Mark III isn't cutting through

[Anonymous]

At gigs, I have my amp at loud enough of a volume (around 3-4). I use a Marshall 1960A cabinet. I'm positive my settings are fine, as a lot of other people on this forum use similar settings. Could it be the G12T-75's in the cab? Would adding V30's make it cut through better? I think that it might be the lack of mids from the current speakers in the cab, but I'm not sure. I hear that the G12T-75 and V30 mix is good, but would it help it cut through better in the live mix?

 

[Shep]

if you were up for it, i wouldn't just replace the speakers i would replace the whole cab... mesa trad 4x12, it has V30's in it.. sounds amazing..huge difference

 

[Anonymous]

What difference would it make whether the cab was a Marshall or Mesa and had the same speakers? I'm not trying to be smart, I really want to know.

 

[disassembled]

You should also consider maybe 2 Thiele cabs with EV speakers or maybe an old Mesa half back cab (either 212 or 412).

Greg

 

[boogietone]

+1 on the EV's. Never played through a Thiele can't comment. But a Mesa 2X12 with EV's rocks!

 

[Tuna141]

An 1/2 back cab will cut through the mix better. I think that's why the old metal grill 1/2 back cabs are in such demand.

I have a 1960A & an old 1/2 back cab. The Marshall sounds like there's a blanket over it when compared to the Mesa 1/2/ back.

EVM12L's will also cut through the mix better than just about any other speaker.

 

[themisfit138]

I have a recto 2x12 cab with V30, what sound difference would I get if I put EV speakers in there?

 

[jvk]

I agree about the speaker selection: use either two Recto 2x12s or a 4x12, and maybe add some liveliness to your sound in the form of slightly more mids & treble.

 

[themisfit138]

How hard is it to change speakers in a Recto Cab?

 

[jvk]

It's a piece of cake. The speakers are only held in with four bolts. De-solder the wires and unscrew the bolts to remove each speaker one by one, pop in the EVM babies and you're good to boogie. Make sure to get the polarity of the wires to the speakers right, as they were.

I've got a pair of 2x12s with EVMs - playing through them is like having a party

 

[disassembled]

I don't think the bolts are long enough to secure the EVMs.


It shouldn't be hard to change out the speakers but you would probably be better off finding a 112 thiele or a 212 half back.


Greg

 

[jvk]

Greg you're right of course, I forgot about the bolt legths. The EVM has a beefier frame and you have to unscrew the grill and replace the bolts, like I had to do that with my 3/4 backs.

 

[Shep]

the marshall boxes are made from M.D.F , the mesa boxes are made for 16 ply ( i think about that ) void free marine grade.. HUGE difference in tone.. plus the Cab is built for those speakers ..marshall is rough as gut's..

 

[Whoopysnorp]

the marshall boxes are made from M.D.F , the mesa boxes are made for 16 ply ( i think about that ) void free marine grade.. HUGE difference in tone.. plus the Cab is built for those speakers ..marshall is rough as gut's..

Marshall 1960 cabs are not MDF, except for the back panel. The rest is ply.

 

[herrball]

I don't mean to be a wise guy here and hopefully I'm not stating the obvious but why not change your EQ settings? Certainly this is cheaper than changing speakers. I know some guys lock 'em in and hate to change eq settings.
I've owned a mk III head since '87 and never had that problem of not cutting through. I've also carted the head and rack to gigs and sessions where I used a rented cab or the studio's cabs and made tonal adjustments to get back to my sound. My cabs are 1x12 thieles and old '73 marshalls. I use VA strats w/EMG's. I also don't go for the scooped mids/V-pattern for leads. Could be variables due to musical styles.
I'm also not much of a tweaker and like to get to why I own all this stuff--to play.
If you are set on changing speakers, I'd rent the cabs with speakers you want b4 you buy to make sure of the tone. Do the test drive.

 

[Anonymous]

I don't mean to be a wise guy here and hopefully I'm not stating the obvious but why not change your EQ settings? Certainly this is cheaper than changing speakers. I know some guys lock 'em in and hate to change eq settings.

Because the amp's mids sound a lot different than speakers mids. For example, If I turned the middle EQ up, I'd get a not so pleasant metal tone (that's what I play). But if I change to speakers with more mids, all the mids would be coming from the speakers, not the amp. So that way you're not changing the characteristics of the amp, just the way the cabinet executes the sound. I'm just wondering if V30's would help cut through better live than G12T-75's would.

 

[MBreinin]

Well, nothing cuts like a metal grille halfback. First of all, EVs are extremely present speakers. Secondly, there is no grille cloth to muffle the tone and that makes a huge difference. Third, well, those cabs just cut. I have a 1/2 back 2x12 with EVs and I have a Mojotone Plexi style B cab 4x12 with a combo of G12Hs and Century Vintages. There is a huge difference in the tone of both. If I was trying to cut through, the half back would get the nod. If I was going for ultimate smoothness in tone...the Mojo. The Mojo is a smoother more creamy sounding cab..the Boogie is brutality.

Mike

 

[Shep]

the marshall boxes are made from M.D.F , the mesa boxes are made for 16 ply ( i think about that ) void free marine grade.. HUGE difference in tone.. plus the Cab is built for those speakers ..marshall is rough as gut's..

Marshall 1960 cabs are not MDF, except for the back panel. The rest is ply.

it was the back panel that made me think MDF.. still i am not a fan of there cab's..

 

[Lopp]

I don't mean to be a wise guy here and hopefully I'm not stating the obvious but why not change your EQ settings? Certainly this is cheaper than changing speakers. I know some guys lock 'em in and hate to change eq settings.

+1

From a soundman's perspective, the reason you are not cutting through the mix is that you are competing with other instruments on the same frequencies. Both adjusting your EQ and getting a new cab may fix the problem.

One challenge some guitarists face is getting a killer tone that sounds great when playing alone, but doesn't sound as good playing with their band. This can especially happen with the scooped V EQ setting when a guitarist cuts his mids and ends up competing with the bass player on the lower frequencies.