Just curious...

[ziehmrd]

Has anyone tried the 23" combo or head/23" cab. I see that they are more open backed and was wondering how they compare to say the 27" 1x12 combo as far as sound dispersement, punch etc.

 

[badjohnny]

I'd love to hear something on this as well.

 

[J.J]

I just played the 23" combo and have played the wide 2x12" combo recently. I liked 23" one better, but the comparison is not quite apples to apples since they have different speakers. C90 for the single 12 and V30 for the 2x12.

For what its worth, the 23" has great clarity and punch. I played it pretty loud too, as I am looking at upgrading my Express 5:25 which starts to loose its clarity even at moderate volume.

The only thing I could fault was it has a very slight boxiness to it. I'd guess that could be dialed out with some small adjustments, but it never bothered me enough in the hour I was playing to stop and try.

Weight is an issue for me and while I am sure I could manage the 23" combo, it is still heavy and I will probably end up with the short head and a 1x12" half open cab to start with. other cabs can always be tried later if need be.

 

[ziehmrd]

Thanks for the info. So the 23" combo was fairly comparable to the 2X12? I thought you might lose some of the tight bass response with the more open back.

 

[J.J]

Thanks for the info. So the 23" combo was fairly comparable to the 2X12? I thought you might lose some of the tight bass response with the more open back.

I used my own R0 Les paul to test the amp and it has made other amps flub out, but not this one (sounds crap with the Lonestar classic). The C90 speaker does have quite a bit more bass than a V30 in general so the 2x12 with V30s probably needs to be more closed to beef up the bass. According to Mesa the ED amps have boost in the mid bass regeon, which should be less effected by the size and type of box.

For my test the bass was set at about 12:30 with mids 12:00, trebble 2:00, presence at 12:30 and volume around 2:00.

When I played the 2x12 I used one of the shops Strats which is obviously a lot different to a Les Paul. I remeber it sounded very mid focused, but didn't seem to have the sparkle I would expect from a Strat.

I play Blues and rock like early Clapton, AC/DC and SRV, but definately don't like to much loose and low bass.