Best speaker for Mark Series?

[davem]

Hi There

I have a hardwood Mk1 Reissue fitted with a 150w Black Shadow (an upgrade by the previous owner), and recently bought a 1x12 3/4 back cab (stock 90w Black Shadow) to beef up the sound for larger gigs. The Mk1 on its own is just great, especially driven with a good bridge humbucker but can lack fullness when chugging along and needs careful eq to avoid sounding too thin/too farty

The 3/4 back cab sounds fabulous, with a huge stage presence and cleans up the bass wonderfully, but it now shows up the speaker in the Mk1 as rather thin with a strong high midrange colour. The sound of the extension cab on its own is better than the two in tandem, and thats not right! OK we are comparing a large tuned cab with the smallest box you can fit a 12" driver into, but it got me thinking whether there are better drivers to use in the Mk 1 cab (or any mark series cab for that matter) that would complement the extension cab.

Firstly, any views on sound of the 150w black shadow vs the stock 90w version? Are these honkier by nature?

Secondly, any opinions on what drivers works best in Mark series cabs?

Anyone using anything exotic such as Tone Tubbys, Alnico Blues etc?

Any views on a recipe when using two different drivers together?

thanks Dave

 

[908ssp]

Speakers are very subjective what I like you might not. I really don't care for the sound of the EVM12L the high frequencies are just too strident I don't like having to worry about the old ice pick in the ear. Anyway my favorite setup is two Tone Tubbys in a 2x12 open back cab at 80 watts with my C+ head set to 60 watts. With my C+ combo I run a 100watt Fane Alnico. These both sound significantly better in my opinion then the EV in my MkI. They are smoother warmer and richer sounding the bass is not as stiff and the speakers have more give.

 

[Mahoner]

Speakers are very subjective what I like you might not.

I agree with 908, it's VERY subjective. I have 2 MK2C Combo's and 2 Theile cabs, all loaded with EVM12L's and I love the tones I get. Big, full, and punchy as well as crisp and clean.

I find the Black Shadow's kinda sterile and dry to my ears.

As far as the "icepick in the ear" thing goes, the EV's have a pretty high 3.5K peak, but the frequency response is pretty flat overall. A little tweaking of the Treble and Presence controls gets rid of that icepick.

You really have to use your ears and know what you like.

I prefer EV's, but IMO a lot of speakers can get you the sound you want. It all depends on how you EQ it through the amp.

 

[BPski]

I agree that speaker choice is very subjective. The EV12L is a great speaker if you can tame the high end with EQ tweaking. I recently discovered the Eminence Delta 12 is a great alternative because it is not as "loud" as the EV, the top end is smoother and they are not that expensive. Plus it weighs about 8 lbs less. There is also the Delta 12 Pro which is closer to the original EV but again the top end is smoother and it weighs about 3.5 lbs less. I guess depending what you are shooting for you should try every speaker you can get a hold of until you nail it. An A/B box comes in handy. The side by side is the true test!


I have the EV12L in both my 100/60 watt '77 Mark I's and the Delta 12 in my 60 watt Mark IIB. Sounds much better than the stock Black Shadow MS-12 to my ears. The Delta 12 works great with the Mark I's as well and with a 400 watt rating I think it will be fine.

I hope this helps!

 

[axwielding1]

I like the EV12L for most things, and have 2 in thiele cabs. They do metal,and great cleans better than most, but give NO color, and not much smoothness without rounding off the top with presence and treble. I plan on adding a 2-12" cab with maybe Vin 30's...Just to give my Marshally tone a little rounder feel, and a smoother clean/purr for blues...
But, all in all, the OEM EV12L's are excellent!
ax. :twisted:

 

[RussB]

For many moons I used an EVM12L in a Mesa 1-12 open back cab...

I recommend putting the MC-90 in the combo, and the EV in the 1-12

 

[drunkdolphin]

Hi Gents,
I just loaded my Mark I reissue and Thiele Cab with Eminence Tonkers,
NIce and responsive and big round sound. Impressive on the clean and not shrill on the highs when using the gain channel.

 

[chedgeco]

Hi Gents,
I just loaded my Mark I reissue and Thiele Cab with Eminence Tonkers,
NIce and responsive and big round sound. Impressive on the clean and not shrill on the highs when using the gain channel.

I just loaded Tonkers in my Sultone Hardwood cab. I'm still in the trial phase, but I did a gig in a big room with my classic rock band last week and the first thing I noticed was that they sounded great but they were extremely loud. The stated SPL on these is 102db. I think the EV's are about 99db. They also don't compress the high end as you get louder like the EV's do.

I have always been an EV fanatic, but so far I'm diggin' these Tonkers (YMMV) and they are a lot lighter.

Chris... 8)

 

[nocluejimbo]

I'm a big fan of the Weber VST Ceramic Michigan.

If you like the EVM feel, but not the pricetag, they're the way to go. 100 watt handling, new, for less than half of the used EVM selling price.

 

[Dutchman]

I've tried several. The factory Black Shadow is still loaded in my Mark IIB, which develops an OK sound. I've also have a Boogie 1X12 open back that I loaded with a early 80's Celestion G12H-80, very nice for clean stuff. My best sounding (to my ears) Speaker and Cabinet is an EarCandy Sovereign with a Legend 121. Killer bottom end and mids and highs that can be very loud but still very pleasant, not harsh, but with great presence to cut thru the mix. It's my go to recording cabinet. The EarCandy cab kicks all other ***'s. I also used a Thiele 1X12, for a while, good focused tone there also.....

One man's tone can be another mans nightmare.....

 

[Squigglefunk]