Anaheim, CA — At this year’s Winter NAMM Show 2026, Celestion, the premier manufacturer of guitar and bass loudspeakers, is proud to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the legendary Vintage 30 guitar speaker. Since its introduction in 1986, the Vintage 30 has stood as the gold standard by which all other guitar speakers are judged, with sales to date exceeding two million units.
The Vintage 30 will be a centerpiece of Celestion’s NAMM exhibit, honoring a driver that has become a fundamental element of the voice of rock and roll. Originally developed for the Marshall Studio 15 combo, the Vintage 30 was born from a specific brief—to capture the magical, vocal tonal characteristics of original 1960s alnico speakers, but in a design utilizing a more cost-effective ceramic magnet and capable of handling heftier power ratings.
To achieve this, project engineer Ian White made pioneering use of Laser Doppler Interferometry—cutting-edge technology in the 1980s—to form a precise model of the original Celestion Blue’s cone behavior. While the original Blue used a paper voice coil former—prized for tone but prone to fire under high heat—White innovated by using a synthetic meta-aramid material. This material provided stiffness properties similar to paper but with much higher heat dissipation, allowing the driver to withstand increasing amplifier outputs while preserving the complex overtones guitarists crave.
The result was a speaker that represents power and durability taken to another level. By pairing Celestion’s Heavy magnet with this newly created cone assembly, a true modern vintage icon was born.
The design, components and specifications of the Vintage 30 reflect its status as one of Celestion’s most revealing speakers. It features a 12-inch diameter, 60-watt power rating, and an impressive 100dB sensitivity. Its tonal signature is defined by enormously detailed overtones, a warm low-end, a famously rich, singing midrange, and a beautifully detailed top-end.
For four decades, the Vintage 30 has been the definitive choice for players who need to cut through a dense mix with thump and projection, renowned for serving up a three-dimensional vintage crunch in 4x12 and 2x12 setups and is equally revealing in hand-wired boutique combos. This versatility has earned it the unwavering loyalty of many Celestion Partners in Tone such as Steve Vai and Slash, who said “I’ve been using Celestion Vintage 30 speakers my whole career and can’t imagine using anything else.”
“In 1986, we said the Vintage 30 re-established the standard for guitar speakers,” says Nigel Wood, Managing Director at Celestion. “Forty years later, its unwavering performance on the world’s biggest stages proves that it is still the revelation players can't live without.”
More information on the Vintage 30 is available on the Celestion website.
Visit Celestion at the 2026 Winter NAMM Show at the Anaheim Convention Center, Booth #6602, January 22-24, 2026.
About Celestion
With worldwide headquarters in Ipswich, England, Celestion design, develop and manufacture high-quality professional audio loudspeakers and compression drivers for sound reinforcement, as well as premium guitar and bass guitar loudspeakers. These world-renowned speakers are used onstage and in clubs, theatres and other venues the world over. With more than 100 years of success, the company continues to offer the latest technologies and innovations in the world of loudspeakers. celestion.com
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