Question about cab size (1x12 vs. 2x12) and vertical vs. horizontal

[BahamaDada]

Hey folks,

I am going to buy a new amp and I need a cab for it. At the moment I only play at home. Will that change in the future? Nobody knows, but it will be Rock, not Metal (in fact I just quit my current Metal band).

Now I have several thoughts were I'd like to hear your experiences:

1. Potent 1x12 vs 2x12. Especially talking about something like a HESU 1x12 with 60w. Would a good 1x12 be better than 2 standard 2x12 (with Greenbacks or V30)? Or is it: Size matters and more is always good. Will e.g. a 20w amp perform better ("cleaner" at higher volume) with a 2x12 compared to a 1x12?

2. Does the verticality of some 2x12 cabs actually do something? Talking about some of them being slanted. Or does that effect not bring much and I could just buy each horizontal 2x12 (and being able to set it up like I wanted and the room will let me)?

Stuff I am talking about:

🎸 Harley Benton G212 Vertical Celestion V30

Harley Benton G212 Vertical Celestion Vintage 30, Gitarren Box, 2x12" Celestion Vintage 30, 120 Watt an 8 Ohm, hochwertiges 18mm Pappel Sperrholz Gehäuse, Ausführung in schwarzem Tolex, Zierleisten, Maße BHT: 49,5 x 65,8 x 35,5/29,5 cm, Gewicht: 24...

www.thomann.de

🎸 Harley Benton G212 Celestion V30

Harley Benton G212 Celestion Vintage 30 Gitarren Box, 2x12" Celestion Vintage 30, 120 Watt an 8Ohm, 2x60 Watt an 16Ohm, Mono/Stereo schaltbar, hochwertiges 18mm Pappel Sperrholz Gehäuse, Ausführung in schwarzem Tolex, Zierleisten, Abmessungen H x B...

www.thomann.de

HESU Wizard W112 Std. 16 Ohm Cab BK

HESU Wizard W112 Standard 16 Ohm Cab BK; E-Gitarren Lautsprecherbox; eine der kleinsten 1 x 12" Boxen; Bestückung: 1 x 12" HESU Demon Lautsprecher; Boxen Konstruktion: Bassreflex; Belastbarkeit: 60 Watt; Impedanz: 16 Ohm; Anschlüsse: In & Out (2 x...

www.thomann.de

Harley Benton G212Plus Vertical Creamback

Harley Benton G212Plus Vertical Creamback; Gitarren Box; 2x12" Celestion G12M-65 Creamback-Lautsprecher (Made in UK); 130 Watt an 8 Ohm; Anschlüsse: 2x1/4" Klinkenbuchsen; halb abgewinkelte Front; 3-teilige Option für offene/geschlossene Rückseite;...

www.thomann.de

 

[laxu]

To me guitar cabs are in the "Buy good once" category of products. They last forever and that great cab you bought will sound great with everything plugged into it.

Rather than buy cheap ones like the Harley Benton stuff for the price of a set of V30s, buy some nicer cab on the used market. There's always people selling good cabs for sensible money.

To answer your questions:

1. It depends on the design of the cab. E.g the BluGuitar Fatcab 1x12 is ported and sounds bigger than its size would suggest. Dimensions, speakers, closed vs open back, porting, how well sealed the cab is, the type of grill cloth used etc. all have an effect on the sound. It's an entire world of "that's different" rather than "that's objectively better", which is why there's so many different guitar cab designs out there.

Will e.g. a 20w amp perform better ("cleaner" at higher volume) with a 2x12 compared to a 1x12?

It will get a bit louder (about 3 dB), but it won't be cleaner if you are already out of headroom.

2. Yes vertical orientation changes the dispersion pattern. Sound changes less if you move left/right in relation to the cab. Angled speakers will be perceived as brighter because they point more towards your ears. Soundwise a horizontal 2x12 on the floor will usually have more bass. You can change any horizontal 2x12 to vertical by simply adding some rubber feet on one side.

 

[newholland]

well... like everything in sound, the answer to 'does it matter' is always ' it depends...'

112s are super focused sounding most of the time. smaller cabinets have a very clear voice, not a lot of cabinet resonances given their small size, and generally have less bass.. BUT. thats not always true- ported configurations can get pretty chunky, and depending on speakers, you're putting all of an amp through one speaker- so at higher volumes- you really can start to hear the effects of a power amp throttling the speaker.

SO... is it cleaner into a 212? sometimes. but cabinet resonances can change things- as can the cabinet configuration (open, semi open or closed), as can the actual speaker- and their wattages and efficiencies. 212s with efficient speakers can seriously bring quite a bit of additional volume due to ganged efficiency- but not enough to feel like youve got a 100 watt amp with a 20 watter. but it absolutely can make a difference. at normal drummer volumes, my old 20w amp with 2 112s could keep up with a 2203 and a 412. but ultimately, the bigger amp IS louder and cleaner obviously.

insofar as verticality and slants are concerns... again depends. is it open or closed? i LIKE vertical cabs better just because they dont play at my ankles and i can hear them better. slants also help with not pointing speakers at your butt but roughly at your ears if theyre on the floor- but the change in dimension (i.e. its not square anymore) does change the soumd a bit. i certainly find dispersion matters, especially with two guitars onstage.

out of that lot, flexibility wise for the broadest uses, id take the creamback 65 slant cab every single time- but i also dont know the hesu demon speaker. for portability, its tough to beat a 112... but for home playing, i still tend to prefer the density and weight of a 212 even at practice volumes!

 

[newholland]

i think laxu and i gave the same advice within a minute of each other :hi5:

 

[laxu]

If you want to hear a neat little comparison, here's a timestamped clip of the different BluGuitar cabs captured with a room mic maybe about 1.5 meters away from the cabs.

Link to video

Linked because it would not embed correctly.

I think it's fairly accurate to what I perceive with the Nanocab and Fatcab I own. All 3 cabs are ported designs. Each with a "Greenback meets V30" 60W BluGuitar speaker(s) specifically designed for the cab it's in, so it's not the exact same speaker model, but similar. The Nanocab is tiny, it's barely larger than a 12" speaker.

To my ears all of them sound good, but very different. If I had to pick from the 3, I'd go for the Fatcab 1x12 just because on its own, it's got a thicker low end while still being quite compact, and requiring very little tweaking to sound great. The Nanocab can be made to sound closer to the Fatcab by cranking the bass, but it's still going to be different.

I still kinda want to get a Twincab just to have all three!

 

[Fishbulb]

I've got two vertical 2x12s and I like the form factor for live use, for the exact reason newholland mentioned of the speakers not being aimed pretty low to the ground. For recording, one has two different speakers in it, which is nice too. Not sure about how it would be priced in Germany but Mojotone makes excellent cabinets that are cheaper than your boutique amp brands but a very similar quality, and with options on everything if you buy new from them. I'm still on the hunt for the right 1x12 because that has it's uses too.

 

[AFKAEjay(retired)]

I choose to play 1x12s, preferably 2, and 2 of different character.

Scaleaable, stereo (which is nice), you can aim them where they are needed/not unwanted.

 

[JiveTurkey]

Dual 112s looks cool as well \m/

 

[laxu]

For custom cabs in Europe:

Tube Town (DE): https://www.tubetown.net/ttstore/en/tt-cabs/ttc-guitar-cabinets/
Zilla Cabs (UK): https://www.zillacabs.com
Bluetone (FI): https://www.bluetone.fi

If you don't want custom styling, it's always cheaper to buy a used cab and swap speakers if it doesn't have what you want.

For brand new cabs, I'll shill for the BluGuitar cabs. They are well built and designed, fairly priced, with unique speakers that sound great.

 

[gearJunkie]

Dual 1x12s & vertical 2x12

Oversized horizontal 2x12 w/ slanted baffle.

Horizontal 2x12

 

[Warmart]

@gearJunkie's reply to "which cab size"? "All of them, every g'damn size you can find, do it now!"

 

[gearJunkie]

@gearJunkie's reply to "which cab size"? "All of them, every g'damn size you can find, do it now!"

I didn't include my Marshall 6960B 4x12 or my Mojotone 4x10 cabs since the OP wasn't interested in those configurations.

I love mixing & matching cabs in both mono and stereo setups when I'm trying to dig out of a creative rut. I'm also very lazy and don't like repatching cabs and cables when switching amps, so each amp has its own cab or cabs.

 

[sleewell]

two 2x12s vertically or horizontally in the same box

 

[HotRats]

Others before me posted great detailed answers.

My preference is always for 4x12 but if space, weight, logistics of a 4x12 are an issue (like they are for me) my preference goes to vertical 2x12.

In my opinion 2x12 are the most versatile solution especially those that can be opened in the back.

 

[Warmart]

I didn't include my Marshall 6960B 4x12 or my Mojotone 4x10 cabs since the OP wasn't interested in those configurations.
View attachment 45766
View attachment 45768

I love mixing & matching cabs in both mono and stereo setups when I'm trying to dig out of a creative rut. I'm also very lazy and don't like repatching cabs and cables when switching amps, so each amp has its own cab or cabs.

Very, very, very nice!

I just have one cab, the Mojotone 2x12 I just got 2 days ago! To these ears, that have used studio monitors for years, it's a godsend, without a doubt. Not sure the wifey is liking it quite as much. But she's happy that I'm happy.

Studio monitors may start to gather dust.

Sure beats the 1x12 Kemper Kabinet I had a couple of years ago, omg, could never get that thing to sound worth a shite.

 

[sleewell]

horizontal 2x12s are great when you put a put a 4x12 on top of them

 

[la szum]

Hey folks,

I am going to buy a new amp and I need a cab for it. At the moment I only play at home. Will that change in the future? Nobody knows, but it will be Rock, not Metal (in fact I just quit my current Metal band).

Now I have several thoughts were I'd like to hear your experiences:

1. Potent 1x12 vs 2x12. Especially talking about something like a HESU 1x12 with 60w. Would a good 1x12 be better than 2 standard 2x12 (with Greenbacks or V30)? Or is it: Size matters and more is always good. Will e.g. a 20w amp perform better ("cleaner" at higher volume) with a 2x12 compared to a 1x12?

2. Does the verticality of some 2x12 cabs actually do something? Talking about some of them being slanted. Or does that effect not bring much and I could just buy each horizontal 2x12 (and being able to set it up like I wanted and the room will let me)?

Stuff I am talking about:

🎸 Harley Benton G212 Vertical Celestion V30

Harley Benton G212 Vertical Celestion Vintage 30, Gitarren Box, 2x12" Celestion Vintage 30, 120 Watt an 8 Ohm, hochwertiges 18mm Pappel Sperrholz Gehäuse, Ausführung in schwarzem Tolex, Zierleisten, Maße BHT: 49,5 x 65,8 x 35,5/29,5 cm, Gewicht: 24...

www.thomann.de

🎸 Harley Benton G212 Celestion V30

Harley Benton G212 Celestion Vintage 30 Gitarren Box, 2x12" Celestion Vintage 30, 120 Watt an 8Ohm, 2x60 Watt an 16Ohm, Mono/Stereo schaltbar, hochwertiges 18mm Pappel Sperrholz Gehäuse, Ausführung in schwarzem Tolex, Zierleisten, Abmessungen H x B...

www.thomann.de

HESU Wizard W112 Std. 16 Ohm Cab BK

HESU Wizard W112 Standard 16 Ohm Cab BK; E-Gitarren Lautsprecherbox; eine der kleinsten 1 x 12" Boxen; Bestückung: 1 x 12" HESU Demon Lautsprecher; Boxen Konstruktion: Bassreflex; Belastbarkeit: 60 Watt; Impedanz: 16 Ohm; Anschlüsse: In & Out (2 x...

www.thomann.de

Harley Benton G212Plus Vertical Creamback

Harley Benton G212Plus Vertical Creamback; Gitarren Box; 2x12" Celestion G12M-65 Creamback-Lautsprecher (Made in UK); 130 Watt an 8 Ohm; Anschlüsse: 2x1/4" Klinkenbuchsen; halb abgewinkelte Front; 3-teilige Option für offene/geschlossene Rückseite;...

www.thomann.de

I vote for the speakers. Get the speakers you want, and then determine what cab that will be.

 

[BahamaDada]

Wow, thx for all the replies. Super interesting to hear experiences and stuff.

I did what @laxu told me in the first answer and digged around a bit this afternoon on classifieds and found a Laboga 2x12 V30. Gonna check it out tomorrow (30 min drive).

I don't know anything about Laboga cabs, I just know that they are from Poland(?)(at least the amps?) and their Mr Hector was a quite nice amp.

Dude wants 150€ for it. Looks... well, it's "worn in". And he says he does not smoke. I can live with looks, but not with odor.

He also has a Laney Ironheart 60 head for 300. Maybe I do a bundle.

 

[laxu]

Wow, thx for all the replies. Super interesting to hear experiences and stuff.

I did what @laxu told me in the first answer and digged around a bit this afternoon on classifieds and found a Laboga 2x12 V30. Gonna check it out tomorrow (30 min drive).
View attachment 45796
I don't know anything about Laboga cabs, I just know that they are from Poland(?)(at least the amps?) and their Mr Hector was a quite nice amp.

Dude wants 150€ for it. Looks... well, it's "worn in". And he says he does not smoke. I can live with looks, but not with odor.

He also has a Laney Ironheart 60 head for 300. Maybe I do a bundle.

That's a bargain for sure. You might want to check the inside though because it seems there's several different builds from the brand where some are all particle board, some are particle board + plywood baffle, and some are all plywood. I'd want the all plywood personally.

But for 150 € with V30s, that's pretty close to the cost of used V30s alone so you probably can't go too wrong. Just depends on how it sounds to you.

 

[gearJunkie]

Looks... well, it's "worn in".

It's not worn; It has character!