Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: dragonfire709 on April 19, 2012, 07:41:35 PM
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i've come to the conclusion that my current 4x12 is the weak link in my rig at the moment. Im still using my H&K vortex cab that I bought maybe 15 years ago. Its been ultra reliable and battered around over the years, but its starting to develop a few rattles and creaks. I also suspect it doesn't project as well as it could.
So, I'm looking for a good solid 4x12 that projects well but doesn't cost the earth. My current band plays rock, so don't need anything too Metalz. Should I stick with a good old Marshall 1960, or are there some hidden gems out there?
Thanks in advance for your wisdom.
Cheers
Roy
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it depends what you are looking to spend.
For great tone at a bargain price check out roadkillcabs.
Theyre are UK based company and are super cheap and will customise anything you want within reason.
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A used Orange or Matamp would get my vote.
If your speakers are OK, how about an empty Zilla cab?
Either of those are better than a cardboard 1960 Marshall...
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A used Orange or Matamp would get my vote.
If your speakers are OK, how about an empty Zilla cab?
Either of those are better than a cardboard 1960 Marshall...
have you seen the insides of the modern orange cabs? theyre really really shoddilly made I was quite shocked
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I would go against Marshall cabs, they're not worth the hassle of cr@ppy build quality. I've not heard of Road Kill, but another brand where you can get some pretty cheap and very well made cabs is Avatar. I'm currently running through one of their 4x12's, and they sound awesome. The Mesa Boogie Traditional cabs, like their Stiletto series, are attempts to get a more Brit feel, so if you can find one of those used, I would vote for that too, along with the Avatar.
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it depends what you are looking to spend.
For great tone at a bargain price check out roadkillcabs.
Theyre are UK based company and are super cheap and will customise anything you want within reason.
+1 on Roadkill Cabs
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I didnt realise Marshall cabs weren't too well thought of these days. Will check out all the other suggestions.
Cheers guys!
Roy
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+1 Call zilla or RoadKill. Zilla may be able to offer a few options for a 4x12. the blurb about 4x12's on the site looks interesting.
The 1960A Marshall for me has been consistently dependable. I've played a lot of cabs having only needed to take a head to shows over the years. Apart from one time everything has been 4x12's. At the moment my 1960A cab is set similar to the Bogner Ubercab, and I like that. V30 & G12T75 X-pattern and some other stuff, but I really want to try Tayden's. I rewired mine but I've never played a 1960 cab that has blown or one that has broken. None of my friends that play have mentioned anything like that either. When I see touring bands most of the time they have Marshall 1960A or B cabs.
The worst 4x12 I've ever played was a Harley Benton. It sounded terrible. Made my amp sound broken it was that bad. I've also played some truly terrible Vox 4x12's.
Toured with an angled VHT/Fryette cab that was cool. I find some over-sized cabs to be muddy or to have too much low end. I don't really like using 4x Vintage 30's, I think it's a bit much, I prefer 4x G12T-75s if I'm not using my cab. Hence I don't really like an Orange or Mesa Recto 4x12.
Go out and try a few things if you can and don't buy all the hype about 18mm baltic birch and marine grade glue.
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Orange are garbage. Ihave one. I was briefly enamoured with it. I was wrong, its shiteee.
I have an Ubercab. It make all other cabs I've played through sound like toys. Get one of those.
Honourable mention to diezel cabs for being nearly as good as the uber. NEARLY.
Second honourable mention to zilla for coming just behind the deizel.
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Orange are garbage. Ihave one. I was briefly enamoured with it. I was wrong, its shiteeee.
I have an Ubercab. It make all other cabs I've played through sound like toys. Get one of those.
Honourable mention to diezel cabs for being nearly as good as the uber. NEARLY.
Second honourable mention to zilla for coming just behind the deizel.
Is that the 4X12 or the 2X12 and was it the "made in China open back" or the "made in England closed back"?
I tried out the Made in England 4X12 and 2X12 a few days ago and, while I thought that the 4X12 was really much too bassy, I really enjoyed the 2X12. What're your opinions on it?
+1 Call zilla or RoadKill. Zilla may be able to offer a few options for a 4x12. the blurb about 4x12's on the site looks interesting.
The 1960A Marshall for me has been consistently dependable. I've played a lot of cabs having only needed to take a head to shows over the years. Apart from one time everything has been 4x12's. At the moment my 1960A cab is set similar to the Bogner Ubercab, and I like that. V30 & G12T75 X-pattern and some other stuff, but I really want to try Tayden's. I rewired mine but I've never played a 1960 cab that has blown or one that has broken. None of my friends that play have mentioned anything like that either. When I see touring bands most of the time they have Marshall 1960A or B cabs.
The worst 4x12 I've ever played was a Harley Benton. It sounded terrible. Made my amp sound broken it was that bad. I've also played some truly terrible Vox 4x12's.
Toured with an angled VHT/Fryette cab that was cool. I find some over-sized cabs to be muddy or to have too much low end. I don't really like using 4x Vintage 30's, I think it's a bit much, I prefer 4x G12T-75s if I'm not using my cab. Hence I don't really like an Orange or Mesa Recto 4x12.
Go out and try a few things if you can and don't buy all the hype about 18mm baltic birch and marine grade glue.
Was that the Harley Benton 4X12 with V30s or the one with standard harley benton speakers?
Has anyone ever tried framus cabs? What're your opinions on them?
Sorry for the questions, I'm on a search for a new cab so i'd like any info :)
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Another cab that is decent is the Peavey 212m.
They go fairly cheap and are very balanced tonally and built like a tank.
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I had a Marshall 1960AV and it is a good cab. It is not an excellent cab, but they are also priced less than an ENGL or Mesa/Boogie or the like. It is by no means shoddy and it is reliable. I like the fact that they are not as stiff as some of the supposedly "better" cabs and let the wood come through a bit more.
I think the claim that "Marshalls aren't good anymore" comes from their budget lines mostly, which of course are cheaper.
A few things that I never liked is the plastic handles Marshall uses. I also heard that simply by opening it and tightening the screws inside a bit you can improve it as well - I did that on mine.
Marshall 1960s come in a few flavors and my fave is the AV one. It gives a great Angus Yound/Michael Schenker sound IMO and cuts the mix better than the A. We had both in the rehearsal room so we could A/B it.
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I had a Marshall 1960AV and it is a good cab. It is not an excellent cab, but they are also priced less than an ENGL or Mesa/Boogie or the like. It is by no means shoddy and it is reliable. I like the fact that they are not as stiff as some of the supposedly "better" cabs and let the wood come through a bit more.
I think the claim that "Marshalls aren't good anymore" comes from their budget lines mostly, which of course are cheaper.
A few things that I never liked is the plastic handles Marshall uses. I also heard that simply by opening it and tightening the screws inside a bit you can improve it as well - I did that on mine.
Marshall 1960s come in a few flavors and my fave is the AV one. It gives a great Angus Yound/Michael Schenker sound IMO and cuts the mix better than the A. We had both in the rehearsal room so we could A/B it.
I agree about the Marshalls in general.
I can certainly say that not all Marshalls are bad. Yeah, the cheap ones are rather sucky, but is that really a suprise?
I got a 2x12" Marshall Cab from the made in the UK series. Handwire and all. Celestion G12H30 in there, closed back. Oversized too, so the bass is nice. Bloody rocks.
Tried it against every other 2x12" in the store and it blew them all out of the water.
Great speakers, great cab and giving you that classic Marshall upper mids spike. Sounds amazing with my Orange Tiny Terror (also UK made version).
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MIE closed 2x12.
My opinion is not high.
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I've found that the Marshall Mode4 and Orange 4x12's have worked best for me. Both heavy as hell though. Both loaded with V30's too.
Paddy
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Mark does your Uberkab have the polyester batting inside?
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i've only tried their badger 2x12, but i really like my roadkill cab.
though the prices on loaded ones have gone up, unfortunately.
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Mesa Rectumfrier Oversized V30. Best cab in existence. No matter what you say, its still the best.
English units, baltic birch. Rock Solid. Decent wheels(!!!!)
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I have owned a few cabs, including a H&K Triamp Custom cab as well as a Bogner 4x12, and a few others.
Definitely the box has a huge impact on the sound quality, not just the speakers.
And hands down, best cab I have ever played through or owned is my 1973 Marshall straight cab with original greenbacks. This is followed very closely by my friend's 1971 slant Marshall with G12H bass speakers. That one is darker, but as well amazing sounding.
Get an old one with original speakers, they are something completely different, trust me.
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According to somewhere on the internet Mills Acoustics do the best 4x12 as it has a magic baffle with holes in it that kills standing waves and pixies (or something like that)
Never tried one but I found a thread on a decent forum of people who've owned lots of cabs and the order they ranked them in, basically it went Mills > Bogner uberkab > everything else
+1 for Zilla
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Mark does your Uberkab have the polyester batting inside?
Yeah, its got some light damping on the back panel.
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Mark does your Uberkab have the polyester batting inside?
Yeah, its got some light damping on the back panel.
Have you tried it with the damping removed? How thick would you say that material is? Do you feel the panels resonate more or less than other cabs with similar dimensions?
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Really I dont expect its doing anything to low end anyway. Its too light. You know what happens to the standing modes in a room when you put foam on the walls. Nothing. Same logic. Best I can figure it smooths the top end; its not inconceivable that reflections of high end from the back of the cab that are out of phase with the speakers interfere with the speakers vibration and screw up high end.
I havent stuck my hand on the side of any cab while playing, but from apparent 'woody, punchy, deep cab thunk' the Uber is quite a ways ahead of others of similar dimensions (mesa and engl mainly; diezels are comparable, though not quite as good imo, and it makes 1960s sound like toys).
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Ah, well I just got home with some appropriate screws and lumber to do some bracing in my cab. Don't really have any issues with it, but my stupid head always thinks an improvement could be made. Been on the warpath for knowledge on cab construction lately. I'd like to try a much stiffer configuration. Had thought about coating the inside with fiberglass mat and epoxy, but I'm going to go ahead and try nice cheap(and easily reversible) wood bracing. Perhaps I should go to the fabric store after I try this and get some cheap batting just to see prove/disprove the theory about the speakers behaving as though they were in a larger box.
Might do a separate thread with pics just so my experiment can be of use to others.
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I remember reading a theory a while ago about the uber cab and using that cladding on the inside... It had something to do with creating an artificial sense of depth for the speakers, rather than doing anything with standing waves and such. I can't remember really.
PA speakers and some bass cabs can be full of rockwool or whatever, that is fairly standard right? So if it's not doing anything with standing modes in a guitar cab, it won't in any other cab... so why is it used? I'd like to know.
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I remember reading a theory a while ago about the uber cab and using that cladding on the inside... It had something to do with creating an artificial sense of depth for the speakers, rather than doing anything with standing waves and such. I can't remember really.
PA speakers and some bass cabs can be full of rockwool or whatever, that is fairly standard right? So if it's not doing anything with standing modes in a guitar cab, it won't in any other cab... so why is it used? I'd like to know.
i think it could be to make it more of a dead space?
I know its used in iso cabs for this reason other than the obvious isolation
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The sound waves have to fight through the material, bounce off of the cab wall and then fight through the material again so it's takes longer(how much longer? idfk) and simulates a larger box.
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I own an Avatar 2x12. (I'm from the States and it's an American company so I don't know if it's a common name in the UK, or if the OP is from the UK.) And it's extremely well built and went for roughly $450 with shipping. You can get a wide variety of speakers from Celestion or Eminence and you can get them mixed. Mixed in the way that I have one V30 and one G12H30 in mine. 4x12's go for about $600 with shipping. They're made very well and sound great. I'd also back Zilla as they're flat out amazing.
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Mesa Rectumfrier Oversized V30. Best cab in existence. No matter what you say, its still the best.
English units, baltic birch. Rock Solid. Decent wheels(!!!!)
This..
Otherwise, for a more rock kind of thing I can't praise the Marshall 1982 cabs. I have one and I love it to bits.
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(http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m54/Necrite_ist_Krieg/100_0547.jpg)