Celestion
Celestion is a British designer and exporter of loudspeakers.
| Public | |
| Industry | Audio |
| Founded | 1924 |
| Headquarters | Ipswich, England, U.K. |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Products | loudspeakers |
Number of employees | ~50 |
| Parent | Gold Peak Industries |
| Website | Company website |
History
Origins
The work of what became Celestion started in Hampton Wick (suburban London) in 1924. Celestion Radio Company and Celestion Limited formed in 1927, and two years later the company moved across the Thames to Kingston. The company grew rapidly, but was hit by the depression. Wartime restrictions forced Celestion and the nearby British Rola Company to produce loudspeakers to the same specification; British Rola bought Celestion in 1947 and moved production to Thames Ditton a year later. The name of the company changed to Rola Celestion; with its products sold under the brand name Celestion. (MPP, later a camera maker, was formed as a subsidiary during the war.)
The company continued making radio, television, and "hi fi" speakers in the postwar years. Rola Celestion was bought by Truvox, a public address system manufacturer, in 1949.
In 1968 the company started production in Ipswich, moving all production there by 1975. The company merged with a clothing company in 1970 and the result was named Celestion Industries, which in turn became Celestion International in 1979.
In 1992 the loudspeaker part of the business was sold to Kinergetics Holdings, which also bought KEF.
Currently
Today Celestion International and KEF form GP Acoustics UK. In 2006 Celestion ceased to manufacture finished pro audio systems, and hi-fi/home theatre products, and now focuses on the design and manufacture of lead guitar, bass guitar, and professional audio sound reinforcement speakers.
Products
In 1982, Celestion built the SL6, a compact hi-fi speaker with a metal dome tweeter made of copper and designed with the help of laser interferometry. They followed this model with the SL600, which used a rigid honeycomb alloy called Aerolam instead of wood for the speaker casing, a material previously used only in the aerospace industry. Both these speaker models, while well regarded, are known for a somewhat "depressed" sounding high-frequency range from the relatively heavy copper dome tweeter. Later versions used an aluminium dome—a lighter and more efficient driver that provided an output more balanced with the woofer. The aluminium-domed versions, in the standard cabinet (MDF and wood veneer) were designated as the SL6s, and then (with an improved crossover and woofer surround) the SL6si. Aluminium-domed models using the Aerolam cabinet were designated as the SL700 and the SL700SE with dual inputs. Another version of the copper-domed model, with both the Aerolam cabinet and improved crossover elements, was marketed as the SL600si, also with dual inputs.
In 1992, Celestion produced the final variation of this design, as the Ten Year "Anniversary Edition" Model 100, which featured a conventional, but highly refined MDF / wood veneer cabinet, dual inputs, updated mounted plates, an improved crossover, the improved woofer design, and a variation of the aluminium tweeter with an updated faceplate.
The company says that the Celestion Blue was the world's first dedicated guitar loudspeaker.[1] The 1950s emergence of louder guitar amplifiers created a need for a rugged, reliable loudspeaker. Celestion responded by modifying their standard "G12" radio speaker. The tonal character, combined with valve amp circuits of the time, helped to define the electric guitar sound. It was rapidly adopted by pioneers of rock & roll and popular music throughout the late 50s and early 60s. The
A number of companies use Celestion speakers, including Orange Music Electronic Company, Fender Musical Instrument Corporation, Vox, and Marshall Amps.[2][3]
In June 2019, Celestion selected Sensey Electronics as its distribution partner in Mexico, to represent its entire range of pro audio and MI products.[4]
In September 2019, Celestion announced the launch of the F12-X200 guitar loudspeaker, the first speaker designer specifically for use with profiling amps, modeling software, impulse responses and other technologies which are designed for emulating the tones from guitar amps and speaker cabinets.[5]
References
- Speakers, Celestion. "From the Archive: Alnico Blue - Celestion". Celestion Speakers. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
- "Rig Rundown: Against Me!". Premier Guitar. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
- "MESSE 2015: New Range of Marshall Amps". Sonic State. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
- Hope, Fiona (10 June 2019). "Celestion appoints Sensey Electronics as distributor in Mexico". PSNEurope. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
- "Celestion Launches F12-X200 Guitar Loudspeaker Designed Specifically for Use with Profiling Amps and Modeling Software". audioXpress. 16 September 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2019.