Need some 4x12 advice

[popvulture]

Hellos—

Sold a bunch of stuff over the past month and picked up a JMP 50w MV head, which I've been wanting for a looooong time.

From a financial standpoint I'm gonna have to wait on a cab, which is fine as I've plugged 50w JMPs into one of my combos before and it sounds rad. That said, I've always been a combo guy and would love to have a proper half stack someday, so... I'm gonna be keeping an eye out for deals on Craigslist n' such.

Having never owned a 4x12, I know jack shit about them. From what I gather online, newer Marshall cabs seem to be far inferior to the older models in terms of quality... thoughts on this? True or false in your experience?

An Orange with black tolex would be sick. Stocked with Vintage 30s to boot... that sounds like an option to consider. What else should I be looking at? Any prefs on angled vs straight?

Thanks, duders.

[crochambeau]

I like straight cabs because they can fall anywhere in a stack.

..and stacking stuff up is fun.

I picked up an old Peavey 4x12 that some psychopath had coated in spray on truck bed liner (while true it is a robust finish, this adds substantial weight to the cab - like 20-30 pounds or so). It came loaded with Celestions (75s IIRC), so as far as sound quality it's not that far removed from scads of other different brand 4x12s. The cabinet doesn't resonate at all, I want to say it was $120 or on craigslist.

I guess this is my way of saying don't limit yourself to a brand name if it's around the $100 mark. Some off brand stuff can surprise you.

[popvulture]

Nice! I imagine more than a few Texans have covered their cabs in spray-on bedliner, haha... might not be so outlandish around here.

Your resonance comment brings up another noob question from me though. What do you mean by that? Seems like resonance is often a good thing, but I don't know what it means with relation to cabs. Does more resonance = more feedback?

When I've considered 4x12s in the past, I've thought about making a replacement two-piece back cover that allows for a vent. I like the little bit of extra air from a semi-open back.

[crochambeau]

Your resonance comment brings up another noob question from me though. What do you mean by that? Seems like resonance is often a good thing, but I don't know what it means with relation to cabs. Does more resonance = more feedback?

Cabinet involvement, I think of it as bloom. It can be subtle, and it can either work for or against you, depending on your preferences. The damped cabinet puts more focus on the drivers, which isn't always for the best. We're veering into acoustics territory as well, so it just boils down to follow you ear.

I also love open backs, though their position in the room is more important and SOME SPEAKERS will be more apt to die under those conditions depending on what you play. Choosing between my Quad Reverb (open back 4x12) and the armor-all closed back 4x12 the Fender wins every time, but there's more at work there I'm sure.

If I were adding another cab to my stable right now I'd probably go with an empty one so I can roll through drivers and find what makes me happiest. I just peeked at my local craigslist and see three cabs in supposed functioning shape at $100, $80, & $60, and an empty at $30. Ugh, the fight is real.

[CyaNitrate]

I really like my Orange ppc412, but I got it in trade. Sounds and looks great, but it is stupid heavy...like 100lbs.

I've personally only had one other 412, a Peavey 412ms. I ran a 5150 through it...not my favorite cab ever..built tough but I hated the metal grill and the sheffield speakers. I would totally rock another Peavey cab from a different series though.

If you can find one, I used a different 5150 through a Genz Benz 2x12 G-flex and really liked it.

[gnomethrone]

you can find crazy deals on cabs on craigslist. its easy to ship pedals and fairly easy to ship guitars so those keep a steady value on reverb or ebay but cabs are a pain to ship so people are stuck with local sales or giving it up half price to guitar center. what did you find up locally? post em and i bet people here will have experience.

fwiw, fender GE 412 are my favorite 4x12. closed back, slanted front, not well known so they can go real cheap. loaded with celestion g12p-80's which have a little wider frequency range than v30's. tight low end and nice upper mid punch. they are also super light weight. mine weighs less than the head i use with it. not pretty, but thats suits me. also most came with a metal grill speaker cover that can take some abuse.

there were cloth grill ones put out too i think but ive never seen one around.

[gnomethrone]

oh also mesa used to make half back 4x12s. my friend had one and it sounded great.

[popvulture]

There's an Orange PPC 412 on Clist here for $650, which is out of my current range, but if it hangs around for a bit and I sell some more stuff, I might be able to swing that. Or talk him down if it ends up being listed for a while longer... shit looks very new:

http://austin.craigslist.org/msg/5834909098.html

Also I remember those half back Mesas... shit, will have to keep my eyes peeled for one of those as an option too...

[ognoy]

I bought a Gibson Lab-series 412 for a little over $100 two months ago.
Popped up locally on my payday, 5 minutes from our rehearsal space.
And it had wheels, so I just pushed it from the sellers place to the rehearsal space(I don't drive a car).

Sounded quite good. Don't know what the speakers are, but I like them.
Swapped two of them for some V30 I had laying around and now I like it even more.

[CyaNitrate]

There's an Orange PPC 412 on Clist here for $650, which is out of my current range, but if it hangs around for a bit and I sell some more stuff, I might be able to swing that. Or talk him down if it ends up being listed for a while longer... shit looks very new:

http://austin.craigslist.org/msg/5834909098.html

That's a pretty damn good price for that cab. Mine is older..like 2002 if I remember right. It isn't beat to hell, but has wear, and was listed at $700 when I made the trade. It's also the orange tolex, which probably doesn't wear as well as black.

One thing to note is its 16ohms, but you could rewire it to 4ohms if you needed...dunno what your head needs.

But yeah, if you could swing it..it'd be sweet.

[Disarm D'arcy]

I bought a Gibson Lab-series 412 for a little over $100 two months ago.
Popped up locally on my payday, 5 minutes from our rehearsal space.
And it had wheels, so I just pushed it from the sellers place to the rehearsal space(I don't drive a car).

Sounded quite good. Don't know what the speakers are, but I like them.
Swapped two of them for some V30 I had laying around and now I like it even more.

Good deal. But surprised the rain didn't ruin it on the way to your practice space. Cause Bergen.

[ognoy]

Yeah, for some weird reason September was quite nice. I think I even wore shorts that day.

[popvulture]

There's an Orange PPC 412 on Clist here for $650, which is out of my current range, but if it hangs around for a bit and I sell some more stuff, I might be able to swing that. Or talk him down if it ends up being listed for a while longer... shit looks very new:

http://austin.craigslist.org/msg/5834909098.html

That's a pretty damn good price for that cab. Mine is older..like 2002 if I remember right. It isn't beat to hell, but has wear, and was listed at $700 when I made the trade. It's also the orange tolex, which probably doesn't wear as well as black.

One thing to note is its 16ohms, but you could rewire it to 4ohms if you needed...dunno what your head needs.

But yeah, if you could swing it..it'd be sweet.

Yeah that cab indeed seems like a great price, but I do wonder if I'd wanna deal with that weight.

The amp arrived today and sounds great, but I took it to the shop just to get a once-over and make sure everything's healthy. While I was there I plugged it into a 2x12 cab and it sounded pretty fucking enormous... not sure if going 412 would be overkill for me. Gotta say, though... having the air projection, plus just the fucking look and feel of a proper half stack. I dunno, tempting. I mean, make it a damn rock amp, right?

I'm definitely gonna keep an eye on that Orange

[crochambeau]

If you're not picky about the birdshit:

http://austin.craigslist.org/msg/5803605030.html

[popvulture]

Haha, SPLAT. Wouldn't bother me, but the nasty hole in the grille cloth definitely kinda does. That is ass cheap, though. Wonder how old it is... has to be one of the newer ones for that price.

Just realized something super annoying: Orange makes a 212 open back cab, but it's narrower (speakers are slightly pushed in and angled) and the head would hang over the edges. Definitely couldn't deal w that.

Also looked up the 412. 110 lbs. Fuckin' yikes.