All this I’m hearing about early 2000’s Mesa Cabs

anomaly said:
The first Warhead was a piece of crap, I owned one and hated it. The X2 was killer though.
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Man I have never like ANY Randall head , e
. There’s just something always missing . Like the Satan was the best Randall I’ve played . But it’s gone .
 
Also for what it’s worth whatever the case, nollys GGD Mesa plug-in is fucking great, and sounds fantastic. And let’s you export out the IR’s.
 
Nigel said:
Adam Jones agrees.
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VESmedic said:
Also for what it’s worth whatever the case, nollys GGD Mesa plug-in is fucking great, and sounds fantastic. And let’s you export out the IR’s.
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How does his IR's/plugin compare to Josh Middleton's? I'm using Josh's IR's, and they're fantastic, though a tiny bit bassy.

I've tried some of those "holy grail" Mesa IR's from others (off the top off my head, OwnHammer), and some of them are really dark to the point where it's really hard to get the bite and aggression going.
 
I spend too much time on the computer I think. It’s funny how these internet fan favourites like Nolly spread this info. It gets into all our heads. Meanwhile, in the real world, I never listen to anything that has anything to do with him. I tried listening to Periphery once. Didn’t do it for me.
 
Periphery at this point is just overly pretentitious edgy pop. I liked it way better when it was a dude in his bedroom. Misha's whole "fans hate me for making money" discourse is stupid. He comes across as so unlikable to me.

I'm not going to pretend Bleed from Within is underground Kvlt or anything, but I really like the tones they've gotten with Nolly.
 
Since @GJgo was kind enough to tag me, I'll add my two cents and plug my own test.
I tested 53 different V30s in a semi scientific fashion with a fixed mic in an iso cab. The test included all 8 and 16 Ohm V30 variants except for the 16 Ohm black frame T4297 and a PRS OEM version that I did not know existed back then.
My short summary of conclusions is:
1. Production tolerances are high, even within the same (cone) production batches. The tolerances seem higher in the 80s and 90s V30s.

2. 16 Ohm V30s tend to have slightly less mids and a tendency for an elevated high end which is sometimes negated by production tolerances though.

3. There is no specific tonal differences between UK made an Chinese made V30 IF they were made during the same production periods (i.e. use cones from the same batch). If there is a difference, it accounts for less than the general production tolerances. No clear pattern present.

4. There is no specific tonal differenve between.
regular V30s, Mesa OEMs and Marshall G12 Vintages IF they were made during the same production periods (i.e. use cones from the same batch). If there is a difference, it accounts for less than the general production tolerances. No clear pattern present.
The only OEM I tested that indicated a different pattern were the Bad Cat OEM V30s. They appear to generate lower SPLs in the mids, possibly due to the lack of doping. I only had two of those though so the sample size was small.

5. All V30s tested made between 2000 and 2003 generated noticeably lower SPLs between 5 and 6 kHz making them sound smoother. It appears something may have been different about the cones during that period.
Something similar seems to have happened briefly between 2021 and 2022.

6. Generally it appears that the magic and the differences are in the cones. It appears the make up of the cones can vary quite a bit.

Don't agree with me? That's fine, here is my test:
All the results and documentation are in the dropbox link in the video description.

 
Techdeth said:
Man I have never like ANY Randall head , e
. There’s just something always missing . Like the Satan was the best Randall I’ve played . But it’s gone .
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I love the rg100es with a boost. I find the the best way to set them up is to nearly crank the presence all the way and then just dial in your treble to taste, like 3.5 - 4, then mids lowish 2.5 to 3 and bass around 7 - 8, that gets you a Crowbar/Pantera style tone, well at least their live tone, but that's the only Randall i've ever liked myself. I've tried the Warhead and the RG3003H head and didn't care for either of them, the older Randall's blow them outta the water... they actually have punch to them, where you can feel the tone, ya know? At least if you're running thru a 4x12 or two.
 
the other John Browne said:
Since @GJgo was kind enough to tag me, I'll add my two cents and plug my own test.
I tested 53 different V30s in a semi scientific fashion with a fixed mic in an iso cab. The test included all 8 and 16 Ohm V30 variants except for the 16 Ohm black frame T4297 and a PRS OEM version that I did not know existed back then.
My short summary of conclusions is:
1. Production tolerances are high, even within the same (cone) production batches. The tolerances seem higher in the 80s and 90s V30s.

2. 16 Ohm V30s tend to have slightly less mids and a tendency for an elevated high end which is sometimes negated by production tolerances though.

3. There is no specific tonal differences between UK made an Chinese made V30 IF they were made during the same production periods (i.e. use cones from the same batch). If there is a difference, it accounts for less than the general production tolerances. No clear pattern present.

4. There is no specific tonal differenve between.
regular V30s, Mesa OEMs and Marshall G12 Vintages IF they were made during the same production periods (i.e. use cones from the same batch). If there is a difference, it accounts for less than the general production tolerances. No clear pattern present.
The only OEM I tested that indicated a different pattern were the Bad Cat OEM V30s. They appear to generate lower SPLs in the mids, possibly due to the lack of doping. I only had two of those though so the sample size was small.

5. All V30s tested made between 2000 and 2003 generated noticeably lower SPLs between 5 and 6 kHz making them sound smoother. It appears something may have been different about the cones during that period.
Something similar seems to have happened briefly between 2021 and 2022.

6. Generally it appears that the magic and the differences are in the cones. It appears the make up of the cones can vary quite a bit.

Don't agree with me? That's fine, here is my test:
All the results and documentation are in the dropbox link in the video description.

Click to expand...

I'm surprised at the 89 Marshall 8 ohm vintage graphing the same (or close) to an 89 off the shelf V30. I have an original 800 cab with 8 ohm vintages; I also picked up a pair of 1989 V30s. The 89 V30s sounded like a Kazoo; while the 89 Vintages were like a better G12 65. HUGE differences after I installed the pair of 89 T3904s in a cab. I hoped to use them with a Naylor I had at the time. Ugh, horrible tone.

I think the differences then, have to be attributed to the cabs themselves...the wood supplier, maybe was changed? Or, the process/tolex used changed? The 80s Marshall vintages I've had (this 89 cab, an 87 Jubilee cab and some combo amps) all have the same smooth no harsh frequency spike thing going on in comparison to other V30s I've had. They are the only V30 type that I can handle with a Marshall; other V30s have too much harshness when I've used them with a Marshall.

I didn't see though, in your vid, if you compared the 80s Marshall 8 ohm to a 90s Marshall Vintage? Big difference to me, as I've had a few 90s Marshall vintage cabs...they seem far brighter.
 
anomaly said:
I love the rg100es with a boost. I find the the best way to set them up is to nearly crank the presence all the way and then just dial in your treble to taste, like 3.5 - 4, then mids lowish 2.5 to 3 and bass around 7 - 8, that gets you a Crowbar/Pantera style tone, well at least their live tone, but that's the only Randall i've ever liked myself. I've tried the Warhead and the RG3003H head and didn't care for either of them, the older Randall's blow them outta the water... they actually have punch to them, where you can feel the tone, ya know? At least if you're running thru a 4x12 or two.
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I like rg100 too . I forget about the solid states sometimes
 
frontline205 said:
So you guys will probably know here. There’s been a lot of internet hype that might’ve been around but I’m only just noticing it saying that the early say 2000-2004 Mesa v30’s are the “holy grail” V30 speaker. I also hear that that’s true for that particular 2000’s metal core tone and is the tone that most people say is becoming generic.
I know my friend has a 2002 Mesa 4x12 traditional all original I could buy, but is it worth it to get that those particular years? I always myself liked the Marshall 1960BV from the late 80’s
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When the Dual Rectifier came out 92/93 I bought one, along with the OS cab. I think the mid 90’s Boogie cabs are the absolute best IMO, wrapped in leather. Super clean lows and mids. I still have it. One thing I don’t understand is why it says 280 watts and now newer cabs say 240 watts.
 
the other John Browne said:
Since @GJgo was kind enough to tag me, I'll add my two cents and plug my own test.
I tested 53 different V30s in a semi scientific fashion with a fixed mic in an iso cab. The test included all 8 and 16 Ohm V30 variants except for the 16 Ohm black frame T4297 and a PRS OEM version that I did not know existed back then.
My short summary of conclusions is:
1. Production tolerances are high, even within the same (cone) production batches. The tolerances seem higher in the 80s and 90s V30s.

2. 16 Ohm V30s tend to have slightly less mids and a tendency for an elevated high end which is sometimes negated by production tolerances though.

3. There is no specific tonal differences between UK made an Chinese made V30 IF they were made during the same production periods (i.e. use cones from the same batch). If there is a difference, it accounts for less than the general production tolerances. No clear pattern present.

4. There is no specific tonal differenve between.
regular V30s, Mesa OEMs and Marshall G12 Vintages IF they were made during the same production periods (i.e. use cones from the same batch). If there is a difference, it accounts for less than the general production tolerances. No clear pattern present.
The only OEM I tested that indicated a different pattern were the Bad Cat OEM V30s. They appear to generate lower SPLs in the mids, possibly due to the lack of doping. I only had two of those though so the sample size was small.

5. All V30s tested made between 2000 and 2003 generated noticeably lower SPLs between 5 and 6 kHz making them sound smoother. It appears something may have been different about the cones during that period.
Something similar seems to have happened briefly between 2021 and 2022.

6. Generally it appears that the magic and the differences are in the cones. It appears the make up of the cones can vary quite a bit.

Don't agree with me? That's fine, here is my test:
All the results and documentation are in the dropbox link in the video description.

Click to expand...

My experience has been similar. As far as the rest goes it's subjective.
 
locoed said:
When the Dual Rectifier came out 92/93 I bought one, along with the OS cab. I think the mid 90’s Boogie cabs are the absolute best IMO, wrapped in leather. Super clean lows and mids. I still have it. One thing I don’t understand is why it says 280 watts and now newer cabs say 240 watts.
Click to expand...
Celestion V30 were rated at 70w per speaker and now are rated at 60w. Construction is still the same, same speaker
 
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