Mesa 4x12: Standard (oversized) vs Traditional

[FourT6and2]

I picked up a Mesa Standard (oversized) 4x12 a while back and absolutely hated it. Got rid of it after one week. It was super honky and overly present, with an unpleasant and unmusical sound for my needs. No matter where you stood, it sounded like your ear was right up against the grill cloth. And it took all the bark and growl out of my amps.

A traditional cab just arrived today (new) and I think it's night-and-day better. More balanced sound, less ear fatigue, more growl and grunt and more thump. It still has a bit of that V30 harshness in the highs. But for now, I can use a graphic EQ in the amp's loop to take that out until the speakers relax a bit over time.

But for years I've wondered how these two cabs differ and have always relied on other people's reviews. I should have gotten one of these years ago.

 

[Beyond Black]

I had basically the same experience with both cabs. I found the OS cavernous and honky, couldn’t sell it fast enough.
The Traditional is much warmer, percussive and meaty sounding.
I tried mixing the two and the OS just diluted what I preferred about the Traditional.

 

[VHTStark]

I still have my Traditional Recto Cab i bought in 1999. It is fairly balanced as you said, with just enough thump and presence. Those upper mids do mellow a bit over continued use, although I would still say the cab has "upper mid presence" for sure.

I had an OS Recto cab and could not get rid of it fast enough: Boomy in the low end and shrill up top. Crazy how a few dimensional changes make such a difference....

 

[PiggySmallz]

Been on the hunt for a traditional. They sound a lot more balanced to me as well. Not nearly as boomy.

The traditional always had the stigma of being the "stiletto" cab and only the oversized standard sounded good but after awhile I realized my ears just prefer the smaller cab

 

[Shask]

I have been thinking about picking up an OS because I am curious. All my cabs are standard Marshall size. I think I would like the extra bass thonk, but I also think it would be more harsh on the high end, which I wouldn't want.

 

[mesaboogieE34L]

Standard Mesa cabs are great, the speakers suck ass.

 

[311boogieman]

Never messed with an O/S but welcome to the club

 

[Tone Monster]

Exact same experience. Oversized is boomy as hell. Trad straight is the only way!

 

[cardinal]

I must have had 7 oversized cabs. Two sounded killer (still have one); tight with a relaxed midrange. The others were boomy and harsh. Dunno why they can sound so different.

 

[PhilC]

I have had 2 OS. 1 wasn't great sounding and was boomy. The 1 I have now sounds killer with most of my amps and sounds quite different than the other OS cab I had. No idea the difference. That said I wouldn't want it to be my only cab. I use my traditional sized 4x12's much more.

 

[thegame]

Anyone else find the Rectifier cabs (any model) particularly beamy? For comparisons sake I think Bogner and Wizard cabs have a more dispersed, wider L to R sweet spot.

 

[311boogieman]

Anyone else find the Rectifier cabs (any model) particularly beamy? For comparisons sake I think Bogner and Wizard cabs have a more dispersed, wider L to R sweet spot.

Yes. Mine goes from a nice practice volume to BAM! WE'RE ON STAGE MOTHERFUCKER loud beam me up Scotty.

 

[VHTStark]

Anyone else find the Rectifier cabs (any model) particularly beamy? For comparisons sake I think Bogner and Wizard cabs have a more dispersed, wider L to R sweet spot.

Compared to my Bogner cabinet (another one of my absolute favorites), yes the Recto cab is definitely more directional.

 

[stephen sawall]

I have a traditional strait cab with the stock speakers at band practice space. It's the only 8 ohm 4x12 I own.

I also have a standard slant that has Vintage 30 on top and G12K-85 on the bottom. 16 ohm cab. It's the most in your face cab I have ever heard. Like a spike in your forehead.

 

[Les Zombie]

I had both and liked the traditonal better, the oversized sounded bigger but also sounded looser, sometimes muddy, boomy, and i sold it. I dont miss the oversized but i do miss the traditional, someday i would like to buy another one.

 

[cardinal]

I have had 2 OS. 1 wasn't great sounding and was boomy. The 1 I have now sounds killer with most of my amps and sounds quite different than the other OS cab I had. No idea the difference. That said I wouldn't want it to be my only cab. I use my traditional sized 4x12's much more.

Yeah I mainly use a different cab (1960AV) but the OS cab (the one I actually like) is more of a specialty thing. Seems best suited for a backing, rhythm guitar but it does that thing well.

 

[RedB4Black]

Anyone else find the Rectifier cabs (any model) particularly beamy? For comparisons sake I think Bogner and Wizard cabs have a more dispersed, wider L to R sweet spot.

I have 3 Wizard cabs, a Fryette FB, a Bogner Ubercab and the Mesa Traditional. The Mesa doesn’t sound as good as any of those other cabs. I mainly use it as furniture to set my recto on while I play it though other cabs. Lol

 

[Klauth]

Just a thought but, With the often-used adjectives of, "Honky'-Hollow" along with all the speaker swapping... it makes me wonder how many of you check for proper wiring polarity, when you acquire these cabs?

I personally tear down every cab that enters my studio that I buy. which is often new out of the box. I rewire and make modification to each cab as well. and in doing so, I have discovered 2 of the brand-new marshal 1960B's were improperly wired, and one (out of the box) celestion speaker that was wired backwards. (I test everything, as most things are built by people that make low wages and don't care) I worked in factories for 30 years.

Being someone who records almost every day and is often surrounded by those that do the same.... anything that is out of phase, gets quickly picked up on as everything I record goes through phase checkers, spectrum analyzers and my ears a pretty seasoned for such things. I've had a fair share of client cabinets come in sounding funny, and when I pop off the back Pannel...I can quickly see what the problem is most often improper wiring. (is why I started collecting cabinets)

I have OS and traditional mesa cabs that sound incredible under the mics so, I wonder about the ones that are mentioned on this thread?