Celestion
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Celestion is a British maker of loudspeakers.
The work of what would become Celestion started in Hampton Wick (suburban London) in 1924. Celestion Radio Company and Celestion Limited were 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 company British Rola 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 resulting company was Rola Celestion; that of its products, Celestion. (MPP, later a camera maker, was formed as a subsidiary during the war.)
Production of radio, television and "hi fi" speakers continued in the postwar years. 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.
Today Celestion International and KEF form GP Acoustics UK. In 2006 Celestion ceased to manufacture pro audio finished systems and now completely focus on the manufacture of guitar, bass guitar and pro audio drivers.
[edit] Products
Celestion broke new ground in loudspeaker technology when they presented the SL6, a compact hi-fi speaker featuring the first ever metal dome tweeter, made of copper and designed with the help of laser interferometry. They followed this model up with the SL600, which used rigid honeycomb alloy instead of wood in the speaker casing; a material previously used only in the aerospace industry.
The Celestion Blue can claim place as the world’s first dedicated guitar loudspeaker.[citation needed] The 1950s witnessed the emergence of the electric guitarist and Celestion responded to their needs for a rugged, reliable loudspeaker by modifying a standard "G12" radio speaker. The unique tonal character of what came to be known as the Celestion Blue, combined with the valve amps of the time, helped to define the electric guitar as we know it today.[citation needed] It was rapidly adopted by pioneers of rock & roll and popular music throughout the late 50s and early 60s. Other popular Celestion guitar loudspeakers include the Vintage 30 and the Greenback. Although Celestion speakers are used by a variety of different amp companies, they are probably most famous for their frequent use in Vox and Marshall Amps.
