Recto 1x12 vs 2x12 and Brit made Vintage 30's vs Chinese

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primal

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I recently picked up a used Recto 1x12 to go with my Mark IV head. I'm telling you the two were made for each other (I know not technically, but they sure do sound nice together).

Anyway, I also own a Recto 2x12 to go with my Road King.

Please be advised the difference I am talking about in tone is very subtle. I think I would have a hard time pointing it out to a non musician in fact.

I noticed recently that tone wise my RoadKing was not matching up well compared to my Mark IV. The Road King sounded excellent, but the high's were just a touch more ebrasive coming out of the Road King.

I attributed it to just the Recto distortion. But I was also thinking that when I got the two I thought they were much more evenly matched, very different, but even in there own rights (I was playing them both through the 2x12, but that thought had not occured to me immediatley).

I have been moving stuff around and I decided to go ahead and plug the Mark IV into the 2x12 to jam for a bit. What do you know, all of a sudden the Mark IV doesn't sound as good. Don't get me wrong, I still thought it sounded excellent, as I did the Road King. But I did notice the problem with the high's being a little more harsh.

So I went and plugged the Road King into the 1x12 and the harshness was gone from the Road King. They were now much more evenly matched again.

Now, both cabs come with Vintage 30's. I have not looked inside either cab, but the guy I bought the 1x12 from said it came with a British made Vintage 30.

The Recto 2x12 is only 3 or four months old. Do the new Recto 2x12's come with Chinese vintage 30's? At some point I will look inside but I am just not dragging it out from where it is at the moment.

Could this be a case of the Brit Vintage 30's vs the Chinees made ones?

I guess it could also be a case of the new cab still not being broken in yet. I rarely let her rip on it.

What is the tone difference as the speakers get broken in?

Also, could it actually just be the cabs themselves? I would have assumed the 2x12 would have had less high's due to having more bass response?
 
primal said:
What is the tone difference as the speakers get broken in?

Also, could it actually just be the cabs themselves? I would have assumed the 2x12 would have had less high's due to having more bass response?
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Broken in speakers do make a difference, but the cab prob makes the most difference. There is less air for the speakers to move inside the cab and that will affect the tone. I have two Recto 1x12s and LOVE them. Never heard a 2x12, but the two speakers sharing the air space makes a difference!
 
The Recto 1x12 is really unbelievable. That with the Mark IV head is enough for any situation that wouldn't require a PA for the instruments. Plust size wise, the Mark IV short head and Recto 1x12 are the exact same width

I would have no problems at all jammin with a guy running a 4x12. It sounds huge.
 
cellardweller said:
primal said:
I would have no problems at all jammin with a guy running a 4x12. It sounds huge.
Click to expand...

Wow!
WTF is in that thing? :shock:
EDIT: HOLY CRAP! Just noticed that you said it's got a v30!
Whooda thunk?
Click to expand...

Don't get me wrong. I wouldn't win a volume contest if dude with the half stack decided to try and drown me out.

But it is plenty loud enough to play with drums and can even overpower them if pushed.

And it does not sound like a 1x12. You won't confuse it with playing an open back combo.
 
Just be aware that a Vintage 30 is a 60 watt speaker, and a Mark IV is an 85 watt amp.
 
MrMarkIII said:
Just be aware that a Vintage 30 is a 60 watt speaker, and a Mark IV is an 85 watt amp.
Click to expand...

You'd have to really push the hell out of the speaker to blow it. The Roadster 1x12 cabs and combos contain a V30 and it is a 50/100 watt amp...
 
MrMarkIII said:
Just be aware that a Vintage 30 is a 60 watt speaker, and a Mark IV is an 85 watt amp.
Click to expand...

I only run it in Class A when hooked up to the 1x12 as a precaution. I think that drops it to like 45 watts.
 
Just be aware, that the "5 watts" are typically at 5-10% THD. When everything's at ten (or eleven), it can put out the double of that. Think about that with a 100W Marshall - Greenbacks aren't such a good choice after all :)

That being said, it's very easy to hear when you're getting speaker distortion, and the speaker won't just explode. It takes time, just like with EL34's with too much voltage on their screen grids like in ALL Marshall amps (400V max specced, and Marshall easily has 470V on them).

Kind regards, Jake
 
I've read this before with someone comparing the 1x12 and 2x12 3/4-back cabinets, but I personally haven't had a chance to test similar cabinets side by side...

But some think that a 1x12 can have more bass response than a 2x12 because in a 2x12 the speakers are actually canceling out some of the bass frequencies between the two speakers.

Is this your experience?

My 3/4-back 1x12 cabinets can get stupid loud. Two of them is just way too loud for most situations.

Oh and I'm pretty sure all of Mesas Celestion speakers come from the UK not China.
 
Mr_You said:
I've read this before with someone comparing the 1x12 and 2x12 3/4-back cabinets, but I personally haven't had a chance to test similar cabinets side by side...

But some think that a 1x12 can have more bass response than a 2x12 because in a 2x12 the speakers are actually canceling out some of the bass frequencies between the two speakers.

Is this your experience?

My 3/4-back 1x12 cabinets can get stupid loud. Two of them is just way too loud for most situations.

Oh and I'm pretty sure all of Mesas Celestion speakers come from the UK not China.
Click to expand...

Hard to say if it is bass cancelling.

It was also brought to my attention that even though I have both cabs side by side, the 1x12 is in the corner of the room. This may also have an effect.

I also used to have the 3/4 1x12 cab. It was freaking awesome. Another 1x12 that sounds bigger then it should. Huge bottom end on that cab.

I traded it in to pick up the 2x12. Actually got what I paid for it on the trade in.

I went back to GC to pick it back up for my Mark IV but it had been sold.

Then I saw the recto 1x12 on Craigslist here in Raliegh. Funny thing was as i was paying the guy, he asked me if I ever visited this board. I said all the time. He then told me he had it listed in the classified section here. I had never noticed it.
 
Mr_You said:
My 3/4-back 1x12 cabinets can get stupid loud. ..
Click to expand...

I just noticed you are in NC as well (NC is very well represented on this board). You didn't happen to pick up your 3/4 back cab from Guitar Center in Raleigh after last December?

If so, it was the one I traded in. It was the only one i have ever seen in that store. It was in like new condition.
 
Mesa's Vintage 30's are made in China, just like everyone else's. The only Celestion guitar speakers now made in the UK are the Heritage Greenback G12H30's and G12M 20 watters(which is why they're well over $200.00 each), IIRC.

I have both, and to tell you the truth, after they break in, I can't tell them apart. These tend to have a bit of a gnatty edge when they're new. Avatar Speakers has their branded HellaTone 60 is a Celestion V30 that's already broken in when you buy it.

I've ran 50 watt Marshall 2204's with 6550's cranking into a 1-12" V30 cab, and never blew one out yet, just gotta be careful.
 
LesPaul666 said:
Mesa's Vintage 30's are made in China, just like everyone else's. ...
Click to expand...
Look at the yellow circle highlighting MESA's Vintage 30s. [click on image for link]

[click on image for link]
 

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