Cab Talk: What to consider when deciding between 1x12, 2x12 or 4x12 cabinets?

danchez

danchez

Member
Let's talk cabinets. When it comes to achieving certain tones, how do you go about figuring out whether you need to use a 1x12, 2x12 or 4x12 cabinet IR? What are each type good for? Also, are certain cab types considered "go tos" for certain sounds? (e.g. if you're going high gain, then you should be using 4x12s). Stuff like that.
 
danchez said:
Let's talk cabinets. When it comes to achieving certain tones, how do you go about figuring out whether you need to use a 1x12, 2x12 or 4x12 cabinet IR? What are each type good for? Also, are certain cab types considered "go tos" for certain sounds? (e.g. if you're going high gain, then you should be using 4x12s). Stuff like that.
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Cabs are weird. I started out following stereotypes and using my eyes, ex. V30 4x12 for metal, some Fender 1xn for clean. Then I started going through some other cabs just because they were there, and found combinations I'd never think to try if I hadn't heard it. I've used a 1x12, 4x10, and all sorts of speakers for metal and it works, just depends on the specific sound I want.

Ears not eyes!
 
I don't know? Are there really any rules to this?
I tend to go with what works for the mix of the song. I know when listening to the tone with the guitar by itself through the monitors, it's a whole lot different then when it is put in with other instruments in a mix. That nice punchy bottom doesn't always sit where it should be and can take away or change how other things are supposed to sound.

There are certain IRs that I mark as favourites and use those regularly. They sound great for high gain tones. However, I remember having to complete a certain part for a contract and my usual favorite cab that I would pick for this did not work as intended. I ended up auditioning something that was completely different then what I would normally use and what do you know, it turned out great!

People have their favs and those work for them in most situations.
 
danchez said:
Let's talk cabinets. When it comes to achieving certain tones, how do you go about figuring out whether you need to use a 1x12, 2x12 or 4x12 cabinet IR? What are each type good for? Also, are certain cab types considered "go tos" for certain sounds?
Click to expand...
I tend to start by choosing the speaker configuration for whatever the amp I have chosen. Certain cabs are go to cabs for certain sounds to me. 4x10 for a Super Reverb, 2x12 for a Vox AC30, 4x12 for a Marshall, etc. I audition every single cab in that configuration and choose the ones that sounds best to me. The right cab choices makes all the difference to me.
 
Moving the mic one inch changes the IR so much. You could do the sensible thing and audition blind only. Other than that, I pick the real cab that looks the best.
 
I've heard artists talk about recording gear (e.g Jimmy Page, Def Leppard) who have ended up using very small speakers like 1x8 or 1x10s to achieve a certain sound that fits the song.
I've often used 1 x 12's on the JCM 800 or Plexi 50 because it just seems a bit "sweeter".
It does come down to the "choose with your ears, not your eyes" thing though. If none of the IR's had speaker sizes indicated on them you wouldn't know, you'd just pick one you liked.
 
no matter what the prest, in general I change the cab to Leon Todd's LT TV Mix 2, which is a 4 x 12 Marshall TV with 25w greenbacks, axechnge ID 666....makes my presets come alive,always come back to that one
 
When you know a real cab well, you might recognize it's unique voice in certain IRs (while there are so many where you don't). Use these ones, eq them if needed. You can easily add or cut lows and highs, but you can't put that voice in, when it's not there right from the start.

If you don't know any voice of any real cab...well you just don't have that need then, that your digital sound needs to remind you of one of your former cabs.
 
What to consider ? Your ears . I start trying to match cab and head like they originally are in real life and the sound wasn’t so good . So you spend hours to try irs and mic to found the one you like …
 
There's the broad strokes and tiny strokes to consider on the subject.

With multiple speaker cabs, a lot of what people are hearing at gig volume is the crosstalk between speakers usually manufactured with some rather loose tolerances or uneven wear (depending upon the wiring) and the resonance of the cab itself.

Not all speaker cabs of the same format are voiced the same, which contributes to confusion and debate when discussing the subject.

Take the same speakers and put them in a 1960a, Soldano Slant, and a Vai Legacy cab using the same amp to drive them in the same room. Before you place a mic on them to add an additional variable, play them. Since they are all closed back slant cabs, they should sound the same, but they don't. It's a matter of the internal volume of the cab, bracing, mounting of the speakers, baffle board attachment, and seal of the back panel that produce tonal/timbral differences.

If you have a particular cab format with an open back, it's going to sound different than a sealed closed back and a removable closed back. My brother was a bit of a mad scientist in the early 70s. I remember him taking precise measurements of a friend's Marshall 4x12, constructing a replica of the measurements and experimenting by changing removable versus truly sealed versus open back. Ported front, ported back, versus non ported. Fiberglass filled versus no fill. Changing baffle mounting styles. With the same speakers and same wood in the same room, you could hear differences. That left an impression on me.

The 1 speaker cab format removes a lot of variables from achieving a tone as you remove the crosstalk between speakers and the manufacturing variance/wear between them.

Even then though, certain speakers just sound great in certain cabs but not as good in other cabs so there is a certain amount of handshake between them that happens when you find a combination that sounds good to your ears.

Add in the coloration of one or multiple mics, different rooms, different cab & mic placement in those rooms, and different signal chains, and the equation becomes quite complex.

Use your ears. When you find something pleasing, narrow down your path first by deciding if you want to try out different speakers in the same cab format, different cabs using the same speaker, or different cab/speaker combinations using the same mic or mic blend.

There's few shortcuts in making art.
 
Been using this Mesa 1x12 IR with a celestion V-Type speaker from ownhammer for every amp model I choose the last couple weeks. More or less I haven’t touched the cab block. IR just seems to work for me with everything I throw at it.
 
Close eyes and use ears, scroll through selections. You may be surprised. Even though 4x12 may be associated with high gain or rock stacks, you may find more, and bigger speakers doesn't always sound bigger or better.
 
There are some general tendencies regarding speaker size and construction, and, especially the low frequency resonance that can help you choose a cab. Generally, bigger speakers yield lower resonant frequencies, given similar cone, spider, and outer suspension. Heavier cone materials will skew resonance lower and likely make it peakier. Stiffer spider and/or outer suspension will damp the resonance a bit and shift it higher. Cabs also have different resonances due to size, shape, architecture (open-back, closed-back, ported,etc.) and structure/bracing/baffle mounting differences.

All of that said, there are enough variables that you generally need to try a bunch and see what works....
 
The one great thing about the current state of guitar modeling , is the up and down key and axe-edit. Click away until it sits in the mix, kind of like how synth players would fly through patches….
 
I forget where it's been mentioned, but if you want a touch more "bite/clarity/zing"etc in your sound, mix in some of the factory 001 1x4 pignose. The results may surprise you!
 
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