Speaker driver questions / recommendations / thoughts

[silikon]

All,
So as of late I have wandered down the path of getting a custom cab built up (thanks to evenyone's suggestions) - and now my mind is a flutter with all the choices of drivers out there.

Originally, I had wanted to get two Celestion G12H (55hz) and two G12Ms. After looking, and a bit of comparison, some/most vendors seem to reference Celestion builds or tone similarities.

I happened upon WGS drivers, and it almost appears that they're a close facsimile to the heritage models I originally wanted. Then there's the Eminence drivers, Weber, Austin Speaker Works... the list goes on and on.

Does anyone have experience going down this path? I've always just stuck with whatever cab I bought (Orange, Mesa, Egnater) and didn't really do much to replace speaker drivers. I just want something that will have a solid low-end to it, and have the high end rolled off a bit, with a bit of mid presence. My aim when I went down the route of getting the two heritage series speaks was that one had a lower resonance, and thus, held better at the lower registers, and the greenbacks had a rolled high end, and good mids that would cut, so I thought It would be a decent setup. But. Expensive. Silly money.

How do the other speaker manufacturers stack up in terms of tonal variation, build quality, and overall longevity (as long as you're not daft and driving them to failure)? Any assistance would be greatly helpful, and as always, if this has been tackled on the forum before, I humbly apologize.

[MEC]

I like Eminence speakers and, like WGS, they offer their versions of most of the Celestion stuff.
Their GB128 is a great Greenback type speaker and I also like the Cannabis Rex for rolling off some highs.

[braaandooon]

I like my Weber Amsterdams, basically a Celestion Lead 80 with a hemp cone which rolls off some highs. Plenty of bottom and mid content.

Not sure if higher wattage speakers are your thing, but I've aquired 2 quad's of Celestion G12k-85's over the last year for next to nothing. Basically I browse craigslist for late 80's Peavey MS 4x12 cabs which are somewhat plentiful in my neck of the woods. Just have to make sure they are not loaded with scorpions, although those are nice as well.

I yank the 85's and sell the empty cabs for half of what I pay for em. BAM!!! 8 G12k-85's for $100

The 85's were eventually relabled as G12k-100, which is what Orange loads their cabs with for the most part. My favorite all around speaker.

[silikon]

Well, after days of procrastination, I finally settled on a duet of Weber Gray Wolves, and a duet of Weber 1230-55's. The guys at Weber were fucking outstanding in answering my questions and getting somewhat technical about things. Not having used anything but Celestion speaks in the past, I wanted to go a little off the beaten path, and I think this will definitely do that.

I liked the idea that the Weber's were individually built to order, and doped as you request. Looking forward to getting them and hearing how they sound together. This will mark the first time I actually have a custom cab and speakers exactly how I want them. Totally psyched.