, Celestion Guitar Speakers are famous for their lively and vocal midrange character with plenty of sparkle and chime. With worldwide headquarters in Ipswich, England, Celestion design, develop and manufacture premium guitar and bass loudspeakers, and high-quality professional audio drivers for sound reinforcement applications. These world-renowned speakers are used onstage and in clubs, theatres and other venues the world over. Contact Celestion at: info@celestion.com and visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/celestion.
www.celestion.com

 

Celestion Debuts the Magnificent 7 Collection of Impulse Responses

 

Ipswich, UK (May 19, 2020) —Celestion, the premier manufacturer of guitar and bass loudspeakers and professional audio drivers for sound reinforcement applications, is very pleased to debut a new special collection of Impulse Responses – the Magnificent Seven – which includes the tones of seven of the company’s legendary speakers available for digital download. The new Magnificent 7 Collection features a line-up of seven iconic 12-inch speaker impulse responses, including the Celestion Blue, G12M Greenback, Vintage 30, G12M-65 Creamback, G12H-75 Creamback, G12H Anniversary and Heritage Series G12-65. The new Magnificent Seven IRs, along with the other classic collections of genuine Celestion speaker IRs, are available for audition and download at CelestionPlus.com.

The Magnificent 7 Collection represents the first of Celestion’s most popular guitar speakers to be made available as impulse responses, offered as a complete package to provide a wealth of essential tones in one collection.

The Celestion Magnificent 7 speaker impulse responses included are:

  • Celestion Blue – The Original: This classic speaker became a firm favourite of legendary artists, including The Beatles, Queen and U2. It has warm lows, mellow upper-mids, and a bell-like top-end with the glorious dampened attack that alnico is famous for.
  • G12M Greenback – The Legend: The modern incarnation of the speaker that helped define rock tone, played by legends like Clapton, Page and Beck. Expect a broad mid-range attack and a restrained top-end with added grit and aggression.
  • Vintage 30 – The Classic: A superbly versatile speaker that has found a home delivering a generous range of metal and rock tones with tight bass, rich and vocal mid-range and an intricately detailed top end. Clean tones are crisp and that famous upper midrange sits just right in the mix.
  • G12M-65 Creamback – The New Standard: Delivering the much-loved classic rock tones of the Greenback with added low-end grunt.
  • G12H-75 Creamback – The Hard Hitter: A speaker with added power with a heavier magnet that enables the production of a tight bass with impactful highs and awesome thickness to single notes.
  • G12H Anniversary – The Heavy Rocker: A speaker to recreate the classic sounds of the 1960’s and 1970’s hard rock era, the Anniversary speaker delivers serious swagger with its aggressive low-end, articulate treble and searing midrange.
  • Heritage Series G12-65 – The Blues Meister: With a fast attack and tightly-controlled low-end, this Heritage speaker is a firm favourite with hard rock artists and modern blues players alike.

As with all authentic Celestion Impulse Responses, each of the speaker IRs in the collection were recorded by Celestion engineers in a world-class recording facility using classic, professional microphones and meticulous technique. Each of the seven classic IRs included in the Magnificent 7 Collection feature five cabinet configurations, including 1 x 12 (Open Back,) 1 x 12 (Closed Back,) 2 x 12 (Open Back,) 2 x 12 (Closed Back,) and 4 x 12 (Closed Back.)

The Magnificent 7 Collection offers users a unique opportunity to get all these incredible tones at a discount of more than 40% off compared to buying each of the seven speakers individually. And users who already own one or more speaker IR collections featured in the Magnificent 7 will automatically get a further 10% discount.

Visit CelestionPlus to get the Magnificent 7 Collection and explore the extensive family of genuine Celestion acclaimed guitar speaker Impulse Responses such as the:   A-Type,  Blackstar Cabinet, Celestion Blue,  Celestion Cream, Celestion Gold, Classic Lead 80, G10 Creamback, Heritage G12H 55Hz, Heritage G12M, G12 EVH, G12K-100, G12-35XC, G12T-75,  G12-50GL Lynchback,  G12-H150 Redback, G12M Greenback, G12M-65 Creamback, G12M-75 Creamback, G12H Anniversary, G12-65, Neo Creamback, V-Type,  Vintage 30  and bass impulse responses such as the BL10-100X, BN15-400X, BN10-200X, BN15-300X, PULSE10, PULSE12 and PULSE15. and many other models.

About Celestion Impulse Responses
Celestion IRs, which capture the essential behavior of the cabinet in the specific space in which it was recorded, including the frequency and phase response of single drivers as well as the interaction of multiple speakers, offer the user significant benefits. In both recording and live production, Celestion IRs enable the desired tone to be precisely and consistently reproduced regardless of the music recording or live sound environment. And IR users can escape the limitations of a single mic and cabinet setup and explore a universe of possibilities to create the perfect tone. Once you find a tone that you love, it can be precisely recreated, in the studio or on the road, time after time. And the IRs allow Celestion customers to audition specific models before purchasing one or more physical speakers.

Celestion IR digital downloads are available in uncompressed, industry standard .WAV format at 44.1 kHz, 48 kHz, 88.2 kHz and 96 kHz sample rates at 24 bit depth, in lengths of 200 and 500 milliseconds Once the files are downloaded and unzipped, users simply load the IRs into a convolution plug-in in their DAW or into other processing hardware. These formats will work in all known hardware capable of loading IRs, and for the most popular hardware Celestion have already grouped together the correct formats. Guitar processor manufacturers supported include Atomic Amps, Fractal Audio Systems, Kemper, Line 6, Logidy, Positive Grid, Two Notes, Headrush and Yamaha. The Celestion IR files may be downloaded in the sample rate and length appropriate for the hardware being used or as a complete package of all rates and lengths. Certain third party hardware requires the files to be converted into a proprietary format before use.
Celestion Plus.

About Celestion and Celestion Guitar Speakers
An important element to essential British guitar tone since the birth of Rock & Roll, Celestion Guitar Speakers are famous for their lively and vocal midrange character with plenty of sparkle and chime. With worldwide headquarters in Ipswich, England, Celestion design, develop and manufacture premium guitar and bass loudspeakers, and high-quality professional audio drivers for sound reinforcement. These world-renowned speakers are used onstage and in clubs, theatres and other venues the world over. Contact Celestion at: info@celestion.com and visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/celestion.
www.celestion.com

Celestion Debuts the Midnight 60 Guitar Speaker at Winter NAMM 2020

Anaheim, CA (January 16, 2020) —Celestion, the premier manufacturer of guitar and bass loudspeakers whose classic guitar tones have made the company famous as the voice of rock and roll, is very pleased to debut the new Midnight 60 loudspeaker at Winter NAMM 2020 (Booths 7602 and ACC North 18500).

An unsung hero that’s been loaded into some very popular branded combos for the last couple of years, the Midnight 60 will soon be available to buy from Celestion vendors the world over, as a super-affordable upgrade option.

This exciting new guitar speaker has come from the same development processes, and has been heavily based upon the extremely successful V-Type. The Midnight 60 continues Celestion’s tradition of delivering rich, classic British tone in innovative new ways, featuring the moving parts that were derived from the V-Type design, but with a different magnet assembly which has the effect of shifting the tonal balance to give a sonic character more reminiscent of a Celestion’s vintage G12L speaker.

Whatever the playing style, Midnight 60 provides an exhilarating sound in the classic Celestion style. Cleans are well-balanced with just enough top end to make the high frequencies sparkle. Overdriven this speaker brings searing rock tones, with plenty of low-end warmth and mid-band character.

Available in 8Ω or 16Ω, this pressed steel frame, ceramic magnet guitar speaker offers 60-watt power handling and an output sensitivity of 96dB.

General Specifications

Nominal diameter                    305mm/12in

Power handling                       60W

Nominal impedance                8Ω, 16Ω

Sensitivity                                96dB

Chassis type                           Pressed Steel

Voice coil diameter                  44mm/1.75in

Voice coil material                   Copper

Magnet type                            Ceramic

Magnet weight                         0.6kg/20oz

Frequency range                     75Hz-5000Hz

Resonance frequency             75Hz

 

Mounting Information

Overall diameter                      309mm/12.2in

Overall depth                           120mm/4.7in

Magnet structure diameter      115mm/4.5in

Cut-out diameter                     283mm/11.1in

Mounting slot dimensions       7.9mm/0.31in

Number of mounting slots       8

Mounting slot PCD                  297mm/11.7in

Unit Weight                             2.5kg/5.5lb

The new Midnight 60 will be available from Celestion retailers in the first half of 2020.

See the new Midnight 60 as well as Celestion’s full line of guitar speakers and professional audio drivers at Winter NAMM 2020 at the Celestion Booths #7602 and ACC North #18500.

About Celestion

With worldwide headquarters in Ipswich, England, Celestion design, develop and manufacture high-quality professional audio loudspeakers and compression drivers for sound reinforcement; premium guitar and bass guitar loudspeakers. These world-renowned speakers are used onstage and in clubs, theatres and other venues the world over. Contact Celestion at: info@celestion.com and visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/celestion.

www.celestion.com