This is what happens when a competent, intelligent person puts together a comparison video. That was excellent.

Came for the speaker comparison, stayed for the Excel tutorial.

From now on, when I encounter a poorly-executed gear comparison video, I'm going to point them at this video. Amazing. This sets the standard of what a gear comparison video should look like. OP worked hard to eliminate confounding differences between the tone of the two speakers, and showed us exactly what's the same and what's changed. Additionally I like the way OP switched back & forth throughout the comparison, rather than playing for 2 minutes on one setup, then another 2 minutes on the other. It's much easier to compare the tones this way. Bravo!!

thank you so much for switching back and forth quickly! wish all demos did this

One of the best speaker comparison videos I have ever watched! Thank you for taking the time to make it 👍🏼

I have several of the Vox AC handwireds in various power sizes, and all are equipped with the blues. I too have often wondered how the blues and greenbacks differ in these amps. This is just an excellent demo all the way around. I can appreciate the production time that went in to making this. Add bonus points for slipping in MS Excel. While I still prefer the blues for what I play 90% of the time, your demo makes me think I wouldn't miss them too much if I had greenbacks, and the higher gain was clearly better to my ear with the greenbacks. Although when I play higher gain through my blues, they sound just fine to me as well. Thanks again and keep up the good work.

For those who do not know how retail pricing works, I will explain. I am not endorsing or applauding this, I am just explaining (I worked for Avid and M-Audio). Retail Price = Cost x TheMultiplierNumber. Wholesale Price is usually 50% of the MSRP. Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) = some fraction of the MSRP that is usually fixed, like 80%. In one of the companies I worked for, TheMultiplierNumber was 5. So, if the Cost to build a widget was $100, then the MSRP would be $500, and the Wholesale cost would be $250. If it cost $200 to build a Knutenvalve, then the retail would be $1000 ($999, for the psychology) and the wholesale would be $500. This is why the cost of the alnico blue speakers isn't exctly 308 euros higher than without. The speaker changed the cost of build, which drastically affects the multiplier (and often, the profit margin).

Greenback for gain tone. Blue for clean tones. May as well put 1 of each in the amp! Best of both worlds.

Watching this 6 years after you posted it. What a brilliant demonstration between the two amps. Perfectly done. I’ve played a greenback but never a blue. This has given me the answers to get a blue. Thank you

As far as I can hear, not enough sonic difference to justify the price difference. Sometimes the Greens sounded better, sometimes the Blues did. Depended on the guitar, the mike and the distortion. I think one could be happy with either. I have an AC30 with Greens and wouldn't start a Blue hunting project on the basis of this video. Excellent vid BTW. Very complete and well put together. Thanks!

This clearly took a lot of effort, and is extremely well done. Thank you! I bought an AC15 and replaced the greenback very easily, I'm surprised to find I prefer the normal channel sound of the Greenback but the top boost blue speaker sounds a lot better to me. Super interesting video!

By far the best speaker comparison video I’ve ever seen. Perfectly executed

I really appreciate how you kept playing while switching amps, so it was really easy to tell the difference. A lot of people take a long time to switch and talk in between, so you lose the sound of the amp in your head. Overall this was a nicely laid out comparison. I personally based on the video prefer the sound of the the Greenbacks.

To me the Greenbacks sound better for the thrashy stuff, but everything else sounds better with the Alnico Blues. This was very helpful, just ordered an AC30HW2X, thanks for the video!

The Blue went better with the top-boost channel, but in the normal channel the Greenback sounded great and less boxy than the Blue. Nice work Max.

Some of the rare VERY GOOD comparison videos on youtube. Thx

I recently just bought a used Ac30 cc2 from the mid 2000’s. Came with alnico blues. I’ve tried a lot of vox amps of the years. This is the first one I actually like. I say give the blues a try. It’s the classic combo.

Thanks for providing the comparison video. I have a buddy that keeps telling me to upgrade the greenies in my AC30C2 to blues. I realize Alnico magnets are superior but I really didn't hear 'that much' of difference to warrant the expenditure. I'm 65 and my ears just aren't what they used to be. I just bought an AC10C1 with a creamback (should be here this weekend) - looking forward to comparing the two amps. I know I'll be happy with the +/- 45 lb. weight reduction.

I don’t know of a better prepared & executed comparison video. Fantastic job!

I find both speaker types sound good in their own way. For clean, the blues imo are clearer and warmer, more organic. Greens for crunch and rock. Very interesting.

Thanks for the demo. There's a noticeable difference in the sound of these speakers when used in a traditional style 6 input non-master volume AC30 such as an AC30/6TB or TBX. The Blue has a more pronounced upper midrange response. Together with its lower power handling capacity, this allows the Blue to translate more of the amp's chiming sound at lower volumes. The Blue gets the "blizzard of nails" tone better than the G12M25 Greenback. The Blue is also audibly louder than the Greenback at lower settings. But the volume difference disappears as you turn the amp up, and the Greenback lends the amp a more focused sound as you push the volume. The Greenback never gets unattractively ragged sounding in the highs at loud settings as the Blue sometimes can. The two different speakers make a great sounding mismatched set with an AC30.

Thanks for taking the time and effort to post this up as I am in speaker selection and these tests were a real help. --- Alnico..

Fucking hell this was the perfect comparison video!! Quick swap with no distractions, Fender and Gibson clean, then up to the highest gain, different generes, clear graphic help, all in 8 minutes!!!! Please do more

Same here. I've been pining over blues for my ac30/6tb ($550!!), but no longer. Someday it may get one for Christmas, but not this year or next. Thanks for the amazing video.

Was going to switch my greens to blues.....not anymore.

Wow! Thank you for your research and that your doing this in English it’s helping me immensely with my decision to purchase one of these amp. Your insight, research, and use of common resources to find information is impressive. Tausend dank!

They both sound great. You cant go wrong with either speaker.

i preferred the more mid focused green tones in this excellent comparison. It did make me wonder if adjusting the tone stack to find the sweet spots for each speaker may have highlighted benefits overlooked with a flat tone stack. of course that's a lot more variables to track! thanks for the video

I have a Vox Ac30 with greens, but also thought I would prefer the Blues for a more authentic Vox sound, but now I am happy with my greens......

I choose greenback, more balanced. Blueback has more presence at crunch, especially top boost. Thx bro, excellent work.

First of all, amazing comparison! Here's what I heard: Blue's cleans were fuller w/ more mid range, less of a "nasal" tone. Liked them better than the greens. Blue's "crunch" tones on the non-top boost channel were really full, sounded almost like a Marshall! Green's crunch tone were not nasal, but retained top end-clarity better than the blues. I liked the blues better, but greens weren't bad. On the top boost channel, for some reason the Blue's had more treble, but also were not as clear - sounded more "vintage" whatever that means... Greens didn't have the filter effect or top end of the blues. I liked both, but they were very different. I noted more clarity with the condenser mic compared to dynamic mic. I liked the condenser better in every situation.

Jesus I went through so many videos before I found this one.Had I found it first it would have been the only one I needed. Great job.

Watching in 2024. Great video and one of the best comparisons I’ve ever seen and not just music gear but for any product. I recently bought an AC15C2 with Greenbacks and was curious how they would compare with the blues. While they do sound different each had their strengths but I wouldn’t say one was better than the other overall. I’m perfectly happy with the greenbacks and the blues don’t sound THAT much better to justify the price difference of upgrading

The narrator sounds like an evil professor plotting world domination before lunch.

It's interesting (to me) that so many people seem to prefer the greens for overdriven tones and the blues for clean tones. For me, it's the reverse. The greens seem to have a more open sound, and sound great clean but get a little muddy/too warm when overdriven; the blues sound more compressed, and thus stiff when clean, but really articulate and defined (not at all muddy) when overdriven. But yeah, amazing comparison video. Unexpectedly helpful!

This video earned a "subscribe"! EDIT (4 years later) I finally got an AC30C2X! I found a great used one and I jumped on it. This video still stands out as one of the best demonstrations of the amplifier’s capabilities.

The Greenbacks sounded richer to me. This video helped me decide on the speaker for an amp build.

Brilliant, thank you. This is the best way to make a video of an A/B comparison. A few seconds of A then a few seconds of B. Our ears and our short term memories can process this.

Great comparison. THey are both great speakers. I use Greenbacks in all my amps. I actually like how dynamic alnico blue is, gives you that sweet clean tone but when it comes to gain, the woody rock sound of a greenback speaker is unbeatable. If you are lucky enough to have one of each, why not. In reality, there is no better or worst, it depends how you like your tone to b. I also like V30s for rhythm guitars.

Blues seem to have more clarity and a truer representation of the vox sound

Thank you for taking the time to do a useful comparison.

I'm so glad mine has the blues.

A bit late to the video but something else to consider is the manufacture of the speakers (British made AC30/6 TBX Blues, early JMI Blues/ current Blues)...and how the speakers and amp break in over time. I have a 2001 TBX (blues), my bandmate has a mid 1990's TB (greens), both Korg Vox but made by Marshall in the UK (until they moved production to China and Vietnam in late 2003). Both amps are broken in and both sound amazing (especially when played at a volume where the tubes are being pushed so you have that natural breakup. Both take turns to shine in different conditions (certain pedals (especially a Crowther Hot Cake (IYKYK)), different songs live versus the recoding studio, when playing live with our bandmate with his Mesa Boogie Maverick Dual Rectifier (2×12 Combo) or when my Mesa Boogie Mark III is also being used. They each sit in different places in the mix and if played alone might sound a bit off but when played in a mix they take their turn to shine. Different tools for different jobs is really what it comes down to. I will say that the normal channel of each is excellent with pedals and if you're patching between the normal and brilliant (Top Boost) then you get a whole other gear to shift into. So versatile. I suggest that if you're going to get Blues then get them directly from Celestian in the UK or buy yourself a well maintained (not abused) UK made TBX. Those Amps are made like the vintage JMI's to be out of phase. Otherwise just go with the greens and swap out one speaker for a blue (so you have one of each) to give you a nice blend.

Just music Berlin is my local store also, they have like five floors and a rooftop bar on top where you can relax after a day of trying different instruments

Great comparison - I have a pair of JMI era AC30s, one which has non-original Greenbacks (serial number dates them to late 1969 - so those are post-JMI, probably came from a Marshall cab or something), and another with the original blues. This is the same kind of difference that I hear, really - the one with blues has a much wider spectrum of sound but with quite a soft, smooth character to how it projects the sound, the top end is very sweet, the bass is kinda loose but not in a muddy/flabby way. By contrast, the one with greenbacks has a kind of dirtier quality to the sound, much more direct with a more focused and punchy midrange character. Both sound glorious, though. It really depends whether you want the more angelic, airy sound of the blues, or the more aggressive, focused sound of the greenbacks, as to which speakers you should go for. I love both, but for different things.

Fantastic analysis of both tone and price! To me, the Blue sounded '60s, and the Greenbacks more '70s, with overdrive bringing out the differences. I'm not sure I'd pay the premium for the Blues, but they clearly have their place. Vielen Dank!

Both great, BLue is truer to the vintage Vox tone even you could say with some similarity to the Fender Tweed Deluxe and greenbakcs sound more like Marshall JTM, but it all depends on what you want.

Good vid. I'm not looking to drop a fortune on blues now. While there may be small differences in A-B comparisons (and personal preferences),I always remember that when gigging in a band with other instruments, vocals and audience - nobody's going to hear the subtleties of £000's spent on speakers that close in sound.

Fantastic video. Intelligently put together, very complete and revealing of the tonal difference. Wunderbar my friend !

Great Vid Mate. Both sound Great in different ways, Blues for Me

Excellent comparison, nicely done. Blues for the cleans and Greenback for the dirt.

After playing a Gibson 345 for 10 years, I picked up a Tele and was amazed I could play lower register melody that still cut through the band. If you like that, pick Alnico-Blue.

This videos has been made in such a perfect way, i really loved it. Even tough i do understand why Alnico Blues are loved, i prefer to stay with Greenbacks, for me does not support the expensive price.

This was a real comparison that could be used. I could hear only a slight difference with some combinations and I have been playing for 55 years. Maybe my ears are shot, but if I can't hear a lot of difference I suspect that most people an audience can't either. I don't know about others, but my audiences aren't composed of professional musicians, a few maybe, but not the majority of the people. Overall, it doesn't sound enough different to be worth the price. I have been considering a Vox amp and I think I will stick with the greenbacks. I never thought I would say that.

I love greenbacks for Marshall JTM-45 circuits. But with an AC30, the Greenbacks sound like you threw a blanket over the cabinet (until you get to the very high gain, then you hear why the greens are better for Marshalls). All the stock Vox amps come with Blue Speakers made in China. So the best deal is to buy separate UK/English Blue Alnico Speakers (lightly used if possible to have them broken in) for a better value and better speakers (with even more complexity to the mids than you hear with these Chinese units). Sell the Chinese Greenbacks, or keep them as backups... or for your next Marshall. GREAT test video! You can really hear the differences.

The key takeaway from this should be tone is more than the amp: its also the Mic, pedals, and guitar. Good stuff. Personally, I love the greens with a condenser but the blues certainly shined on a 57!

I prefer the blue ones, although I like how the greenback sounds on this video too.

Hi Max Solo, Super pro job ... many could learn a few things here! Thx /Jens

Excellent and fair test ! the only trouble is the quality of your effort is defeated by a wide range of limitations. 2 inch Computer speakers, poor sound cards, tone stacks in sound cards, well I could go on but I think the answer is obvious.....This is in the ear of the live buyer. Having heard the amps live, I can tell you there are subtle but important differences. Can you hear the difference in tone of a Vox amp played on 120/60 AC versus 234.0 volts at 50 cycles/second. That makes a huge difference. To 99 people in a hundred there will only be a perceived difference, not a measurable one on an oscilloscope. In all fairness the riffs played were close but not identical in all variations. A tone generator would have been a better comparison.

Brilliant video editing skills! Great production. The Blues have more upper midrange punch and the Greens are slightly more "scooped".

Really to truly show the difference amp needs to turned up enough to push the speakers, That's where the difference is. I have both of the speakers in my AC30. The blue really shines and becomes magical when pushed, the green has a great Marshallish tone when pushed. Also are these speakers broke in? Makes a big difference..there's reasons why the blue is so regarded and expensive but worth it..with amp volume on 1 or 2 can no way show what these speakers can do..

This is an excellent video. Switching from one speaker in an instant playing the same riffs made it easy to tell the difference. And showing at the top all thru the video made it so you can go to any spot in the vid and know what your hearing. Thanks for posting. So many people swear by the Alnicos but the difference to my ears is minimal and not worth paying for.

Really well made comparison! Congrats!

The blue is what I consider the classic VOX sound. Especially with single coils. It was pretty apparent in this video. Great work!

Very good comparison video.

For the most of the common players greeenback will fit. Thank your for this video, I like your clear empiric approach. Well done, you deserve a lot more subscribers!

Almost bought an alnico blue model. Thank you for this video

For clean, crunch and moderate distortion it’s Alnico Blue for the win?

Excellent demo! I have both an AC30C2x (Alnico Blues) and a recently acquired AC15HW1 (Green Back). I'm loving the mid-range crunch I get from the GB on the AC15 but after seeing this video I think I might swap it out for one of the Alnico Blues on the AC30 and see what happens. Thanks again! Cheers.

To my ears the difference was not enough that could not be tweaked by the tone stack. Thanks for the work, you presented the case perfectly.

Very good info and demo of the two, thank you.

I recently bought an AC15 with greenback. I noticed then that it was cheaper to buy the greenback amp and purchase a blue speaker seperately, plus you have a spare greenback to keep or sell. I won't be swapping out my greenback, I think it's different but not better or worse, and I find it a bit warmer which I prefer. Most important fact with the blue that's not mentioned here, is that it is more efficient and noticeably louder if you need the extra volume.

That was excellent. Thank you! Both speakers sound great in their own way.

I bought the AC30 with greenbacks. The blue are better for some things and not for others. Spent the savings on pedals.

Alnico all the life! More "umphf" and even translate better the amp channels change... i mean... when you switch from normal to crunch and then to top-boost... the Greenback tends to enphatize the lows (sounding more like the Alnico normal and crunch)... while the Alnico push better the top-ends. So to me the Alnico are more "hi-fi" in waht the amp really do... AND... well... if you want THAT "RAMP" in the transients attacks (if you know what i mean... about Mr. May!)... well ... so Alnico Blue is the way to go! Great... really great video BTW Man!

Loved the greenback

Now I want a 2x12 cab with both speakers even more.

If I were to close my eyes I'd swear the entire video was made with one amp. That's how close the sounds were to my ears. I was leaning towards the blue in an ac15c1 but I may juat save the $200 and get an extra couple of pedals instead.

Great video, you really helped me. Gotta get a '03 english with greenbacks!

wow, this might be the best comparison video ever, please make more

I’ve owned an AC15 GB and AC30 AB. What struck me with the blues is that the sound is very immediate and note articulation really clear. Both amps also need to be turned up to a sweet spot to open up. The 30 takes your ears off!

Grea Comparison...thanks for taking the time to make this......Blue just edges it for me

Great video! It shows how much the mic choice colors the sound, much more than the different speakers actually.

Funny that I have expected more chime from the Blue speakers but the Greens bite more. I would put it this way: Blues = more presence, more rounded sound, Greens = more bite, more midrange. Excelent video, now it shows clearly that the Blues don't have more bite, maybe a tad much top end, bu less mids. Greens are equally good alternative for Vox amps.

Wow dude this is an awesome vid. I liked them both but eyes closed, same settings, blue sounds like a Marshall to my ears. And I would prefer Greens in the mix.

It's highly logical actually. It's basic economics. When you buy the amp you buy the amp and not just the speaker. The market value of the amplifier is increased more by adding the Alnico Blue than just the speaker itself. Or another way to look at it, the amp adds value to the speaker.

I use a 2x12 Vox Cab with Greenbacks with my JTM45 and it sounds amazing. I'm getting a gold when I get around to it for one of my 1x12 cabs. The Greens sound better with distortion IMO while the blue (gold in my case) is great for those chimey cleans.

Such a good demo, thanks! Probably gonna go with the greens!

Awesome demo, thanks! I love the Alnico speakers for cleans, but with any gain the Greenback speakers win.

Excellent, well thought out comparison video. I prefer the Greens. I'm going to check out any other videos you have done now.

I have one blue and one green in my ac30cc2 and I want to put another blue in. The greens are good, but a little too warm bc I wanted the classic clean jangle. I think there's more character with the blues, both when clean or crunched. The green isn't a bad speaker it just makes me want a little more expression/color than what it delivers.

I've got a VOX AC-15 with a Celestion Alnico blue. I've also got a VOX AC-30 with 2 Celestion Greenbacks. Last I've got a VOX AC-50 head. I run a 4x12 cab with Celestion Vintage 30's and another 4x12 cab with 2 Celestion Creambacks and 2 Celestion 70'th anniversary speakers. Vintage 30's sound good for other amps but to me they don't sound as good running through the Vox. They don't sound bad, they just don't sound as good as the other Celestion speakers.

Thanks. Saved me a load of money. There is not enough difference to justify the extra cost IMO. It's nothing that you couldn't do with the tone controls.

I hear the difference, but in many ways it's simply choosing a color you like better... both are good Although I think would lean blues for cleans and genres other than metal.

I've got an ac30 with greens. The blue's have a bit more treble to my ears than the greens but I like them both, the cleans on greens with the right tubes and dialed in are very clear and warm. If you weren't comparing them I don't think most people would be able to even tell the difference without looking for it consciously though. What's important for these large amps is how they sound in a mix, because that's where they're most likely to be used, with a band and other instruments. I think the blues might cut through better but who knows. Greens have served me well in loud band settings without anyone even bringing it up lol so I'd say anyone will be just fine with greens- get blues if you have the budget. Great vid btw.

Excellent video, sets a new standard for how it should be done. Thank you! I think Greens would be me preference after watching.

I have one of each in my AC30 and it sounds great.

Excellent comparison video. Both speakers sounded excellent. I think the Greenbacks were more to my liking though. Subscribed. Cheers from Ontario, Canada.

I like the Greenback more and thank you for upload this video.

Blue seems to be more focused on the mids, but Green is more trebly and harshy and it could help to cut through the mix. But i prefer the sound of Blue.