Uploaded March 2016 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
I get it, everyone loves amps and guitars...and hoarding guitars is sexier than collecting cabs, correct?
I understand that!
BUT!!!! IME the speaker cab has at least as big an influence on the overall sound as the guitar or amp....And I'm not even talking about the speaker type but the actual cabinet /dimensions, construction etc).
To give you a brief idea of the different sonic characteristics of some commonly used 4x12 cabs I created this comparison for you.
All clips were reamped using the same DI tracks and the same amp and settings (1983 Marshall JCM800 2203, slightly boosted with a Maxon od808). The cab was placed in the same spot and miked with the same mic (single sm57).
Since most of these cabs were loaded with either v30 or greenbacks (small dust cap) it was easy to replicate the exact same mic position for each of these clips (right on the seam where the cap meets the cone).
Obviously there'll always be tiny inconsistencies, but I tried to make this shootout as consistent as possible.
So while you should always take comparisons like these with a grain of salt, the sound you're hearing is a pretty accurate snapshot of the sonic qualities of the used cab, at least in direct comparison to another cab with the same miking etc.
Cabs used:
Mesa Rectifier
Mesa Stiletto
Bogner Ubercab, 8Ω RL (V30)
Bogner Ubercab 8Ω RL (Greenback)
EVH 5150III 412ST (G12EVH)
Marshall 1960V (V30)
Marshall 1960DM Dave Mustaine (custom V30)
Marshall JCM800 Lead (G12-65)
Marshall 1972 4x12 (mid-late 70ies BlackBacks)
Randall XL (V30)
Soldano (V30, two different positions miked)
possibly Engl Standard (V30)
possibly Diezel
(list might get extended)
!!! ATTN: make sure to subscribe to my yt channel to not miss a clip, I'm not gonna upload more over the next couple of days! !!!!!
I get it, everyone loves amps and guitars...and hoarding guitars is sexier than collecting cabs, correct?
I understand that!
BUT!!!! IME the speaker cab has at least as big an influence on the overall sound as the guitar or amp....And I'm not even talking about the speaker type but the actual cabinet /dimensions, construction etc).
To give you a brief idea of the different sonic characteristics of some commonly used 4x12 cabs I created this comparison for you.
All clips were reamped using the same DI tracks and the same amp and settings (1983 Marshall JCM800 2203, slightly boosted with a Maxon od808). The cab was placed in the same spot and miked with the same mic (single sm57).
Since most of these cabs were loaded with either v30 or greenbacks (small dust cap) it was easy to replicate the exact same mic position for each of these clips (right on the seam where the cap meets the cone).
Obviously there'll always be tiny inconsistencies, but I tried to make this shootout as consistent as possible.
So while you should always take comparisons like these with a grain of salt, the sound you're hearing is a pretty accurate snapshot of the sonic qualities of the used cab, at least in direct comparison to another cab with the same miking etc.
Cabs used:
Mesa Rectifier
Mesa Stiletto
Bogner Ubercab, 8Ω RL (V30)
Bogner Ubercab 8Ω RL (Greenback)
EVH 5150III 412ST (G12EVH)
Marshall 1960V (V30)
Marshall 1960DM Dave Mustaine (custom V30)
Marshall JCM800 Lead (G12-65)
Marshall 1972 4x12 (mid-late 70ies BlackBacks)
Randall XL (V30)
Soldano (V30, two different positions miked)
possibly Engl Standard (V30)
possibly Diezel
(list might get extended)
!!! ATTN: make sure to subscribe to my yt channel to not miss a clip, I'm not gonna upload more over the next couple of days! !!!!!
