Cab preferences

[iplayguitar]

Hey guys,

So I am playing my dual through a custom Avatar cabinet that is loaded with Vintage 30s. I know that the 30s are a pretty common speaker to be paired with a recti but I was wondering what other experiences you guys have with other speakers? I have played a recti through an Avatar cab with the Celestion Greenbacks and it had a little more of a mid heavy rock tone.

So basically what speakers do you know pair well with the rectis and what sound do they tend to have?

I am curious because I am in the market for a new cab soon and I am wanting to get a little insight.

Thanks!

 

[espboogie123]

v30s are pretty mid heavy themselves, but with sealed boxes, they can be bassy. I've only used a Mesa recto 2x12 w/30s and now use the big Mesa 4x12 w/30s. Good match, just can be a bit bassy sometimes but nothing a quick dial can't fix.

 

[MesaENGR412]

I have played Celestion V30's and C90's with my Triple Recto and they sounded great together. If you are looking to change your sound a bit, you could pair the V30's with these or G12T-75's (although I am not a fan of the 75's, too midrangy for my ears) and they will broaden your overall sound, and give you a little more flexibility. The C90 has a little different sound, not as scooped to my ear as the V30, and it doesn't have quite as harsh upper frequencies. This really helps to even out the sound when paired with the V30. Just one option. It also depends on what you are using the cab and head for. Metal, rock, country, pop. There are a lot of speakers out there that are geared towards different sounds. One speaker that I have heard good things about for metal (which is what I play) is the Celestion G12k-100. Haven't tried them out personally though.

-AJH

 

[domct203]

I'm really digging the Eminence Delta Pro 12A with my Roadster. They are much smoother than V30's in the mid to highs, and don't fall apart in the bass at loud volume. Sound great for modern metal.

FWIW, with my MKV I prefer the mix of V30's in a sealed cab and C90's in a semi-open back cab.

Dom

 

[BostonRedSox]

I had an Avatar Contemporary cabinet that made V30s sound like muffled crap. I tried an Orange PPC 212 (which it is supposedly modeled after) and a Port City Wave 212, which both had V30s, and was pleasantly surprised at how much better the tone was. In the end, I went with the Port City, but that is beside the point -- which is that IMO the Avatar's (at least the Contemporary) don't do V30s any justice.

 

[YellowJacket]

Speakers I like with a recto . . .

1) v30 / c90 celestion mix for heavier stuff. The c90 helps a lot with the lead tone and smooths out the highs somewhat.

2) v30/ greenback. Gets rid of the loose and farty bass but gives more breakup and warmth to the tone. Great for those more rock tones.

3) WGS Reaper 50watt. A less expensive option but definitely a FANTASTIC sounding speaker. Go to the warehouse guitar speaker website and give these suckers an honest listen. It sounds like a freaking chainsaw with the recto. This even, huge, and mean crunch with just the right amount of speaker breakup. Best of all, the speakers are made from the same OEM parts as Celestions and they are put together in USA! AND THEY COST LESS! They are serious contenders when it comes to tone, the only problem being the resale value . . . Make sure you get it right the first time!

4) G12H 30s. (or Reaper 30 / Reaper 55Hz) This is another voice I LOVE! Can you see how I'd end up with lots of cabs? A warm vintage tone with breakup, more defined highs, and tighter bass than a Greenback.

 

[b0nkersx]

Celestion G12k-100.

All the friggin way. Mix with V30s or straight up, these things are fucking brutes.

 

[siggy14]

That is kind of weird, the 75's are a very mid scooped speaker, not sure how you find them too midrangy. The V30's have alot more midrange and the C90s are a little less then the V30's, but more midrange then the 75's.

I have played Celestion V30's and C90's with my Triple Recto and they sounded great together. If you are looking to change your sound a bit, you could pair the V30's with these or G12T-75's (although I am not a fan of the 75's, too midrangy for my ears) and they will broaden your overall sound, and give you a little more flexibility. The C90 has a little different sound, not as scooped to my ear as the V30, and it doesn't have quite as harsh upper frequencies. This really helps to even out the sound when paired with the V30. Just one option. It also depends on what you are using the cab and head for. Metal, rock, country, pop. There are a lot of speakers out there that are geared towards different sounds. One speaker that I have heard good things about for metal (which is what I play) is the Celestion G12k-100. Haven't tried them out personally though.

-AJH

 

[BostonRedSox]

It all depends on the speaker cabinet itself and how it is tuned too. Even a mid scooped speaker can seem to have more midrange in the right cabinet. Believe me, my Avatar Contemporary just annihilated how V30s naturally sound. In an A/B test against a Port City Wave 212 this fact was very evident to myself and my bandmates.

 

[MesaENGR412]

I dunno, I've only heard the G12-75's in Marshall cabinet enclosures(1960A and B), and with my heads, they just muffle it like the mids on a solid state head are dimed. Sounds muddy to the point of almost "honky". Lacks presence and definition. V30's can go to the opposite end of the spectrum if not careful, becoming very treble happy to my ears. Had to run the treble and presence knobs on the lead channel of my 5150 II at around 4 and 2 respectively while running it through my Mesa V30 loaded cabs. Maybe the G12-75's just don't mix with Drop B tuning that well, or maybe my right hand. I just can't stand the sound of it. Very sterile to me.

-AJH

 

[screamingdaisy]

The best sounding cab I ever used with my Recto was a Recto 4x12. Just make sure you don't go crazy on the bass if you intend on using it with a band.

Second is an Orange 4x12.

 

[YellowJacket]

Enclosure has a huge impact on tone. I had a peavey 112 which sounded like cardboard with the stock speaker. I put a greenback in it and it still sounded like cardboard. My thiele 2 x 12 sounds very mid focused and more vintage while my oversized 2 x 12 sounds bigger, more scooped, and 'modern'. Speakers are only part of the equation.

 

[94Tremoverb]

"I had a peavey 112 which sounded like cardboard"

Probably because it was made of cardboard .

(MDF... thick cardboard, check out what it looks like up close and what it's made of.) I'm constantly amazed that amp companies think it's acceptable to make even semi-pro cabs from MDF, it can't be *that* much cheaper than particle-board or ply, surely? I would have thought most of the cost of building a cab is in the tooling and labor, not the raw box material. But it makes a *huge* difference to the tone quality.

I have also noticed that the cab material seems to make more difference in a traditional un-tuned closed-back or open-back guitar cab, and less difference in a tuned ported cab - presumably because it's the air that's resonating more than the wood in a tuned cab. I've just put together a 2x12" using an old front-ported particle-board shell/ply baffle PA column and it sounds fine. Admittedly the particle-board in this one is so thick it's a really solid cab too, but you can really hear the sound beaming out of the ports from up close, rather than radiating off the cab surface like you can hear with a fully closed cab.

I've loaded it with a G12M-25 and G12H-30, and they sound really great with the Tremoverb - though not for the outright heavy stuff, they're not tight enough and you need the combo V30s as well. I'm still tempted to replace one of the V30s with a C90 and run all four types together .

 

[konstantine RK]

I just put 2 C90's in my rect 2x12 cab. I soooo want to cut a segment of the back panel off... but I wont lol