[avery]

I've got a Dual Rectifier head that I currently run through a Marshall 1960B 4x12 cab. When I bought the head, I went for the Marshall cab because it was about $400 cheaper than the Mesa, and I was already stretching the budget getting the head..

I love the sound of the Marshall cab, but I'm wondering if I'd like the Mesa better. Any opinions on this? I know that obviously the only way to really know is to try the Mesa.. but if anyone else has experience with both, I'd love to hear.

[No Soul]

totally depends on the sound you are going for. They are very different beasts.

Also keep in mind there are 2 different Mesa 4X12s. There is the Mesa standard (which is huge) and te Mesa traditional (roughly the same size as your marshall 1960).

You are purely a lead/soloist player, then you'd probably prefer one of the Mesa cabs, as they have A LOT more midrange to them. Do be warned though, vintage30s (which are found in the mesas) get "farty" sounding a lot easier on the low end when put under very high gain, especially with the Mesa oversized cab. The smaller dimensions of the Mesa trad cab keep the bass much more controled and focused, but ultimately its still a vintage30.

To make a simple comparison, the 1960 is darker sounding, and bit grittier. The bass response is much tigther. I play mostly modern metal and hardcore so its my preference by far, especially when doing heavy rhythm parts. Its not say it doesent have any mid or high end to it. I just find it easier to dial in a bit of brightness with a recto.

If you really want a great sound, use both of the cabinets! When I was testing both cabs out about a year ago at my studio, using both at the same time (marshall1960 and mesa trad) was our last test. AMAZING to the say the least. Incredibly ballanced and versatile on all fronts. If you dont need to the volume (or hassle ) of a full stack, you could easily just take 2 GT75s out of your 1960 and replace them w/ 2 vintage30s (in a X pattern) which will also give you a very similar ballance in sound.

Bogners 4x12 cab made for their ubershall (one of the most insane modern high gain amps ever put into production for those you not familiar with it) is wired w/ both v30s and gt75s. Their standard cabs use v30s, but they wanted to give their "metal" cab a stronger low end with the addition of the gt75s.

hope this helped

[avery]

Man, that's awesome.. thanks for all the info. I might try out the mesa standard cab at the store sometime just to see, but I really like the sound of the Marshall so I'd have to like the mesa a lot better in order to change.

[AG Rocks]

Im not a fan of Marshalls offerings. I would try out the Mesas. Crate also offers a birch made closedback 4x12 with optional Vintage 30s. I have the Vintage 30 version and i like it. I use it for modern high gain stuff, metal, etc... If you go over the top on low end, it has a little bit of a whump, but i like that anyways.

[Vince]

I have the mesa standard recto.

http://www.vincelupone.com/gear.html <--pic

It's the best cab I've ever had. It's very tall, and very deep. The bass booms, and you have to be able to control it, especially if you're playing a 7-string. Once you know how to control it, it's the best sounding cab in the world. I've had two others with the same config; marshall 1960 cab, and the Crate Blue Voodoo cab.

Both those cabs rocked, but the Mesa standard one really really kicks butt for 4x12s.

[Mind Riot]

www.avatarspeakers.com

Great prices, and they'll put any speaker configuration in it you want. Their cabs are great quality, and they're great to work with.

Aside from the Mesa cabs' size and any differences in material, the main thing is the speakers. As cool as it is to have 'Marshall' or 'Mesa' on the front of your cab these avatar cabs will use the same or better Celestions in them and have the same or better build quality for lower price. Not sure if they make an oversized like the big Mesa one though. But they are definitely worth checking out if you're in the market for a new cab.

[No Soul]

Originally Posted by Mind Riot

Aside from the Mesa cabs' size and any differences in material, the main thing is the speakers.

you'd be suprised how easily a difference in build quality and construction type can can make the same speakers sound COMPLETELY different.

You might as well tell me the only part that matters in a guitar is the pickup (though somebody tried to say that about EMGs...)

take for example one of the old Mesa ported 4x12s w/ v30s and compare it to a Carvin 4x12 w/ vintage 30s (which has a closed back and is about as small as a 4x12 gets) and you will find a world of difference. Id be willing to bet in a blind test you could convince most people that they were completely different speakers.

The truth of the matter is these days most construction methods and cab sizes have become fairly similar. Avatar is a great deal for the money. (Carvins are pretty good too). If you havent heard me rant and rave about them though, avoid older avatar cabs like the plague (the older ones have individual metal grills for each speaker).

Also, if you guys are into more modern and "extreme" metal (death, black, speed, thrarsh etc etc etc blah blah blah) check out a VHT cab w/ P50s.

[Vince]

Originally Posted by Mind Riot

www.avatarspeakers.com

Great prices, and they'll put any speaker configuration in it you want. Their cabs are great quality, and they're great to work with.

Aside from the Mesa cabs' size and any differences in material, the main thing is the speakers. As cool as it is to have 'Marshall' or 'Mesa' on the front of your cab these avatar cabs will use the same or better Celestions in them and have the same or better build quality for lower price. Not sure if they make an oversized like the big Mesa one though. But they are definitely worth checking out if you're in the market for a new cab.

Great timing, I just bought an Avatar 2x12!!

I put it head to head with my mesa recto 4x12 tonight, and it's pretty comparable in tone. I did notice the Avatar cabinet has more high-end and mids, with less bass response, but that's to be expected going from any 4x12 to a 2x12. Turning my presence knobs on my mesa from 5 (their normal position) to about 2 or 3 made the sound very comparable. Both the Avatar and Mesa cabs rule. Good call bud!

[Mind Riot]

Originally Posted by No Soul

take for example one of the old Mesa ported 4x12s w/ v30s and compare it to a Carvin 4x12 w/ vintage 30s (which has a closed back and is about as small as a 4x12 gets) and you will find a world of difference. Id be willing to bet in a blind test you could convince most people that they were completely different speakers.

The truth of the matter is these days most construction methods and cab sizes have become fairly similar.

It sounds to me like basically what you're saying is:

Originally Posted by Mind Riot

Aside from the Mesa cabs' size and any differences in material, the main thing is the speakers.

:p

[Mind Riot]

Originally Posted by desertdweller

Great timing, I just bought an Avatar 2x12!!

I put it head to head with my mesa recto 4x12 tonight, and it's pretty comparable in tone. I did notice the Avatar cabinet has more high-end and mids, with less bass response, but that's to be expected going from any 4x12 to a 2x12. Turning my presence knobs on my mesa from 5 (their normal position) to about 2 or 3 made the sound very comparable. Both the Avatar and Mesa cabs rule. Good call bud!

Yeah, avatar is good people. I bought a Celestion G12H-80 from Dave a while back and he was really cool about everything. The G12H-80 is basically a relabeled Classic Lead 80, and it's a bit more neutral than other speakers in it's frequency response, which makes it good for modelers and such. Actually, the G12H-80 was developed for modeling purposes, and since I'm a PODxt user it works great. A buddy of mine has that cab right now, but most of the time I just play through my studio monitors anyway, to make sure that what the PODxt is putting out is exactly what will be recorded.