Anybody went from 4x12 to 2x12 ?

Anand Mahangoe

Power User
Hi !
In my 30+ years of playing always 4x12 cabs, I have always missed "mids" in my sound....Lately listening to other Guitarists like Joe Bonamassa, I noticed he split his 4x12 into 2x12 and using EV-L for his Marshall amps. I tried it with the Ownhammer Marshall 1966 2x12 cab loaded with EV-L and it does sound different. I can hear the less "colouring" aspects of the EV speakers compared to V30 & Greenback. I play all kinds of styles and low-medium gain sounds.

I have to say it is a close call for me between the EV-L and the V30 with my Marshall Silver Jubilee amp :)
Of course the Clean clips will show less differences than the Overdriven sounds :)

Very curious to hear your opinion / experiences !

 
Hi !
In my 30+ years of playing always 4x12 cabs, I have always missed "mids" in my sound....Lately listening to other Guitarists like Joe Bonamassa, I noticed he split his 4x12 into 2x12 and using EV-L for his Marshall amps. I tried it with the Ownhammer Marshall 1966 2x12 cab loaded with EV-L and it does sound different. I can hear the less "colouring" aspects of the EV speakers compared to V30 & Greenback. I play all kinds of styles and low-medium gain sounds.

I have to say it is a close call for me between the EV-L and the V30 with my Marshall Silver Jubilee amp :)
Of course the Clean clips will show less differences than the Overdriven sounds :)

Very curious to hear your opinion / experiences !


I would guess you are talking about IRs... For distortion\heavy tones I almost always use 4x12 cabs. For cleans or mild overdrive I use a lot of 1x12 and 2x12 cabs.
 
Haven't watched the video (yet) but : yes. Whenever possible I use IRs of 2x12s (even though my current favorites are 4x12s by lack of...) because they have more punch.

And I remember @FractalAudio writing that 2x12s have less phase issues than 4x12s.
Thanks and will check the Factory EVs too when I get back :)
 
I would guess you are talking about IRs... For distortion\heavy tones I almost always use 4x12 cabs. For cleans or mild overdrive I use a lot of 1x12 and 2x12 cabs.
Yes, IRs...In real life it would be a pain in the *ss for most of use to carry around all those cabs ;)

I also used that same thing for clean to mild gain ..1x12 and 2x12..... When I get back home, will dive deeper into the same speaker and compare the 2x12 vs 4x12 a bit more....
 
For recording I usually go for a 1x12 because they seem to have more “projection” if that makes any sense. Or I’m just a creature of habit because in “them old days” I always recorded with an overseized 1x12 (Celestion Sidewinder inside).
 
I like the sound of 2x12 over 4x12. I’ve always thought 4x12 were too boomy. 2 2x12 stacked or side-by-side are an amazing sounding killing machine. Even 4x10 in a cabinet was a pain, though it was preferable to 4x12.

I also never liked the bulk of 4x12 cabinets and the cartage requirements, needing a truck or van instead of a sports car… ew.
 
I like the sound of 2x12 over 4x12. I’ve always thought 4x12 were too boomy. 2 2x12 stacked or side-by-side are an amazing sounding killing machine. Even 4x10 in a cabinet was a pain, though it was preferable to 4x12.

I also never liked the bulk of 4x12 cabinets and the cartage requirements, needing a truck or van instead of a sports car… ew.
4x10 seem less boomy than 4x12.

I have an awesome custom 2x10 Weber X Cab with AlNiCo 10V speakers, built a bit wider to match their 6A20 combo cab width.
 
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For recording I usually go for a 1x12 because they seem to have more “projection” if that makes any sense. Or I’m just a creature of habit because in “them old days” I always recorded with an overseized 1x12 (Celestion Sidewinder inside).
That will be my next step once I get comfortable with the 2x12 cabs ;) Thanks mate !
 
I like the sound of 2x12 over 4x12. I’ve always thought 4x12 were too boomy. 2 2x12 stacked or side-by-side are an amazing sounding killing machine. Even 4x10 in a cabinet was a pain, though it was preferable to 4x12.

I also never liked the bulk of 4x12 cabinets and the cartage requirements, needing a truck or van instead of a sports car… ew.
Thanks Greg and I have been there with 3 4x12 cabs playing w/d/w huge rigs and having my own trailer to transport in whahahah.....what a time that was....I much more prefer my In Ears now ;)
 
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