Getting a 4x12 cab: Mesa vs Orange?

Clark Kent said:
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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Sorry. I disagree. There are focal points in all music. Sometimes it's the guitar, sometimes the kick drum, sometimes the vocal, etc...

If a guitar tone is good... then what you like about it, you should try to keep, and mould the rest of the material around it.

And that will change from section to section. Sometimes a chorus will need more guitar cutting through, whereas a verse or bridge will need more bass.
 
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drew_drummer said:
Sorry. I disagree. There are focal points in all music. Sometimes it's the guitar, sometimes the kick drum, sometimes the vocal, etc...

If a guitar tone is good... then what you like about it, you should try to keep, and mould the rest of the material around it.

And that will change from section to section. Sometimes a chorus will need more guitar cutting through, whereas a verse or bridge will need more bass.
Click to expand...

Well I agree with you on this, but personally I'd build a mix on an impressive KICK/SNARE sound. For me BASS is what determines the energy in a mix. If something sounds impressive it's most likely taking a lot of space in a mix and I don't think guitars deserve to take a lot of space. Depends on the genre though... bands like KsE work with a guitar tone that takes all the space but as you might notice in KsE records, you can't really hear the vocals clearly, you can't really hear the bass. And the kick and snare sounds are... well to me they are not impressive but snappy so that they cut through.

Ofcourse this is just the way I see things. Not common rules. :)
 
Well indeed, there are no rules! But it doesn't take much longer to mute everything and do two exports, no?? :D

Anyway; C was still my preferred. Just seems more balanced to me.
 
Derykus said:
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.:puke:
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I can't say what works for you better, by all means there is nothing wrong with the Recto cab if it works for you, like I said before many Recto fans claim the Stiletto is boxy and wooly sounding. At the same token a Stiletto fan can say a Recto is too scooped and too agressive/edgy in the high mids. Its all preference.

JakeAC5253 said:
...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...
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A long while ago I got to play a Recto cab and a Stiletto cab side by side. It seemed that this video lined up exactly with my personal experience. I was looking at getting a Stiletto cab until I decided that I chose not to support Mesa due to the fact that I don't like the way Randall Smith does business. I was nervous when it came to choosing another company for a cabinet but in the end was quite happy with what I got. For my playing style I cannot have a cabinet that has aggressive high mids as I struggle with them always being too harsh when I start layering many tracks.

Then again my taste in guitar tones differs drastically from the norm on these forums.

hopefully Marcus will drop in here and post his Recto/Stiletto comparison clips, I remember liking the stiletto more even though it was IIRC that comparison that made him sell his Stiletto to buy a Recto.

Clark Kent said:
I also like C the best. And to my surprise... it's the Marshall. <3
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Interesting, must say that D must be the Stiletto then. Still thinking B is the recto, A is Orange. I am still in love with C ultimately.

Clark Kent said:
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:
Click to expand...

The RoS tracks really make things so different in the mix because they cloud the guitar tone so much. Using Marco's/Lasse's DI + backing tracks would provide a much more typical mix and would let the various cabs' characters come through more.
 
TheWinterSnow said:
A long while ago I got to play a Recto cab and a Stiletto cab side by side. It seemed that this video lined up exactly with my personal experience. I was looking at getting a Stiletto cab until I decided that I chose not to support Mesa due to the fact that I don't like the way Randall Smith does business. I was nervous when it came to choosing another company for a cabinet but in the end was quite happy with what I got. For my playing style I cannot have a cabinet that has aggressive high mids as I struggle with them always being too harsh when I start layering many tracks.

Then again my taste in guitar tones differs drastically from the norm on these forums.
Click to expand...

Certainly no offense meant on my part, I definitely appreciate your point of view either way.

I was more noting the fact that more or less any time someone makes a "don't buy the Recto cab" point, that video ends up getting posted. From my own point of view, if I were sitting in front of my Recto cab and heard that tone coming out, I would look to re-dial the amp or maybe fix mic position.
 
Okay I guess I'll try out another DI comparison but I'll use different letters so I can reveal these.

A) Rectifier
B) Orange
C) Marshall
D) Stiletto

I must say I'm soooo surprised how close the Stiletto and Marshall sound especially when Redwirez don't have the Stiletto cabinet so I used Metaltastics IRs. There is a slight difference in sounds though since Metaltastic used the Peavey XXX tube amp in his IR's and Redwirez is done with a flat transistor amp.

But hey... I'll make one more comparison! And as you might notice I'm not mixing these a whole lot. These are just quick starting points in a mix.
 
JakeAC5253 said:
Certainly no offense meant on my part, I definitely appreciate your point of view either way.

I was more noting the fact that more or less any time someone makes a "don't buy the Recto cab" point, that video ends up getting posted. From my own point of view, if I were sitting in front of my Recto cab and heard that tone coming out, I would look to re-dial the amp or maybe fix mic position.
Click to expand...

+1 on this. Haggerty's clips could sound a lot better.
 
So this is a new test in a different order. Not making another one. :D So 1, 2, 3, 4... which sounds best? This time I used the exact same mic position on every clip. CapEdge 0in so it's close mic'ed. Not the ideal placement for these cabs but this will give us a more realistic picture of how these cabinets sound when compared to each other.



 
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OT I know, but has anyone here ever used either an Orange or Mesa cab w/ T75s or with a V30/T75 combo?
 
Trevoire520 said:
I like 1 in that test.
The thing about this test though is that you really need to change the amp settings for different cabs.
Click to expand...

I agree 100%. I could EQ them all to sound great. All of them have a great character. I guess I'm just trying to find what sounds best as is.

Here are the results:
1) Marshall
2) Orange
3) Mesa Stiletto
4) Mesa Rectifier
 
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