Mesa 4x12: Standard (oversized) vs Traditional

[ultimatemetalguitartones]

I had a 2010 412 Mesa OS which I hated and sold if after a while. Then I found a late 2004 if I am not mistaken and I love it. I tend to believe the pre 2005 sound better.
Personally, I feel the OS cabs is the perfect match for Recto type amps and probably lower tuned guitars. Also, it's super easy to record.

 

[BeZo]

I have both and prefer the Traditional to the OS. My OS isn't boomy though. I don't know what year it is, but I'm sure it's an older one. The Mesa Traditional is one of my favorite cabs, on par with the Rivera K412T and my Bogner cab. The Splawn cab is still king to me though.

 

[jasonP]

I've owned both larger OS cabinets and smaller traditional ones. I now own 4 traditional ones both angle and straights. I found the OS cabinets to have overly harsh mid and top end and very beamy sounding, but not boomy. Every amp I put that cabinet through sounded like shit lol.

 

[thegame]

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

I Hope thé Mesa has a complimentary tolex/grille color scheme to match the drapes. That would really bring the room together!

 

[Shask]

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 that 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?

I have also found cabs to have speakers wired out of phase, backwards. The cab had no low end.

I also like to line them with weather stripping foam. People would be surprised how much putting foam under the handles will increase and tighten the bass.

 

[cardinal]

I have also found cabs to have speakers wired out of phase, backwards. The cab had no low end.

I also like to line them with weather stripping foam. People would be surprised how much putting foam under the handles will increase and tighten the bass.

Mesas are sealed with weather stripping along the handles, jack plate, and back panel.

 

[Shask]

Mesas are sealed with weather stripping along the handles, jack plate, and back panel.

That is probably what gives them the super tight, beamy sound.

I did the same to Marshall cabs, and they got super tight, to where they resonated less. I found my preference is foam on the handles and jack, but not the back panel.

I did the same to an EVH cab. It wasn't very tight or bassy. Form turned it into a chunky beast. Foam on the back panel though took away some chug, so it went too far.

Removing some of that foam in the Mesa would probably take away some stiffness and beaminess.

 

[endofall]

I own an early straight slant Mesa OS 4x12. It's probably my favorite cab and the staple that most bands use at my studio regardless of genre. I have another newer OS Mesa 4x12 and it is much brighter and harsher. My guess is the speakers and the differences in v30's over the years.

 

[stephen sawall]

Every individual cab sounds different. You can take a dozen identical cabs and every one of them is going to sound different.

 

[RedB4Black]

I Hope thé Mesa has a complimentary tolex/grille color scheme to match the drapes. That would really bring the room together!

It does have the nice, newer Bronco tolex....so yes it does fit cosmetically with the head and my Wizards. lol

 

[RedB4Black]

Every individual cab sounds different. You can take a dozen identical cabs and every one of them is going to sound different.

Agree with you there. I have 3 of the same wizard cabs each with the same speaker combination and they all sound slightly different when I A/B them. Though a slight EQ adjustment on the amp gets them pretty much the same. Same when I had 3 of the Fryette FB cabs, 2 Bogner Ubercabs, and 3 Mills cabs

 

[Klauth]

Man that’s impressive . I would love to have seen your finding on how this effects tones

I collect a lot of data from my sessions like, when everyone on the session is in love with the tone, I check the ohms that the amp is seeing...and surprisingly there is a pattern. also, the way a cab is wired affects the ohms load that the amp sees...and I've noticed a pattern there as well.

 

[Ricky Rockhardo]

This thread comes at a good time for me. There is a trad locally and I’m debating between it, a 1960 (T75s), and an EVH III.

The Mesa and Marshall are both slants, which is a bit of a bummer IMO

 

[cardinal]

This thread comes at a good time for me. There is a trad locally and I’m debating between it, a 1960 (T75s), and an EVH III.

The Mesa and Marshall are both slants, which is a bit of a bummer IMO

I'm the other way. I wish the EVH cabs were available in a slant configuration.

 

[the4thlast1]

A few things are at play because I’ve tried several Oversized and Traditional cabs. A friend of mine has an oversized that sounds very good. One of the best sounding cabs I’ve come across. On the flip side I tried a few others that did not sound good and a couple others that were ok. There is a large rehearsal studio I used to go that has them in most of the rooms.

Personally I have owned 3 traditional cabs that all sound a little different but none were “bad” . I think V30s vary so much through the years that it’s hard to judge them with an overall statement. But I have found the traditionals to be more consistently good for whatever reason. My complaint with them is they can be a bit too smooth/dark/honky sounding. They have a very good lead tone but maybe not the tightest and clearest lowend for rhythm. Not a very cutting sound in my experience but it’s a pleasing one if that makes sense.

 

[FourT6and2]

I collect a lot of data from my sessions like, when everyone on the session is in love with the tone, I check the ohms that the amp is seeing...and surprisingly there is a pattern. also, the way a cab is wired affects the ohms load that the amp sees...and I've noticed a pattern there as well.

This is how all my Bogner cabs are wired. Haven't checked the Mesa. But what sort of pattern have you noticed regarding impedance? I've noticed some things too.

 

[Klauth]

I wire my orange cabs same as your pic (16-ohm speakers) 12-gauge wire/ has about 1.5 higher impedance, which makes it brighter with quicker response. have an 8-0hm orange as well with FANE F90's but I use a different wiring scheme with that...that increases the response even more. I wire most my other cabs in a special way that I don't publicly share.

also, I have these cabs set up in an acoustically engineered room designed specifically for this application as well as, 4 NEVE and 4 chandler mic pres all cabling is VOVOX

Mics are:

Neumann Ufet47
Royer 121
sm57
sm7
Gefell UMT 70s
Beyer M160
MD 421
Neumann u89

I always capture two 4x12's together at the same time, ultimately it all adds up when tracking heavy low tuned guitar.

 

[Ricky Rockhardo]

I'm the other way. I wish the EVH cabs were available in a slant configuration.

I might be falling victim to the alleged extra bass response in straight cabs

 

[Techdeth]

I collect a lot of data from my sessions like, when everyone on the session is in love with the tone, I check the ohms that the amp is seeing...and surprisingly there is a pattern. also, the way a cab is wired affects the ohms load that the amp sees...and I've noticed a pattern there as well.

Do you have any notes you kept ?. This feels like the last area of tone I’ve left untouched in my life lol

 

[FourT6and2]

Do you have any notes you kept ?. This feels like the last area of tone I’ve left untouched in my life lol

All I know is I tend to prefer 8-ohm cabs vs 16 of the same speaker configuration.