The Celestion 100 celebrates the world’s first purpose-built guitar loudspeaker which, in various guises, has voiced some of the most legendary and memorable riffs and solos of all time.
Now available in IR format, the Celestion 100 is born of a painstaking research and development process, analysing, understanding and then replicating the very essence and tone of these exquisite collector’s items.
Commemorating 100 years of Celestion, this speaker is a must-have for any fans of vintage Celestion and will make an excellent addition to any IR library.
The History
Paying tribute to Les Ward — our chief engineer until 1979 — the Celestion 100 channels the legacy and tone of our G12 speakers from the late 1950s and early 1960s including the Alnico Blue, the first speaker ever purpose-built for the electric guitar.
By the late 1950s, it was clear that the popularity of rock and roll music was an unstoppable juggernaut. Since its central instrument was the electric guitar, and guitar players were crying out for more powerful amplifiers, Mr. Ward sought a design that could withstand the increased heat and vibration the guitar imposed upon a speaker in newer, beefier amps.
A strengthened version of the original G12, which began life as a general-purpose speaker meant for radios, was the fruit of his efforts.
The G12 has long been the gift that keeps on giving; our current product family includes many variations with frequency responses and power handling capacities tailored to different musical applications and genres. The new Celestion 100 sits at the head of this table, inspired by the unique tones of those early alnico speakers.
The Tone of the Celestion 100
You can expect a blooming low end and bell-like treble coupled with a sweet, shimmering midrange presence. When driven into distortion, the Celestion 100 compresses gradually and musically, softening the notes’ attack in the tradition of great Celestion alnico speakers.
It all adds up to tone and aesthetics that are as credibly vintage as any speaker can achieve, but with performance that is perfectly at home in a modern live performance or music production context.
With the Celestion 100 IRs, we’ve immortalised the tones of this very special speaker for guitarists to use in any situation.
Celestion 100 IR Cabinet Configurations
The Celestion 100 IRs are available in the below cabinet configurations, either as standalone IR files or together as a pack;
- 1×12 Open Back
- 1×12 Closed Back
- 2×12 Open Back
- 2×12 Closed Back
- 4×12 Closed Back
As with all our other impulse responses, the Celestion 100 IR is downloaded in .WAV format ensuring full compatibility with the majority of DAWs, IR plugins and amp modelling software.
With Celestion Impulse Responses, you can download and use authentic Celestion guitar speaker tone quickly and easily with your digital rig whether you’re at home, in the studio or ready to play live.