Maverick Cabinet Suggestion/Opinions (First thread)

[Shadetree_01]

Hi everyone. I'm new here but have been playing boogies (and lurking the board) for years. Anyway... I just bought a Mesa Maverick head and love it but after recording with it and playing a few gigs I have been less impressed with the sounds I get from the recto closed back horiz. 2x12 I share with a DR head. The tone is just too "midrangy" and "gritty".

I've been told to try an open back 2x12 for recording and maybe an open back 4x10. Also my bassist has a "Leo" Twin Reverb combo that we plugged in and it sounded excellent. Should I stay away from celestion speakers? What are the stock speakers in the 2x12 combo version? Because that is the amp that I played before i bought the short head on "the bay" and made my decision.

Any suggestions, incite, recommendations would help. I need speaker advise! I'm trying to get a Vox-y or Matchless light break-up tone with tighter bass. I really don't play with alot of dirt on either channel. THanks for any replies!

 

[MrMarkIII]

The stock 2 x 12 speakers were Celestion Vintage 30s, I do believe.

 

[MrMarkIII]

Found this somewhere:

 

[Shadetree_01]

Oh man thanks! I thought they were black shadows! My V30 equipped recto cab sounds VERY different. Maybe it was because i played at lower volumes at the store I demoed the combo at. Anyone with 10 inch speaker experience?

 

[RR]

Try 2x12" Celestion Green Back 25 watts and G12H Heritage 30 watts. I think this is what Matchless uses.

The Vintage 30s is fine (stock speakers) but I played my Maverick through a Heritage and a Kendrick's GreenFrame (basically Kendrick version of Greenback Celestion). To me, I prefer this combo over the pair of Vintage 30s.

But preference may vary.

 

[Shadetree_01]

Thanks RR. I do remember the Chieftain having dissimilar speakers. Definatly try those out. I'm going to head over to a boutique shop in Dayton and go hog wild. Hopefully try a fender 4x10 and some webers. Thanks for the suggestions. Hopefully get everything purty-ed up for a rig picture soon!

 

[RR]

..I'm going to head over to a boutique shop in Dayton and go hog wild. Hopefully try a fender 4x10 and some webers. Thanks for the suggestions. Hopefully get everything purty-ed up for a rig picture soon!

If you do have a chance, check if this boutique shop has a Weber Blue Dog and Silver Bell combination both Alnicos. I heard for blues player playing through EL84s, these are dream. Really smooth and sweet.

Tell me how the 4x10s go. We discuss that here 2x12" -vs- 4x10" and its a matter of preference but I would like to experiment with 10's too.

 

[EMGguitarist]

Hey there fellas. I have a Trem-O-Verb combo (2x12 V30s open back) as well as a Mav 4x10 (Jenson 10's open back) and I've run the Mav through both sets of speakers and the 4x10 really give it a midrangy voice that works great if your going for super clear cleans and maybe some cleans with a little pop to it. I use my Mav 4x10s for twangy or just really nice sparkling cleans and I must say that for me the 4x10s are the way to go. I play everything from Blues to Country on that thing and I have yet to be let down =) As far as the Mav through the 2x12s go, the speakers really don't do the amp justice. A midrange based amp through speakers made to cut out the midrange really just makes it sound like mush and very hollow. If you're using high gain JJ's for the gain stage then the 4x10 really comes to life IMO. Anyways, hope this helps... Also it depends on your micing and what mic your using. I've found that the SM57s dont' do well with this amp and I rather using my Audix i5 or even a Sennheiser e605 (snare mic) but it catches the amp tone really well.

 

[Shadetree_01]

Hey thanks EMG, Do you have any sound samples on this board or youtube or whatnot? I'd love to hear the 4x10. I use low gain groove tubes in the preamp and stock el84's in the power section. My only problem is that a 4x10 and 2x12 and two heads + pedal board and guitars i alot of gear to haul. (would look cool as hell and cover up some missed notes and general retardation though!!!)

 

[lyman]

i used to have a marshall closed back 2x12 with celestion g12t-75 speakers. that cab was maybe better suited for a hard rock sound, so i switched to an open back 1x12. the character of bass is different; definitely not as tight but that's ok with me. i am always in tube rec mode and like the softness. anyway, i went with an eminence tonker next, and didn't care for it but i tried and like the private jack better. it seems to do well with el84 amps. i have a weber silver bell ceramic on the way (if fedex doesn't destroy it again.......had to send the first one back it was so messed up from shipping :evil: )

anyway, it sounds like you've got a lot of gear to lug around. i don't know what the solution to that one is.....though the maverick can cover plenty of sonic territory so just going to one head/cab is what i would do, personally.

have fun with your amp!

 

[Shadetree_01]

Ok well, the story goes like this. I plugged this beast (short head Mav) into every speaker i could find. I tried Matchless 2x12/BadCat 1x12/Soldano 2x12/orange 2 and 4x12's/ matamp 6x12(that was fun but out of the question). To be absolutely honest the best tones I got that day was the Mav through a Hiwatt handbuilt 4x12 with fanes! Just incredible. The fanes had a great bark and snarl at higher volumes with just a twinge of dirt. Even when in the solid rectifier and the master dimed on channel one the cleans just had an awesome attack. It wasn't what i expected. The second combination I loved was the mav through a reissue 57 4x10 bassman. The ten inch Jensons sounded very articulate and had a sweet midrange instead of the over pronounced honk of my recto's vintage thirties. I thought I had a mate until the owner told me he couldn't order me a cab. So... my idea is to buy a creme Crate vintage club 4x10, replace the speakers with Jensons and replace the brown grill with tan jute to match. Thanks for all the help everyone.

 

[LPClassic]

Great you also liked the 4x10, that is my favorite speakers for this amp, the Maverick 4x10 combo is my favorite amp, I have 2 for that reason.

The 1 and 2x12 sounds a little too dark for my taste, the 4x10 seems to respond better than anything else.

Enjoy it!

 

[RR]

... To be absolutely honest the best tones I got that day was the Mav through a Hiwatt handbuilt 4x12 with fanes! Just incredible. The fanes had a great bark and snarl at higher volumes with just a twinge of dirt. Even when in the solid rectifier and the master dimed on channel one the cleans just had an awesome attack. It wasn't what i expected.

No surprise. I'm a sucker for Fanes (also Hiwatt amps). I actually have pair of Fane Axions and pair of Fane Crescendos. Supposedly the Fane AX12 (alnico magnets) are the Holy grail of the Fanes. But its not everyone's cup of tea. It sure is mine.

The second combination I loved was the mav through a reissue 57 4x10 bassman. The ten inch Jensons sounded very articulate and had a sweet midrange instead of the over pronounced honk of my recto's vintage thirties. I thought I had a mate until the owner told me he couldn't order me a cab. So... my idea is to buy a creme Crate vintage club 4x10, replace the speakers with Jensons and replace the brown grill with tan jute to match. Thanks for all the help everyone.

I'll also experiment with 4x10". I'll likely go for Weber replicates not sure alnicos or ceramics.

Curious, Maverick comes with small chassis (I think size of Mark Series) and 26-3/8"[?] 2x12" combo which obviously a larger chassis. Is the 4x10 Maverick combo using the same chassis as the 2x12"?

 

[turunturun]

The 4x10 is my favorite with this amp as well. I have the 2x12 combo version of the Maverick, but run it through a Lone Star 4x10 cab with Jensen alnicos because as some of the other posters mentioned - it evens out the balance of the sound. It does really sound great, but dark, through the 2x12 though.

The overall width of the 4x10 and the 2x12s are different according to Mesa's product guide - the 4x10 is 26-1/2" and the 2x12 is 26-3/8". That extra 1/8" is probably not reflected in the chassis width - I would have a hard time believing that they would be tooling two different chassis for such a minor difference....

 

[RR]

Thanks for the info turunturn,

I'm planning to build a 4x10 combo so depending on my mood 2x12" or 4x10".

this is my favorite Boogie and I have 4 of them (for me, they're all keepers) and played many.

You know what? I haven't played the Maverick through the Fanes yet!