Advice on pairing speakers for a 4x12" recording cab

[pedrohead]

I own a Marshall 1960 cab that I use exclusively for recording purposes. I'm mixing and matching the 4 speakers in the cab so that I can just close mic the speaker that has the tone I'm after for the particular sound/guitar/head I'm using. I run the cab in stereo but only use one side at a time, so I can keep the volume in the live room a little lower.

 

I also run the cab in stereo so I can (hopefully) protect the lower watt speakers (G12M, G12H) from if I'm playing a 100W Mesa Recto through the high watt speakers (V30, G12T75).

 

Is that the best way to do it? Pair the lower watt speakers on one side then the higher watt speakers on the other?

 

Am I at danger playing a 100W head through the low watt (25W/30W) speakers if the volume is kept lower, or where do the problems come in? Thanks.

[sled]

I basically do the same. I have several cabs and move speakers between them often, always mixing speakers... running a cab mono or stereo and alter the cab wiring from serial to parallel and vise versa.

 

I seldom if ever run loud enough long enough to blow a lower wattage speaker. A speaker does not fail just because its wattage is exceeded, but fails because it cannot dissipate the heat from excessive power sinking.

[guitarbilly74]

I am going to advise against mixing speakers on a recording cab especially on a non-pro, home studio environment, where the space and choice of mics is limited. . Try different speakers and see which one you like the most and stick with it. It is very hard to capture to tape the tone of a cab with mixed speakers, it is not as simple as sticking 2 mic's in front of it, you may have to play with mic angles or even different mic types and you can have some phasing issues as well.

It can be done but it's a lot more work for results that might not be that much better and possible worse than a single mic in front of your favorite speaker.

 

If anything, have different cabs with different speakers and switch cabs before double tracking. I do that sometimes.

 

If you insist in mixing speakers an X pattern normally works best.

[pedrohead]

I am going to advise against mixing speakers on a recording cab especially on a non-pro, home studio environment, where the space and choice of mics is limited. . Try different speakers and see which one you like the most and stick with it. It is very hard to capture to tape the tone of a cab with mixed speakers, it is not as simple as sticking 2 mic's in front of it, you may have to play with mic angles or even different mic types and you can have some phasing issues as well. It can be done but it's a lot more work for results that might not be that much better and possible worse than a single mic in front of your favorite speaker. If anything, have different cabs with different speakers and switch cabs before double tracking. I do that sometimes. If you insist in mixing speakers an X pattern normally works best.

 

 

Thanks for the advice GuitarBilly, and just to clarify, this IS simply micing one speaker at a time (for my favorite speaker for the sound I'm going for on that track). I'm certainly not trying to mix/match speakers for the same recorded track.

[guitarbilly74]

 

Thanks for the advice GuitarBilly, and just to clarify, this IS simply micing one speaker at a time (for my favorite speaker for the sound I'm going for on that track). I'm certainly not trying to mix/match speakers for the same recorded track.

 

 

The problem with that is when you are EQing the amp you are hearing both speakers while the mic is just capturing one of them so be prepared to EQ the amp and walk in the control room and hear something completely different.

 

Same thing happens live, you are hearing all the speakers from your cab and EQing your amp for them, but if there is only one speaker going to the PA, it's a radically different tone in the FOH and your settings may not work. It takes walking back and forth between the amp and the stage front a lot of times to get a good compromise, which may be hard to do in some venues.

 

That's why I suggest keeping separate cabs with different speakers for multi-tracking or just sticking with your favorite speaker and calling it a day. That way it's much easier to capture what you're hearing in the room to tape/p.a.

 

I tried the mix and match thing for a while and it did not work well for me anywhere but on unmic'd rehearsals.

[Bigmark]

Of course this isn't a pproblem if you run the head in the control room and tweak accordingly.

[pedrohead]

Of course this isn't a pproblem if you run the head in the control room and tweak accordingly.

 

 

Which is exactly what I'm doing.

 

This is purely a close mic'd situation. So while a fleet of 1x12" cabinets would be ideal, it's a heck of a lot more expensive than just one 4x12" that I mix/match the speakers.