Amp head with two 1x12 extension cabinets

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ocean123

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I have a Mesa 5:50 express 50Watt head. I am quite constrained on the amount of weight that I can carry to gigs so the horizontal 2x12 cabinet is not an option.

I want to purchase TWO 1x12 extension cabinets.

The amp has 2x 4 Ohm outputs that can be used with 2x 8ohm speakers.

I was thinking about getting two different 8ohm 90W cabinets. One of them is a closed-back and one of them is an open-back. That way I am taking advantage of the different qualities of both types. I am the only guitarist in the band so I was thinking of putting the closed back directly underneath the head and then putting the open-back on the opposite side of the stage to get a nice wide stereo.

The ohms and wattage are matching on the cabs, the only difference is the model and the fact that one is closed-back and the other is open-back. Are there any considerations with this setup? Any reason I need to just grab two matching cabs?

The cabinets are

Mesa/Boogie 1x12 Thiele Compact Cabinet 90W closed back

Mesa/Boogie Transatlantic 19 1x12" Extension Cab 90W open back

Thanks in advance
 
I used to run my Mesa mark IV and later my orange rv50 with 2 closed back 112 cabs. One had a v30, the other had an mc90. It was a nice setup. I would run one under the head and the other like a monitor. Other times I would stack the 2 cabs.

One thing to consider if you run them separate and they are not matching cabs, is that you will not be getting the total sound when you dial in the amp. Also, running one as a monitor was only done when we had a poor pa. So if you spread one one each side, that is not really needed if you have a good monitor and like the sound of your guitar through the monitor...
 
Two closed back Thieles would be my choice, with MC90s. Used that setup with a mini Recto, an EVH 50 watt, Marshall JVM, Laney GH50L and a Randall RD45H head. Awesome with all. Those cabs (especially the MC90's), get along with anything. Fantastic clarity, and basically a Classic Lead 80 made in England with modification exclusive to Mesa. I absolutely love that speaker!
 
I think I will buy a new 1x12 Theile cab with the C90. I plan to replace the C90 with the EVM12-L speaker.

The second 1x12 cabinet in the pair I am looking at the LoneStar 23 open-back with a C90.

Questions:
1. Will the Thiele closed-back EVM12-L match together with the LoneStar 23 open-back c90?

2. The ohms match but do the watts have to match? I am using a 50Watt Mesa Express Plus head with 2x 4ohm outputs to power 2x 8ohm cabs. The cabinets are both 8ohm but speakers will be rated at 200W and 90W respectively.
 
I've used just 1 Thiele cab with the 200 watt speaker and they make any combo sound massive. They really push a lot of bottom for such a small cab.
 
I have two Forte 3D 1x12 cabs with Jensen Electric lightening speakers, and it sounds killer!!! The Forte cabs sound really big.
 
If you're using the same speakers in both cabs, you're probably ok. If you start mixing speakers, you need to watch their efficiency ratings because one can drown the other out.

Also, it might to hard to dial in that set up because the bass response of the open back cab will be different from the closed back. The open back cab could get boomy sounding well before the closed back cab would have trouble. So you'll have to balance things.

I used a set up with two 1x12 cabs for a while, but it was with two separate power amps so I could separately control the volume to each cab. It also was nice to have separate presence and resonance controls for each cab.
 
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