Help me decide on a 4x12

[Keebz]

Hmm I will have to try some of these cabs out.


So if I tracked down an Orange cab to try would that give me a rough idea of what an emperor would sound like?

Nah, An Emperor resonates more than an Orange cab does.
IMO Orange cabs don't resonate and they project MORE from the speakers thus making it seem very beamy or directional.

 

[unsafe]

Marshall and Mesa cabs are still pretty much the most used cabs on the planet, i don't think you can go wrong with them. From there you can start choosing speakers.

I sincerely believe the diezel and bogner cabs are very overpriced...

The amps are killer though

 

[White_Van]

You can get Orange cabs in black. Just a thought.

 

[Rocket Sauce]

Marshall and Mesa cabs are still pretty much the most used cabs on the planet, i don't think you can go wrong with them. From there you can start choosing speakers.

I sincerely believe the diezel and bogner cabs are very overpriced...

The amps are killer though

I partially disagree. In my opinion, the Mesa cabs hold their own against the bogners, diezels, mills, etc, but the Marshall mostly falls flat. When I switched from a marshall to a bogner..it was night and day.

Of course, this is all IMHO playing high gain heads through both cabs.

 

[shadowfax29]

+1 for the Emperor. I have an Emperor 2x12 and a Bogner Uberkab, and before the Uberkab had a Mesa. There's a good chance that I'll be selling the Uberkab in the near future. Emperor is built like a tank, and they're super nice guys to deal with to boot. But as said by others what speakers you're using will also make a world of difference. I have an EVM12L and an Eminence Delta Pro 12A in my Emperor. When I ordered mine they wanted a 50% deposit, could give you time to save the extra dough.

 

[unsafe]

I understand what you mean, still i think most of the bad reputation of the Marshalls comes from the celestion T75 speakers...

I have G12K100s in a marshall cab (it's also slightly taller than other marshall cabs) and i must say i was surprised by the sound

Last fall I saw Cannibal corpse along with other bands. Some used other cabs (Engl,Peavey) still Pat had the thickest,loudest sound and he was using standard 1960B cabs. Of course maybe it's full of internal mods and different speakers (EV?)...

 

[unsafe]

Marshall and Mesa cabs are still pretty much the most used cabs on the planet, i don't think you can go wrong with them. From there you can start choosing speakers.

I sincerely believe the diezel and bogner cabs are very overpriced...

The amps are killer though

I partially disagree. In my opinion, the Mesa cabs hold their own against the bogners, diezels, mills, etc, but the Marshall mostly falls flat. When I switched from a marshall to a bogner..it was night and day.

Of course, this is all IMHO playing high gain heads through both cabs.

Also: didn't you used to have an epic avatar with some kind of ass??

 

[spawnofthesith]

Hmmm I really wish I could play an Emperor.

I have played the mesa cab with a mark v and it sounded amazing.

 

[Rocket Sauce]

Marshall and Mesa cabs are still pretty much the most used cabs on the planet, i don't think you can go wrong with them. From there you can start choosing speakers.

I sincerely believe the diezel and bogner cabs are very overpriced...

The amps are killer though

I partially disagree. In my opinion, the Mesa cabs hold their own against the bogners, diezels, mills, etc, but the Marshall mostly falls flat. When I switched from a marshall to a bogner..it was night and day.

Of course, this is all IMHO playing high gain heads through both cabs.

Also: didn't you used to have an epic avatar with some kind of ass??

Addressing your point above this post: I tried changing speakers, mixing speakers (didn't do the whole mod thing with sealing the box up though), and still found it lacking. Got the Uberkab and it was awesome!!!

Maybe I just had a dud. I guess I need to play a bunch more of the marshall brand cabs, but my experience with the one I owned for 5 years wasn't that great. The whole time I kept thinking it was the amp. Then I got a new amp...same suckage (although it was a slight improvement ).

I did have decent results running a 3/4 stack with a Framus 2x12 on top of the Marshall, but that might say more about the Framus than the Marshall.

As far as the avatar goes, yes I did/do have that avatar pic. It's Kari Sweets doing a little "taste the rainbow" action. Sounds like I might have to throw her up there again

 

[orangekick]

Hmmm I really wish I could play an Emperor.

I have played the mesa cab with a mark v and it sounded amazing.

I had an Emperor 6x12 cab and it was the best cab that I have ever played through. It just so happened that I got it right at a time when my band splintered and stopped playing so many live gigs.

I had no trouble selling it though, so keep that in mind.

 

[UltraGary]

I vote for the Mesa. I've never tried the Emperor, but the Mesas I've tried always sounded great... and they're built like tanks!

What he said!

 

[petejt]

Also: didn't you used to have an epic avatar with some kind of ass??

As far as the avatar goes, yes I did/do have that avatar pic. It's Kari Sweets doing a little "taste the rainbow" action. Sounds like I might have to throw her up there again

 

[petejt]

I used to swear by my Mesa/Boogie 4x12 Stiletto cab with the V30s.

But fairly recently I got a secondhand 'Celestion' cab, which appears to be a front-loaded Marshall angled closed-back cab, but built a lot more solidly. I have a pair of EV 200 watters in it with a Black Shadow CL90 & a V30, and damn the sound is BIG!

I don't know much at all about Emperor cabs, but the Mesa/Boogie stuff is excellent.

 

[moltenmetalburn]

I understand what you mean, still i think most of the bad reputation of the Marshalls comes from the celestion T75 speakers...

I have G12K100s in a marshall cab (it's also slightly taller than other marshall cabs) and i must say i was surprised by the sound

Last fall I saw Cannibal corpse along with other bands. Some used other cabs (Engl,Peavey) still Pat had the thickest,loudest sound and he was using standard 1960B cabs. Of course maybe it's full of internal mods and different speakers (EV?)...

I suspect that was more about the metal zone into the dual rectifier.

 

[unsafe]

I understand what you mean, still i think most of the bad reputation of the Marshalls comes from the celestion T75 speakers...

I have G12K100s in a marshall cab (it's also slightly taller than other marshall cabs) and i must say i was surprised by the sound

Last fall I saw Cannibal corpse along with other bands. Some used other cabs (Engl,Peavey) still Pat had the thickest,loudest sound and he was using standard 1960B cabs. Of course maybe it's full of internal mods and different speakers (EV?)...

I suspect that was more about the metal zone into the dual rectifier.

It was a triple rectifier actually

 

[moltenmetalburn]

I understand what you mean, still i think most of the bad reputation of the Marshalls comes from the celestion T75 speakers...

I have G12K100s in a marshall cab (it's also slightly taller than other marshall cabs) and i must say i was surprised by the sound

Last fall I saw Cannibal corpse along with other bands. Some used other cabs (Engl,Peavey) still Pat had the thickest,loudest sound and he was using standard 1960B cabs. Of course maybe it's full of internal mods and different speakers (EV?)...

I suspect that was more about the metal zone into the dual rectifier.

It was a triple rectifier actually

Oh yeah it was wasn't it.

I was having a conversation with a buddy about how I had never heard a triple sound that way and he suggested we go look at the rigs they were using. Sure enough both Rob and Pat were using Metal zones into the Rectifiers.

I asked them about it and they said it had been a very long time that way. Not jsut as overdrives either they were using a good amount of distortion .

It definitely sounded ungodly heavy but at the expense of articulation. So scooped as well. I noticed after a few weeks working on the tour that even though the dudes in cannibal are monster shredders I really couldn't make out what they were playing, I wound up watching their hands rather than listening which is kind of a shame as their playing is sick.

 

[.homewrecker.]

Hmm I will have to try some of these cabs out.


So if I tracked down an Orange cab to try would that give me a rough idea of what an emperor would sound like?

Nah, An Emperor resonates more than an Orange cab does.
IMO Orange cabs don't resonate and they project MORE from the speakers thus making it seem very beamy or directional.

I'd agree with this, Emperor cabs are a lot smaller and deeper than people think, making them punchier and more resonate. Oranges and Matamps are more like lazers, but they can fill a room.

 

[ke2]

Hey guys, right now I am in the process of deciding what 4x12 cab to get. I am torn right now between a Mesa 4x12 and an Emperor. I have played through a mesa before and really liked it, but naturally I don't have much of a chance to play through an Emperor being in Colorado. Emperors just seem to be pretty killer for the price, and the look is awesome too. One thing influencing me is that at the moment I probably have enough in my gear funds to pick up a used mesa, but I would need to save a few hundred more for the emperor. For sound, I tend to like less bright sounding tones. That is one of my gripes with my ENGL and part of why I am selling it is that it is just so damn bright, even through the Eminence Legends in my Vader 2x12. Tomorrow I am trading the ENGL for a Mark V though, and from what I have played on those the brightness is a lot tamer.

So anyways, which cab do you guys think I should go with?

I have played both, and the Emperor is head and shoulders above it. I prefer the Mill Cabs above the Emperors. Mine are loaded with EV 200 Watters. Best 4x12 i have played.

Man, we moved a Recto loaded with EV's in it and that was a fucking TANK!!! Your mills must be at least as heavy..if not heavier

Haha, I had an EVM and a 150 watt Black shadow in a Soldano 2x12 cab, and it was as heavy as a Marshall 4x12. With ONE handle to boot.

 

[droptrd]

Whats the pricing on the Emperors? Ive heard the name a bunch but have never actaully heard or seen one. Also when ever a cab discusion comes up Randall never gets mentioned. I know some of their amps are regarded as "iffy" but they make a hell of a cab. I like my Randall XL better than my mesa recto std. they do have different speaker combinations though. My randall has V30 X H30s in it. The vinyl job sucks on it but otherwise its built like a tank.


And as it was mentioned earlier. Find a nice used one.

 

[glassjaw7]

Mesa Traditional (Stiletto) cab.