Call me crazy - Peavey Sheffield 1230

[FleshOnGear]

So I’ve posted elsewhere on the forum about the Peavey Bandit I picked up. I’ve been really impressed with the quality of sound that comes out of that combo, including the rich midrange produced by its Sheffield 1230. Last night I pulled the trigger on two Sheffield 1230s for one of my 2x12 cabs, costing less than $100 for the pair shipped.

There seems to be some disagreement over these speakers, about whether they’re any good, and about what they sound like. I’ve never owned a Celestion G12M Greenback, but to me the 1230 sounds like recordings I’ve heard of Greenbacks, with a little more hair on top. That hair is what people sometimes don’t like about the Peavey speakers, I think, but I like it.

I figure most of you will say I should stop wasting time and money and just get a G12M or a G12M-65, but I like what I’ve heard from the 1230 so far and they’re cheap. Right now I’m mainly trying to boost the mids coming from my 2x12 cabs without losing too much clarity. I guess soon I’ll find out if the Peaveys will do the trick!

Any other fans of Peavey cabs and speakers here? I used to have a 5150 4x12, but I didn’t like the Sheffield 1200 speakers that came in it. They were too scooped. I think the 1230 is a much better speaker.

 

[Central Scrutinizer]

I am interested in your opinion once you get the new speakers and try them out. Don’t know the particulars on all the Sceffield models, but have heard good things about them.

Wonder who made them for Peavey? Eminence? Warehouse? …?

 

[FleshOnGear]

I always thought Peavey made them, but maybe it was Eminence. The Sheffields are divisive, from what I’ve seen on forums. A lot of players love to slag them, but a lot of players think they’re great. A good amount are pretty blasé about them. They don’t get the respect that Celestion, Eminence, or even WGS get, so I think there’s a bit of unconscious snobbery happening. They had never been on my radar before the last month.

There might also be confusion over the different variations of Sheffields. It seems to be easier to tell different Celestions and Eminences apart. I have a pair of Sheffield 1200’s from a 5150 cab, and I HATE them. I’ve never heard the 1290’s before. Now I have this one 1230, and I think it sounds great.

I found a 13 year old Harmony Central thread where a user recorded clips of a Sheffield 1230 and a Greenback, then had other users guess which was which. The guesses were pretty well split. Unfortunately the clips are gone at this point - I would’ve loved a chance to hear for myself.

 

[Central Scrutinizer]

Will look for a speaker or two to try out , after your review.

I already like WGS speakers, they sound fantastic to me. Reasonably priced as well.

 

[mark123]

I used a Peavey stereo MS412 with Sheffield 1290s in it for many years. Probably 1994 until recently. I’ve replaced the Sheffields with Celestions just a few weeks ago. The cabinet is an absolute tank, indestructible even.

I do like the Celestions a bit better.

Let me know if you want to try a 1290.

 

[Gene Ballzz]

Funny story about the slant MS412 I had. I got it, a 1986 Laney Pro-Tube Lead 100 (wrong power tubes), BOSS SD-1 and a Milwaukee sawzall at a yard sale for $125! After giving the Laney new power tubes, re-bias and full service/checkup, that and the MS412 (not sure what number Sheffields) were a match made in heaven. Cabinet sounded pretty great with all my other amps too! Cabinet was an absolute tank! The Laney brought me $650 and the MS412 brought $150.
Just Happy Bein'
Gene

 

[FleshOnGear]

I think the MS412s all came with 1290 Sheffields. Out of curiosity I tried looking up vids comparing the 1290 to other speakers. I only found one, comparing it to an Eminence Governor. The 1290 sounded pretty good! But, I liked the Governor better in that video.

In the thumbnail pic of the video you can see the Governor has a much larger magnet. I have a feeling that the 1290 was Peavey’s take on the G12-65.

 

[FleshOnGear]

Will look for a speaker or two to try out , after your review.

I already like WGS speakers, they sound fantastic to me. Reasonably priced as well.

I need to stop being lazy and make some recordings of the different speakers I have, including the incoming Sheffields. I have quite a few, as my tastes seem to change every few years and I have trouble selling anything.

My wife and son are going out of town in July, that would be my best opportunity to track some speaker clips. I just need to find my SM57 - my son was playing rock star with it, and put it down somewhere weird.

 

[FleshOnGear]

Both of the Sheffields have arrived. The first one came very quickly and has been installed, the second one arrived two days ago and I haven’t had a chance to install it yet. The first Sheffield replaced a Celestion Heritage G12H-30(55), which awhile ago had replaced a Weber C1230-55.

This was my progression: I used the Weber for a long time because I liked its treble presence and it’s depth of bass, but eventually I found it too scooped in the mids. I next chose the Heritage Celestion because it had more mids and smoother treble, but eventually I felt like the mids were too “hot.” I use this description because the dominant mid frequencies it produces remind me of the noise you get when you throw a bunch of food in a searing hot pan. Then I stumbled upon the Sheffield 1230.

The mids from this speaker are much warmer, broader, fuller than what I got from the G12H-30. The low mids are there, and the upper mids are more rounded - there is a bit of an upper mid peak, but it’s wider and smoother, less sharp. Above those frequencies the treble is crisp but not harsh, adding a decent sparkle to cleans and sizzle to crunch tones.

I believe that what I call “sizzle” is the “can of bees” that others describe disparagingly. Some speakers seem to hit a brick wall above a certain frequency and cut off all higher harmonics, others seem to have an abundance of upper harmonics. I think the Sheffield 1230 is in the middle ground. To me it’s a warm speaker that has a measure of detail that enhances crunchy textures. This speaker is not like an EVM-12L, which to me sounds like it cuts off everything above 5khz.

This speaker is a keeper for me. It has warmed up and unscooped my mids. It’s not as mid-forward in my 2x12 as it is in my Bandit combo, though. I’m not well versed in Greenbacks, but to me this speaker sounds like a modern take on the G12M recipe, with broader frequency response.

I hope to get some clips done someday…

 

[DreamerDeceiver]

I thought they both sounded great for metal I like the Sheffield better. But the em sounded tighter.

 

[FleshOnGear]

EVMs are classic and very punchy, but they don’t have a lot of sparkle. I have a pair that I stopped using years ago. Maybe it’s time to try them again.

 

[DreamerDeceiver]

EVMs are classic and very punchy, but they don’t have a lot of sparkle. I have a pair that I stopped using years ago. Maybe it’s time to try them again.

Fresh ears, fresh tone !