Yikes! 1960A sounding better than my Mesa Trad (!?!)

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D-Rock

D-Rock

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Ever since putting V30's and T75's in an X pattern in my 1960A it has been sounding thicker. deeper, richer and clearer than my Mesa Trad size 4x12.
Most noticable with my Soldano, but yesterday I ran my JSX through each cab and the Mesa sounded cold, stiff, brittle and my tone sounded....dead. WTF!
Switched it to 16 ohms, plugged it into the 1960A and bam! Everything wrong immediately went right.

I began to think that my amps just like running at 16 ohms...but it was never like this with 4 T75's in that cab or even two WGS R30's and 2 T75's.
So it must be the V30's with the T75's. The result is pure magic.
What sucks is I find myself not wanting to use the Mesa cab... :doh:
 
hmmm welcome to my world that set up has worked wonders for me in the past year , its just the right combo imo.
 
I find i use my Marshall 1960AV more when I want brighter and crunchier, more stereo spread, than my Mesa traditional.
It always makes me feel cold and directional with that cab.
just sold my K100 cab recently, so...
I'm hopefully picking up a Bogner Uberkab today or tomorrow from Reinhold, and that has the v30/75t mix.
I have hopes...
 
IMO, Marshall 4x12s always sound better than Mesa 4x12s.


I'm not surprised at all. Marshalls are warm/tight/bright/dark in all the right places.

I've never played a Mesa 4x12 I liked. My "friend" stole my recto cab. I miss the friend more than the cab.
 
Same here. I had a traditional and a recto. Did not like either.
 
Just swapped out to the same X-pattern on both my 1960A and B and it sounds much brighter and in your face! Just gotta break them in so that they smooth out a bit... either way I'm really liking it...
 
Try a Mesa traditional with a V30/H30 x pattern. Sounds amazing IMO
 
I have the same combo in one of my voodoo 4x12's the same thing. It blows away my strate/slant boogie recto cab. Its a great combo for feel and for micing. Just a match made in hell!
 
IMO both the traditional recto cab and the 1960 offer something that the other can't. I'd be willing to bet though, that the difference you're hearing is more due to the x pattern of V30's/75's than the cab. Try an x in the Mesa. The traditional is my favorite cab ever, followed closely by the Bogner os212. The Marshall cabs are great too but maybe not as consistent.
 
Imo... its the size of the mesa cabs that makes them sound the way they do. I have a recto cab with the triple. Hated they way the cab sounded. Just added more lag to the triple and was horribly directional. I had some foam leftover from my rack build and added some to the inside of the cab. Let's just say I will never remove the foam. Took the flubby bass out, no longer directional. Fills the room with sound and almost no lag. Try it before u buy another cab. U can experiment with placement and amount and use spray adhesive to mount.
 
guitarslinger":1zr13165 said:
IMO, Marshall 4x12s always sound better than Mesa 4x12s.


I'm not surprised at all. Marshalls are warm/tight/bright/dark in all the right places.

I've never played a Mesa 4x12 I liked. My "friend" stole my recto cab. I miss the friend more than the cab.
Click to expand...


As far as new cabs are concerned i feel the complete opposite. Most new Marshall cabs I've played at GC's sounds like crap to me. :confused:
 
guitarslinger":344tvm4j said:
IMO, Marshall 4x12s always sound better than Mesa 4x12s.


I'm not surprised at all. Marshalls are warm/tight/bright/dark in all the right places.

I've never played a Mesa 4x12 I liked. My "friend" stole my recto cab. I miss the friend more than the cab.
Click to expand...


Same here, regardless of which speakers I use in them. Even the newer cabs with the plastic handles, particle board back and all, the 1960's seem to sound 'right'.
 
Have you tried dialing in the amps to compensate the difference in sound? They are very different sounds, one not being superior to the other. Something could be wrong with the Mesa cab also.
 
JakeAC5253":1ql3vq4o said:
Have you tried dialing in the amps to compensate the difference in sound? They are very different sounds, one not being superior to the other. Something could be wrong with the Mesa cab also.
Click to expand...
This^

Also, the amp and speaker selection plays a huge role in this. Don't blame the cab. As far as construction goes I'd take a Mesa any day of the week. For example, playing my buddy's Mark IV through his 1960 with 75's sounds mediocre at best, while the traditional boogie cab with v30's with the Mark sounds brilliant! Match made in heaven.

On the flip side of that, his JCM 800 and 900 sound ok through the mesa but too shrill while both Marshall heads sound great through the 1960 w/75's.

You need the right speakers for certain amps. Both cabs are great at what they do, but with the proper speaker matched to the amp, I'd choose the Mesa cab due to it's superior construction.
 
JakeAC5253":21pb46no said:
Have you tried dialing in the amps to compensate the difference in sound? They are very different sounds, one not being superior to the other. Something could be wrong with the Mesa cab also.
Click to expand...
Oh yeah I turned dials and it helped a bit, but it really seemed to be all mids and lows. It sounded good, but good isn't good enough. The cab has always sounded dark, with edgy midrange and stiff lowend and it has had plenty of high volume playing on it and it's stock V30's have been driven regularly for about 4 years.
More than likely if I put two 75's in the Mesa cab it would sound less dull. Or maybe 2 CL80's....
My experience is that Mesa cabs are never very warm or lively sounding. Are they tight, thick and punchy...for sure. But I find they are also somewhat stiff and 2 dimensional. I've also found it benefits being paired with another more smooth sounding cab at 4 ohms. I'm sure it's totally amp dependent, but it's weird that two different voiced amps both sounded more bland through the Mesa than the Marshall. Both amps also sounded better through the V30XT75 1960A than my Greenback loaded Marshall.
Usually my Mesa cab makes everything sound better, so this shocks me as much as any Mesa lover.
 
The fact that you say it's all mids and lows doesn't surprise me, that's the Rectifier cab sound. It should sound like a sonic punch in the gut as opposed to a backhand to the head. The fact that you said you've been using it for years and only now are you surprised at how it sounds, makes me think that there is a problem with the wiring or something.

FWIW, it handles volume really well, and yes at lower to bedroom volumes it does sound quite stiff. If you get the chance to really turn it up, let me know if it brings the sound to life. It should. In my experience anyhow, it lets the cab breathe and really bloom. I've found that I need to crank treble (not so much on the Rectifier) and presence controls much higher than with other cabs, even on my boost pedals. The tone control on my OD808 is usually almost maxed out, but not quite.

Your tastes may also be changing. Let me know if this helps :thumbsup:
 
Jake, it very well might be that my tastes are changing. Don't get me wrong, the Mesa cab sounds really good. I can get killer tone through it with my JSX. I also never play my amps at low volume, the volume is always at "drummer levels". I find I too have the presence pretty high with that amp through the Mesa. It really needs it as that cab lacks those crunchy highs.
I guess I have always used dark sounding cabs, mainly my Mesa and my 400 watt H&K. But I don't find the 1960 brighter really, as in treble or highs, just more 3D and crunchy. The lowend is deep and very tight with the x pattern. On par with the Mesa in fact. It just sounds...richer, more lush. Not so dry like the Mesa. But it could be the V30's providing those stale mids. Reducing the mids on the amp helps, but that takes away some life from the tone.
I'm looking into getting a 6505 sometime soon and I'm quite confident it will pair perfectly with my Mesa so I'll wait and see how that sounds.
 
I've never been a fan of cabs with T75's alone. They mix very nicely with V30's.
 
If a cab isn't wired parallel at the jack (i.e.: "Series-Parallel"), it's probably what's bugging you at the Mesa Trad/Recto/Stiletto-Marshall 1960A/B level.

If you have one of those 16/mono/8 stereo/4 mono switchplates, that's what's going on. Series at the jack, or "Parallel-Series" wiring.

I lost a trade to a local guy because I rewired his cab Series-Parallel out of my "brotherhood of toanz" heart. Hehe
 
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