1x12" cab instead of 4x12" for recording? recommen

[crow]

A friend of mine is going to build me some speaker cabinets in exchange for recording time, and i have always fantasized about having a few small 1x12" cabs to use with marshall (and other brand) heads instead of the big 4x12"s that I usually use. frnkly, i'd like to just leave the 4x12"s in our band van to free up some space in the studio. i'm now looking for recommendations from y'all about what speakers i should try. the first one i'm comissioning will be a closed-back cabinet, and i'm looking for a tight low end and that kind of compressed sound that one sometimes gets out of marshall style amps. any thoughts?

[getreel]

This looks cool. One of my good friends has one of their speakers in his '65 Deluxe and loves it.
http://www.tonetubby.com/
One of their speakers and their 1x12 cab should have very nice tone.

[numberthirty]

I think a google search using "guitar player" along with "red coat" of "patriot" may lead to pretty tech-heavy reviews of the red coat and patriot speaker line that guitar player did a while back(2005 maybe?)

That said, I did see an ad for the new Eddie Van Halen model Celestion speaker in the new issue of Guitar Player. Seemed interesting from the ad.

[Jeremy Garber]

I had a similar desire myself. I've been using a 2x12 and a 1x10 for recording guitar. Both have nice things about them, but they take up a lot of space in my small room. I was thinking of building a 1x12 speaker cab to use with any amp, specifically for recording. I did a little browsing at available speakers, but have no idea which is for me. Pretty open question I'm sure.

[RodC]

There is a big difference. We have 2 1X12 cabs with same celeston speakers that we also have in a 4X12. As one guitar player said, they just dont push as much air. They def dont fill up the room or provide the same response as 4 speakers in the same cab interacting with each other.

99 times out of a Hundred we hook up one of our 1X12s when working on and amp, just because its easy to move around. After everthing is OK, we always say: "I wonder what it sounds like through a 4X12." It always sounds better, unless you want that "small amp" sound. We usualy have a varity of cabs because of bands leaving their stuff around, right now we have 3 different ones, so I dont think its just isolated to this one 4X12.

[mjau]

I've really liked all the Weber alnico speakers I've used, and for a totally different flavor, the Celestion g12h and greenbacks are both very cool.

[asmara]

I just picked up an Avalon 1X12 Blue Alnico that is excellent. I generally like open back cabinets but this one is exceptional.

[Jim Williams]

www.bassonsound.com
has a very nice 1x12 cab with an Eminence speaker, quite a good value as well.

[thecheat]

I usually record 2x12's actually. Don't have much experience with the 1x12s no reason why it wouldnt work just fine tho. I use a Marshall 1936 closed back 2x12 and it sounds fantastic, i have it miced up with a 57 and a 609 most of the time, unless the style calls for something different, one on each speaker.

Althought, i have a pretty unique guitar recording setup, i built a baffled and vented cabinet that holds a 2x12 cab and two mics that i can close. this is a big deal for me because i have an open warehouse space with no control room and getting a guitar tone with it bouncing all over the room is all but impossible. I pretty much use the same cabinet and swap out Amps as the needs for tone change.

Anyway it sounds great to my ears, the 2x12s tend to be more controlled and clearer than 4x12s i think, you can always beef up the ass end up a guitar tone with EQ, and thereby relieving the need for two more speakers pushing out bass.

if anyone is interested id be happy to post some pics of what has come to be known as "The Ark of the Covenant"

Chris

[crow]

we always say: "I wonder what it sounds like through a 4X12." It always sounds better, unless you want that "small amp" sound.

that thought has definitely been lurking around the back of my brain, but i figure it's worth a shot. i might switch gears and ask for a 2x12 instead. still a smaller footprint, but perhaps a good compromise. 9 times out of ten, if i'm going for the kind of sound that pushes a lot of air, i'm close-micing one speaker. if i do room mics on guitar, it's usually on the clean-ish side and not requiring that much action out of the cab.

thanks for all the input, folks! keep 'em coming!

on a side note, my neighbor is also making me a dietz-style 1x15 bass cabinet. i'm pretty excited about that.

[RodC]

you can always beef up the ass end up a guitar tone with EQ, and thereby relieving the need for two more speakers pushing out bass.

I like to avoid EQ on guitar tracks unless it is to carve a bit out for some room for something else. EQ just dont match the actual sound of a loud amp interacting with a room. Mic position, mic selection, preamp selection ect is what does it for me. YMMV

[RodC]

we always say: "I wonder what it sounds like through a 4X12." It always sounds better, unless you want that "small amp" sound.

that thought has definitely been lurking around the back of my brain, but i figure it's worth a shot. i might switch gears and ask for a 2x12 instead. still a smaller footprint, but perhaps a good compromise. 9 times out of ten, if i'm going for the kind of sound that pushes a lot of air, i'm close-micing one speaker. if i do room mics on guitar, it's usually on the clean-ish side and not requiring that much action out of the cab.

thanks for all the input, folks! keep 'em coming!

on a side note, my neighbor is also making me a dietz-style 1x15 bass cabinet. i'm pretty excited about that.

I have recorded 2X12s a few times, I do like the sound of them better than a 1x12. Try it on the floor, on the floor sidways (speakers virticle) and up off the floor (on a chair or top of another cab).

But who am I?? Just one hacks opinion.

[blunderfonics]

You'd need to consider the wattage of the amps and speakers you are planning on using with a smaller cab. A 100W Marshall can put out well over 100W of power when it's dimed. That's fine if it's pushing a 4X12 full of G12T-75's, because as a group they can handle 300w. Put one of those speakers alone in a 1X12 it will be unhappy with the same amp at the same settings, even though the overall impedance doesn't change.

[RodC]

You'd need to consider the wattage of the amps and speakers you are planning on using with a smaller cab. A 100W Marshall can put out well over 100W of power when it's dimed. That's fine if it's pushing a 4X12 full of G12T-75's, because as a group they can handle 300w. Put one of those speakers alone in a 1X12 it will be unhappy with the same amp at the same settings, even though the overall impedance doesn't change.

Thats a deff, 4 speakers at 100 watts only have to dissapate 25 each. So you cant really crank it the same.

[thecheat]

you can always beef up the ass end up a guitar tone with EQ, and thereby relieving the need for two more speakers pushing out bass.

I like to avoid EQ on guitar tracks unless it is to carve a bit out for some room for something else. EQ just dont match the actual sound of a loud amp interacting with a room. Mic position, mic selection, preamp selection ect is what does it for me. YMMV

Oh no of course not, however as you said in order to complement other things or simply add a little "beef" eq can be in order. i guess my point was i dont miss the sound of a 4x12 on tape. Thats all.