Help Fix This X88IR Rig Hadicapped By A Bad Cab

[Rackman]

So I've had an X88IR for a while, and an SM100R much longer. But I've never gotten the X88IR rig to sound particularly good. Today I decided to swap some pieces to try to figure out why, and it turns out the cab I've got hooked up is WAY too dark - presence on the SM100R has to be between 9 and 10 to get sort of OK, and even that sounds pretty unnatural.

The cab is a MOJOTone slant 2x12 with EVM12L Black Shadows in it. They're wired in parallel so the SM100R is running on the 4ohm tap.

I used these speakers because one sounded excellent (if a hair dark) in my TL806 cab I use for my normal gigging rig. Clearly something about it being a 2x12, or at least this particular 2x12, made them unacceptably dark.

I tried the rig with my daughter's Thiele with a Mesa C90 you can see sitting on top, and while the C90 is not my favorite speaker it did confirm the cab was the issue.

So I'm looking for ideas - is there something about these Mojotone 2x12s that makes them effectively unusable? Do I need to change speakers? I need 100+W capability and I'd like 100dBSLP/1W/1m efficiency. That puts some limits on what I could use but there's too many options to try. Should I be looking at V30s? Creamback 75s?

Is there some reason the 4ohm tap on the SM100R sounds like crap?

Is there a different vertical 2x12 I should be using? Soldano makes one with V30. I could go to a 4x12 but just space and weight wise I'd rather not if I can avoid it. Should I just get another Moon wide TL806 and put casters on it and one of the 12Ls in?

 

[SoooRad]

Just confirming you have run the presence and eq all higher than they are in the photos ( I do see the note about the presence on " 9 and 10")

I only say this because sometimes people want the knobs to be set a certain way, including SRV. I can't remember what amp it was but he wanted it to look like it was on 10, but really not be. If it sounds best with the Presence treble and middle all just about dimed, thats fine. As long as you haven't ACTUALLY run out of room.

This isn't to say that the speakers/cab aren't the culprit, but rather try to avoid spending your money if you don't NEED to .

 

[Rackman]

Just confirming you have run the presence and eq all higher than they are in the photos ( I do see the note about the presence on " 9 and 10")

I only say this because sometimes people want the knobs to be set a certain way, including SRV. I can't remember what amp it was but he wanted it to look like it was on 10, but really not be. If it sounds best with the Presence treble and middle all just about dimed, thats fine. As long as you haven't ACTUALLY run out of room.

This isn't to say that the speakers/cab aren't the culprit, but rather try to avoid spending your money if you don't NEED to .

Yes these settings were for the Thiele/C90. I didn't really get it dialed in, but I did confirm that these settings (channel 3, presence 7, treble 6, bright off) were bright enough

I'm not afraid to turn the knobs to where they sound good, but with the Mojotone I ended up at bright on, Treble 8-9, Presence 9-10 and it was sort of bright enough but sounded unnatural.

 

[CarlF]

With that setup, I'd have a Soldano 2x12 ordered already

 

[Rackman]

With that setup, I'd have a Soldano 2x12 ordered already

The idea has crossed my mind - buy a Soldano vertical 2x12 with V30s, add casters, ditch the Mojotone.

 

[heath]

I am not a huge fan of V30s, except with Mesa Mark series amps. Just something grating in the upper mids. Soldano amps always sounded best to me with something more in that greenback vein or the heritage g12h30. I would say the creambacks would be nice too.

 

[Rackman]

I am not a huge fan of V30s, except with Mesa Mark series amps. Just something grating in the upper mids. Soldano amps always sounded best to me with something more in that greenback vein or the heritage g12h30. I would say the creambacks would be nice too.

H30s won't handle the power in a 2x12 obviously. Creambacks seem like an option - the issue is what cab to get then. I could try them in the Mojotone but no idea what the results might be like. I'm honestly not at all sure why it's sounding the way it does.

 

[skoora]

See if BAD would put 65’s in a new Soldano 2x12? What kind of music are you playing? What is a comparable tone you relate yours to?

 

[Rackman]

See if BAD would put 65’s in a new Soldano 2x12? What kind of music are you playing? What is a comparable tone you relate yours to?

I play a pretty wide range of stuff - I've got both rock covers and country gigs and I occasionally do studio work or play on something I'm engineering/producing. I use synergy modules in my primary rig - Killer Kali, SLOII and Uberschall a lot for distortion. I guess maybe Gary Moore's LP sound is a reference for lead - not necessarily out of phase but that sort of singing sound.

This is just kind of a side experiment - nostalgia for the SLO sound but in a more convenient 3-channel MIDI package. I'm more interested in the gain side than the cleans.

Talking to BAD seems like a serious option. What effect does the front-loaded cab have?

 

[heath]

H30s won't handle the power in a 2x12 obviously. Creambacks seem like an option - the issue is what cab to get then. I could try them in the Mojotone but no idea what the results might be like. I'm honestly not at all sure why it's sounding the way it does.

If you are pushing the SM100R loud and are leaning 2x12 then the H30 would probably not be the best option. The Creamback is supposed to be similar, tonaly but I have not really spent more than a few minutes with one in a DSL 40. The closest I have found to the h30 or greenback tone was the scumback speakers. I found it hard to distinguish between the h30 and scumbacks in a EVH 2x12 I had.

 

[Rackman]

If you are pushing the SM100R loud and are leaning 2x12 then the H30 would probably not be the best option. The Creamback is supposed to be similar, tonaly but I have not really spent more than a few minutes with one in a DSL 40. The closest I have found to the h30 or greenback tone was the scumback speakers. I found it hard to distinguish between the h30 and scumbacks in a EVH 2x12 I had.

I'd prefer to be in a 2x12. The amp's in the basement right now and I'd rather not haul 100lb cabs up and down the stairs.

 

[heath]

I'd prefer to be in a 2x12. The amp's in the basement right now and I'd rather not haul 100lb cabs up and down the stairs.

I understand completely. I've not owned a 4x12 since 2004 for this reason. Marshall 1960B lugged up 32 stairs for a gig broke me. Never again. 2x12 cabs and eventually 1x12 cabs became my go-to.

I also don't run my amps loud enough that the speaker wattage handling mattered much. Even my 120 watt amps rarely got to 1/3rd of the way up so 60 watts usually was not an issue as wattage = voltage squared/ohms. My old Music Man HD-150 @ 4.5 on the volume came closest to crossing that threshold of wattage for my 2x12 at 56 watts into the 60 watt cab. It was also ear shatteringly loud.

 

[darkscarf]

Have you compared the two cabs in the position that's in the photo? As in one at ear level, one way below? That would affect the sound signature.

 

[Rackman]

Have you compared the two cabs in the position that's in the photo? As in one at ear level, one way below? That would affect the sound signature.

It's the same any which way. This is NOT a subtle effect.

 

[skoora]

I play a pretty wide range of stuff - I've got both rock covers and country gigs and I occasionally do studio work or play on something I'm engineering/producing. I use synergy modules in my primary rig - Killer Kali, SLOII and Uberschall a lot for distortion. I guess maybe Gary Moore's LP sound is a reference for lead - not necessarily out of phase but that sort of singing sound.

This is just kind of a side experiment - nostalgia for the SLO sound but in a more convenient 3-channel MIDI package. I'm more interested in the gain side than the cleans.

Talking to BAD seems like a serious option. What effect does the front-loaded cab have?

I’ve never used a front loaded cab so I can’t say.