Blackstar Artisan vs. Mesa Traditional vs. Randall XL 4x12 cab?

[Wookieslayer]

Hey so I've stumbled on a few good deals locally and I needed to get peoples' opinion and comments on experience they've had with these cabs all with Vintage 30's:

Blackstar Artisan 412A (slant)
Mesa-Boogie Traditional 4x12 (slant)
Randall RS412 XL (slant or straight)

Obviously I'd be using these for metal, mostly for live jamming but eventually for recording and shows. We'd be tuning down from B to A at the lowest.




How do the Blackstar and Randall with V-30's compare with the traditional Mesa cab? I know most will probably say Mesa all the way, but I wanted to try to hear from those who have heard or played two or all of these cabs. I think there have been posts on the Randall vs the Mesa cabs but not many on the Blackstar vs Mesa cabs.

I'd post prices of the ads that I've found but first I want to keep the comparisons equal with respect to their performance aspects. Also currently, if it's any help I'm using a Randall Titan (might be upgrading soon) with a B-52 straight cab (the good plywood one) and the other guitarist is using our Randall V2 with the matching XLT100 cab (G12H-100s).

I'm leaning to just let the deals on the Blackstar and Mesa pass and find a matching Randall cab since we have mostly Randall already... but while I would test all these cabs in a store eventually, I wanted to get your thoughts and experience.


Also, does anyone know which cabinets use V-30's made in Britain vs China?

Thanks guyz!

 

[Rook]

I hate randall cabs, they feel like they're made of cardboard or something.

Blackstar cabs are really very good, the best for me being the straight Series One cab.

The Mesa to me feels by far the most solid, and the slant cabs are much better than the blackstar ones, blackstar slants just don't sound right.
I like the extra projection from a slant, so I'd say Mesa OS Recto cab ftw.

Mesa use British made V30's, nobody else does.

 

[Leuchty]

I would say Mesa too. Just because of the build quality and the lifetime warranty.

 

[Rook]

...lifetime warranty.

Good point, the other 2 are only guaranteed for a year.

 

[sepherus]

I got rid of my mesa cab a while back. Year and a half I think. I still regret it despite the space constraints I have at the place I'm living. I'm sure the other 2 would be nice, but the Mesa cab is a life time investment.

 

[Wookieslayer]

Hm yeah I figured most would say to just get the mesa... but has anyone had 2 or more of these cabs and then picked one?

Thanks

 

[Rook]

I own the recto and my shop has the blackstar and Randall cabs in stock at the moment and have done for ages.

 

[Baco]

Interesting, I'm currently looking for a 4x12 to go with my Multi-Watt Dual Recto and those 3 were among the ones I had in mind. I had a Randall 412XLT cab before and it was a very nice and solid sounding cab (with vintage 30 speakers). I play a lot of drop/lowtune stuff (Drop C, Drop D and C# and B tuning) and I was also considering the Celestion G12H-100 speakers, I'm keeping an eye out on this topic

 

[Acatalepsy]

I own the Randall xlt. It's a pretty good cab with lots of clarity. I imagine the Mesa cab would be better though, due to superior build quality and whatnot.

 

[slayerrulesyo]

I've played the Blackstar vs. the Mesa in store at guitar center. I noticed the blackstar was a lot cheaper, so I hooked up an egnater tourmaster head to both. Both amps sounded amazing and if I ever needed a backup cab I'd get the blackstar (I ended up liking the recto more but not by much) Great amount of low end but not flubby. I was surprised at how much balls the Blackstar had and that kick in the chest kind of feeling as well for so cheap (mesa had it too, but it was more expensive)

As for the Randall... the only xl cab I'd get by them is the one that has the g12s and v30s in an x shape

 

[fvlt]

If possible it's best to play your chosen amp into the cab you want. Reason being is that different cabs/speakers accentuate different frequencies... so a cab that sounds clear and tight with one amp might sound harsh and muddy with another amp.

Beyond that, my vote goes for the Mesa. Their slant cabs are tits.