Wow thanks for all the comments! Just to be clear, while the current reissue Jensen speakers are based on the design and sound of the original U.S. Jensen models, they are currently made by those lovely people in Italy. So when I say 'American' or 'British' speaker, I'm talking about the tone and design of the speaker, not necessarily the location they're currently manufactured in. Thanks!
the original speakers on the 60s fender amps were jensen, so, regardless of where they are made, they are actually the original "american" speakers. and today's jensen has the actual models still in production.
Hi the Fender Deluxe Reissue comes factory fitted with a Jensen C12K not the Jensen C12N, as far as I know (I had a lot of FDRRI from early 1990´s to 2015 all came with the Jensen C12K or the "Fender original design" that is hit or miss. The Jensen C12K is a 100W speaker with a heavy magnet, a harsh sound that puts a blanket over the highs so not as good as the Jensen C12N featured in this video witch is a 50W speaker, a bit less efficency (97dB vs almost 100dB from the C12K) . The Jensesn C12N as you said Made In Italy modeled with the original Jensens is the best ceramic speaker you can install in a Fender Deluxe Reverb RI if you want the original 60 and 70 sound but with a smoother trebble (enough to eliminate Ice pick sounds and to make the amp overdrive friendly but retainig the original "surfy" sound of that great amp). I make this remark so people that´s thinking of getting a Deluxe Reverb Reissue knows what to expect. That´s why in this video the difference between the C12N and the Creamback (American vs British) is not so dramatic. In this really well made comparison, the Jensen C12N sounds much better IMHO than the Creamback Clean and Overdriven / Distorted. The Creamback has a huge spike in the high mids (Like the Celestion Vintage 30) that makes overdriven sound "spiky and harsh", The Wharehouse ET65 is a version of the Creamback that eliminates that spike. If you want this amp to sound best with overdriven or distorted sound a good British option is the G12H (Heritage series) It´s a greenback, massive magnet, 30w (Real 30W) full range (not as mid forward as the Greenbacks found in Vox or Marshall) It cost almost as much as the Creamback, It´s a very efficent speaker (100Db) so pleny of volume with 22watt if you need It. Hope This Helps
most american spks (especially these new italy C12N) are far too harsh fizzy buzzy bees in jar for rawer overdrive and metal tones, only tolerable w smoother overdrive amps, or smoother pedals such as TS9 etc. Even for fender clean the new C12N is harsh and thin compared to vintage ones. I had one when they first came out...ouch. But vintage amercan spks also sound too bright thin harsh on overdrive type amps like old marshalls. Try them in real life like I did, you cant really judge from YT videos and other peoples gear and playing styles.
Both sounds killer (probably courtesy of the player), Jensen is to me more "I have pretty much all the sonic space in mix as I want" and Celestion is "no matter what, you will hear me"
@@backyard_expert in this demo, it was the Jensen that sounded to me more compressed. But I dont have real experience with it live. Greenback muddy in live mix? Never noticed that.
Cool! I prefer the Jensen in every style, although the last "rock distortion" with the Les Paul at least gave this Celestion a chance. That particular Jensen model just sings with this amp. Thanks!
I absolutely LOVE how tamed and clear the jazz sound is through the creamback!!! I ordered a g10 greenback for my vox vt30 just yesterday, can’t wait to noddle around with an improved clean tone! Thank you for this comparison
What suprised me in this clip is that the archtop sounds better to me with the celestion. It seems to me the Jensen is voiced too similar to the archtop - big low end and bright top but misses the mids and the celestion brings the mids out so nicely. Also makes me wonder how these compare in the mix.
Yep. And I thought the Brit did better with the funky stuff, too. But for blues or rock my impulse is towards the Jensen. Now for country twang on a Tele I'd go either way, even tho they're very different sounds. I like both, in different ways.
I liked them both. It would depend on which side of the bed I got up on as to which I liked best. Jensen is brighter and Celestion is a little darker and mellower. Would love to hear them matched in a 2 x 12 cabinet.
This video is amazing, thanks for putting it together! The Jensen definitely excels at clean tones, but gets kind of harsh with overdriven tones. The Celestion does everything well to my ears.
Both sounded great! I’d be happy with either. Considering that an amp can sound different just by moving it around a room, I’m sure most players could coax a usable tone out of either of these.
For anything clean like jazz, country, and funk I choose the Jensen anyday of the week, there's a reason most iconic Fender amps use it. For blues , at first I liked the Jensen, but when I heard the creamback I immediately prefered its thicker rowdier tone . For anything overdriven or distorted, whether single coils or humbuckers , I choose the creamback anyday of the week. And I'm really not partial in this case, since I'm an Eminence guy.
Great comparison, I wanted to prefer the Celestion but I prefer the Jensen in every scenario. I am pretty sure it would work better in a band situation as well.
Wow. Great Demo. Concise. I LOVE the Creamback. Probably the best single speaker there is. V30's mix well with Greenbacks and T75's, but alone, the Creamback 65 dominates IMO.
Jensen for sure for this demo. Great pedal platform as well. Having said that I do love my Marshall 4 x 12 with Greenbacks using a Friedman PT22 to rock out.
Celestion Creamback its my favourite xD i have one and i love how it color the sound of everything , but the Italian is a legend and a very sweet speaker too ;) , Happy new year for all you people ! xD
it's amazing how much the speaker impacts the tone, more than actually changing the amp. to me, the jensens sound flatter and more neutral overall, with smoother highs - i love that about them. i prefer the celestions for a clean tone with a little bite, exactly for that midrange, although - or maybe because - they sound a lot more scooped. i don't like it that the scoop isolates the lows and that makes them feel a bit out of control, even though there's less of them, and also that they're a bit harsh, but overall i think the mids make up for that. a combination between them would make for the best speaker. or a 2x12 with one of each. i think the celestions would work better on a 2x12, anyway, where the mid-lows would be filled back in a little more, whereas these jensens were designed to balance a 1x12 just right. a humbucker would also have kind of the same effect on the celestions, plus subduing the treble a little. a subtle hint of chorus would focus the mids a little more on the jensens. for jazz. blues, and rock distortion i prefer the jensens, and the celestion for the rest. but i don't think it depends on the generic genre, as much as on the specific tone you're going for. great comparison, and nice playing!
@@MichaelBanfieldGuitar Not a problem, man! And i would probably say overall I slightly prefer the jensen to the celestion? it's so hard, I've been swapping back and forth in my own amp between a WGS G12C/S and WGS ET-65, and I like one and then I like the other, and then I play the british and it sounds amazing, and then I find a weird little thing it does that I don't like. I wish there was a combination of both sounds together in one speaker. I found the Celestion A Type and that sounds like it's up my alley, but its 50w and my amp is 65w solid state. I guess overall though, the american sound is what I prefer, although there are elements about the british tone that can't be beat.
Brandon Neumann I think I get where you’re coming from. I’ve heard very good things about those WGS speakers. How about putting one in a separate cab? Radial do a pedal that can switch between cabs too if you wanted to go all out!
Brandon Neumann it might be worth looking into. I think that’s what I’m going to do with my celestion. Hope that you find the tone you’re after anyway.
Interesting! Often with shoot-out videos I find I naturally prefer the first option in every case and whilst I thought the Jensen sounded nice, on every occasion I preferred the Creamback
I really like Jensens. I use mostly C12k’s and C10q’s. I was surprised that the Celestion caught my ear when you were playing jazz. I think I preferred the cream back for jazz. Thanks for the demo!
Thank you, Michael! Love your product reviews/comparisons. Jensen the best to my ears. (and the quality of your playing and sound samples is fabulous).
In the living room the Jensen sounds great. In a mix with the band the mids in the Celestion make it a better choice. Bedroom tones and band tones are two different worlds. Thats why an EQ pedal is a must.
Yes I agree, real life results may vary! I tried my best to mic the amp as best I could to give a true representation of the sound of it in the room (see description) but yeah, sometimes you don't truly know whether a tone is really going to work for you until you go out and try it on stage at a gig with the band. Thanks for commenting!
The Celestion cream all day! I was suprised, since I built a 12 in speaker box with a Jensen MOD in it, and the MOD sounds good with a hint of vintage to it.
I go with 2 amps, a jensen one the right and cream back on the left, panned at 10 and 2 oclock : i feel the jensen has a better driven tone and celestion has more bass on the cleaner side, so they complete each other perfectly
Nice job Michael!! I play Jazz, Swing, Country, Blues (Chicago, before they put the distortion in) and several other genres, and am trying to figure out what speakers to use. It's almost impossible to find comparisons that are not totally distorted or jangly for cleans! Your video helped a lot, as you actually PLAYED some Jazz and clean stuff, where almost all other folks test equipment with big distortion or with 63 digital pedals thru their tube amps!! THANKYOU!!! And nice Zephyr Regent BTW! I had '51 Zephyr Deluxe Regent & Triumph Regents, among several other NY & Kalamazoo Epi's
Glad it helped! I need to get around to getting a new pick guard made for my Epi, but yes I like the old Epiphone arch tops too, very jealous of your collection!
I liked each depending on what was being played. I’ve been wanting a 212 cab for a Friedman head and I’ve been comparing speakers SO…..I’ll get one of each of these put in my cab and that’ll be the fix. Thanks for the demo!!
Lovely, lovely. The only thing I was left wanting was a Left Right split of the two. You see, I have Creambacks in my 2 HRD's and the Jensens in an old Fender Speaker cab. The two together is where the magic happens by some ears.
That's a great idea! I really need to get another cab to house the other speaker in and then I'd be able to do stuff like that. If I do another speaker comparison I'll try to make sure to include a left right split, thanks for commenting!
@@MichaelBanfieldGuitar Or you could just double track it. You know, with headphones listening to the first pass, or maybe even reamp it. I.e. record the guitar straight in, and then play it back through a reamp box into the amp. That way the performance would be identical and you could do two takes, one with each speaker and pan them left right,
Great review! I just ordered a pair of the Jensen's for my 62 blonde Bassman restoration. I was going to have the original Oxford's re-coned, but opted for what I think will be a sure thing with the Jensen's. I'll retain the originals in the event I sell the amp.
Preferred the Jensen right up until Rock Distortion when the Celestion killed it with that tone. Thank you for showcasing the speakers under different styles.
Great comparison video thanks for sharing! It’s really all subjective to each listener. However, I prefer the Jensen as it sounds more transparent and open allowing for the tones to ring through.
History of Jensen® Loudspeakers Peter Jensen Peter L. Jensen dedicated his life to innovation and today's Jensen® musical instrument speakers continue the essence of that innovation. Peter L. Jensen was born in 1886 in Falster, Denmark and came to America in 1909. In 1915, working alongside Edwin Pridham, Peter Jensen developed the "Magnavox", the first loudspeaker. Magnavox speakers were predominantly used for public address systems, famously first used publicly in 1919 to amplify President Woodrow Wilson's speech in San Diego. In 1927, Peter Jensen founded Jensen® Radio Manufacturing Company and began producing speakers for both military use and radios. The company later began to produce commercial loudspeakers for public use. In the mid-1940s Leo Fender developed one of the first guitar amplifiers and chose Jensen® speakers for their excellent tone. Throughout the 1940s, 1950s and most of the 1960s, Fender®, Ampeg®, Gibson® and all the other major amplifier companies used Jensen® musical instrument speakers. Jensen® ceased production of their loudspeakers in the late 1960s. In the late 1990s, under a licensing agreement, SICA Altoparlanti, an Italian speaker manufacturer, commenced production of the legendary Jensen® speakers. These Jensen® "reissues", after intensive research and analysis, are made to the same specifications as the original Jensen® speakers used by Leo Fender and others. Following the success of these reissues, Jensen® has released new speakers utilizing the same quality design as the original Jensen® speakers, but dedicated to modern music, including speakers in the Jensen® Jet Series. The Jensen® name is synonymous with classic vintage tone, and is the pioneer in modern state-of-the-art speakers today. I am just posting for those that might be interested to know the history of Mr. Jensen, the creator of the first loud speaker.
The Jensen's pedigree through the 60's into the 70's and beyond is equal to anything else that was/is around. All gash no flash. Im putting 2 in an open back cab to run with a 15 watt tube amp.
*Outstanding Review!* Plus, your guitar playing is exceptional in every style of music that you covered. As for me, the Jensen sounded best in every category. BTW: I am a huge WGS fan. I mix Retro 30's and ET-65's in my two speaker combos and four speaker cabs, and their G12C in my single speaker combo.
To my ears it’s the Jensen for cleans and cream back for dirt. However if I only had the choice of one speaker it would be the cream back as it gives the cleans attitude whereas for me the Jensen does not do the same for dirt.
Thanks for a very useful video. The Jensen sounds livelier for clean tones, but the highs when distorted become unpleasantly piercing. The Celestion tames the upper harshness much better. I am experimenting with a two amp setup with one of each type of speaker. (Vox Ac 30 w/gb speakers is mostly one half.)
Great demo, the differences and similarities are very clearly evident. What ultimately is the dilemma, then, is how does any one particular tone work in the mix of the band? Very often, less range, or less bottom, or less mids work best to not crowd the others, especially vocals. So I suppose the choice comes down to one's willingness to maximally exploit whatever tone it is you've got, to make it work best in whatever situation it's placed. Adapt, improvise, overcome! 😎
Really great video! Your recording technique clearly captured the difference. I thought the Creamback sounded best with the higher gain but for cleans, definitely the C12N
Replaced the stock Eminence (American Voiced) Speaker in my Fender Blues Junior III with a Vintage 30 and it gave the amp a completely different character. The thing with the Hot Rod/Blues series amps is that the amp circuits are a combination of Fender and Vox circuitry (all of those amps use EL84/EL34 power tubes instead of 6V6/6L6s), so experimenting with British and American speakers in those amps is a really good idea. I got the idea to use a Vintage 30 because the Limited Edition Blues Junior III had it as its main speaker. I almost considered the Greenback, but then I thought I'd want something with a bit more power. Definitely prefer the quality of the sound of that speaker to my stock Eminence, but it does change the mid-range characteristic a bit. My friend has a Tweed Blues Junior with a Jensen C12N and it sounded 10,000x better than my stock speaker, so If I wanted to experiment with more American sounding speakers, then Jensen is the way to go!
Interesting comparison! I've been playing for over 50 years and wondering how affected we are by our past. My opinion is the Jensen is a clear winner. Celestion better at rock due to less frequencies thus clear rock tone. In fairness, both speakers should be driven through an EL34 amp.
This is a great comparison, thanks. I have an old Pro Reverb 2x12 with neo creambacks in it at the moment. Might give some Jensens a go as nature intended one day
Clean: Jensen C12N Rock Overdrive: Toss up, both sounded good, just slightly different flavors Clean Funk: Jensen C12N Blues Overdrive: Jensen C12N Rock Distortion: Celestial G12M Creamback Jazz Clean: Jensen C12N
I enjoyed the Celstion for all but the Jazz. The Jensen had that common Jazz sound. Not too dark and not too bright. But I favored The Celestion. I use a Tele and a strat and my Fender amp had the Jensen. I swappd it for Eminence Canabis 12. I'n going to be looking into that cream back celestion now. I would like to mention I mostly play Bass since 1974. Been through tons of equipment but finally stuck with Ampeg head and Celestion 15 and also have 12's I Always get a compliment on my tone when I play live. Oh, of course, Fender PJ Bass, and a Stingray Bass.
I have much experience with the Jensen C12, and I respect its quality, but I tend to prefer British speakers like your example. This is because the American speakers tend to have excess energy in the 1.5khz to 3khz octave and the American speakers (esp. Jensen) tend to be deficient in the 200hz to 400hz range like Fender amplifiers are and the combination makes a thin sound that is deficient in body (when combined with Fender). But the C12 is a quality speaker, and I know a number of jazz guitarists who love it.
I can hear a clear difference, but I have no idea which I like better. So I would probably go with what I already have. I had a similar experience with the comparison between OD-3 and BD-2.
I guess it's just a matter of taste, some people like strawberry ice cream, some people prefer chocolate ice cream and others just like ice cream...and now I'm hungry.
It's important to note which speaker the amplifier was designed around. Since it's the last element in the chain, a lot of care is put into sculpting the sound BEFORE the speaker. Failing to consider this can lead to a shrill and ice picky sound in one corner, or a bassy muddy sound in the other.
quality video. Just ordered some Celestion v10 Vintage. I have a 2x10 cab (with Jensen C10Qs) and a 71 Bassman head and I'm going to try and do a similar shootout when they come in.
Sounds cool. And yes, there's no substitute for hearing the gear through your own rig with your own playing so that you can make an honest comparison and decision, good move. Thanks for commenting
Tasteful playing. Loved that. My choice would be the Celestion as an overall better speaker, to my ears. I like that it's not harsh on the ears as opposed to the Jensen. I don't say that it's not a useable or good sound, but the celestion is way warmer.
In a weird way the Jensen has that DI driven through a tube mic pre sound, sounded awesome for the funk riff and gave the first Rock riff some presence in the top. The Cream Back had alot more dirt to the sound and had that classic jangly mid range on that Blues riff, the extra mids and more rolled off highs gave the first Rock riff more punch and attitude than the Jensen but I could see these speakers working well in a 212 or 412 cab (the Cream Backs are often combined with a V30 or similarly voiced speaker to give a more full range sound). The interesting thing is during the Jazz section it seems like the differences between the two speakers is more negligible, probably because Traditional Jazz tones tend to be rolled off and using the Neck Pickup, so in that case it's more a question of what's more available to you in your area. The biggest difference in tone is when you switch to high gain, the Celestion had a less harsh top end and more present lows for those palm mutes, and the Jensen started to get shrill and a touch lean in the lows (less of an issue when you're potentially starting to high pass the guitars during mixing). For high gain at least, a mix of both speakers could be a cool alternative to the typical "V30 57" tone, the high end presence of the Jensen and the lows and low end punch of the Celestion. In my use case I'd go for the Creamback but I can definitely see some potential uses for for the Jensen.
I have a 2x12 with those Jensen's. Nothing sounds good into it unless it's a Fender amp. Which is why both speakers sound good in this video; you're using a Deluxe Reverb. I've run everything I own into my Jensen loaded cab - Hiwatt dr103, 69 Super Bass 100, vox ac30hw2, Dr z Mazerati, Greer mini chief, mesa tremoverb, 81 JMP 50 watt. The Jensen's sound horrible with all those amps. If I plug my hand wired Deluxe Reverb or my 61 Tremolux, they sound great. With the Celestion loaded cabs I have, everything sounds good.
Wow thanks for all the comments! Just to be clear, while the current reissue Jensen speakers are based on the design and sound of the original U.S. Jensen models, they are currently made by those lovely people in Italy. So when I say 'American' or 'British' speaker, I'm talking about the tone and design of the speaker, not necessarily the location they're currently manufactured in. Thanks!
the original speakers on the 60s fender amps were jensen, so, regardless of where they are made, they are actually the original "american" speakers. and today's jensen has the actual models still in production.
Hi the Fender Deluxe Reissue comes factory fitted with a Jensen C12K not the Jensen C12N, as far as I know (I had a lot of FDRRI from early 1990´s to 2015 all came with the Jensen C12K or the "Fender original design" that is hit or miss. The Jensen C12K is a 100W speaker with a heavy magnet, a harsh sound that puts a blanket over the highs so not as good as the Jensen C12N featured in this video witch is a 50W speaker, a bit less efficency (97dB vs almost 100dB from the C12K) . The Jensesn C12N as you said Made In Italy modeled with the original Jensens is the best ceramic speaker you can install in a Fender Deluxe Reverb RI if you want the original 60 and 70 sound but with a smoother trebble (enough to eliminate Ice pick sounds and to make the amp overdrive friendly but retainig the original "surfy" sound of that great amp). I make this remark so people that´s thinking of getting a Deluxe Reverb Reissue knows what to expect. That´s why in this video the difference between the C12N and the Creamback (American vs British) is not so dramatic. In this really well made comparison, the Jensen C12N sounds much better IMHO than the Creamback Clean and Overdriven / Distorted. The Creamback has a huge spike in the high mids (Like the Celestion Vintage 30) that makes overdriven sound "spiky and harsh", The Wharehouse ET65 is a version of the Creamback that eliminates that spike. If you want this amp to sound best with overdriven or distorted sound a good British option is the G12H (Heritage series) It´s a greenback, massive magnet, 30w (Real 30W) full range (not as mid forward as the Greenbacks found in Vox or Marshall) It cost almost as much as the Creamback, It´s a very efficent speaker (100Db) so pleny of volume with 22watt if you need It. Hope This Helps
I wanted to like the Celestion better on the drive/rock samples but I actually prefer the Jensen!
I had just the opposite experience. I assumed that I would prefer the Jensen, but I liked the Creamback better in every style.
creamback sucks. he should have used the greenback
@@ubdejones1 They are pretty close, so you must think greenies suck too. The cream is a higher wattage green.
most american spks (especially these new italy C12N) are far too harsh fizzy buzzy bees in jar for rawer overdrive and metal tones, only tolerable w smoother overdrive amps, or smoother pedals such as TS9 etc. Even for fender clean the new C12N is harsh and thin compared to vintage ones. I had one when they first came out...ouch. But vintage amercan spks also sound too bright thin harsh on overdrive type amps like old marshalls. Try them in real life like I did, you cant really judge from YT videos and other peoples gear and playing styles.
It has more mids
Clearly the answer is a 4x12 with one Jensen, one cream back, one green back and an alnico blue with 4 mics.. .
Negative ghost rider I'm gonna need 4 4x12s at home
Need an Emerson speaker in there
The Jensen was a natural sound. The Celestion sounded "musical" like it had a character all it's own.
Kudos! One of THE BEST speaker comparisons on the Tube! Truly showed the tonal characters of each speaker with all guitar types. Brilliant work!
Both sounds killer (probably courtesy of the player), Jensen is to me more "I have pretty much all the sonic space in mix as I want" and Celestion is "no matter what, you will hear me"
Exactly
@@backyard_expert in this demo, it was the Jensen that sounded to me more compressed. But I dont have real experience with it live.
Greenback muddy in live mix? Never noticed that.
I can’t believe I preferred the Jensen in every comparison, I’ve played celestions in every amp I’ve ever owned too
Cool! I prefer the Jensen in every style, although the last "rock distortion" with the Les Paul at least gave this Celestion a chance. That particular Jensen model just sings with this amp. Thanks!
Yes, I wanted to like The Celestion but it didn't work for me. Perhaps the Jazz/Clean sample was tied but that's not my style so I disregarded it.
The sound difference between the two speakers is MASSIVE! Great demo! I have a preference for the Jensen!
Thank you!
I absolutely LOVE how tamed and clear the jazz sound is through the creamback!!! I ordered a g10 greenback for my vox vt30 just yesterday, can’t wait to noddle around with an improved clean tone! Thank you for this comparison
Great to hear! Hope you enjoy the G10 Greenback
I liked both. If I had to pick just one.............Jensen
Thanks TJ, yeah the Jensen has a lovely sound. How about that rock distortion sound at the end though? I think I prefer the Celestion for that.
I have to agree with you on that.
Same here.
What suprised me in this clip is that the archtop sounds better to me with the celestion. It seems to me the Jensen is voiced too similar to the archtop - big low end and bright top but misses the mids and the celestion brings the mids out so nicely. Also makes me wonder how these compare in the mix.
Yep. And I thought the Brit did better with the funky stuff, too. But for blues or rock my impulse is towards the Jensen. Now for country twang on a Tele I'd go either way, even tho they're very different sounds. I like both, in different ways.
Agreed
I thought the same thing. This is the only guitar and style where I preferred the Celestion over the Jensen.
Such a stark difference! We spend so much time comparing amps and overdrives and the whole EQ could be changed by the speaker.
I liked the Jensen much more for almost any application. Have to get rid of my Creamback 😉
I liked them both. It would depend on which side of the bed I got up on as to which I liked best. Jensen is brighter and Celestion is a little darker and mellower. Would love to hear them matched in a 2 x 12 cabinet.
This video is amazing, thanks for putting it together! The Jensen definitely excels at clean tones, but gets kind of harsh with overdriven tones. The Celestion does everything well to my ears.
Both sounded great! I’d be happy with either. Considering that an amp can sound different just by moving it around a room, I’m sure most players could coax a usable tone out of either of these.
Both are nice but I like the Jensen best.
Thanks for the comment. It looks like the Jensen is most people’s favourite so far!
Excellent review :)
I wanted to pick a winner but....they both sound terrific...maybe a 2x12 cab with 1 of each would
be the greatest sound ever !!!
Good call!
I have a Deluxe Reverb, Like the American speaker for it. Want it sound the way it intended. I have AC30 and a Plexi for the British voice stuff.
Great demo man ! Sounds and looks awesome !
Hey thanks! Did you have a favourite?
Michael Banfield the creamback 💪🏻🔥
For anything clean like jazz, country, and funk I choose the Jensen anyday of the week, there's a reason most iconic Fender amps use it. For blues , at first I liked the Jensen, but when I heard the creamback I immediately prefered its thicker rowdier tone . For anything overdriven or distorted, whether single coils or humbuckers , I choose the creamback anyday of the week. And I'm really not partial in this case, since I'm an Eminence guy.
incredible demo and beautiful guitar playing friend. best regards!
Hey thanks!
Excellent demo. Clean and the funky the Jensen wins, but with a little durt, the Celestion is my favorite
Great comparison, I wanted to prefer the Celestion but I prefer the Jensen in every scenario.
I am pretty sure it would work better in a band situation as well.
I liked Jensen for clean tones, Celestion for anything with overdrive / distortion. Great video!
Interesting how the type of music being played really does suit different styles. Thanks for this.
Glad you like it!
Wow. Great Demo. Concise. I LOVE the Creamback. Probably the best single speaker there is. V30's mix well with Greenbacks and T75's, but alone, the Creamback 65 dominates IMO.
I got three quarters of the way through this video and then I subscribed! Fantastic demo! Thank you!
Jensen for sure for this demo. Great pedal platform as well. Having said that I do love my Marshall 4 x 12 with Greenbacks using a Friedman PT22 to rock out.
Jensen more articulate on the light stuff and a pleasing grind when played hard.
The best comparison I have seen here. Thank you so much.
The clean and funk and blues drive through the Jensen sounded sweetest
The Celestion for overdriven stuff
As everyone would expect
Amazing demo and great playing as well. Thank you.
I loved the JENSEN as soon as u played it, but then came the BEAUTIFULLY ROUNDED CREAM, Love it more.
Great video, thanks for your work. I prefer the Jensen, that’s the vintage Fender sound.
Good choice, thanks for watching!
For my single coils; the Jensen C12n. For my humbuckers; the Celestion G12m creamback! Glad I own 2 Fender amps.
good observation.
I’ve got a Weber alnico 12” Blue dog and a Silver bell in a 2x12 cabinet. Also have a 12” low watt Tone Tubby hemp cone in a 1x12”.
Celestion Creamback its my favourite xD i have one and i love how it color the sound of everything , but the Italian is a legend and a very sweet speaker too ;) , Happy new year for all you people ! xD
Good choice. Thanks for sharing!
it's amazing how much the speaker impacts the tone, more than actually changing the amp. to me, the jensens sound flatter and more neutral overall, with smoother highs - i love that about them. i prefer the celestions for a clean tone with a little bite, exactly for that midrange, although - or maybe because - they sound a lot more scooped. i don't like it that the scoop isolates the lows and that makes them feel a bit out of control, even though there's less of them, and also that they're a bit harsh, but overall i think the mids make up for that. a combination between them would make for the best speaker. or a 2x12 with one of each. i think the celestions would work better on a 2x12, anyway, where the mid-lows would be filled back in a little more, whereas these jensens were designed to balance a 1x12 just right. a humbucker would also have kind of the same effect on the celestions, plus subduing the treble a little. a subtle hint of chorus would focus the mids a little more on the jensens. for jazz. blues, and rock distortion i prefer the jensens, and the celestion for the rest. but i don't think it depends on the generic genre, as much as on the specific tone you're going for. great comparison, and nice playing!
Dude, high quality video! All around, literally every aspect! Including your riffage, brother!
Hey thanks for the nice comment Brandon that's really kind of you! Did you have a favourite of the two speakers?
@@MichaelBanfieldGuitar Not a problem, man! And i would probably say overall I slightly prefer the jensen to the celestion? it's so hard, I've been swapping back and forth in my own amp between a WGS G12C/S and WGS ET-65, and I like one and then I like the other, and then I play the british and it sounds amazing, and then I find a weird little thing it does that I don't like. I wish there was a combination of both sounds together in one speaker. I found the Celestion A Type and that sounds like it's up my alley, but its 50w and my amp is 65w solid state. I guess overall though, the american sound is what I prefer, although there are elements about the british tone that can't be beat.
Brandon Neumann I think I get where you’re coming from. I’ve heard very good things about those WGS speakers. How about putting one in a separate cab? Radial do a pedal that can switch between cabs too if you wanted to go all out!
@@MichaelBanfieldGuitar Not a bad idea! never really considered that I guess haha
Brandon Neumann it might be worth looking into. I think that’s what I’m going to do with my celestion. Hope that you find the tone you’re after anyway.
Great video. The Jensen spanks the Celestion on clean sounds but the Celestion kicks ass as soon as overdrive is introduced.
Thanks! Yeah the Celestion fits so well for those high gain sounds. Thanks for Commenting!
Interesting! Often with shoot-out videos I find I naturally prefer the first option in every case and whilst I thought the Jensen sounded nice, on every occasion I preferred the Creamback
I really like Jensens. I use mostly C12k’s and C10q’s. I was surprised that the Celestion caught my ear when you were playing jazz. I think I preferred the cream back for jazz. Thanks for the demo!
I know, you're right. I wasn't expecting the cream back to sound that good with a jazz tone either. Thanks for the comment!
Sounds so good on over the ear 50mm headphones 💆🏻
Really clear difference between the two in your video. That is helpful. Thanks!
Thank you, Michael! Love your product reviews/comparisons. Jensen the best to my ears. (and the quality of your playing and sound samples is fabulous).
In the living room the Jensen sounds great. In a mix with the band the mids in the Celestion make it a better choice. Bedroom tones and band tones are two different worlds. Thats why an EQ pedal is a must.
Yes I agree, real life results may vary! I tried my best to mic the amp as best I could to give a true representation of the sound of it in the room (see description) but yeah, sometimes you don't truly know whether a tone is really going to work for you until you go out and try it on stage at a gig with the band. Thanks for commenting!
The Celestion cream all day! I was suprised, since I built a 12 in speaker box with a Jensen MOD in it, and the MOD sounds good with a hint of vintage to it.
Good comparison. They are both good speakers, just different. Excellent playing!
I go with 2 amps, a jensen one the right and cream back on the left, panned at 10 and 2 oclock : i feel the jensen has a better driven tone and celestion has more bass on the cleaner side, so they complete each other perfectly
The rock stuff with the Lespaul and celestion was well defined and chunky love it.
Thanks for the comment! Yeah I agree, the Les Paul and Celestions are a great combination.
Nice job Michael!! I play Jazz, Swing, Country, Blues (Chicago, before they put the distortion in) and several other genres, and am trying to figure out what speakers to use.
It's almost impossible to find comparisons that are not totally distorted or jangly for cleans!
Your video helped a lot, as you actually PLAYED some Jazz and clean stuff, where almost all other folks test equipment with big distortion or with 63 digital pedals thru their tube amps!!
THANKYOU!!!
And nice Zephyr Regent BTW! I had '51 Zephyr Deluxe Regent & Triumph Regents, among several other NY & Kalamazoo Epi's
Glad it helped! I need to get around to getting a new pick guard made for my Epi, but yes I like the old Epiphone arch tops too, very jealous of your collection!
I liked each depending on what was being played. I’ve been wanting a 212 cab for a Friedman head and I’ve been comparing speakers SO…..I’ll get one of each of these put in my cab and that’ll be the fix. Thanks for the demo!!
Overall I prefer the Celestion G12m Creamback but like everything when it comes to guitar, its completely subjective.
I love the Jensen for the cleans and the celestion for the dirt.
Lovely, lovely. The only thing I was left wanting was a Left Right split of the two. You see, I have Creambacks in my 2 HRD's and the Jensens in an old Fender Speaker cab. The two together is where the magic happens by some ears.
That's a great idea! I really need to get another cab to house the other speaker in and then I'd be able to do stuff like that. If I do another speaker comparison I'll try to make sure to include a left right split, thanks for commenting!
@@MichaelBanfieldGuitar Or you could just double track it. You know, with headphones listening to the first pass, or maybe even reamp it. I.e. record the guitar straight in, and then play it back through a reamp box into the amp. That way the performance would be identical and you could do two takes, one with each speaker and pan them left right,
The rock distortion through that celestion was gorgeous
I'm liking the Jensen the most.
Both great. I actually thought the creamback was holding its own in the jazz example! Great video
Great review! I just ordered a pair of the Jensen's for my 62 blonde Bassman restoration. I was going to have the original Oxford's re-coned, but opted for what I think will be a sure thing with the Jensen's. I'll retain the originals in the event I sell the amp.
Preferred the Jensen right up until Rock Distortion when the Celestion killed it with that tone. Thank you for showcasing the speakers under different styles.
Great comparison video thanks for sharing! It’s really all subjective to each listener. However, I prefer the Jensen as it sounds more transparent and open allowing for the tones to ring through.
Wow that transition during the rock overdrive segment really summed up the us/uk difference perfectly. Great playing too, solid vid mate👍
Hey thanks! It's how I like to hear comparisons done anyway, glad you found it useful!
This really helped me make decision on my next amp, thanks!
That's brilliant! Enjoy that new amp.
Jensen all the way. I put a Jensen Special Design into a Peavey Rage 108 and wow, what a difference. Now this little 10 watt practice amp sounds good.
Both are great nobody's in life are the same allways thats why we need both of them
Wow that Jensen does it for me, great demo and playing, cheers !
History of Jensen® Loudspeakers
Peter Jensen
Peter L. Jensen dedicated his life to innovation and today's Jensen® musical instrument speakers continue the essence of that innovation. Peter L. Jensen was born in 1886 in Falster, Denmark and came to America in 1909. In 1915, working alongside Edwin Pridham, Peter Jensen developed the "Magnavox", the first loudspeaker. Magnavox speakers were predominantly used for public address systems, famously first used publicly in 1919 to amplify President Woodrow Wilson's speech in San Diego.
In 1927, Peter Jensen founded Jensen® Radio Manufacturing Company and began producing speakers for both military use and radios. The company later began to produce commercial loudspeakers for public use.
In the mid-1940s Leo Fender developed one of the first guitar amplifiers and chose Jensen® speakers for their excellent tone. Throughout the 1940s, 1950s and most of the 1960s, Fender®, Ampeg®, Gibson® and all the other major amplifier companies used Jensen® musical instrument speakers. Jensen® ceased production of their loudspeakers in the late 1960s.
In the late 1990s, under a licensing agreement, SICA Altoparlanti, an Italian speaker manufacturer, commenced production of the legendary Jensen® speakers. These Jensen® "reissues", after intensive research and analysis, are made to the same specifications as the original Jensen® speakers used by Leo Fender and others. Following the success of these reissues, Jensen® has released new speakers utilizing the same quality design as the original Jensen® speakers, but dedicated to modern music, including speakers in the Jensen® Jet Series.
The Jensen® name is synonymous with classic vintage tone, and is the pioneer in modern state-of-the-art speakers today.
I am just posting for those that might be interested to know the history of Mr. Jensen, the creator of the first loud speaker.
I installed a Jensen c12r in my 65 reissue Princeton 1-12. I can’t imagine a better tone, yet I still want to try more Jensen speaker.
The Jensen's pedigree through the 60's into the 70's and beyond is equal to anything else that was/is around. All gash no flash. Im putting 2 in an open back cab to run with a 15 watt tube amp.
An excellent job at accurately (in my opinion and experience anyway) presents the speakers in a realistic and helpful way!
*Outstanding Review!* Plus, your guitar playing is exceptional in every style of music that you covered. As for me, the Jensen sounded best in every category.
BTW: I am a huge WGS fan. I mix Retro 30's and ET-65's in my two speaker combos and four speaker cabs, and their G12C in my single speaker combo.
To my ears it’s the Jensen for cleans and cream back for dirt. However if I only had the choice of one speaker it would be the cream back as it gives the cleans attitude whereas for me the Jensen does not do the same for dirt.
I like les Pauls and sg’s throughout a Jensen c12n an singlecoil guitar trough a celestion speaker.
Thanks for a very useful video. The Jensen sounds livelier for clean tones, but the highs when distorted become unpleasantly piercing. The Celestion tames the upper harshness much better. I am experimenting with a two amp setup with one of each type of speaker. (Vox Ac 30 w/gb speakers is mostly one half.)
Great video, helped me understand the difference. Prefered the Creamback.
Great demo, the differences and similarities are very clearly evident.
What ultimately is the dilemma, then, is how does any one particular tone work in the mix of the band? Very often, less range, or less bottom, or less mids work best to not crowd the others, especially vocals.
So I suppose the choice comes down to one's willingness to maximally exploit whatever tone it is you've got, to make it work best in whatever situation it's placed.
Adapt, improvise, overcome! 😎
Very good point! Thanks for commenting.
Came here to decide which speakers I want but shiieet, now I need both speakers and another amp.
right?!?
Really great video! Your recording technique clearly captured the difference. I thought the Creamback sounded best with the higher gain but for cleans, definitely the C12N
Hey thanks for commenting! Great to hear your thoughts on the speakers.
After hearing it, I bought a Jensen but sent it back after a day test on my princeton ...Went back to my celestion.....feel it warmer and cozier
Great comparison! Celestion is a winner for my ears in every style, Jensen was very good at funk and blues but still prefer warmer Celestion sound
Replaced the stock Eminence (American Voiced) Speaker in my Fender Blues Junior III with a Vintage 30 and it gave the amp a completely different character. The thing with the Hot Rod/Blues series amps is that the amp circuits are a combination of Fender and Vox circuitry (all of those amps use EL84/EL34 power tubes instead of 6V6/6L6s), so experimenting with British and American speakers in those amps is a really good idea. I got the idea to use a Vintage 30 because the Limited Edition Blues Junior III had it as its main speaker. I almost considered the Greenback, but then I thought I'd want something with a bit more power. Definitely prefer the quality of the sound of that speaker to my stock Eminence, but it does change the mid-range characteristic a bit. My friend has a Tweed Blues Junior with a Jensen C12N and it sounded 10,000x better than my stock speaker, so If I wanted to experiment with more American sounding speakers, then Jensen is the way to go!
Interesting comparison! I've been playing for over 50 years and wondering how affected we are by our past. My opinion is the Jensen is a clear winner. Celestion better at rock due to less frequencies thus clear rock tone. In fairness, both speakers should be driven through an EL34 amp.
This is a great comparison, thanks. I have an old Pro Reverb 2x12 with neo creambacks in it at the moment. Might give some Jensens a go as nature intended one day
Clean: Jensen C12N
Rock Overdrive: Toss up, both sounded good, just slightly different flavors
Clean Funk: Jensen C12N
Blues Overdrive: Jensen C12N
Rock Distortion: Celestial G12M Creamback
Jazz Clean: Jensen C12N
I enjoyed the Celstion for all but the Jazz. The Jensen had that common Jazz sound. Not too dark and not too bright. But I favored The Celestion.
I use a Tele and a strat and my Fender amp had the Jensen. I swappd it for Eminence Canabis 12. I'n going to be looking into that cream back celestion now.
I would like to mention I mostly play Bass since 1974. Been through tons of equipment but finally stuck with Ampeg head and Celestion 15 and also have 12's I Always get a compliment on my tone when I play live. Oh, of course, Fender PJ Bass, and a Stingray Bass.
Good to hear you liked the creamback! It's a great, versatile speaker if you ask me. Shines with some overdrive.
Jensen for clean, Celestion for overdriven. Great video!!!
Good call!
The only answer is the Jensen in the combo and a 1x12 cab with the Creamback. I like them both. I bet the Jensen cuts through a mix a little better.
Couldn’t agree more. Thanks for commenting!
I have much experience with the Jensen C12, and I respect its quality, but I tend to prefer British speakers like your example. This is because the American speakers tend to have excess energy in the 1.5khz to 3khz octave and the American speakers (esp. Jensen) tend to be deficient in the 200hz to 400hz range like Fender amplifiers are and the combination makes a thin sound that is deficient in body (when combined with Fender). But the C12 is a quality speaker, and I know a number of jazz guitarists who love it.
Great info, thanks for commenting!
I own a 2x12 hard wood mesa boogie cabinnet with celestion heritage greenbacks. You wouldn't believe the sound.
This is a nice demo!
I can hear a clear difference, but I have no idea which I like better. So I would probably go with what I already have. I had a similar experience with the comparison between OD-3 and BD-2.
I guess it's just a matter of taste, some people like strawberry ice cream, some people prefer chocolate ice cream and others just like ice cream...and now I'm hungry.
It's important to note which speaker the amplifier was designed around. Since it's the last element in the chain, a lot of care is put into sculpting the sound BEFORE the speaker. Failing to consider this can lead to a shrill and ice picky sound in one corner, or a bassy muddy sound in the other.
Nice comparison. Good job playing different styles.
Hey, thanks!
Did you have a favourite?
quality video. Just ordered some Celestion v10 Vintage. I have a 2x10 cab (with Jensen C10Qs) and a 71 Bassman head and I'm going to try and do a similar shootout when they come in.
Sounds cool. And yes, there's no substitute for hearing the gear through your own rig with your own playing so that you can make an honest comparison and decision, good move. Thanks for commenting
Tasteful playing. Loved that. My choice would be the Celestion as an overall better speaker, to my ears. I like that it's not harsh on the ears as opposed to the Jensen. I don't say that it's not a useable or good sound, but the celestion is way warmer.
Thanks for commenting! Yes I agree, if you find Jensen harsh or shrill, the Celestion can be a good alternative to try.
I prefer the Jensen, it sounds really amazing, I'm definely gonna buy one in the near future
In a weird way the Jensen has that DI driven through a tube mic pre sound, sounded awesome for the funk riff and gave the first Rock riff some presence in the top. The Cream Back had alot more dirt to the sound and had that classic jangly mid range on that Blues riff, the extra mids and more rolled off highs gave the first Rock riff more punch and attitude than the Jensen but I could see these speakers working well in a 212 or 412 cab (the Cream Backs are often combined with a V30 or similarly voiced speaker to give a more full range sound). The interesting thing is during the Jazz section it seems like the differences between the two speakers is more negligible, probably because Traditional Jazz tones tend to be rolled off and using the Neck Pickup, so in that case it's more a question of what's more available to you in your area.
The biggest difference in tone is when you switch to high gain, the Celestion had a less harsh top end and more present lows for those palm mutes, and the Jensen started to get shrill and a touch lean in the lows (less of an issue when you're potentially starting to high pass the guitars during mixing). For high gain at least, a mix of both speakers could be a cool alternative to the typical "V30 57" tone, the high end presence of the Jensen and the lows and low end punch of the Celestion. In my use case I'd go for the Creamback but I can definitely see some potential uses for for the Jensen.
Best and intelligent speaker demo !! Thanks !!
Hey thanks!
I have a 2x12 with those Jensen's. Nothing sounds good into it unless it's a Fender amp. Which is why both speakers sound good in this video; you're using a Deluxe Reverb. I've run everything I own into my Jensen loaded cab - Hiwatt dr103, 69 Super Bass 100, vox ac30hw2, Dr z Mazerati, Greer mini chief, mesa tremoverb, 81 JMP 50 watt. The Jensen's sound horrible with all those amps. If I plug my hand wired Deluxe Reverb or my 61 Tremolux, they sound great. With the Celestion loaded cabs I have, everything sounds good.