Eminence Legend GB128

I bought a new Blackstar ht5 just after Xmas. I loved the clean sound but I couldn't get a crunchy rock tone whatever I did from channel 2. I swapped the Celestion vintage 30 out of another amp which added some bass chunk but still sounded mid-rangy in a bad way with a pretty horrid fizzy top end. Just on the reviews I plumped for the Legend GB128 and have been really impressed. I rarely turn the gain full up on any amp but immediately the rock tones for rhythm or lead are there. Also the tone controls seem to be much more effective. This speaker doesn't give the glassy hifi cleans of the stock speaker. It doesn't break up but rather it rolls off the clean high frequencies a bit too much. I connected my Bassbreaker 15 but I wasn't convinced. The other thing in noticed is that although it has a high sensitivity it doesn't seem too loud for home practice. Maybe not a speaker for all sounds or amps but luckily is great with the ht5r mk2.

I was indecisive for a while between these and a Celestion speaker, but in the end I am glad I opted for this speaker.

It has mounting foam both on the inside and outside of the rim so it can be mounted fro the front or the back, which is a nice addition for a speaker this price.

I bought this for a 1x12 cab to match an Orange Micro Terror (20W) following the 'guidance' of doubling the wattage of the speaker to the amplifier to protect against those nasty spikes.

The metal construction might be a little thinner gauge metal than the more expensive speaker, but then again most speakers are generally around 1.5x to 2x the price of this speaker, so can't really knock a star off.

Sound wise, I am very happy. There is a good mid range punch to the sound. Playing mainly rock and blues this fits my sound very well and makes a perfect match to the Orange micro amps.

Highly recommended

I used to own two of GB128s ages ago in a cab that is now long gone and it was paired in a X pattern with two v30s. Recently a friend and I built two 4x12s and I since I had good memories of a GB128s, we just pulled a trigger on 8 of Gb128s to fill those two cabs.

It is - sort of - Eminence's take on a Greenback, but with a higher power rating. It does resemble the Greenback a bit, has that "woody" tone, and overall the speaker is very very warm! If you have shrill highs and icepicky highs with V30s - this speaker is much smoother. I could be said that it is on the darker side, but it is not. It is just that well balanced and lack any kind of high mid spikes in the 2kHz to 4kHz region that is known for various Celestion speakers.

Paired with a Hiwatt DR504 - perfect vintage woody tone with thick bass and strong mids. Paried with a Laney VH100R - copes with high gain great, does not fart out, stays tight, mids are there, highs are not over exaggerated! Ampeg V4 - excellent! Any amp we tried and A/B-ed them with an Orange v30 cab, it just rips and blows it away, much smoother tone, thicker lows, and excellent tone!

This is a sleeper speaker, goes under everybody's radar. Sensitivity is quite high - over 100db, and it delivers quite a punch! Best bang for the back in the guitar speaker realm. It is not a Greenback, but provides a bit modern take on a true classic.

Highly recommended!!!