Which 2x12 should I get?

[JustinRhoads1980]

The evh 2x12s sound pretty fantastic, the mesa 2x12 cabs are great too though, it's going to come down what amp profile and what you like to hear. My other guitarist snagged one for $300, we a/b-ed a bunch of amps and cabs before we did reamping a couple months ago and that evh did well with a bunch of different amps, so I might lean towards that with a kemper. I don't have a mesa 2x12 so I didn't get to a/b with that, but I have a 4x12 recto cab and it was a good bit pickier about what it liked running through it. I'm sure the invective cab sounds good, but as several others have said, used cabs are they way to go and you'd probably be hard pressed to find a good used deal on one of those. Vert cabs are nice too, I use a vert randall live and I love it, you can always just turn a horizontal on it's side tho & won't be missing much of anything unless you really want that floor/cab separation the casters provide.

You see man thats the thing. I was reading online the same thing about the mesa cab taking many amps nicely compared to the EVH. Just a lot shit thrown out there and like the only way to validate any of these is by actually A/B'ing them

 

[laxu]

If I ever got a 2x12 I would definitely want a vertical one. IDK why the status quo is to have them short. Vertical 2x12's look better, raise up your amp so it's closer to eye level, get the speaker closer to ear level. Does anyone know? Maybe there's some kind of acoustic or engineering reason?

Obviously you can probably turn just about any 2x12 on it's side... but it's the principle of the matter.

edit: Oooh I just thought of why: maybe because amp heads used to all be gigantic and so you wanted to have enough space to set it on securely? Could that be the only reason why?


I always thought it'd be cool to put wheels on a vertical 2x12 like a dolly cart and you could just roll it up the stairs.

To me anything smaller than a 4x12 / 4x10 should go on a stand. Horizontal is better there.

The reason for horizontal is definitely in amp head size. I have no idea why so many still make them really wide and put a shit ton of controls in a single row. Mesa on the other hand makes their control panels way too cramped.

 

[JustinRhoads1980]

To me anything smaller than a 4x12 / 4x10 should go on a stand. Horizontal is better there.

The reason for horizontal is definitely in amp head size. I have no idea why so many still make them really wide and put a shit ton of controls in a single row. Mesa on the other hand makes their control panels way too cramped.

I can see why they do it that way for those reasons since I prefer it to look aesthetically pleasing in that sense. But no one really offers 2x12 Verticals as a standard aswell. Like mesa does, but that is like an $80 upcharge if I was buying new.... which I am not, but I haven't seen any on the used market

 

[Bentaycanada]

Of the 3, I’d go for the EVH.

But you should look into Oversized 212 cabs, like Bogner or Fryette. They’re amazing.

 

[jc986]

I’d check out the Diezel 2x12’s. They’re not vertical, but they are only about 5 inches shorter than a 4x12. They sound huge.

They normally sell for $900 but you can get most places to take off about 15%. Basically if a Musician’s Friend coupon works on an item Sweetwater or ZZounds will match it or beat it. I got my front loaded 2x12 for $764, so cheaper than the Mesa because Mesa typically doesn’t allow their products to be discounted.

 

[jsmalleus]

You see man thats the thing. I was reading online the same thing about the mesa cab taking many amps nicely compared to the EVH. Just a lot shit thrown out there and like the only way to validate any of these is by actually A/B'ing them

Yeah, I've heard the mesa 2x12s are awesome & work well with a lot of stuff, I've been tempted to sell the 4x12 and switch up a few times, but could never bring myself to realistically take $400-$450 for the 4x12 version and then turn around and spend $400 for the 2x12 with two fewer speakers haha. The 4x12 version sounds good with a decent # of amps, the evh was just better suited for what we were after. I'm not sure if your preferred tone is similar to any of the amps we tested, but I think he picked out a laney IRT, bad cat lynx, prs archon, blackstar s1 104el34, krank rev 1+ & a dual recto and ran em through the evh 2x12, mesa 4x12, bad cat 4x12, rivera 4x10, and a krank 4x12 cab and ended up liking the archon thru the evh for his rhythm tone & the blackstar thru the bad cat cab for leads. The bad cat speakers are modded v30's too so they're closer to the mesas in sound. Had we had a 2x12 mesa on hand tho it could have been a different story.. + room, cab position, other gear in the chain, and all the other factors at play, it's a crap shoot.

You're totally correct, if you can grab that kemper and find those cabs somewhere to plug in, that'd be the ticket. Don't drive yourself nuts tho, if you snag em used you can always just grab one and then flip it and get the other if you don't dig it. 2x12s are a lot easier to move than 4x12s these days. Those oversized and diezel cabs are *drool* too though. So many options!

 

[JustinRhoads1980]

Of the 3, I’d go for the EVH.

But you should look into Oversized 212 cabs, like Bogner or Fryette. They’re amazing.

I had another guy (different forum) recommend me a bogner and now that I see it popping up more I am interested in learning more about. Another option brought into the mix.


@jsmalleus The thing is no stores carry Mesa cabs except sweetwater unless they are used. So like there are viable options, but are kind of not within reach. I will know more in the future when the time comes. This whole post is thinking out MONTHS ahead. I plan on buying the kemper used since the original price is too much for me. Plus I have seen some kempers with the footswitch used on reverb around the $1800-$2200 (others are higher, but this is my desired price point) and some of them include other goodies like a bag for it/ mission expression pedal/included paid profiles and more. Hell someone had one listed with a bag for it and a Focusrite recording daw for like $1950 the other day and sold the same day, such a good fuckin deal

 

[Bentaycanada]

I had another guy (different forum) recommend me a bogner and now that I see it popping up more I am interested in learning more about. Another option brought into the mix.


@jsmalleus The thing is no stores carry Mesa cabs except sweetwater unless they are used. So like there are viable options, but are kind of not within reach. I will know more in the future when the time comes. This whole post is thinking out MONTHS ahead. I plan on buying the kemper used since the original price is too much for me. Plus I have seen some kempers with the footswitch used on reverb around the $1800-$2200 (others are higher, but this is my desired price point) and some of them include other goodies like a bag for it/ mission expression pedal/included paid profiles and more. Hell someone had one listed with a bag for it and a Focusrite recording daw for like $1950 the other day and sold the same day, such a good fuckin deal

Yeah, Bogner cabs are great. I love mine. But it's also the oversized part. Oversized cabs just sound massive. Even a Mesa 1x12 oversized cab I had was amazing for just having the single speaker. My current Bogner OS 212 makes me not miss a 412 at all.

 

[JustinRhoads1980]

Yeah, Bogner cabs are great. I love mine. But it's also the oversized part. Oversized cabs just sound massive. Even a Mesa 1x12 oversized cab I had was amazing for just having the single speaker. My current Bogner OS 212 makes me not miss a 412 at all.

A lot more people have been recommending the bogner. Might just buy both a used Mesa 2x12 and Bogner 2x12 to see which one I like more.

You happen to have any sound clips? I see you also have a kemper so you probably will have a setup that is more close to what I will be having in my possession later on in the year

 

[NinjaRaf]

The Avatar is supposedly their take on the Bogner.

 

[jwiltz2072]

I sold my Mesa 4x12 and picked up the Recto 2x12 and never regretted it. The 2x12 sounds huge. I was concerned because I had a Carvin Legacy 2x12 with V30s and it sounded small and boxy. But the Mesa 2x12 sounds great. Never missed the 4x12 at all.

 

[Bentaycanada]

The Avatar is supposedly their take on the Bogner.

This is true in the sense that it’s an oversized cab. I’d like to try one.

 

[JustinRhoads1980]

This is true in the sense that it’s an oversized cab. I’d like to try one.

Hey do you happen to have any sound clips of the kemper and the bogner by any chance?

 

[Bentaycanada]

Hey do you happen to have any sound clips of the kemper and the bogner by any chance?

Not on hand. But it’s an oversized 212 with V30’s. Thick and punchy.

 

[NinjaRaf]

Here is one of my Avatar Contemporary 212 and PRS MT15. Mic'd with an ATM250DE.

https://app.box.com/s/di29p7t30zt8pe7za47lockxvcexi03e

 

[r33per]

Anyone using the Victory 2x12 cab?

 

[Gmork]

I recently got a mesa recto 2x12 and its as good as they say! Ive used a handful of more average 2x12s and most tend to sound weird and boxy. Not so with the mesa. Nor should it for the price though

 

[budda]

Buy a used avatar cab.

 

[JustinRhoads1980]

I recently got a mesa recto 2x12 and its as good as they say! Ive used a handful of more average 2x12s and most tend to sound weird and boxy. Not so with the mesa. Nor should it for the price though

for me right now it seems to be between the Mesa and the bogner oversized cab

 

[thomas.reuter]

no one talking about hesu?