I want a passive FRFR cab that looks like a guitar cab. It's probably partly psychological and I feel like a guitar won't sound like a guitar through a wedge or something that looks like a PA.
like you, I'm an ol' skool backline kinda guy that likes the 'big boxes'
I use a Matrix GT1000FX to drive a pair of Marshall 1960b cabs
and when I first tried this out in a rehearsal studio, everything was 'there'.. just as I like it..
the fat tone.. the raw power.. and the punch...
and also like yourself, there's something Rock'n'Roll about being stood in front of the Marshall wall
but then I tried a pair of CFR12 wedges... and was taken by surprise..
they are plenty loud.. no question..
and the tone is wonderful...
although easily loud enough, one pair of wedges won't boot you in the ribs like a pair of 4x12 cabs..
and I know for some folk [me included], that sort of punch is part of your stage vibe..
which incidentally is why I'm going deaf...
that said... we did try two pairs of CFR's [one pair to tyhe front, the other to the rear] and the result is jaw-dropping..
you get the fat tone.. a pile of volume.. and you get 'the punch' of the big box..
it's a different kind of punch though...
the 4x12 sprays the sound at you in a tight beamed jet.. but you know this already having been on the busness end of them...
where the wedges have a wider throw, you feel the punch a little less intensely, but you get it from all sides..
as soon as you are stood inside all that tone, you forget about the bix boxes in a heartbeat
the tone is so attention consuming that you don't even notice that they are no longer there