First Mesa- Need Cab Advice

[MrDave]

Hi everyone! First post and glad to be here.

I'm picking up my first Mesa head, a Triple Recto this weekend and would appreciate some advice on cabinets. I have a deal in the works that would get me a set of 5150 4x12's, top and bottom. How do the Sheffields sound through the Recto? I'm also thinking about a Marshall 1960 with V30's or 75's, but love the idea of having a full stack with the 5150's.

I play hardcore on mostly Les Pauls with 500T's or EMG 81/85's. Standard tuning.

Any advice on cabs/speakers would be appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Monsta-Tone]

Welcome!

I just asked the same question and it seems that the consensus is that Mesa cabs just sound much better with a Rectifier than any other brand.


I read a ton of reviews with the 5150's, & Marshall 1960 cabs.
It seems that people love them until they try their amps with a Mesa 4x12.

All this being said, I'm going to pick up a Mesa 4x12 Traditional cab this weekend.
I'm not sure, but I think it has Vintage 30's in it.
If I find them to be shrill or fizzy as some here feel they sound, then I will surely just sell them and get something else to run in the cab.


I tried a Mesa 4x12 half-back cab a long time ago. It had 2 C90's and 2 EV's. I didn't think it did much for my tone, but at the time I was playing Classic Rock and not Metal. Plus, it weighed a ton!
I went with the Traditional over the Recto Over-Sized cab simply because there was one near me and I didn't have to loose $100 shipping it and taking a chance of damage.

FWIW: I'm pretty sure that the guy I'm getting it from uses it with his 3-channel Dual Rectifier though.

 

[wildrat666]

the recto cab is the best cab ive played through...
however i also uses a 5150 and compared to a marshall 1960 i would say that the 5150 have more mids and more omph

we did a test my friend and me. marshall vs 5150 and we both thought that the 5150 was the better sounding cab.

I u find a recto cab or any else with v30s in it -go for it.sounds great with mesa heads

 

[Elixir]

I have a Mesa 2x12 if you're interested with V30's for sale!

 

[Monsta-Tone]

I have a Mesa 2x12 if you're interested with V30's for sale!

:lol: :lol: Damnit! Where were you last week! :lol: :lol:

I'm headed to Tucson tomorrow to pick up a Mesa 4x12 traditional cab.

Can't wait!!!!!!!!

 

[jdurso]

Hi everyone! First post and glad to be here.

I'm picking up my first Mesa head, a Triple Recto this weekend and would appreciate some advice on cabinets. I have a deal in the works that would get me a set of 5150 4x12's, top and bottom. How do the Sheffields sound through the Recto? I'm also thinking about a Marshall 1960 with V30's or 75's, but love the idea of having a full stack with the 5150's.

I play hardcore on mostly Les Pauls with 500T's or EMG 81/85's. Standard tuning.

Any advice on cabs/speakers would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Without a doubt for the type of music you described you NEED to look into a Mills Acoustics cab. Its the tightest, most powerful cab I've ever played through. The design is what sets it apart from other cabs in that the interior ported baffle kills standing waves. Those standing waves are what create the mud when you dial in too much gain or too much bass. By killing those standing waves you can dial in pretty much as much bass as you want without clarity suffering, instead of mud you get shear power. I could go on for days about the cab so if you want to hear more I just PM me.

Anyway just to put it into perspective I have owned and played almost every high end cab out there including Mesa's, Marshalls, VHTs, Diezels, Bogners, ENGLs... of which Mesas and VHTs are my favorites next to Mills Acoustics. I was sceptical at first but man these are just the greatest cabs. Bets part is they are priced right along side Mesa and have the same build quality.

 

[Elixir]

Hi everyone! First post and glad to be here.

I'm picking up my first Mesa head, a Triple Recto this weekend and would appreciate some advice on cabinets. I have a deal in the works that would get me a set of 5150 4x12's, top and bottom. How do the Sheffields sound through the Recto? I'm also thinking about a Marshall 1960 with V30's or 75's, but love the idea of having a full stack with the 5150's.

I play hardcore on mostly Les Pauls with 500T's or EMG 81/85's. Standard tuning.

Any advice on cabs/speakers would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Without a doubt for the type of music you described you NEED to look into a Mills Acoustics cab. Its the tightest, most powerful cab I've ever played through. The design is what sets it apart from other cabs in that the interior ported baffle kills standing waves. Those standing waves are what create the mud when you dial in too much gain or too much bass. By killing those standing waves you can dial in pretty much as much bass as you want without clarity suffering, instead of mud you get shear power. I could go on for days about the cab so if you want to hear more I just PM me.

Anyway just to put it into perspective I have owned and played almost every high end cab out there including Mesa's, Marshalls, VHTs, Diezels, Bogners, ENGLs... of which Mesas and VHTs are my favorites next to Mills Acoustics. I was sceptical at first but man these are just the greatest cabs. Bets part is they are priced right along side Mesa and have the same build quality.

I looked into it and they do seem nice. However, they are pricey and there's no second hand market.

 

[jdurso]

I looked into it and they do seem nice. However, they are pricey and there's no second hand market.

That is true its very hard to find them on the used market. So if your looking used it would be pricey but if your looking new they are the same price as a Mesa cab and cheaper than a VHT, Bogner or Diezel. So if the Mills is out, my next suggestions would be a Mesa Stiletto 4x12, VHT Fat Bottom 4x12, VHT Deliverence 4x12 and if you can find one at the right price a Bogner Uberkab. In my experience those cabs have worked extremely well with a recto, especially for the type of music you referenced.

 

[Anonymous]

Mesa Recto 4x12. They are hands down the best cab for a Rectifier, and I didn't really buy into that until I finally plugged into one. I've heard people using the 5150 and 1960 cabs, but compared with the Mesa, they don't come close.

As for speakers, I've been digging lower power British speakers lately - Greenbacks and G12H30s - but if you're getting a 4x12, the Triple will easily overpower them. That said, broken in V30s sound really nice to my ears. I've also heard of people using them with G12T-75s in an X pattern with lots of success, so you could try that too.

Go with the Recto cab - your ears will thank you!

 

[fluff191]

I used to play my Recto through a 5150 cab. I found the cab itself to be very very bright and mid-heavy. I didnt like it at all. Nothing beats a Recto cab. Enjoy!

 

[MrDave]

Thanks to everyone for the advice. I picked up a Genz Benz G-Flex 4x12 yesterday. The sound is amazing!

 

[jdurso]

Thanks to everyone for the advice. I picked up a Genz Benz G-Flex 4x12 yesterday. The sound is amazing!

Thats a beast of a cab. Just be careful with that bass knob. Those ports throw a lot of bass on their own so less goes a lot further when it comes to that cab and getting that tight punchy bass.