4x12 Choices--Which do you like and for what?

[Phil M]

I'd like to hear your recent experiences with 4x12 cabs

I've played guitar for nearly 20 years and have never owned a 4x12. I started with combo amps and have used heads and 2x12s for the last 10 years. Never thought I'd look at a 4x12 but I'm there now.

I'm currently playing hard rock/modern rock with high gain channel switchers (Splawn Quickrod or VHT 50ST) and need a big tight sound with good projection. I just brought my VHT head down to a local store and plugged into:

--Orange 4x12 with wicker front (kind of vintage-y. Nice but a little fuzzy/buzzy and loose sounding. Sounded like greenbacks. I don't want these)
--Marshall 1960A slant with basket weave front (nice cab, sounded like G12H30s. Not as big and tight as I'm looking for, but I liked it).
--Marshall 1960B (closer to what I want with a decent low end but a little too much sizzle on top. It was white and the salesman thought it was a Randy Rhodes model...no idea).
--Mesa Stiletto 4x12 (this one had V30s, was a little smaller than the other Mesa cab and sounded very close to what I want. It was $950 though and I wanted to see what else is out there in that range.)
--I didn't get to plug into the large Mesa Recto cab

I'm curious about the following 4x12s: Soldano, Bogner, Mills Acoustics and Splawn. I don't want to look at any more Avatars, I've owned several of their 2x12s and am looking for something different. I also don't expect you guys to decide for me. Just curious of your take on these.

 

[d1dsj]

From what you describe I'd try the Tall Mesa cab and Engl cabs. If the Orange you tried was new, it should have had V30's in.... they do take a while to break in IMO, but once they do it's like night and day. In all honesty I have found that in most cases the amp manufacturers own cabs tend to work best.

 

[Phil M]

From what you describe I'd try the Tall Mesa cab and Engl cabs. If the Orange you tried was new, it should have had V30's in.... they do take a while to break in IMO, but once they do it's like night and day. In all honesty I have found that in most cases the amp manufacturers own cabs tend to work best.

Good advice. I'd like something that works well with the Splawn (pretty bright) and the VHT (a little more versatile as far as dark/bright ... it can be dialed in for either).

I hadn't thought of Engl, but I have a Gov't Mule DVD and Warren Haynes gets the kind of bass response that I like (even though the music I'm doing right now is not Mule stuff).

 

[Glide]

I'm partial to 1968 Basketweaves.

 

[joolzriff]

like you Ive been played 25yrs and owned **** loads of 4x12's and my fave by far has been my straight bogner 4x12 w/ greenbacks,i played a mojotone cab w/ greenbacks last week and it wasn't nearly as nice,the cab really helps here!! no joke...
i guess a bogner w/ what ever speakers u r looking for would be really nice,but its a heavy 4x12 cab..
i 'm looking for a 4x12 soldano cab right now/near future when money permits..Ive heard really great things about these cabs and they are Eminence loaded,on the darker side of neutral(tone)..and weigh a lot less than the bogner' and or others...also is 28''x28''x14...slightly smaller and front loaded.
as the gentleman stated above the the manufacturer of the amp really makes their 4x12 match w/ their amps,worth trying that 100%

 

[Phil M]

i 'm looking for a 4x12 soldano cab right now/near future when money permits..Ive heard really great things about these cabs and they are Eminence loaded,on the darker side of neutral(tone)..and weigh a lot less than the bogner' and or others...also is 28''x28''x14...slightly smaller and front loaded

I should've mentioned that the best cab I ever owned was my deep sealed Soldano 2x12. I played it for 10 years and everything that went through it sounded great. I have NO idea why I sold it but it was similar to what I'm looking for.

The whole time I owned it I thought it had the x12000 speakers in it but the guy who bought it from me later informed me that they were V30s. I always thought those weren't the right speaker for me, but I must like them in the right cab (my old Soldano, several Marshalls I've tried, the Mesa I tried today...).

 

[Fixxxer]

Phil,

do yourself a favor, and call Dave at Mills Acoustics. Order their 4x12, and you will never look back. Prior to playing the Mills, I was all about the Bogner cabinets, and I still am for a marshall type cab, but hands down the best sounding cabinet made today is made by mills acoustics.

I am a fan of the cabs, stick by my statement that these are the best cabs I have played.

 

[Phil M]

The Mills caught my eye for sure (I had some PMs going with Dave the other day). When he told me the price, I decided I'd better look around and be good and sure. Have you tried the slightly smaller Afterburner 4x12? That's the one I'm most interested in.

One thing I've noticed is that the Splawn cabs are quite a bit less expensive than some of the other top brands and seem to be well regarded. I'm wondering if that's the way to go since I already have the Quickrod. Whatever cab I end up with should work with both my Splawn and my VHT.

 

[Sniper-V]

Played the Mills and they are fantastic sounding cabs.

 

[English Jim]

Bogner fan here! Great if you can hack to 100lb + weight.

 

[Zuper]

The Soldano 4x12s are excellent cabs. Slightly smaller than my old Marshall and just the right size and weight to move around regularly. Sounds fantastic with any amp I put through it. I think Joolzriff's statement "darker side of neutral" is pretty right on. I've held on to mine for years now, even though I never take a 4x12 out anymore, just because it sounds so great. I have it up for sale, but not because it doesn't sound great.

 

[Phil M]

The Soldano 4x12s are excellent cabs. Slightly smaller than my old Marshall and just the right size and weight to move around regularly. Sounds fantastic with any amp I put through it. I think Joolzriff's statement "darker side of neutral" is pretty right on. I've held on to mine for years now, even though I never take a 4x12 out anymore, just because it sounds so great. I have it up for sale, but not because it doesn't sound great.

Yeah, we talked about your 4x12.

And the highlighted statement reflects how I felt about my Soldano 2x12. Everything sounded good through that.

 

[somedude]

I like Orange cabs. I think the basket weave grille cloth bleeds off some top end, so they're a bit darker than your typical V30 loaded cab.

Further, I second breaking it in. They're kinda thin, stiff and harsh sounding until you get some time on them.

 

[vchizzle]

I like the Bogner Uber cabs best. I have 2 of them now. I also have a Splawn 4x12, which I like, but like the Bogners better. I play aggressive hard rock/metal for the most part. I've also owned a VHT Deliverance 412, which I instantly traded in when A/Bing with the Bogner. The VHT was way brighter which didn't appeal to me at all. Probably because of the P50 speakers.

 

[Phil M]

The nice thing about the Mesa Cabs is that I can actually try them. Same with Orange and Marshall.

What about the Splawn cabs? Comparable to the Mills, Mesa and Bogner cabs?

 

[rockstarjay]

Ok, this following advice is assuming you are a turn it up, tear it up, rock and roll freak. If you aren't, or simply possess good taste, ignore this advice.

The choice of a 412 is first and foremost a choice to step outside the tasteful refined elegance of a efficiently designed boutique tone machine. Its like moving from Masterpiece Theater to the Dukes of Hazzard.

A 412 should inspire awe in the audience, fear in other guitarists, and loathing in the hater soundman who has buried your 18watt combo (or whatever) in the mix one too many times.

Glides leftmost half stack (most impressive) with the battle scars and 100watt emblem I'm sure has made more than one soundguy cry at the futility of trying to make the kick drum 10x louder than every other instrument like he does every other night.

You need a big boy 30" wide cab. The undersized ones look and sound too small. The bottoms sound bigger than the tops. A Marshall is always imposing, and is quite simply, legendary. Take the logo off and people still know that's a Marshall. The sizzle is the high end of unbroken in chines g12t-75s. I'd recommend something more like a British g12-h, classic lead, or V30 if you want something less sizzly.

If you want front mounted, get a Carvin bottom cab. Its just the biggest meanest most chunky sounding thing ever. (Ok it sounds quite similar to the marshalls). $150 used, plenty of cash to load it with whatever speakers you want (you really only need to pop two in with the emis that are in there to get massive). I have 2 British 55hz reconed g12hs in there and (I'm pretty sure) 2 Fender gold labels.

Boogie cabs sound good but are about 8000lbs, get lost a bit in the mix, and unlike their combos which look cool, IMHO have a kind of "My rich Daddy bought this for me" look to them. Orange cabs (and all cabs not black, white, or grey) create a distracting photographic background that will suck all of the fun out of your rock n roll vanity trip.

If you want to spend the bucks, get the Marshall. Its the real thing. You'll never turn around on stage, look at your super high priced theile parameter boutique wonder tone cab and think "I'd be having way more fun if I got the real rockstar grade Marshall. Do women still find me attractive?" And your drummer will think its bad-ass.

The carvins are fun, fun, evil fun, but make sure you like the slightly more trashy, rock and roll psychopath, I don't give a damn image it will project.

I just bring a couple of each.

 

[somedude]

Orange cabs (and all cabs not black, white, or grey) create a distracting photographic background that will suck all of the fun out of your rock n roll vanity trip.

Not when you stack two of them on top of each other...

(I suspect this thread just went off topic...)

 

[waylay00]

I love my Splawn cab. It's the perfect match for my Quick Rod:

 

[Fuzz_Mountain]

the best cab i have ever used was a vintage Hiwatt. Killer sound.

 

[Clawfinger]

I'd say go with the largest 4x12 you can afford, without spending all the cash you've got, and do a dual V30-T75 4x12 in an X-pattern. If you get them brand new, make sure to break them in (by hooking it up to a CD player->power amp and play a Sine wave ranging from 20-400Hz on repeat for about 12 hours). If you can stand that break-in terror, you won't look at another cab again as long as you live.