Best Speaker for 2x12 closed-back cabinet

[gman1951]

Hello All,

I just got my Mark V and am wondering what is the best speaker to use in a 2x12 closed-back cabinet. I am not new to Mesa, having owned a Mark IV, DC-3, Express 5:50, and others. I play a fairly wide variety of music; mostly Classic/Contemporary Rock, but also modern blues, old school soul/funk and some country. With my Mark IV, I used a Vertical 2x12 Slant cabinet with Vintage 30's. However, I am very much into considering some other possibilities, both alnico and ceramic, since speaker technology and selection have greatly evolved over the last 10 years. Some considerations are:

Scumback BM75
Warehouse et65
Warehouse Blackhawk HP
Jensen Blackbird
EV EM12L

Basically, I'm looking at this rig as being the last I will buy, at least for a good long while, so cost is less of a consideration than satisfaction. Any help would be most appreciated.

 

[kdorsey]

I loaded one of my old Boogie 2x12 half-backs with WGS ET-65 on top and Veteran 30 in the bottom. My main gig is a classic rock band and the C90s just were just too 'crisp'. The results are stunningly good for my purposes. HIghly, highly recommend WGS products.

 

[screamingdaisy]

I'm a fan of the stock V30s. I've tried various other speakers and as good as the other speakers can sound the V30s just sound "right".

The best non-V30 results I've had is with G12M-25s. They give the amp a more '80s/Marshall kind of vibe.

I'm not a fan of MC-90s or EVM-12Ls with Marks, but I think it may be because I'm not the right kind of guitar player for those speakers. I think they'd be cool for blues or country but I didn't like them for rock.

 

[fjs1962]

I'm running my Mark V through a pair of Scumback M75-65s and it sounds great for everything from clean and jazzy to saturated Santana-like leads. I especially like "crunch" and "edge of breakup" tones I get in the second chanel with the M75s. They give the Mark V more of a "vintage" voicing overall.

I think if I were mainly playing heavier music I'd want V30s though. The Scumbacks can get a little too mushy if you want tight, percusive low string runs with a lot of gain.

I'm definitely not a big fan of the C90s for the stuff I play, even though I know a lot of folks like them.

 

[gman1951]

Thanks for the input. I ended up buying two new ASW kts-60's for $200 each on ebay. I will let you know how they perform.