Members loner22 Posted February 26, 2007 Members Share Posted February 26, 2007 i'm choosing between two cabs, 2x12 and 4x12, loaded with the same speakers (Marsh 1922 ?? 1960), and apart from money reasons, my main concern is: Is there anything i'll be missing (tonewise) going into the studio with a 2x12 cab instead of a 4x12? I'd hate to save 300-400 bucks and end up with a rig that will suck for recording.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Lee Knight Posted February 26, 2007 Moderators Share Posted February 26, 2007 I like simple when recording. For me, having 2 different, complimenting speakers in a 2x12 is perfect. You've then got the 2 different close miced sounds you can use alone or together plus the combined sound in the room for a third. That's for what I do. You might find that a 4x12 is needed to get what you need... not for me though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members loner22 Posted February 26, 2007 Author Members Share Posted February 26, 2007 for example, if i have two mics close to the speakers (like 421 and 57), in this application - is there anything a 412 will excel at doing compared to my lowly 212 choice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members I was The Funk Posted February 26, 2007 Members Share Posted February 26, 2007 I'm a big fan of the 1x12 closed back setup for this. I like to keep the extra low end out of my guitar tracks. bass does it better. But it depends on your style.... The easiest solution is to bring both. Set them up side by side with mics on them and switch between them. The one that sounds right is the one you use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members loner22 Posted February 26, 2007 Author Members Share Posted February 26, 2007 not an option, unfortunatelyi'm planning on buying a Marshall 1922 cab, and there are none in the neighbourhood =) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members coyote-1 Posted February 26, 2007 Members Share Posted February 26, 2007 Cabinet depth and placement have a great deal to do with obtaining that sound, more so than the # of speakers. If you have a 2x12 and put it on the floor, you'll get that characteristic sound that people so often strive for. Of course, that's highly dependent on where you are mic'ing the cab; if you are miking it close, none of the above really matters beside the depth of the cabinet and the actual speaker in it. But at that point, a 1x12 is as good as a 4x12. If you mic from across the room, a 2x12 of sufficient depth, on the floor, will give you THE sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members alphajerk Posted February 26, 2007 Members Share Posted February 26, 2007 w/o knowing what you are going for... dont have a clue. a nice big 2x12 cab works great, but so does a nice big 4x12 cabinet. i dont know if i would by one just for recording. i have 2x12 [open and closed back], 4x12, 2x15 [really odd]... and use all of them differently. but the only way i really get that "half stack sound" is with 4x12's. i can get great guitar sounds with 2x12 or even 1x8, its just not the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zooey Posted February 26, 2007 Members Share Posted February 26, 2007 You're approaching this backwards. You should record the rig that is working for you right now on stage and in rehearsal. If you're unhappy with your current tone, you should figure out what makes you happy long before you ever set foot in the studio. Sure, it's nice to have some stuff to experiment with while you're in the studio, but the last thing you want to do is to be figuring out what you sound like while the meter is running. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted February 26, 2007 Share Posted February 26, 2007 There's several issues that come into play. First of all, while I'm not certain about this, I THINK the 1922 is a closed back cabinet design. That definitely changes the way that sound radiates from the cabinet vs what happens with a open back cabinet. The second issue is internal volume - volume as in "cubic volume". There's more space (natch ) inside a 4X12 than there is inside a 2X12, and that changes the resonances inside the cabinet and the frequencies that are reinforced acoustically. Of course, the speakers you have loaded into it matter a great deal, and I'll leave that to your personal preferences. Is a sealed 2X12 going to give you the exact same sound as a sealed 4X12... probably not identical - it may lack a bit of the low end "thump" you can get out of a 4X12... but IMO, that's not always a bad thing. I record a lot of 4X12's, and they're not an issue in my studio, but nearly all of the amps I own are combos, and most are 1X12's, although there is a Super (4X10) and a Super Champ (1X10) sitting here, and a open back 2X12 Fender cab. I personally don't think you HAVE to have a 4X12 to get good tones in the studio, but then again, that's a personal / tonal decision, and if someone is more comfortable using a 4X12, I'm not going to argue with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members alphajerk Posted February 27, 2007 Members Share Posted February 27, 2007 hell, different 4x12's sound different depending on the cab build. i prefer larger cabs like orange. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members loner22 Posted February 27, 2007 Author Members Share Posted February 27, 2007 thanks a lot for your help, guysZooey - you gave me some food for thought, however, i will not be able to build THE rig in the near future ,that will give me tHE tone, mostly due to financial reasons. I got rid of all the crap I used to play, and got Mesa Triaxis and a PTP wired tube poweramp. And it just happens so, that I still haven't got a cab for this rig, but things got damn tight with the funds. Hence the questions. Originally, I wanted to purchase Marshall 1936 cab, which is something like 3/4 of a quad box, but for some inexplicable reason there are none in the country, only 1922 models. Those are insignificantly smaller, but they are also about 3 inches more shallow then 1936, and that's what bugs me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members alphajerk Posted February 27, 2007 Members Share Posted February 27, 2007 i would be suprised if the studio didnt have a few choices of cabinets... i usually have 5-15 different amps/cabs set up for guitars ranging from the smallest {censored}box to the halfstack size. really depends on what i have around. i have 4 combinations myself, and the guitarists bring in some, i borrow some for projects... i have more than 4 really, but some are just too bizarre for most. if you want a half stack sound on the record, get a 4x12... borrow one, find out if the studio has one... its not that big a deal getting that part of the tone together. plus 4x12 are so much more fun to play in front of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TIP Posted March 2, 2007 Members Share Posted March 2, 2007 Don't discount the tone of a well mic'ed 1x8"...suprisingly good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members brandondrury1 Posted March 2, 2007 Members Share Posted March 2, 2007 Don't discount the tone of a well mic'ed 1x8"...suprisingly good! Agreed! Having said that, I've been using my Marshall JCM 800 cab loaded with Celestion G12H30s for the past year. I'd love to use a smaller amp, but I can't seam to turn my amp heads down. I've really fallen in love with the sound of power tubes exploding and 30 watt speakers about to explode with a Royer stuffed right on the grill. (Only damage so far is a blown G12H30). I really don't think it matters what cabinet you have (as long as it doesn't sound bad...like the GT75s). You can work around the differences in cabinets. There is probably an idea cabinet for a specific head, but there is no reason that you can't pull the low end down on the head, move a mic, or swithc out mics if the need arises. Brandon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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