View other reviews for this product:
nickname009
Published on 08/22/11 at 08:29
This is the LEGENDARY and well known EVM 12L speaker. I've had my run through these through different time periods played through different heads and different cabinet wood types and I've got to say these are probably my most favorite speaker. They have a very distinct character to them. One thing is that they are very smooth, and by that I mean there are never any harsh highs, nothing is ever fizzy, fuzzy with the high end. This is especially noticeable to me when playing at low volumes, yes, listen for it! Low volumes, I'm talking practice volumes here. Most speakers need to be juiced up by the amp to produce a smoother overall high end but for some reason this 200 watt EV speaker can deliver at low volumes as well as high end! This I find is great for those heads or amps that are known to be buzzy or harsh (whether at low volume or not) it'll help smoothen out the amp's tone even more.
Another thing I've also noticed is the low end is quite tight and by that, some players may not like it for that reason. Some players like a very sludgy and massive low end bouncing up at you and I understand the feeling but at the end of the day when playing with a band and or gigging, that low end rumble is really only noticeable within 2 feet of the front or your cab anyway. The mic won't pick it up nor will anybody else hear it. I know tone is subjective and I’ve heard some people claim this speaker to be lifeless and dull, that’s probably because the EV speaker has a sort of transparent character. It doesn’t color the amp as much as other speakers tend to do, rather it just clearly represents what’s being put through, and also has more than enough headroom so to not have any fizzy highs. I’d think this is a great speaker for any application especially downtuning type stuff since the low end is very tight. Just ask Zakk Wylde!
So why did I give this a 9 then and not a 10? It’s the weight. It’s way too heavy for a speaker!! Just WAY too heavy! I’m not a big guy and though I’m ok with carrying a regular 412 most of the time, I had a lot of trouble just carrying an avatar 212 loaded with 2 of these EVs!! I couldn’t imagine what it’d be like with a 412 loaded with these monsters!!!
Another thing I've also noticed is the low end is quite tight and by that, some players may not like it for that reason. Some players like a very sludgy and massive low end bouncing up at you and I understand the feeling but at the end of the day when playing with a band and or gigging, that low end rumble is really only noticeable within 2 feet of the front or your cab anyway. The mic won't pick it up nor will anybody else hear it. I know tone is subjective and I’ve heard some people claim this speaker to be lifeless and dull, that’s probably because the EV speaker has a sort of transparent character. It doesn’t color the amp as much as other speakers tend to do, rather it just clearly represents what’s being put through, and also has more than enough headroom so to not have any fizzy highs. I’d think this is a great speaker for any application especially downtuning type stuff since the low end is very tight. Just ask Zakk Wylde!
So why did I give this a 9 then and not a 10? It’s the weight. It’s way too heavy for a speaker!! Just WAY too heavy! I’m not a big guy and though I’m ok with carrying a regular 412 most of the time, I had a lot of trouble just carrying an avatar 212 loaded with 2 of these EVs!! I couldn’t imagine what it’d be like with a 412 loaded with these monsters!!!