2x12 vs 4x12

[Devin]

Use to feel the same way....... (been on the fence about that 2x12 Mesa though)

Don't get me wrong, I also own (and use) 2x12 and 1x12 cabs.....but when I wanna get the best toane and feel possible I go for the 4x12s every time

 

[napalmdeath]

I prefer (2) 1x12's vs. a 2x12, honestly. I used a couple MC90 loaded Thieles for 3 or 4 years. I have a 4x12 now, but my favorite 2x12 was always the G-Flex.

 

[Donnie B.]

This is my first time with a 1 x 12 (Scumback M75). The cab is about 1/3rd open back.
What's the consensus for a small 10' x 12' room filled with stuff?

Open vs closed vs ported vs Thiele? Pros and cons?

 

[cardinal]

This is my first time with a 1 x 12 (Scumback M75). The cab is about 1/3rd open back.
What's the consensus for a small 10' x 12' room filled with stuff?

Open vs closed vs ported vs Thiele? Pros and cons?

In a small space, I'd want something with a slanted baffle to get the speaker aimed at me some how because it'd be hard to get far enough away to hear a totally straight baffle.

Otherwise, I find that volume is the biggest problem in a small room. You can't get loud because the sound is just bouncing around in weird ways.

 

[nigelpkay]

I got rid of my Marshall 4x12, and right now I have a 2x12 Marshall vertical (the one that goes with the Marshall SC20 with v-type speakers), and an ISP G112 1x12 with a vintage 30.
Yes they sound good on their own, are light and easier to carry, but I desperately miss the big sound of the 4x12 still.

Just a note the the Marshall 1936 2x12’s are like 3/4 the size of the 1960 4x12, so other than the weight you aren’t saving much space and the 4x12 is just better sounding and feeling.

 

[SFW]

Even then, the tone guitarists chase is so nuanced that other guitarists have a hard time differentiating between what some percieve to be significant differences. Feel this, bounce that, it's mostly minutia. We buy multiple $3,$4,$5k amps to satisfy the space between our ears.

Exactly.

 

[Mikeyboyeee]

I've been on a bit of a cab binge.

One that I picked up is a Marshall 1936V (oversized, horizontal 2x12, all ply, Marshall G12 Vintage speakers).

It sounds amazing. I've long considered 2x12s just things that people use if they can't afford or carry a 4x12. But this cab sounds leaner and meaner than a 4x12 with the same speakers, and it works particularly well with my Tremoverb.

Any of you guys actively prefer a 2x12 cab over a 4x12, at least for some cases?

Nope

 

[dirtyfunkg]

I still primarily use my 4x12 (standard P50E loaded FB412) because I'm primarily using a CLX Pittbull. But, I tell you what... my D-Moll and Sig:X sound absolutely killer through my G-Flex 212 with K85s. Better than they do through the 4x12, that's for sure.

That G-Flex cab is awesome. Sounds huge.

 

[Racerxrated]

4x12s always sound better to me; low or high volume. If I still played out I’d try to bring what I always did; a 4x12. If the oversize 212s sound close that’s fine; my experience has been with Marshall 1936s and they are nowhere near the tone of a 412. But, a Bogner oversized 212 is damn near a 412 in size so why not bring the 412.
I have played a Mesa 212 halfback and while it sounded good, it still fell short of a 412.

 

[fek]

Most of the time, I do read comments about a 2x12 sounding like or similar to a 4x12.

But I'm talking about now appreciating the difference between them. My Tremoverb just sounds better to me with the 2x12 because the cab is not as thick in the mid and low range. And even my other amps have more bite and chug on the low B and F# strings. But I do prefer the warmer/fatter 4x12 for most other things.

I bought a Tverb brand new in the mid 90's and the store only had the Mesa Recto 2X12 at the time so that is what I bought to go with it. I bought another Tverb 5 years or so ago and the same rang true for my tastes. The 2X12 worked better for me. Cleaned up some of the low end fluff.

Edit: with a Marshall though, the 4X12 would win all day every day for what I want.

 

[thegame]

The more speakers running simultaneously in a single cabinet, the more phasing and comb filtering of frequencies occur. It's a matter of physics. Even old analog D.I. speaker simulators (fixed preset EQ curves) emulated those differences in various 1x12, 2x12, 4x12 settings. At one time this was widely understood.

 

[cardinal]

The more speakers running simultaneously in a single cabinet, the more phasing and comb filtering of frequencies occur. It's a matter of physics. Even old analog D.I. speaker simulators (fixed preset EQ curves) emulated those differences in various 1x12, 2x12, 4x12 settings. At one time this was widely understood.

A lot of bass cabs try to avoid this. They ideally have just two speakers stacked or if the speakers are side-by-side, some of the fancier cabs will high-pass one side of the speakers to avoid phasing and comb filtering for at least some frequencies.