I know most of you guys SWEAR by the Oversized Mesa Cab, but honestly 700$ is way too much for me. Do you guys have any suggestions for a cab around 300$? My Avatar 2x12 isn't cutting it, the mids are too honky and the lows aren't there, I would be selling this and adding an extra hundred or so for the new cab. I'd prefer a 4x12.
Alternative Cabs
- Thread starter AllanD
- Start date
MarcusGHedwig
Member
You should be able to find a used Recto cab for $450, save the little extra and scour craigslist, you'll be glad you did!
Are you referencing used prices? Mesas are around 1K new.
For 300 used, IMO you won't find much. Perhaps a used Marshall 1960. I'd recommend an Avatar Vintage 4x12, which is the same dimensions as a Marshall 1960, and I'd say you could possibly say it's made of better wood (birch ply throughout rather than a particle board or MDF back or baffle).
I bought my Mesa Recto cab for 375 dead mint a few years ago (have since sold it), so I wouldn't say 700 is the only price you'll find for them. Around here, they sell for around 500 used normally.
For 300 used, IMO you won't find much. Perhaps a used Marshall 1960. I'd recommend an Avatar Vintage 4x12, which is the same dimensions as a Marshall 1960, and I'd say you could possibly say it's made of better wood (birch ply throughout rather than a particle board or MDF back or baffle).
I bought my Mesa Recto cab for 375 dead mint a few years ago (have since sold it), so I wouldn't say 700 is the only price you'll find for them. Around here, they sell for around 500 used normally.
MarcusGHedwig
Member
Patience grasshopper 
(and search in any area around you that you'd be willing to drive to as well)
(and search in any area around you that you'd be willing to drive to as well)
JeffTD
Senhor Testiculo
drew_drummer
Dancefap
Lets hope he sells the cab separately
Indeed. Left a voicemail offering 350$. Hopefully he calls back
I would TOTALLY buy that halfstack, but I don't even have that much in my savings, it's so cheap though
drew_drummer
Dancefap
Dude... if I could, I'd go halves with you. But shipping the amp to the UK is probably gonna be fucking expensive.
Executioner213
Ultimate Meatbag
drew_drummer
Dancefap
Well I tell ya, if we did it, I'd pay £310 for the head, and say £350 on top for import tax and postage. That would be a killer deal. But right now I can't afford that much. Could probably cover the amp, but postage and tax would bankrupt me. 
Well I tell ya, if we did it, I'd pay £310 for the head, and say £350 on top for import tax and postage. That would be a killer deal. But right now I can't afford that much. Could probably cover the amp, but postage and tax would bankrupt me.
Ouch, 350$ shipping? I feel sorry for you people across the pond.
drew_drummer
Dancefap
Ouch, 350$ shipping? I feel sorry for you people across the pond.
Well that's just a capped figure. It's most likely less. Let me know if the guy still has it - maybe we can do a deal where we go halves, and we ship the amp over to me.
Carvin cabs are definitely solid. But every time I have used a Legacy cab it has been with a head that was crappy and I wasn't familiar with. Specs look good though. Carvin uses Vintage 30's which are great. They also use Poplar plywood.
What is in your Avatar cab? They use heavy duty baltic birch and the 2x12's have a good amount of internal volume. Solid jointing and seals. What speaker is in there? Is it Open or Closed back? Mine is open back with a Vintage 30 and G12H30, and it has a TON of low-end. Sometimes too much for live use, especially up against a wall.
With speakers it is all about internal air volume, and a good balance. With guitar cabs, resonance of the wood is typically desirable. But many consider MDF (tonally dead) to be better for styles like metal. Even high end manufacturers will do MDF in their cabs. The biggest downside to MDF is it more susceptible to water damage, it is heavier, and it can crumble at the edges.
Universally, it is pretty much accepted that good speakers is key, and they make a huge difference since they color the tone so much. Also the baffle must be well braced. Then in sealed back cabinets like 4x12's, that back better be sealed. I mean some guys like the leaky Marshall cabs, but almost everyone that has sealed it up liked it much more.
So on the cheap, find a cab with similar dimensions and then get good speakers in it. So Carvin should be a solid contender. Avatar I think are excellent cabs. But for 4x12's from them, get the Contemporary or Vintage which are 14" deep vs. their standard that are 11 or something.
I like Vintage 30's a lot, but they are mid-spikey and lack some low end compared to many speakers. An SM57 lacks lowend and has a midrange honk too, that just works well in the right spot. I roll off really high in the mix anyway to make room for the bass.
Under a mic you have so many options. For more lowend put the mic closer for proximity, move it more towards the cone, put the cab on the floor, or closer to a back wall, or even a corner for super boomy.
But what head, what mic, placement, speaker, open/closed back, etc? You might just be having a problem with the speaker choice, or that sound in general. I mean for as many lovers of SM57's, you can find just as many haters or people with a preference to i5's, 421's, SM7's, Royer 121's, Fatheads, e609's, e906's, U87's, 414's etc. on guitar cabs.
What is in your Avatar cab? They use heavy duty baltic birch and the 2x12's have a good amount of internal volume. Solid jointing and seals. What speaker is in there? Is it Open or Closed back? Mine is open back with a Vintage 30 and G12H30, and it has a TON of low-end. Sometimes too much for live use, especially up against a wall.
With speakers it is all about internal air volume, and a good balance. With guitar cabs, resonance of the wood is typically desirable. But many consider MDF (tonally dead) to be better for styles like metal. Even high end manufacturers will do MDF in their cabs. The biggest downside to MDF is it more susceptible to water damage, it is heavier, and it can crumble at the edges.
Universally, it is pretty much accepted that good speakers is key, and they make a huge difference since they color the tone so much. Also the baffle must be well braced. Then in sealed back cabinets like 4x12's, that back better be sealed. I mean some guys like the leaky Marshall cabs, but almost everyone that has sealed it up liked it much more.
So on the cheap, find a cab with similar dimensions and then get good speakers in it. So Carvin should be a solid contender. Avatar I think are excellent cabs. But for 4x12's from them, get the Contemporary or Vintage which are 14" deep vs. their standard that are 11 or something.
I like Vintage 30's a lot, but they are mid-spikey and lack some low end compared to many speakers. An SM57 lacks lowend and has a midrange honk too, that just works well in the right spot. I roll off really high in the mix anyway to make room for the bass.
Under a mic you have so many options. For more lowend put the mic closer for proximity, move it more towards the cone, put the cab on the floor, or closer to a back wall, or even a corner for super boomy.
But what head, what mic, placement, speaker, open/closed back, etc? You might just be having a problem with the speaker choice, or that sound in general. I mean for as many lovers of SM57's, you can find just as many haters or people with a preference to i5's, 421's, SM7's, Royer 121's, Fatheads, e609's, e906's, U87's, 414's etc. on guitar cabs.
Wow, thanks for the effort man. Here's the answer to your questions. I use V30's, and the cab is closed back. I'm using the Nordstrom dual mic or single miced right off the grill with an SM57. The amp is a modded Peavey Windsor, which is modded to pretty much be a JCM 800. The thing is, I mic my cab, and it sounds bad. I did plug in the effects loop send of my amp into my interface though, and used an impulse of a Mesa cab, and it sounded INFINITELY better, so it must be the cab, since the impulse was a Mesa cab with two 57's. It's not just the lack of low end, it's the character of the cabinets mids and highs. No where as fizzy, and the mids are much more defined with less of that bad honk.
Jevil
Pro Evolution Fucker
Buy it Now -- $475
Starting bid $400
http://cgi.ebay.com/Mesa-Boogie-4x1...tem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a5a4f7865
Starting bid $400
http://cgi.ebay.com/Mesa-Boogie-4x1...tem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a5a4f7865
^^ Nevermind. Just noticed his shipping price of $199. :\
Seriously, keep looking. These cabs pop up all the time for $450-$500 on craigslist.
Seriously, keep looking. These cabs pop up all the time for $450-$500 on craigslist.
