Help me choose a 2x12 cab that can get close to a Vintage Marshall 4x12?

[stephen thomas]

Hi, I currently have a Soldano SLO that has never sounded any better than when teamed up with a late 60's 4X12 loaded with Greenback speakers? Due to vehicle restraints, when playing live I can only take a 2x12 extension cab to gigs. What cab and speaker combination would get me in the ball park of my favourite sound? Unfortunately I live in the UK so I do not know if this rules out such makes as Scumback, Germino etc (although I am prepared to pay for shipping) and the fact that it is a 100w head into a 2x12 cab so the speakers really need to be 65w and above? Other options are things like Custom Audio/Orange cabs and find some Celestion G12-65's. Any thoughts??

[joel98z]

How about a Hughes and Ketner switchblade.. 2x12 and 100 watts..

[stephen thomas]

How about a Hughes and Ketner switchblade.. 2x12 and 100 watts..

Sorry, I want to keep the Soldano and just find a good extension cab

[GuitarsFromMars]

Talk to Alf Hermida at HAT.He has a ported 2x12 that will cause meltdown,and I believe he works with a fair number of known musos.He is the cat who also builds the Zendrive.

[voojo]

I have a Freda FL!112, an oversized ported 1x12 Cabinet and it sounds huge. Tons of bass, but in the right amount. Plus it's extremely light. He also makes a 2x10 and a 2x12, may be something to check out!

Freda Cabinets (http://www.fredacabs.com/)

[mkl13]

I have a Freda 2x12 ported cab and it does sound excellent. Not the same as my 4x12 but bigger that most of the 2x12's I played through. Plus it is lighter than any 2x12 I have used.

[DICKIE C]

I know what you mean, nothing beats the power of a good 412 to my ears. I have a closed-back 212 w/celestion greenbacks made by Reinhardt and I have to say that it does a very good job of coming close (close, I say:D) to a 412, and the last time I spoke w/ Bob Reinhardt he was in the midst of shipping an amp to someone in the UK. Worth checking out imo! :)

[59burstbucker]

Mojo 2x12 cab, slant or straight, with 2 Scumback M75HP's, 65w handling each.

[DICKIE C]

One other thing I forgot to mention, He'll put any speaker you want/need in it!

[FFTT]

My Vintone 2X12 in solid Vermont Cherry gets all the BIGNESS I could ever want, but I'm running a Bad Cat Hot Cat 100R through 1 EVM12L and 1 JBL-K120, both high efficiency drivers.
The more you push them, the better.
The real magic comes from the amp, but this rig would handle a stadium
stage set-up easily.

The efficiency of the drivers makes this cab a good 1/3 louder than my Ampeg SVT 8X10.

Doug Stalters at Vintone Circuits build some of the best cabs around and he does ship worldwide.
http://www.vintone.com/customcabs.html

http://img131.imageshack.us/img131/946/vintone2x12cherryleftjpga1.jpg
http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/3780/vintonecherrycabspeakerfr7.jpg
http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/7910/vintonecherry2x12backab4.jpg

[bosstone]

What you really need is a 4 X 10" cab. They sound more like 4 X 12"'s and are usually lighter and easier to carry. They have 25% more cone area for pushing more air too.

[guitarvc]

Try a Stone Age 2X12C with Celestion Heritage 65's. I have one with an Egnater Mod 50 and it sounds fabulous. You won't get it to sound better, but close. When I had an SLO I got the best tone with a Soldano slant 4X12 cab with Vintage 30's.

[FFTT]

While not quite as portable as a 2X12, I agree with bosstone.

My next cab will be a 4X10 designed with the same deep chambered construction as my Ampeg SVT 8X10.

With 2X12, 4X10 and 8X10 to choose from, there's pretty much no limit
to the sounds I'll be able to get, unless of course I add a single 15" EV later

[vrdyer]

I would recommend two cabs. A Mesa Recto 2x12. Two V30s and the cabinet dimensions really seem to accent the presence of the cab and bass output. It really holds it's own against my Marshall 4x12 with 75s in it. It's a little heavy but I hate to put casters on it. The contact with the floor seems to add to it's sound. The other is the closed back Bogner 2x12. Lighter cab, more organic sounding. Mine has one V30 and one 85watt Rivera Celestion.

[Pentode]

Marshall 2061CX slant cab. Sounds amazingly like a 4x12

[stephen thomas]

Thanks for the replies so far (keep them coming!!) but it is more than just a full sounding 2x12 cab I am seeking, but also trying to capture that warm woody sound that only a Vintage Marshall can achieve.

[Braciola]

After trying MANY 2X12 cabinets, the Dr Z Z-Best 2X12 is the closest sounding to a 4X12 IMHO.

[telewacker]

I went nuts trying to get a 2x12 that sounds like a 4x12 and I'm convinced it's a futile endeavor. I got closest with a THD...lot's of bottom for sure but what a good 4x12 has that no 2x12 has is perfect BALANCE. 2x12s always have a bump somewhere, usually in the low end in an attempt get the bass up. Also there is an advantage to using more speakers of a lower power handling capacity as they tend to be less harsh when pushed.

I have no data to back it up, just a gut feeling, but I also think there is something about the symmetry of an array of four speakers as opposed to two that are in either a vertical or horizontal plain. I too prefer a 4x10 to 2x12 all things being equal.

[KennyM]

I went nuts trying to get a 2x12 that sounds like a 4x12 and I'm convinced it's a futile endeavor. I got closest with a THD...lot's of bottom for sure but what a good 4x12 has that no 2x12 has is perfect BALANCE. 2x12s always have a bump somewhere, usually in the low end in an attempt get the bass up. Also there is an advantage to using more speakers of a lower power handling capacity as they tend to be less harsh when pushed.

I have no data to back it up, just a gut feeling, but I also think there is something about the symmetry of an array of four speakers as opposed to two that are in either a vertical or horizontal plain. I too prefer a 4x10 to 2x12 all things being equal.

I agree wholheartedly with Telewacker that there is no equivalent in a 2x12. I have 4 different 2x12's and tried several others to mate with my old Marshall 50 watter and none of them sounded like the 4x12. Ended up with an old basketweave.

The closest I found was a Mojave 2x12 which is basicaly just half of a Marshall 4x12. I don't think it offered enough in size and back breaking savings to go with it instead of a 4x12.

[Braciola]

I agree wholheartedly with Telewacker that there is no equivalent in a 2x12. I have 4 different 2x12's and tried several others to mate with my old Marshall 50 watter and none of them sounded like the 4x12. Ended up with an old basketweave.

The closest I found was a Mojave 2x12 which is basicaly just half of a Marshall 4x12. I don't think it offered enough in size and back breaking savings to go with it instead of a 4x12.
Just curious.........have you tried the Z-Best 2X12?

[carbz]

I had a custom made JDesign 2x12 that was modeled after the early 80's marshall 2x12 where the speakers are diagnol. Its basically 24x24x11 and very easy to transport. I had it loaded with H75 HP scumbacks and to me it sounds fantastic. Same woody tone your looking for but a 4x12 with the same speakers would obviously sound bigger.

[mds]

Another vote for the ZBest. Huge sound, lots of chunky lowend. Night and day compared to many cabs. I like the Mesa 2x12 too, but the Z has a lot bigger sound.

[Fireball XL5]

I thought both the Z-Best and the old style (oversized) closed back Germino 2x12 sounded really great and about as close to a 4x12 cab as you're going to get with a 2x12. Lot's of 4x12-like low end thump and woody midrange bark coming from those two cabs.

[telewacker]

Don't get me wrong, 2x12s can indeed sound huge...lot's of bottom, midrange bark, etc., but there is a perfect effortless eveness of frequencies that a good 4x12 gets that is unique to it. I'm good friends with Jim Wieder and have been preaching the glories of these Marshal 4x12s to him for a while. When he was in Cali in October he stayed at my house and played my cab and got to hear what I've been telling him about. He bought a basketweave cab and agrees that it's the best sound he's ever had. He played his first gig with it a couple weeks ago and was in heaven. I've been privy to his tales of amp and speaker torture for years and he's never been satisfied until now. Sometimes it's not practical to use a 4x12 so everyone looks for the 2x12 replacement. I've had better luck with a closed back 4x10, but I did recently get a Crate Palomino 2x12 amp and put in a pair of pre Rola G12Ss and somehow that amp just works. If anything it was a little boomy with the original speakers but the G12Ss with their smaller magnets than Ms or Hs just seem to hit the sweet spot. Plus they have that smooth detailed high end and woody midrange that the pre Rolas are famous for. So that's my go to amp for smaller gigs where a half stack is not worth it.

[wingwalker]

In my experience NO 2x12 will have the punch and thump of a 4x12 but the closest I've ever heard/gotten is with a Z Best...

[KOG]

Marshall 2061CX slant cab. Sounds amazingly like a 4x12Dito...and add Scumback speakers and you will have it!

[Cotton]

I really like 410 cabs... but if "412" is required with Toyota transportation, I use a foldable 412.... Two THD 212 cabs..... I can get one in the trunk/hatch and one in the backseat. The two cabs can be daisy-chained or plugged into 2 separate amps. Loaded with Scumback M75-25's is just fine.

Good luck! Cotton

[Tubevalvemaniac]

Mesa Recto 212
Engl VH Pro 212

Both killer cabs

[bosstone]

I have seen, read about, heard and tried many ways to cheat the system and end up with a smaller package that has the 4 X 12" sound. My conclusion is that it cannot be done. The closest I can get are large 2 X 12" cabs, 4 X 10" cabs or detuned cabs, all of which are largish and the closer they get to the size or volume of a 4 X 12" cabinet, the more they sound like one. The smaller the cabinet, the smaller the sound. I have tried Thiels and they are impressive for their size but in no way comparable to a 4 X 12". Based on the single 12" detuned cab I built, I have no doubt the a 2 X 12" detuned cab could easily match or surpass the sound of a 4 X 12" cab but it would actually be larger than a 4 X 12" cab in total volume. The smallest cabinet that sounds great to me is a 4 X 10" cab. I find that it has the next best sound in a very easy to handle package and it pushes 25% more air than a 2 X 12" cab. There is something that 4 speakers produce that 2 so not. Still, it isn't quite up to par with a 4 X 12" cab.