Four By Ten

One is the Super Reverb, the old 1964 one I’ve had forever. Great sound on its own or with pedals in front. No MV, no loop, and a 2 ohm output, so it’s definitely its own thing. Years ago I bought a Weber Z-Matcher, so now I can run it into my other 8 or 16 ohm cabs, and it sounds great but also shows how much a SR relies on its cab to sound like the old, loud, mean amp we all know.

The other one is a Mesa Nomad 55, and it’s best described as a Super Super Reverb. Similar in configuration with 2x6L6GC power (you can also use EL34s with the flip of a switch) into 4x10 Jensen Alnico speakers, 55 watts (I always thought the Fender SR sounded more like 50+ watts than the rated 40), but with three independent channels each with a Gain and Master, then an overall Master and footswitchable boost. As Randy Smith did, take a Super Reverb, then add every function possible within that framework. Sometimes overdoing ruins a good concept, but in the case of the Nomads, it was one of his best “do it all” designs. I gigged Nomad 55s (the 12“ version combos and head/cab versions) for years before the Road King II came along and it’s a solid, roadworthy band-format gigging amp. We did everything from old Motown to Stone Temple Pilots and it covered them all.

Back on the 4x10” subject, my prediction is that you’ll find something similar to your humbucker/P90 comparison, ie as many similarities as differences. There’s a lot of middle ground with 12” open back cabs, but still always it’s own flavor. I haven’t played anything but the alnico speakers in one personally, so I’m waiting to see what a trained ear thinks of the GBs.
I forgot you had a vintage Super, and didn't know you had the Nomad! Glad I asked.

I wanted the 4x10, as you say, to get a different flavor; even with the Jensen alnico 2x12, it was different from my other 2x12s, but not ALL that different, so the info about P-90 vs Humbuckers is a good sign of things to come later today. Um...if I live to tell the tale! ;)
 
Which ones? Always interested in how other people use the gear!

I haven't had a cab with 10s for 20 years. The one I had was a 2x10 Mesa I got with my Blue Angel, with their Alnico speakers (the frames were blue, with square magnet covers in back, and unlabeled; I never found out who made them). Funny you should mention the B/A and 10s combination!

The cab sounded very good.
I've had three Blue Angels. Every time I sell one I have instant regrets, yet I continue to buy and sell them. Sometimes I'm not very bright. :rolleyes:
 
The other one is a Mesa Nomad 55, and it’s best described as a Super Super Reverb. Similar in configuration with 2x6L6GC power (you can also use EL34s with the flip of a switch) into 4x10 Jensen Alnico speakers, 55 watts (I always thought the Fender SR sounded more like 50+ watts than the rated 40), but with three independent channels each with a Gain and Master, then an overall Master and footswitchable boost. As Randy Smith did, take a Super Reverb, then add every function possible within that framework. Sometimes overdoing ruins a good concept, but in the case of the Nomads, it was one of his best “do it all” designs. I gigged Nomad 55s (the 12“ version combos and head/cab versions) for years before the Road King II came along and it’s a solid, roadworthy band-format gigging amp. We did everything from old Motown to Stone Temple Pilots and it covered them all.
I stupidly put Vintage 30's in my Nomad 55 2x12. I was on a V30 kick. The amp never sounded great with those speakers, but I occasionally see a Nomad 55 head pop up and think about getting it to go with my Mesa open back widebody with MC90 speaker. I like the idea of the three channels and master boost.
 
Arriving tomorrow is an open back 4x10 Mesa cab, part of their recently-introduced Boogie cab series.

4 made-in-England G10 Creambacks. Sounds like it should be sweet for those vintage style tones, right?

Might be a nice alternative for my Lone Star, though I ordered it for the Fillmore. Perhaps it'll sound good with the DG30. I'll find out when I get everything wired up to the amp and cab switcher.

That is...if I manage to live through the day. And that's a big IF because...

I might have neglected to inform the judge/parole board/warden of husband jail, figuring there was plenty of time to find the right moment (of course there never is), so there's a fairly good chance I'll be put into the cooler unless by some miracle it arrives when she's not here... :eek:

Anyway, I sure hope it sounds good. I like the vintage vibe of an open back 4x10. But I haven't heard one with Creambacks.

I hope I live to appreciate it! ;)
You may recall that the bulk of my career time was handling murder cases exclusively. So before you end up in the cooler please give my contact info to the Mrs. I’m sure a justification defense will be successful. I’ll happily accept your gear as payment for services rendered. Seriously, I’m glad you moved on from selling off your guitar gear to the mini buying stage. No doubt you’ll get great tones from your new amp and new DGT guitar.
 
I might have neglected to inform the judge/parole board/warden of husband jail,
Choosing the latter of "ask for permission or ash for forgiveness"
'ash' was a typo but it lends a new meaning so I'll let it stand. And we're not talking swamp ash.

Best of luck with both the warden and the cab. Hopefully great times with each!!
 
"But how does the story end, grandpa? What happened to the Ancient Prisoner when the magic cabinet arrived?"

"Well, Billy, the story has a miracle ending. The Warden of the Husband Jail was out visiting her scary pet dragon when the magic cabinet arrived, so the Ancient Prisoner got it down the stairs faster than you can say 'Jack Robinson'. All the other prisoners in Husband Jail agreed, "Ixnay on the Attletay."

"Who's Jack Robinson?"

"A person in a story who changed his mind a lot! It's been a phrase in the English language since the 18th Century."

"What's 'Ixnay on the Attletay?"

"It means, 'mum's the word' in pig Latin."

"Pigs speak Latin?"

"Not really. It's the same thing as 'shhhh'."

"That doesn't make any sense, grandpa, but I liked the story!"

"Would you like to see a picture of the Magic Cabinet, Billy?"

"Yes, grandpa!"

"OK, here it is on the very left. The Ancient Prisoner may move the book cases a couple of feet to give the amps a little more room, but for now, this is how the Ancient Prisoner set things up. He will give a tone report as soon as he recovers from running down the stairs with a heavy box and wiring everything up."

"Gee, grandpa, the magic cabinet looks just like all the other boxes sitting there."

"That's the idea, Billy; it's called Stealth."

"Grandpa?"

"Yes, Billy?

"The cool guys have paisley HXDAs. Not black ones."

PeUtyCY.jpg
 
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Here's the report:

I used the Fillmore, all modes, tried it with each of my pedals, and played a CU24 30th Anniversary PS. I bought this cab for the Fillmore, primarily, so today I didn't try my other amps with it. I will.

I played for about 2 1/2 hours, thinking that's enough to get an overall first impression.

First, you'll notice in the pic the amp and cab are in a corner. That's not the best spot for it, yet it didn't matter.

Usually corner placement exaggerates the low frequencies and can make the tone muddy. That didn't happen, Maybe it's the proximity of the bass trap behind the HXDA and Lone Star. I was going to move one of my portable bass traps into the corner behind the amp, but I didn't need it.

So what's it sound like?

This cab is all about clarity, note separation, and a very wide polar pattern/spread in the room that doesn't get peaky or raspy. I've never heard a cab achieve as clear and open a tone. Compared to my 2x12 cabs it was like a big, wide, clean picture window into the true sounds the guitar and amp were making.

And does it ever project into the room in a wide arc!

I expected a degree of excess brightness from a 4 x 10. Nope. The cabinet is very well balanced, top to bottom. The Celestion Creams are terrific in this 10" format. Never a hint of ice-pick. I was very happy with that.

The fundamental notes are solid. The bass is tight, the lower mids are perfect. There's zero mud. The midrange is...I dunno, never heard anything more open in the mids. High frequencies are very balanced, a good thing.

When I record it, I'll probably pick a Neumann TLM 103 about a foot away, and blend it with a ribbon room mic to pick up the ambience. With a lot of cabs, it's pointless to use a condenser. But I think this one has enough clarity that I wouldn't want to monkey around with a dynamic mic. I'd want to capture every bit of that clarity.

The cab projects a very wide sound field/polar pattern. I was honestly shocked by this.

You can walk from side to front and hear a consistent tone without noticeable peakiness. There's no ice pick standing centered on the cab. It's clear as a bell regardless where you sit or stand. It'd be a really good choice for live work, depending on the style you play.

Chugging? I dunno. You might want that fat bottom of a 12".

Classic rock, alt rock, Americana, country, blues or jazz? It's your huckleberry. I even tried some U2 type stuff with it, and my goodness, it sounded terrific.

As you might expect with the lower mass of 10" speakers vs 12", the response is very fast. Transients are clear, but yet they're rounded, not painfully sharp. So if you're a rhythm player, you're going to get the note separation on chords of your dreams, and your picking will be very dynamic. Chicken pickin'? You wouldn't have to fight the amp to have the response and clarity you need. It responds quickly to every note, no waiting for the speaker to recover.

Incidentally, I'm terrible at chicken pickin' so...take that bit with a grain of salt!

I expect it will sound even better when it starts to break in, and I'll report back.

But for now: Think clarity, speed of response, balanced tone, wide polar pattern, and a speaker cab that projects really well.

You might think, "Yeah, but a 4x10 is supposed to be all vintage sounding."

Well, maybe, but this one's capable of a lot more. If I didn't own this, I'd buy it. ;)
 
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Here's the report:

I used the Fillmore, all modes, tried it with each of my pedals, and played a CU24 30th Anniversary PS. I bought this cab for the Fillmore, primarily, so today I didn't try my other amps with it. I will.

I played for about 2 1/2 hours, thinking that's enough to get an overall first impression.

First, you'll notice in the pic the amp and cab are in a corner. That's not the best spot for it, yet it didn't matter.

Usually corner placement exaggerates the low frequencies and can make the tone muddy. That didn't happen, Maybe it's the proximity of the bass trap behind the HXDA and Lone Star. I was going to move one of my portable bass traps into the corner behind the amp, but I didn't need it.

So what's it sound like?

This cab is all about clarity, note separation, and a very wide polar pattern/spread in the room that doesn't ever get peaky or raspy. I've never heard a cab achieve as clear and open a tone. Compared to my 2x12 cabs it was like a big, wide, clean picture window into the true sounds the guitar and amp were making.

And does it ever project into the room in a wide arc!

I expected a degree of excess brightness from a 4 x 10. Nope. The cabinet is very well balanced, top to bottom. The Celestion Creams are really good in this 10" format. Never a hint of ice-pick. I was very happy with that.

And the fundamental notes are solid. The bass is tight, the lower mids are perfect. There's zero mud. The midrange is...I dunno, never heard anything more open in the mids. High frequencies are very balanced, a good thing.

When I record it, I'll probably pick a Neumann TLM 103 about a foot away, and blend it with a ribbon room mic to pick up the ambience. A lot of cabs, it's pointless to use a condenser. But I think this one has enough clarity that I wouldn't want to monkey around with a dynamic mic. I'd want to capture every bit of that clarity.

The cab projects a very wide sound field/polar pattern. I was honestly shocked by this.

You can walk from side to front and hear a consistent tone without noticeable peakiness. There's no ice pick standing centered on the cab. It's clear as a bell regardless where you sit or stand. It'd be a really good choice for live work, depending on the style you play.

Chugging? I dunno. You might want that fat bottom of a 12".

Classic rock, alt rock, Americana, country, blues or jazz? It's your huckleberry. I even tried some U2 type stuff with it, and my goodness, it sounded terrific.

As you might expect with the lower mass of 10" speakers vs 12", the response is very fast. Transients are clear, but yet they're rounded, not painfully sharp. So if you're a rhythm player, you're going to get the note separation on chords of your dreams, and your picking will be very dynamic. Chicken pickin'? You wouldn't have to fight the amp to have the response and clarity you need. It responds quickly to every note, no waiting for the speaker to recover.

Incidentally, I'm terrible at chicken pickin' so...take that bit with a grain of salt!

I expect it will sound even better when it starts to break in, and I'll report back.

But for now: Think clarity, speed of response, balanced tone, wide polar pattern, and a speaker cab that projects really well.

You might think, "Yeah, but a 4x10 is supposed to be all vintage sounding."

Well, maybe, but this one's capable of a lot more. If I didn't own this, I'd buy it. ;)
Love it. I may have to try those Creambacks in the Nomad just to see what they offer. I sure like the 12s I put in the Road King II combo.

I think that cab is going to find a lot of uses in your world.
 
Love it. I may have to try those Creambacks in the Nomad just to see what they offer. I sure like the 12s I put in the Road King II combo.

I was just thinking back to the last time I changed speakers in one of my cabs, and it's been at least 15 years.

Oh, I like the idea of doing the work to make it happen, all right. But then I get serious about it.

At the point when I'm ready to order some different speakers to put in the cab, I find myself thinking about stuff I'd rather do. Like poke myself in the eye with a pencil.

Then I think, "Maybe I'll just buy a cab that comes with those speakers!"

Changing tubes, no problem. Changing speakers...that's trouble!

I think that cab is going to find a lot of uses in your world.

I believe you're right!
 
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"But how does the story end, grandpa? What happened to the Ancient Prisoner when the magic cabinet arrived?"

"Well, Billy, the story has a miracle ending. The Husband Jail warden was out visiting her scary pet dragon when the magic cabinet arrived, so the Ancient Prisoner got it down the stairs faster than you can say 'Jack Robinson'. All the other prisoners in Husband Jail agreed, "Ixnay on the Attletay."

"Who's Jack Robinson?"

"A person in a story who changed his mind a lot! It's been a phrase in the English language since the 18th Century."

"What's 'Ixnay on the Attletay?"

"It means, 'mum's the word' in pig Latin."

"Pigs speak Latin?"

"Not really. It's the same thing as 'shhhh'."

"That doesn't make any sense, grandpa, but I liked the story!"

"Would you like to see a picture of the Magic Cabinet, Billy?"

"Yes, grandpa!"

"OK, here it is on the very left. The Ancient Prisoner may move the book cases a couple of feet to give the amps a little more room, but for now, this is how the Ancient Prisoner set things up. He will give a tone report as soon as he recovers from running down the stairs with a heavy box and wiring everything up."

"Gee, grandpa, the magic cabinet looks just like all the other boxes sitting there."

"That's the idea, Billy; it's called Stealth."

"Grandpa?"

"Yes, Billy?

"The cool guys have paisley HXDAs. Not black ones."

PeUtyCY.jpg
Good old Stealth mode. Love it
 
I was just thinking back to the last time I changed speakers in one of my cabs, and it's been at least 15 years.

Pah! I had three speakers that I swapped around in their respective cabs just the other day, and thought nothing of it. Clue - the right power tools :)

What used to be a major chore is now only a minor inconvenience. Plus: the payoff made it all worthwhile, as my MkIV is currently running its own EV alongside two Celestion Black Shadows in their separate cabs (hung off my Aracom, from one of the Boogie's 4 ohm taps).

I tried the MkIIC+ with the same speaker setup, and it was really great as well.
 
Here's the report:

This cab is all about clarity, note separation, and a very wide polar pattern/spread in the room that doesn't ever get peaky or raspy. I've never heard a cab achieve as clear and open a tone. Compared to my 2x12 cabs it was like a big, wide, clean picture window into the true sounds the guitar and amp were making.


You might think, "Yeah, but a 4x10 is supposed to be all vintage sounding."

Well, maybe, but this one's capable of a lot more. If I didn't own this, I'd buy it. ;)

Good grief - now I'll have to build myself a 4x12 too. What do you think about figured pine?
 
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