Avatar 1x12 cab help and recommendations

[ixoye777]

I just traded in my EVH 5150 for a Mesa Mark V head, should be here in a couple of weeks. I am looking to get two 1x12 cabs to go with it. My current cab is the DR 4x12 with V30's in it and I find it to sound crumbly and a bit harsh if that makes sense. I have a buyer for my cab and I want to replace it with two 1x12 cabs from Avatar.

I need help figuring out what cab and speakers I should get to match my playing style(s) My playing styles break down as follows: 60% clean/push, 10% low gain & 30% high gain.

These are the cab options:

Vintage

Traditional

Contemporary

These are the speaker options in my price range:
Celestion Vintage 30, G12H30, G12T75, Greenback, Classic Lead 80, Hellatone 30, Hellatone 60 , G12K100

Thanks

 

[gonzo]

i have the exact cabinet, Vintage Closed back:

love it.


now, a single 12, or even a pair of 1x12's, isn't going to sound like a 4x12 of course.

to get more thump, you'd want to go to at least a 2x12 setup (i'd choose the Vintage closed back again)

but, i like the sound and flexibility of portage, of a 1x12. i have (3).


i chose a Celestion Heritage Series G12H-55.

after years of playing Greenbacks, this was a step up for me.

it would fit with your needs perfectly, save for the wattage mis-balance.

just watch your volumes....

even with (2) rated at 30 watts, for 60 total, your five could easily overpower a pair even set at half power.





Celestion’s new Heritage Series G12H recalls all the power, higher sensitivity and authority of its vintage low resonance forerunner. Rated at 30 Watts, the 12-inch Heritage Series G12H has all the same features that made the original low resonance G12H model speaker so popular, including a pressed-steel chassis, 1.75-inch round copper voice coil, ceramic 50 oz. magnet, impedance rating of 8 or 16 Ohm, and low 55 Hz resonance point, along with a 55-5,000 Hz frequency range. The new Celestion Heritage Series G12H speaker exudes thick, syrupy tones with a deep, growling bottom end and will allow guitarists to accurately recreate the prized guitar tones of rock’s own classic era.

 

[gonzo]

also, consider using Celestion Heritage 65's-- a pair would work with a 100 watt amp. They sound a lot like Greenbacks but just a little darker-
Make sure you buy 16 ohm speakers since 2x16 = 8 ohms.

Also like most speakers, the 65's need to be broken in to sound good. try running a tone at 30 Hz through them for 24 hours before you put them in the cab.

 

[madryan]

I'd get a couple of Theile's rather than the Avatar. Nothing wrong with the Avatar stuff (I have their OS 212) but nothing works better with Mark series amps than an EVM-12L loaded Theile.

You can even get a widebody Theile now that's the same width as the Mark V.

 

[t0aj15]

I'd get a couple of Theile's rather than the Avatar. Nothing wrong with the Avatar stuff (I have their OS 212) but nothing works better with Mark series amps than an EVM-12L loaded Theile.

I don't agree. I have two EVM-12L loaded Thiele cabs that are great cabs but seldom get used since I got my Lopo Vintage cab. I ordered it with the baffle cut for a 1-15" instead of the standard 2-12"s and loaded it with an Eminence Commonwealth speaker and it sounds much better then the two Thiele cabs. You can see the cab here:
http://www.lopoline.com/home.html

 

[gonzo]

there's a reason, why the 'vintage' style of build and box size and construction materials and 'look' is popular.

i agree, that for projection the thiele is pretty **** cool.

but i've never heard one in the studio that sounded better than any vintage style cab.

guess it's just what you're going for...

 

[droptrd]

Is there a difference between the 3 types of Avatar cabs besides cosmetic?

 

[gonzo]

yep, they all have different dimensions

 

[ixoye777]

Thanks for the feedback so far guys, appreciated

 

[LerxstLee]

If you can swing the extra, try the Celestion Alnico Gold- 50 watts each, and after some heavy break-in beatings,
I cannot think of another modern speaker that will even get close to the sound of these monsters.
They are expensive, but avatar saves you about $100. each from any place I have found them for sale.
You may dislike them at first, they are alnico, yet after some good punishment I cannot imagin anyone not likeing
these speakers. From country to heavy metal they are truley astounding.
/cheers

 

[CoG]

If you are playing clean a lot the CL80 is a really good all-round speaker for the money. I have used 1x12s and 4x12s with my marks and a Roadster and find that even a single 1x12 is pretty good up to sort of low drummer volume after which it starts to sound a little too "pushed" and not in a good way.

If you're not desperately looking to downsize I'd suggest just swapping some speakers in the 4x12 first. The sound you're describing is pretty much a V30 thing (they're great for what they do, which is tight bottom-heavy hard rock and metal) and it is really hard to go back to playing a smaller rig after using a half stack.

 

[ixoye777]

Really good advice guys, thanks.

I am looking to downsize, the 4x12 is just WAY too much for what and how I play. I have my MV in 10w mode 70% of the time and 45w the remaining 30% of the time. I never play loud enough to bother putting it up in the 90w mode.

I'm not sure if it's the V30's or something wrong with my speakers/cab but when I play anything high gain it sounds REALLY tinny, overloaded with treble and just plain harsh. I don't even use channel 3 because of this. These are the only V30's I've played through so I can't compare but I can't imagine these speakers are supposed to sound like this. Is there anything I can check in my cab to see if something has gone south with it? I bought it used and unplayed - doh!

If I do get the two 1x12's I am wanting a really smooth and warm tone which will mainly be used with channels 1 & 2. I do like to play a bit of metal but that only takes up about 30% of my playing. I would gladly trade away some of my metal tone for warm, smooth, rich clean and overdriven tones.

 

[LerxstLee]

If they are the "new" celestion speakers you are getting what they are shipping out without
the made in U.K. any longer, less wattage and Made in China. I did think the new ones just needed breaking in.
Yet, then I found out they are no longer the same speaker made in the same place.
It should be no surpise that they do not sound like the same speaker. They just never told anyone.
Some celestions are still made in the U.K. Yet, I am sure there are reasons they not only raised the prices,
I just find it comical they left out we also changed the speaker.

 

[droptrd]

yep, they all have different dimensions

ahha. What are the tone differences between them?