Getting a 4x12 cab: Mesa vs Orange?
- Thread starter Clark Kent
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P-E
Munchkin
I vote A in this context. C sounds fatter though, but there's some stuff in the mids I like about A that B and C don't have. Not sure it'd work well with metal though.
Josh Burgess
Member
Don't have time to listen to those right now, but I've gotta say that the Orange 4x12 IRs I've heard DO represent their signature kind of sound pretty well. They are tight, muffled/dark and show for the most part what the honky mids are like on the orange cabs. You can get somewhat of an idea of how the cabs are different just by checking out impulse responses.
I agree Orange doesn't have the right mids for metal. It's better suited to indie rock/punk/old school hardcore.
I agree Orange doesn't have the right mids for metal. It's better suited to indie rock/punk/old school hardcore.
drew_drummer
Dancefap
I just don't agree. I've heard Orange cabs in a metal and hard-rock context, and they work very well. If the mids are too honky, use the EQ on the amp - that's what it is there for!!
- Jan 23, 2011
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I will do a metal comparison so this is a more suitable comparison.
The Orange spectrum is flat, it doesn't have anything weird in the mids, it's just dead flat. Mesa has a middle scoop... so if you're used to hearing that you'll most likely feel like the Orange mids are weird.
The Orange spectrum is flat, it doesn't have anything weird in the mids, it's just dead flat. Mesa has a middle scoop... so if you're used to hearing that you'll most likely feel like the Orange mids are weird.
TheWinterSnow
Den Mørke Natt
+1 (No one seems to remember that Jim Root uses the Rockerverb 100 and PPC412 for both Slipknot and Stone Sour, sounds good to me)
Its all in the eq.
From my experience and from many clips, even comparing the Recto and the Stiletto cabs most metal guys will say that the Stiletto is boxy and muffled in the low end. I feel that the Recto cab is too scooped in the mids, doesn't have enough warmth and has too much hype in the high mids and as a result sounds harsh.
The thing is, you can always eq out where there is too much of something, you can't boost something that isn't there. With that in mind, being a guy that owns a traditional sized cabinet and a honky as fuck 5150, I am not afraid to grab a post eq and scoop the living shit out of the 200-300Hz area until it sounds natural. Thing is, with the softer and darker high end, you don't have to worry about the harshness of the upper mids when you do scoop the 200-300 area, as when you do scoop that area, the sound does become more focused on the upper mids and if they are foul, you are going to have some problems.
I like soft and dark highs, just enough high mids to have enough presence to cut but not get harsh and enough low mids to sound warm and for that I would recommed the Orange over the Recto. Hell, I would recommend the Stiletto over the Recto too.
Sloan
Sounds like shit!
I think orange have become pretty standard nowadays, especially with the stoner/doom tidal wave of the past 5 years or whatever.
As far as I know The Sword uses orange/laney. The tones on their albums seem to me what I expect from orange cabs. I far prefer the sound of their first release "Age of Winters", the other albums seem less polished, but more like what I would expect an orange cab to sound like before much processing.
Here are vids from each of their albums.
As far as I know The Sword uses orange/laney. The tones on their albums seem to me what I expect from orange cabs. I far prefer the sound of their first release "Age of Winters", the other albums seem less polished, but more like what I would expect an orange cab to sound like before much processing.
Here are vids from each of their albums.
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- Jan 23, 2011
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Here it is dudettes. My A/B/C/D test for the cabs. ABC are the same cabs as before but I added another cab "D". I'll tell you what the cabs are once I get some opinions on what is the best.
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TheWinterSnow
Den Mørke Natt
Personally I am loving the fuck out of C...A and B are a little funky in the high end, I am going to guess that B is a Recto cab.
@Derykus: I was referring to the scooped lows. At the same time however, due to the non-linearity of larger volume enclosures, certain harmonic content can become quite sour sounding. You need the 4K area but if you where to have a cabinet that has a very offensive sounding coloration of that area you would have to scoop it out to get rid of the offensive sound, problem is, that when you scoop out more than you should to compensate, it sounds unnatural. This has been my conception of the Recto cabs, every time someone big (or anyone else for that matter) around here posts recto cab clips, they are very harsh in the upper mids, they are edgier and way more aggressive, the high end is not sweet and that is something you can't eq out, you can't make the high end sweet and soft with eq.
Go to 3:08. Personally I prefer the Stiletto cab in this clip, it sounds identical to the tones I am getting out of my Avatar. The Recto on the other hand...not feeling at all, hairy, harsh highs, too scooped etc.
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drew_drummer
Dancefap
Awesome for using Soundcloud - it means you can jump around the waveform and directly A/B parts.
I preferred C in this context, although I gotta say... they were all a bit muffled and not as bright and clear as I'd want.
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TheWinterSnow
Den Mørke Natt
That has more to do with the RoS backing tracks, the bass guitar makes the guitars sound dull, muffled and boxy.
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I didn't give them any treatment so the comparison is fair. Sure I could use EQ and make them all work in a mix.
Just testing what works best straight out of the box.These are all just one SM57 in front of these cabinets. Just so you guys know.
- Jan 23, 2011
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Okay so now I'll tell you guys what cabs were included in the test. I'm not telling which is which...... yet!
So there's a "Marshall 4x12 1960 Vintage 30", "Mesa Stiletto Traditional 4x12", "Mesa Rectifier 4x12" and ofcourse the "Orange PPC-412" cab in this test.
So there's a "Marshall 4x12 1960 Vintage 30", "Mesa Stiletto Traditional 4x12", "Mesa Rectifier 4x12" and ofcourse the "Orange PPC-412" cab in this test.
Damn you!!! The only clip I preferred the recto cab was the low gain solo'ing at around 2 minutes. The stiletto just killed the recto for everything else. Now I hate my cab.
uke:
JakeAC5253
Frozen Sun Audio
- Nov 19, 2010
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Damn you!!! The only clip I preferred the recto cab was the low gain solo'ing at around 2 minutes. The stiletto just killed the recto for everything else. Now I hate my cab.
...in that comparison. Lots of factors to take into account as well, not the least of which is that that comparison shows nothing in a full band mix. I personally don't think that comparison is the best way to guage those cabs performance. I just find it funny that the only people who ever post that video are the anti-Recto cab people, it seems that it's the only sort of hard evidence that the Recto cab has ever sounded bad on recording. A lot of us wouldn't be here on THIS forum if it weren't for the Recto cab and the sound it made. Just my opinion...
drew_drummer
Dancefap
I'm sure you're right. Would be good to hear the guitars in isolation too Clark.
GuitarHack
Krank it UP!
Great comparison!
My guesses (listening on $20 PC Speakers):
A: Marshall
B: Recto
C: Orange
D: Stiletto
C and D are very similar mut C has some more bloated mids.
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Well the problem with this kind of thinking is that you will never listen to guitar tones in isolation. So even though you would like a guitar tone in isolation it doesn't matter if it simply doesn't cut in a mix. IMO this is the kind of thinking that leads to drastic post-processing and I'm trying to avoid this type of comparisons but here it is:
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You got one cab right.
I want a few more guesses and I'll give you the results.One interesting fact for you guys. The Mesa Stiletto/Traditional cabinet has the exactly same dimensions and speakers as the Marshall 1960 V30 cabinet. So the Stiletto cab is like Mesa's "Marshall" -cabinet. And... you can hear the similarity in this comparison too.
