Emperor and Splawn Cabinets

ajharris1215

ajharris1215

New member
try emperor cabs out of chicago. all custom built to your own specs (including dimensions, ports, etc.). top quality 36ply marine grade birch. dovetail joints (no other cabs have this). no tolex, just beautiful stain and finish to the color of your choice. choose your grill cloth as well. superior to and still cheaper than most other cabs. get it now b/c the price will rise in the future. they'll make vertical and horizontal 2x12s. i like the 6x12s myself.
http://www.emperorcabs.com/HOME2007.html

splawn cabs also are custom built. almost the same specs and options as emperor, but thier's are tolexed (your choice grill, color, and piping of course).
http://www.splawnguitars.com/cabs.htm

i've owned diezel, bogner, splawn, emperor, marshall, mesa, orange, rivera, genz-benz, vader, vht, krank, sunn, electric, etc. cabs. emperor and splawns are the best. of course, i haven't played the new diezels, but i will when they hit the states.

please everyone, check out emperor and splawn.

i'll post some big stage pics soon with more emphasis on the cabinets. also, this one doesn't show our pedalboards:
this was a small place in New Orleans, but we packed it pretty well. incidentally, we're only 2 guitars and drums. those are bass rigs (ampeg, '74 sunn model T) that we run with polyphonic octave generators. trust me, you don't miss the bass...
emperor 4x12s on the right, splawn 4x12 w/ genz benz gflex 2x12 on left
 

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Heyyy.. nice rig.. and that cabs are beautifull.. are they rear or front loaded?

I see, you have Ecstacy amp too? Is it 101B?

I tryed out Ecstacy 101B yesterday by my friend.. (loaded with 6550), I own VH4 .. and I am a little out of mind, what to think, which amp is better, couse I thing, they are absolutelly different animals :confused: ..

I wanted to try it, couse to know how bogner ecstacy sounds..and I think, it is more moded hotrodded marshal than Diezel VH4 which has in my opinion more precious tone,, than Ecstacy is more fat and glassy tone like old marshalls have.. but ofcourse..there was 6550 tubes in.. And I dont really surly know, but it seems to me, thath VH4 should bee more able to cut throught in the band.. It seems to me, that VH 4 have more thick sound and it is the way how to cut throught in the band better maybe, what you think?

Which amp you prefer more.. your VH4 or Ecstacy, but with regard to your photo it seems to be VH4 :D

Under line:
By the way have anyone heared or tryed out Zinky Superfly amp?? I found it on web few day ago and I was surprised.. all analog amp, midi contolable and motorable pots with 32 possible presets..
interesting :D
http://www.stevesmusiccenter.com/ZinkySuperfly.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HswNyoFqgY
http://www.stevesmusiccenter.com/ZinkySuperfly.html
 
the Emperor cabs look awesome, but i'm worried i'd destroy them playing in clubs without any tolex to protect the wood....
 
i have a 101b. its great. seems like its overlooked, but i think its bogner's best amp. more organic than the vh4. less compression. very versatile.

the plexi mode is nice. excursion feature is sweet. hell, you can even switch it to class A. i usually enjoy it on 2 bogner 4x12s (v30). to describe it as more of a hot rodded marshall tone than the vh4 is accurate.

for my band's stuff the vh4 fits better. but the 101b would suffice if i needed it to. i think they're both worth owning... that's why i have both, and yes, stereo full stacks with the 101b/vh4 are very cool.
 
Splawn cabs are okay - and great for the price, but I personally don't think they are as well built as my Bogner cabs or my diezel cab.
 
nbarts":2clwqmuw said:
What made you prefer it over bogner cabs? How much emperor 2x12 runs for?
Click to expand...

splawn makes an oversized 2x12. you should check it out.

emperor will build anything you want. mostly rearloaded, but i'm sure they could build a frontloaded. the company is basically 2 stoner guys that have impressive carpentry skills. you have to contact them for a quote, but i promise they're cheaper than bogner, diezel, even marshall. so is splawn for the moment. but as demand rises, this may not last.

emperor cabs are very popular right now with underground doom/metal bands. i prefer them because they don't cut any corners. all material is selected birch, including the baffle board. some cabs use pine for this. and fucking dovetail joints. i've never seen this before on any cab. dovetail is a very difficult joint to achieve. takes a lot of skill. emperors are the highest quality cabs i've ever found.

and to me, the cabs are basically transparent. they seem to produce the sound of your guitar, amp and speakers very naturally. gk100s in an emperor sound incredibly good with the vh4.
 
Bloodsong":3ubxc11e said:
the Emperor cabs look awesome, but i'm worried i'd destroy them playing in clubs without any tolex to protect the wood....
Click to expand...


i'm worried about this myself, but thier cabs come with custom made thick padded covers... this helps.
 
mhenson42":2jl63u0k said:
Splawn cabs are okay - and great for the price, but I personally don't think they are as well built as my Bogner cabs or my diezel cab.
Click to expand...

disagree... i own both and splawn's quality kills bogner's. my diezel 4x12r is on par with the splawn, but the splawn sounds better.

however, the bogner dimensions are different than splawn's, therefore so is the sound. also, my bogner and diezel cabs are very forward projecting, which i don't like. the splawns have more spread to thier sound. overall, i think splawn has them beat for quality and tone, but that's just my opinion.
 
the cabs are basically transparent. they seem to produce the sound of your guitar, amp and speakers very naturally.
Click to expand...

That's what I was afraid of. The reason I like the OS Bogner is the unique character it has. I don't really look for transparency in cabs.
 
I agree.
SPLAWN cabs are amazing.
BUT... just like every other thread in the history of threads.
THEY ARE JUST OPINIONS :thumbsup:
 
Last year when I was shopping for a cab, I looked hard at Emperor cabs, and was quoted $500 for an unloaded cab. I don't know how much they charge for a loaded cab, though I think they buy the speakers in bulk, so that could reduce the price somewhat. Still though they look to be copies of 70's style Orange/Matamp cabs, which I thought were great sounding cabs. --They are rear loaded cabs.
 
ajharris1215":1g3t8byl said:
i'll post some big stage pics soon with more emphasis on the cabinets. also, this one doesn't show our pedalboards:
this was a small place in New Orleans, but we packed it pretty well. incidentally, we're only 2 guitars and drums. those are bass rigs (ampeg, '74 sunn model T) that we run with polyphonic octave generators. trust me, you don't miss the bass...
emperor 4x12s on the right, splawn 4x12 w/ genz benz gflex 2x12 on left
Click to expand...

Is that a Genz-Benz G-Flex 212 on the floor below the Splawn? If so, how does that one sound?
 
ajharris1215":3gbtx30w said:
nbarts":3gbtx30w said:
What made you prefer it over bogner cabs? How much emperor 2x12 runs for?
Click to expand...

splawn makes an oversized 2x12. you should check it out.

emperor will build anything you want. mostly rearloaded, but i'm sure they could build a frontloaded. the company is basically 2 stoner guys that have impressive carpentry skills. you have to contact them for a quote, but i promise they're cheaper than bogner, diezel, even marshall. so is splawn for the moment. but as demand rises, this may not last.

emperor cabs are very popular right now with underground doom/metal bands. i prefer them because they don't cut any corners. all material is selected birch, including the baffle board. some cabs use pine for this. and fucking dovetail joints. i've never seen this before on any cab. dovetail is a very difficult joint to achieve. takes a lot of skill. emperors are the highest quality cabs i've ever found.

and to me, the cabs are basically transparent. they seem to produce the sound of your guitar, amp and speakers very naturally. gk100s in an emperor sound incredibly good with the vh4.
Click to expand...

Could you compare the Emperor 6x12 to the Bogner 4x12 for me, please? I have the Bogner 4x12 and have been really, really curious about getting one of those Emperor 6x12's because they look so nice, but I don't know if I would like the sound of it better or not. Is it darker or brighter than the Bogner 4x12? More loose or more tight? Do you have V30's in your 6x12 or other speakers? What kind of music do you play? I'm guesing stoner rock/doom stuff by the type of gear you have... I'm not into loose and bassy though, so I hope that's not what they're like. But you're one of the only people I've seen who's owned both, so I'm really curious about your opinion. I've also played an Orange 4x12 if you can compare it to that...

I think the price is about $1100 or $1200 for the 6x12 shipped, so I'm not really sure if I want to do it or not....

EDIT: Also, for that padded cover you mentioned... does it cover the front of the cab or does it just go around the front/back? I mean, can you leave it on so it covers all but the front of the cab when playing live?
 
guitarobert":1a689tsw said:
ajharris1215":1a689tsw said:
i'll post some big stage pics soon with more emphasis on the cabinets. also, this one doesn't show our pedalboards:
this was a small place in New Orleans, but we packed it pretty well. incidentally, we're only 2 guitars and drums. those are bass rigs (ampeg, '74 sunn model T) that we run with polyphonic octave generators. trust me, you don't miss the bass...
emperor 4x12s on the right, splawn 4x12 w/ genz benz gflex 2x12 on left
Click to expand...

Is that a Genz-Benz G-Flex 212 on the floor below the Splawn? If so, how does that one sound?
Click to expand...


the g-flex 2x12 is a great cab. front loaded with a so-called "flexible" baffle. the ports make them really tight, bassy and very powerful. when run with a 4x12, more power goes to the 2 speakers in the genz, so its the perfect low end compliment. the stock eminence made george lynch speakers aren't the best i've ever heard. but they're easily swapped out for whatever your ears desire.

however, my praises apply to the 2x12 only. the 4x12 version didn't impress me.
 
JoshuaLogan":171r60e4 said:
ajharris1215":171r60e4 said:
nbarts":171r60e4 said:
What made you prefer it over bogner cabs? How much emperor 2x12 runs for?
Click to expand...

splawn makes an oversized 2x12. you should check it out.

emperor will build anything you want. mostly rearloaded, but i'm sure they could build a frontloaded. the company is basically 2 stoner guys that have impressive carpentry skills. you have to contact them for a quote, but i promise they're cheaper than bogner, diezel, even marshall. so is splawn for the moment. but as demand rises, this may not last.

emperor cabs are very popular right now with underground doom/metal bands. i prefer them because they don't cut any corners. all material is selected birch, including the baffle board. some cabs use pine for this. and fucking dovetail joints. i've never seen this before on any cab. dovetail is a very difficult joint to achieve. takes a lot of skill. emperors are the highest quality cabs i've ever found.

and to me, the cabs are basically transparent. they seem to produce the sound of your guitar, amp and speakers very naturally. gk100s in an emperor sound incredibly good with the vh4.
Click to expand...

Could you compare the Emperor 6x12 to the Bogner 4x12 for me, please? I have the Bogner 4x12 and have been really, really curious about getting one of those Emperor 6x12's because they look so nice, but I don't know if I would like the sound of it better or not. Is it darker or brighter than the Bogner 4x12? More loose or more tight? Do you have V30's in your 6x12 or other speakers? What kind of music do you play? I'm guesing stoner rock/doom stuff by the type of gear you have... I'm not into loose and bassy though, so I hope that's not what they're like. But you're one of the only people I've seen who's owned both, so I'm really curious about your opinion. I've also played an Orange 4x12 if you can compare it to that...

I think the price is about $1100 or $1200 for the 6x12 shipped, so I'm not really sure if I want to do it or not....

EDIT: Also, for that padded cover you mentioned... does it cover the front of the cab or does it just go around the front/back? I mean, can you leave it on so it covers all but the front of the cab when playing live?
Click to expand...

though i sometimes enjoy it, and despite being from south louisiana, i do not play doom/stoner rock. i do however like TONE. real tone that is warm, tight, true and clear.

its hard to explain, but i play rather progressive/experimental, time-shifting, instrumental, hyper-riff oriented metal that requires a very tight low end with warm powerful mids and flawless clarity. i can't express how tight i need my low end to be. its the basis of a vast majority of our riffs and tone... check the myspace link for a sample. however, only one song is from the new album (the great caldera), emperors were not acquired/used, and it was recorded before we integrated full time bass rigs into our overall guitar sound (which, incidentally, i highly reccommend - i use a polyphonic octave generator and a 3-way amp switcher. imagine playing guitar as usual but having an incredibly heavy bass tone behind everything you do... its beyond simply playing guitar, and is just awesome).

i think you'd be much happier with the emperor 6x12 over a single bogner or orange 4x12. compared to almost any 4x12, the sound from a 6x12 is much more dynamic and full. IMHO, emperor's 6x12s not only sound better than the bogner 4x12s, but are superior to them in every way from design to construction/materials to overall quality, etc., etc...

i have mine loaded with 3 vintage 30s and 3 gk100s in a staggered pattern (awesome comination). the cab remains tight and true to the tone pushed through it. i would say its slightly darker than a bogner 4x12, but brighter than the orange. i have 2 bogner 4x12s and i find them to be very "forward projecting" cabs. the oranges are like this as well. the emperor 6x12 does a much better job of spreading the sound while producing more low end and much sweeter mids. the low end is probably a touch looser than the bogner 4x12, but not by much. actually, so little that its hardly worth mentioning.

i think the real effect that will come from an emperor 4x12 relies on the amp you're running through it. the cabs produce a nice, sweet, warm and natural tone that stays very tight with both my vh4 and '74 sunn model T. i've heard them with other amps (ecstacy 101b, bad cat, orange or120, green/matamp, etc.) and they always sounded good. as i mentioned before, emperor cabs seem to transparently produce the sound of the amp, and as with any good cabinet, tweaking a few knobs will bring you to where you want to be.

emperor sells thier cabs with thick padded slip covers... they slip on from the top and you have to remove them to play. they're mostly for transportation.
 
I guess you guys are talking about live/room sound in this comparison? I wonder how much of these superb qualities of both cabinets are really present when they are directly (and well) miced?
 
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