So I ordered up two WGS Veteran 30 speakers last week and installed them in my Bluesbreaker style Sour Mash 2X12. I was able to really push them tonight in rehearsal and all I can say is, "Wow!" I'm extremely impressed. I'm running this cab with a '67 Bassman and keeping it pretty simple by using a Rocket Flex Drive for my main overdrive tone and pushing my leads with a Fulldrive II and using either my '65 Gibson Melody maker with a SD Antiquity humbucker or my Gibson LP with SD59's.
Man, I am really satisfied with the tone I'm getting out of these. The past few months I've gone round and round swapping out speaker to find the right tones with my amp/cab and still keeping my sonic footprint in the band with the other guitarist. I had a pair of Invader 50's which were nice but too warm for live use and I got buried (other guitarist uses a 2x12 with G12H30/V30 mix). I then mixed the ET65/Retro 30. I really like that tone but the highs in the Retro 30 were just a little too much for me and I needed more mids than the ET65 had to sit in the mix. Both amazing speakers on their own but they just weren't working for me with what I needed sonically in the band.
Knowing that the Veteran 30's are a mellowed out version of the Vintage 30's, I figured they would put me right in the mix with the other guitarist without us stepping on each others toes. I have to say these are perfect for my application. We play power pop/alternabilly style of music that's on the more American rock n roll side of things. I always equated the V-style speakers as a metal style speaker and used for palm muted, heavy distorted stuff so I've never given them much thought. I started hearing some sound clips of them and hearing them in the Suhr 2X12 cabs sealed the deal for me.
I've got to say, for straight up rock n roll, with the Bassman, in the semi-open back 2X12, these Veteran 30's flat out smoke. I love the crunchy overdrive tones and the harmonics that I'm getting are really nice. The lower mids are just perfect, thick and juicy without being muddy, the bass is tight with very quick response and the highs aren't overbearing at all, just nice and sparkly without any ice-pick whatsoever. For me, it's that type of overdrive sound that's almost addicting to listen too...if you know what I'm talking about. It's that sound that's in my head when I'm thinking of that perfect overdrive tone.
After a three hour rehearsal tonight, I could already feel/hear the speakers warming up and not being so stiff. I've had great luck with WGS speakers in terms of break in time and think these are only going to keep giving up the goods. I'm looking forward to also getting in the studio with these to see how well they record.
Thes are fantastic speakers and I've gotta give props to Trevor for helping me out a ton through this speaker selection process.
Awesome ... and thanks so much for taking the time to post your results here in such detail ... where we can all learn from your findings.
Vet 30 is EPIC in tone.
It's that missing ingredient tone seekers have spent decades looking for.