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wwhhhaatt « low end »
Published on 07/19/11 at 13:41I will get the build quality out of the way first. Mesa Boogie builds things to last through the rigors of tour. This cab just feels like a piece of quality craftmanship in every way. It is heavy, the casters are absolutely the best I have ever seen from an amp maker, the jacks are solid, the tolex is tough, and so is the grill cloth. I have opened this cab up and there is no shoddy work inside either. Some cab companies cover up bad joints with tolex or leave the insides a little under built but this cab is tough through and through. The only thing I would change build wise are the corner protectors. They are leather instead of metal. This is just nit picking as I have not had any problems with them.
Onto the sound. This cab is loaded with mesa boogie's celestion vintage 30 speakers and I have been told they are different than normal vintage 30s. I do not know if they actually do anything to change them but the cab is rated at 240 watts like any other vintage 30 loaded cab. I am not a huge fan of these speakers in a love setting as they have a tendency to get harsh in the high end once you get out in the crowd. They are great for recording metal though with enough highs to cut through dense mixes and solid low end. With this cab I find the speakers to perform a little better in live settings. It is probably a mixture of the over sized design and thick grill cloth that make the speakers a bit smoother sounding and more filling in the open. With certain amps this is great. It sounds absolutely huge with my 5150 and obviously works well with mesa amps. Some other amps don't fare as well with the oversize design. My Framus for example sounds overly bass heavy and boomy with a lack of definition compared to my other cabinets. Dialing the bass back cures it somewhat but takes away from the huge sound this cab is known for.
If you need a solid cab and run a 6l6 based amp this may be your best bet. My experience with el34 amps (framus and marhsall) was less than ideal.
Onto the sound. This cab is loaded with mesa boogie's celestion vintage 30 speakers and I have been told they are different than normal vintage 30s. I do not know if they actually do anything to change them but the cab is rated at 240 watts like any other vintage 30 loaded cab. I am not a huge fan of these speakers in a love setting as they have a tendency to get harsh in the high end once you get out in the crowd. They are great for recording metal though with enough highs to cut through dense mixes and solid low end. With this cab I find the speakers to perform a little better in live settings. It is probably a mixture of the over sized design and thick grill cloth that make the speakers a bit smoother sounding and more filling in the open. With certain amps this is great. It sounds absolutely huge with my 5150 and obviously works well with mesa amps. Some other amps don't fare as well with the oversize design. My Framus for example sounds overly bass heavy and boomy with a lack of definition compared to my other cabinets. Dialing the bass back cures it somewhat but takes away from the huge sound this cab is known for.
If you need a solid cab and run a 6l6 based amp this may be your best bet. My experience with el34 amps (framus and marhsall) was less than ideal.