Hey there! I've got a Mesa Stiletto Ace 1x12 wide body combo and I really don't like the Celestion V30 that came stock with the amp. I've already loaded the amp with some great NOS pre-amp tubes (Mullard and Telefunken) and I can tell there are fabulous tones to be had if I can find the right speaker to mate with the amp. I've listened to all the clips on this site as well as the YouTube demos and I've kind of narrowed my choices down to the Reaper HP, Retro 30 or ET65.
I play a wide range of music but mainly blues-rock type stuff. And a lot of time at lower volumes.I will be picking up a second 1x12 cab with a convertible back in the near future, so I'm looking for recommendations for both cabs...some advise to push me over the edge one way or the other speaker-wise. Not that it matters, but I am in the same city as your Canadian distributor (SteamCo) so I will be purchasing and picking up locally.
Well, of the three you've narrowed it down to:
The Reaper HP has a nice warm, balanced tone and is quite efficient (loud) and works equally well open or closed back.
The Retro 30 is the brightest speaker and is quite efficient (loud), but also has a lot of bottom thump; it sounds best in a closed-back cab.
The ET 65 is the warmest, sweetest, and quietest of the bunch and works equally well open or closed back.
Let us know what you decide ... and how it works!