Redbacks in a 4x12?

[MadAsAHatter]

I'm looking at swapping speakers in my Egnater Armageddon cab. Top of the list is to try a set of Redbacks, though I'm really on the fence with this. Unfortunately there's not gonna be a way for me to try before buy so I'm mostly relying on clips and opinions.

Here's the dilemma... Several here who's ear I trust and have similar preferences to me say they sound great, but I have yet to hear a clip where they sound good. Clips always sound way dark and muffled to me. I'm trying to decide if I should go with a quad, mix it with a spare set of G12K-100's I have, or go for something else entirely. I don't have any specific sonic goals other than sounding good in a 4x12. I plan to pair it as the primary cab with my KSR Gemini, ENGL Morse & Inferno and a couple other Marshall style amps

Is the Redback a speaker that sounds better in person and/or doesn't record well? Is it one that sounds good, but not all the way there on it's own; does it need to be paired with something and if so what? If you played a quad of Redbacks or paired them with something else in a 4x12 what was your experience/opinion?

 

[Bxlxaxkxe]

I have them paired with in x pattern with V30s. It’s a great combo to my ear. I’d be scared of going all redback only because V30s are a staple for the tones I go for.

 

[braintheory]

I like redbacks a lot. In fact they’re the only non-vintage speakers that have had a place for me. They have a distinctive chewy quality in the low mids that I really like. Almost Bogner-esque

I also found them dark, muffled and not great in most clips I heard, but in person immediately liked them a lot. They are dark, but something about it mid range make them stand out to me. The only thing I don’t like is they can get flubby if you push them hard with low mid heavy amps like Recto’s, Uber’s or Diezel’s. They seem to love my tight amps like the Hermansson and Wizard Hell Razor especially

I haven’t admittedly tried a whole quad yet, but have tried tons of mixes with them and redbacks with JBL D120F’s or E120’s on bottom is my favorite speaker mix I’ve tried so far. Just brutal and really well balanced the way the 2 speakers complement each other and I otherwise generally don’t like mixes as much as full quads

 

[GuitarGuy08]

I'm looking at swapping speakers in my Egnater Armageddon cab. Top of the list is to try a set of Redbacks, though I'm really on the fence with this. Unfortunately there's not gonna be a way for me to try before buy so I'm mostly relying on clips and opinions.

Here's the dilemma... Several here who's ear I trust and have similar preferences to me say they sound great, but I have yet to hear a clip where they sound good. Clips always sound way dark and muffled to me. I'm trying to decide if I should go with a quad, mix it with a spare set of G12K-100's I have, or go for something else entirely. I don't have any specific sonic goals other than sounding good in a 4x12. I plan to pair it as the primary cab with my KSR Gemini, ENGL Morse & Inferno and a couple other Marshall style amps

Is the Redback a speaker that sounds better in person and/or doesn't record well? Is it one that sounds good, but not all the way there on it's own; does it need to be paired with something and if so what? If you played a quad of Redbacks or paired them with something else in a 4x12 what was your experience/opinion?

I agree with you on the clips I have heard. I really enjoy my Avatar speakers. In particular, the AV75s. Good luck in your search. If the Reds are too dark, you could always pair them with something brighter.

 

[MadAsAHatter]

I like redbacks a lot. In fact they’re the only non-vintage speakers that have had a place for me. They have a distinctive chewy quality in the low mids that I really like. Almost Bogner-esque

I also found them dark, muffled and not great in most clips I heard, but in person immediately liked them a lot. They are dark, but something about it mid range make them stand out to me. The only thing I don’t like is they can get flubby if you push them hard with low mid heavy amps like Recto’s, Uber’s or Diezel’s. They seem to love my tight amps like the Hermansson and Wizard Hell Razor especially

I haven’t admittedly tried a whole quad yet, but have tried tons of mixes with them and redbacks with JBL D120F’s or E120’s on bottom is my favorite speaker mix I’ve tried so far. Just brutal and really well balanced the way the 2 speakers complement each other and I otherwise generally don’t like mixes as much as full quads

Yours are some of those ears I trust to know good tone. I've seen you say very similar to others asking about Redbacks. I remember you mentioning they have raw quality similar to some vintage speakers as well as being chewy in the low-mids. I don't mind a low-mid focused or darker speaker, but ones like that to my ear need to be paired with the right amp or balanced with something upper mid focused and brighter. I'm guessing that's why you like them with those JBL's; sounds like they balance each other out really well.

From your description it sounds like Redbacks may be similar to my Weber Silver Wolfs. Not so much in tone, but in that they're low-mid focused and on their own only pair well with certain type amps. To work better across the board they need to be blended with an upper-mid focused speaker like the Weber Grey Wolf; which is how I have another cab set up.

 

[thegame]

I remember you mentioning they have raw quality similar to some vintage speakers as well as being chewy in the low-mids.

He said the latter quality many times but I don't think mentioned raw in regards to RBs. They are not raw at all. They support and blend with more characterful speakers rather well but look elsewhere for any semblance of grit, grind, and mid to upper mid frequencies.

 

[MadAsAHatter]

He said the latter quality many times but I don't think mentioned raw in regards to RBs. They are not raw at all. They support and blend with more characterful speakers rather well but look elsewhere for any semblance of grit, grind, and mid to upper mid frequencies.

I though @braintheory mentioned something about raw somewhere. Thought he may have mentioned a different descriptor like growl and I'm confusing that with raw.

 

[braintheory]

He said the latter quality many times but I don't think mentioned raw in regards to RBs. They are not raw at all. They support and blend with more characterful speakers rather well but look elsewhere for any semblance of grit, grind, and mid to upper mid frequencies.

Yeah in some ways they are a smooth, bland, modern sounding speaker, opposite of upper mid grind, but I do hear actually a lot of character and grit in the low mids (not much elsewhere). To me they're a speaker that was almost forgettable until my ears honed in on their chewy, really nice low mid character. I haven't tried them as a quad, not sure how that would be (kinda curious), but loved a few mixes of them, with JBL's being so on point in my Kerry Wright. I'd imagine a cab that inherently has a brighter, more upper middy color to it would probably sound good with RB's

 

[braintheory]

Yours are some of those ears I trust to know good tone. I've seen you say very similar to others asking about Redbacks. I remember you mentioning they have raw quality similar to some vintage speakers as well as being chewy in the low-mids. I don't mind a low-mid focused or darker speaker, but ones like that to my ear need to be paired with the right amp or balanced with something upper mid focused and brighter. I'm guessing that's why you like them with those JBL's; sounds like they balance each other out really well.

From your description it sounds like Redbacks may be similar to my Weber Silver Wolfs. Not so much in tone, but in that they're low-mid focused and on their own only pair well with certain type amps. To work better across the board they need to be blended with an upper-mid focused speaker like the Weber Grey Wolf; which is how I have another cab set up.

They don't have the rawness or same qualities as my vintage speakers. They sound modern to me, but not necessarily in a bad way, but their unique and very satisfying chewy low mid quality is the reason I kept them and use them. They do need the right amps and possibly speaker mixes to get along with them like you said and found JBL's so perfect as a mix and that's why I think amps like my Hermansson's, Hell Razor, 1972 Marshall Superlead 100 and SLO were so good with them. It got to bloated in the low mids for me with my Uber, VH4 Blueface and Recto's even with the JBL's paired with it

 

[Dino 939]

Live Redbacks, I agree with Braintheory with RB’s
bring in the pole position when it comes to non-vintage speakers.

Paging Eddie Lenz:
Dude!!!!
Please make clips with your amps & Redbacks Eddy!!
The Octane goes up another couple notches and feather’s right into a choice super-heavy modern
gone.
The mids come through like the scent of bacon and you’ve just missed your 3rd meal..
RB’s also are KILLER for cleans and edge of break-ups/cruncher’s.
I thought of getting the backside of the Redbacks magnets tattoo’ed on each buttock.
FOR REAL Redbacks!!-wtf?
Playing them as we speak with Hot hili for some of’dat All Right Now..
In a 4X12 that’s gonna be rad!!

 

[Smash]

One trick also if you feel a cab has too much low end is elevating your 4x12. It can change the redback to more presence focused, like a more balanced g12 h30 annie. I love the low mid emphasis of the speaker. It may seem dark coming off of other speakers. But to me it is very balanced with a thump. Thing kicks hard.

The k100 is a Great speaker as well. But man it can grate on you after a bit. It has a certain thing going on in the highs that is razor sharp on my nerves. I guess this could be said about the annies i had also. I think there are no annoying frequencies in the redback which is why a lot of people like them.

I love the redback more than any other speaker. I wouldnt personally want to mix it because it is so good. However, you wouldnt do yourself a disservice mixing with V30. I have heard the mix and it is great also.

Unfortunately, my interface went down, so all my clips with redbacks are on phone. It gives a very inaccurate portrayal of what you get in the room. But if you are ever in austin area, hit me up. I would love to show more people my rig

 

[braintheory]

Live Redbacks, I agree with Braintheory with RB’s
bring in the pole position when it comes to non-vintage speakers.

Paging Eddie Lenz:
Dude!!!!
Please make clips with your amps & Redbacks Eddy!!
The Octane goes up another couple notches and feather’s right into a choice super-heavy modern
gone.
The mids come through like the scent of bacon and you’ve just missed your 3rd meal..
RB’s also are KILLER for cleans and edge of break-ups/cruncher’s.
I thought of getting the backside of the Redbacks magnets tattoo’ed on each buttock.
FOR REAL Redbacks!!-wtf?
Playing them as we speak with Hot hili for some of’dat All Right Now..
In a 4X12 that’s gonna be rad!!

My Lenz High Octane probably would also love Redbacks (with JBL’s) now that you mention it

 

[braintheory]

One trick also if you feel a cab has too much low end is elevating your 4x12. It can change the redback to more presence focused, like a more balanced g12 h30 annie. I love the low mid emphasis of the speaker. It may seem dark coming off of other speakers. But to me it is very balanced with a thump. Thing kicks hard.

The k100 is a Great speaker as well. But man it can grate on you after a bit. It has a certain thing going on in the highs that is razor sharp on my nerves. I guess this could be said about the annies i had also. I think there are no annoying frequencies in the redback which is why a lot of people like them.

I love the redback more than any other speaker. I wouldnt personally want to mix it because it is so good. However, you wouldnt do yourself a disservice mixing with V30. I have heard the mix and it is great also.

Unfortunately, my interface went down, so all my clips with redbacks are on phone. It gives a very inaccurate portrayal of what you get in the room. But if you are ever in austin area, hit me up. I would love to show more people my rig

Yes, the no annoying frequencies part make them easier on the ears to most. I don’t know yet that much about recording compared to many here, but remember them close mic’ing so much easier than other speakers without getting harsh or spiky. Many find JBL’s hard on the ears since they have much more highs than any Celestion, but they’re awesome in their own ways and mixed so well with RB’s in my Kerry Wright, but ever since I put whole quad of Altec 417B’s in it, they’re not coming out unless I sell the cab

 

[Dino 939]

Yes, the no annoying frequencies part make them easier on the ears to most. I don’t know yet that much about recording compared to many here, but remember them close mic’ing so much easier than other speakers without getting harsh or spiky. Many find JBL’s hard on the ears since they have much more highs than any Celestion, but they’re awesome in their own ways and mixed so well with RB’s in my Kerry Wright, but ever since I put whole quad of Altec 417B’s in it, they’re not coming out unless I sell the cab

I’m down with JBL’s., the orange framed one’s are la’bomba.
Did you get a Snorkler?
Gassing like a gas station for that thang’.
But once I fire up one of Lenz’s and start getting after it, I fart out the gas in the form of music, if that makes sense.
In other words, I can dial in the Lenz’s to sound like the Snorkler for the most part.
Still want one man!!

 

[braintheory]

I’m down with JBL’s., the orange framed one’s are la’bomba.
Did you get a Snorkler?
Gassing like a gas station for that thang’.
But once I fire up one of Lenz’s and start getting after it, I fart out the gas in the form of music, if that makes sense.
In other words, I can dial in the Lenz’s to sound like the Snorkler for the most part.
Still want one man!!

Yes exactly, orange frame D120F's are definitely the best IME, but I love all the 120's. The E120's can be epic too, especially with RB's

I did get the Snorkler yesterday and have been loving it. I'll make a separate thread about it. It's totally different than my Lenz High Octane, apples and oranges, but I think I'm liking them similarly well. Finally some new amps came out that are actually good

 

[Kagami]

The k100 is a Great speaker as well. But man it can grate on you after a bit. It has a certain thing going on in the highs that is razor sharp on my nerves. I guess this could be said about the annies i had also. I think there are no annoying frequencies in the redback which is why a lot of people like them.

This is kind of funny because I dislike the redback for the same reason and prefer the K100 to it. I've got an 8 ohm weber dire wolf I should sell sometime too, since weber was mentioned above it does sorta remind me of the redbacks but it's a more dry sound (they both do have 2" voice coils). I still have my 2 redback 8 ohm as well, should sell them I have all of those at my storage unit lol.

One trick also if you feel a cab has too much low end is elevating your 4x12. It can change the redback to more presence focused, like a more balanced g12 h30 annie. I love the low mid emphasis of the speaker. It may seem dark coming off of other speakers. But to me it is very balanced with a thump. Thing kicks hard.

Moving it around the room is also a good option if you're a home rocker since room nodes can make a big difference in bass response.

I still need to grab another 2x12, regret selling my old randall front loaded one, was a great platform for testing speakers out.

 

[Smash]

This is kind of funny because I dislike the redback for the same reason and prefer the K100 to it. I've got an 8 ohm weber dire wolf I should sell sometime too I wanted to test out which now that weber was mentioned above does sorta remind me of the redbacks but it's a more dry sound. I still have my 2 redback 8 ohm as well, should sell them I have all of those at my storage unit lol.


Moving it around the room is also a good option if you're a home rocker since room nodes can make a big difference in bass response.

I still need to grab another 2x12, regret selling my old randall front loaded one, was a great platform for testing speakers out.

The k100 is strange. I loved it when i mixed with v 30s. I wanted more so i went full k100. It was cool for a second but then became too much.

But elaborate on what you mean by this: This is kind of funny because I dislike the redback for the same reason and prefer the K100 to it.
That sounds interesting

 

[GJgo]

I've tried Redbacks in a 212 and a 412. The 212 was great. The 412 was IMO just too much woof.

Also as much as I liked them in the room, there was this weird fizz when I recorded them that I could never un-hear.

 

[Kagami]

The k100 is strange. I loved it when i mixed with v 30s. I wanted more so i went full k100. It was cool for a second but then became too much.

But elaborate on what you mean by this: This is kind of funny because I dislike the redback for the same reason and prefer the K100 to it.
That sounds interesting

Redback had an annoying high end frequency to it that just bothers me, couldn't stand it.

I originally tried it because I liked the new at the time creamback H75 so much but they're not even remotely the same at all lol. If it makes any difference I originally tried them in my FL Randall 212 but then in my RL Rivera 412 in the top slots.

 

[boltzthrower]

In the room they’re in my top 3 speakers of all time (incl. EVM12L & Greyhound) but for recording I have to keep repositioning the mic a bunch of times just to end with a “sure that’s okay I guess” tone.

I prefer them mixed with EVM12L’s in the 4x12 as opposed to 4 Redbacks.