So this past summer, I got an old Mesa half-back vertical 2x12 cab w/ V30s for $128 (ebay with local pickup baby), but while it was in great shape and built fantastically (Mesa never disappoints), it unfortunately really didn't sound very good (boxy in the mids, and a little harsh at around 2k). I attributed this to the front-mounting of the speakers, but when I tried to rear-mount them, I discovered the panel that divides the top-half from the bottom (they're separate chambers) didn't leave enough room for the rim of the speaker to fit in from the back.
So I bought me a Dremel, and went to town with routing! But THEN, when trying to screw in the bottom speaker, the (flathead) screwdriver slipped right off and went right through the cone!
So I scoured ebay, and found a mint Celestion CL80 for $60 that I figured I'd give a try, dropped it in there, and all done! Also, I bought a panel to seal up the top half (hence the half-back part, now a whole-back, though separate chambers).
I hate when people embed too many pics, so here's a link to the picstory! (only 6 shots, don't worry). Unfortunately, it's too late to test tonight, and this is strictly a cab for small-club venues when I don't wanna lug the Stiletto 4x12, so don't expect any recorded clips (unless I'm so blown away that I think they'll sound decent), but I'll give a report on how it sounds on the room, which I'm really curious about! And FYI, most highly regarded cabs these days have rear-mounted speakers, with the exception of Engl, VHT, Carvin (for what that's worth), and some Diezels.
So I bought me a Dremel, and went to town with routing! But THEN, when trying to screw in the bottom speaker, the (flathead) screwdriver slipped right off and went right through the cone!
So I scoured ebay, and found a mint Celestion CL80 for $60 that I figured I'd give a try, dropped it in there, and all done! Also, I bought a panel to seal up the top half (hence the half-back part, now a whole-back, though separate chambers).I hate when people embed too many pics, so here's a link to the picstory! (only 6 shots, don't worry). Unfortunately, it's too late to test tonight, and this is strictly a cab for small-club venues when I don't wanna lug the Stiletto 4x12, so don't expect any recorded clips (unless I'm so blown away that I think they'll sound decent), but I'll give a report on how it sounds on the room, which I'm really curious about! And FYI, most highly regarded cabs these days have rear-mounted speakers, with the exception of Engl, VHT, Carvin (for what that's worth), and some Diezels.
Though if you actually did blow a 75 before, I guess maybe I should be careful - we shall see! 
