1x12, 2x10, 4x10 thoughts?

Main topic? Iā€™m now looking for a Mesa wide body open 1x12 to stack with its closed body sibling. That seems my best compromise. It just figures I sold one about 6-8 months ago. If anyone in the SF Bay Area has a nice one , let me know! There are new ones, but Iā€™m not finding local used ones.
 
I still canā€™t find a used or reasonably priced new open wide body 1x12 cab. I can find reasonable prices for the Mesa boogie open 2x12. Itā€™s a pretty compact cab, roughly 26x18x12 and 49#. I can also find reasonable discounts on the open 2x10, same size as my closed wide body 1x12.

the 2x12 is longer than the 1x12 - Any thoughts on stacking with the open 2x12 on the bottom, closed 1x12 on top, should I decide I *need* a new cab?
 
the 2x12 is longer than the 1x12 - Any thoughts on stacking with the open 2x12 on the bottom, closed 1x12 on top, should I decide I *need* a new cab?
If you're going for the look of the stack, get the matching one; if you have to spend a little more it won't kill you. I fully understand the 'decor' aspect of this stuff. ;)

If it's really about the tone difference, why not simply put the cabs side by side and not worry about stacking them (assuming you have the space)?

Even though I'm mad for decor, a 1x12 on top of a 2x12 of the same front-to-back depth, or a deeper bottom cab, wouldn't bother me at all. But this is personal taste. I wouldn't stack a deeper cab on top of one that's narrower front-to-back, both for safety and appearance reasons.

If I was anywhere near earthquake country there's no way I'd stack two cabs and a head regardless. Seems like a recipe for disaster.
 
If you're going for the look of the stack, get the matching one; if you have to spend a little more it won't kill you. I fully understand the 'decor' aspect of this stuff. ;)

If it's really about the tone difference, why not simply put the cabs side by side and not worry about stacking them (assuming you have the space)?

Even though I'm mad for decor, a 1x12 on top of a 2x12 of the same front-to-back depth, or a deeper bottom cab, wouldn't bother me at all. But this is personal taste. I wouldn't stack a deeper cab on top of one that's narrower front-to-back, both for safety and appearance reasons.

If I was anywhere near earthquake country there's no way I'd stack two cabs and a head regardless. Seems like a recipe for disaster.
Matching, check! All Mesa, just pyramid or column. The Mesa cabs are solid, even if I end up changing or adding amp brands.

Yeah, I may just get the 1x12 open.

Side by side, nope, not enough room.

The 2x12 is like 4ā€ longer than the 1x12, a not big difference. It just puts the closed cab on top of the open, which I think is backwards? Does it really matter?

Earthquakes. Meh. Hurricanes, tornadoes, broken sump pumps. Sumtinā€™ gonna getcha. (Famous last words.) Besides, if itā€™s the BIG ONE, the rest of the continent will fall in the ocean anyway.

Head goes on a shelf above, once I get 2 more brackets. 3 brackets are probably enough. 5 is better.

I think my little studio-ette will be photo ready in another week or two.
 
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On paper a 4x10 or 2x10 should work for me , but in practice not so much had a 2x10 Vibrolux and a 4x10 Bassman , The Vibrolux did have some great tones but it was a one trick pony for me , I tried my others amps thru the speaker sets and just didn't find anything to love.
To be honest my favorite cab is a Fuchs Ferten 2x12 followed by my PRS deep 2x12
 
The 2x12 is like 4ā€ longer than the 1x12, a big difference. It just puts the closed cab on top of the open, which I think is backwards?
Why would it be backwards? There aren't any rules about this stuff.
Does it really matter?
Not really.

[Edit] In terms of acoustics, you'll generally get more bass reinforcement sitting a cab on the floor due to half space acoustic reinforcement from reflections coming off the floor. That might actually be better for the closed back cab. Might not. You'd have to experiment to know.
 
I donā€™t know. The whole ā€œfloor couplingā€ thing with the closed cab. I think Iā€™d rather it didnā€™t couple anyway.

Glad for the ā€œnope.ā€
I did edit my post to mention the so-called floor coupling before I saw this (really it's half space reinforcement unless you hear the structure itself vibrating).

Some closed back cabs have more bass. So it might sound good to get that 1x12 closed back off the floor, on top of the open back cab. On the other hand, the 212 might have more bass depending on the speakers.

If you get the matching cab you'll have more opportunities to try different positioning.

However, does it matter?

Given that amps have tone controls, as do pedals, it's not something I'd worry about. Maybe this is a better answer.
 
I donā€™t know. The whole ā€œfloor couplingā€ thing with the closed cab. I think Iā€™d rather it didnā€™t couple anyway.

Glad for the ā€œnope.ā€
I have one more 'add' here:

Every room sounds different because of differences in size, building materials, room furnishings, carpet or bare floors, etc. You hear at least as much room reflection in most cases, as cabinet.

In my room that's 33' long, and heavily carpeted, with dedicated bass traps, I find I still get my best sound with any cab 10-12" off the floor. The length of the room means most low frequency waveforms have enough space to minimize (but not eliminate) problems. So I use bass traps as well.

The problem is that whatever stand or surface you put the cab on is going to resonate unless it's designed to be a stand for audio gear with sufficient damping and vibration control.

The Auralex amp pad things are designed for speaker cabs and do a decent job isolating the cab from the floor, which improves bass clarity, but they aren't far enough from the floor to truly solve the problem of acoustic reinforcement or work all that well in my situation. So I have a riser I got for an older speaker cab I no longer have that puts a cab about 10" off the floor. Problem is, I have four cabs, and am past the point of lifting cabs onto stands for sessions.

So I use a low-cut filter EQ to take some of the bass out, so bass and kick drums can be clearly heard above the guitar noise. It's effective.

IMHO everyone should have a high quality EQ pedal or rack piece with an effective low-cut filter to make placing amps and cabs an easier process and accommodate different spaces.

Then again, I am a lone voice crying out in the wilderness when it comes to people actually taking my advice, and heck, I don't blame them. Everyone wants to do things their own way.
 
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Main topic? Iā€™m now looking for a Mesa wide body open 1x12 to stack with its closed body sibling. That seems my best compromise. It just figures I sold one about 6-8 months ago. If anyone in the SF Bay Area has a nice one , let me know! There are new ones, but Iā€™m not finding local used ones.
I'm trying to catch up but think I'm getting dizzy... first, you say you have the closed one and refer to the open as sibling... Do you mean the front ported widbody one?

If I had that and an open back of the same dimensions and speakers, I'd want the closed (ported) on the bottom and the open back on the top. But if you have a 1x12 Recto, not a widebody, then yes, the open back widebody will be winder than that, and I wouldn't put that on top because of that.
 
I'm trying to catch up but think I'm getting dizzy... first, you say you have the closed one and refer to the open as sibling... Do you mean the front ported widbody one?

If I had that and an open back of the same dimensions and speakers, I'd want the closed (ported) on the bottom and the open back on the top. But if you have a 1x12 Recto, not a widebody, then yes, the open back widebody will be winder than that, and I wouldn't put that on top because of that.
Your confusion is understandable, Iā€™m all over the map. I currently have the 23ā€ widebody, closed, front ported 1x12. Mesa now lists that as a recto since Gibson bought them out. I had, and (stupidly) sold, and now want again, the 23ā€ widebody open 1x12.

Iā€™m sort of considering the boogie open 2x12 as an alternative to the open 1x12. Iā€™ll be a one minute walk from Danville Music on Saturday, and they have one of the boogie open 2x12ā€™s. Iā€™m not sure what will happen, but they are having a Valentineā€™s Day sale, and Iā€™m weak.
 
Mesa now lists that as a recto since Gibson bought them out.
What? That's just FOOLISH. You don't take long term products and start calling them the name of another long term product. This may sound silly, but to fans of the brand, this has to look ridiculous... renaming an established product is one thing, but to just start calling one product by another established products name... kind of clownish if you ask me. Which I guess you didn't. :D
 
What? That's just FOOLISH. You don't take long term products and start calling them the name of another long term product. This may sound silly, but to fans of the brand, this has to look ridiculous... renaming an established product is one thing, but to just start calling one product by another established products name... kind of clownish if you ask me. Which I guess you didn't. :D
Looking at their site, they seem to be heading to:
Recto = Closed + the half open, half closed Road King

Boogie = Open + the closed, front ported Thiele cabinet

Except for Cali Tweed, and Fillmore. They get their own headings, but you can only find them if you click on the ā€œGuitarā€ heading under cabs, not the boogie or recto headings.

They seem confused since Gibson took over.
 
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