School me on bang for the buck cabinets

gybe!

gybe!

Active member
I am on the hunt for a good value cabinet for my son, either 2x12 or 4x12. Will be paired initially with a 6505
I know the Marshall MF280 is a great buy, but what else? Historically the Peavey cabs were awful…Any feedback on the EVH Iconics (or EVH IIIs if those are different)? Seem to be a plethora of them available through the used area on GC. Open to any and all ideas here!
 
The older Peavey VTM/Butcher cabs with the K85s aren't bad. They are similar to an EVH cab but not quite the same...both are less 'snappy' than a Marshall cab for example. Those cabs will survive anything, and are super cheap.
But the best deal/tone are the Rivera cabs. I had a K412 with V30s, at the same time as a Mesa Traditional and Bogner V30 cabs. The Rivera sounded IDENTICAL to the Mesa....they are built with some batting inside but are very resonant. Those can be found for a decent price.

I've heard good things about the Carvin Legacy V30 cabs but never had one. An older Fender Tonemaster 412 with V30s can be decent too.
 
the Crate BV's with v30s are great. i have a Ibanez Thermion with 4x12's i got cheap that is really great but they are hide to find. old randalls with jaguars are good.
 
1 word...Avatar. May not be the lowest cost option but you will not be disappointed. Skimping on a cab generally leads to regret.
 
Racerxrated said:
The older Peavey VTM/Butcher cabs with the K85s aren't bad. They are similar to an EVH cab but not quite the same...both are less 'snappy' than a Marshall cab for example. Those cabs will survive anything, and are super cheap.
But the best deal/tone are the Rivera cabs. I had a K412 with V30s, at the same time as a Mesa Traditional and Bogner V30 cabs. The Rivera sounded IDENTICAL to the Mesa....they are built with some batting inside but are very resonant. Those can be found for a decent price.

I've heard good things about the Carvin Legacy V30 cabs but never had one. An older Fender Tonemaster 412 with V30s can be decent too.
Click to expand...
Can confirm.
 
The old Peavey 4x12 MS cabs are pretty solid and at least in LA cheaply found on various classified sites. Mine was $80 in 2021. Speakers aren't great, but with the money you save might be able to fix that. If you get one with Sheffield 1290's, just gotta swap out two of 'em with V30's for a super rocking tone.


Even cheaper, remove two of the sheffields, leave their spots open (so you now have a makeshift bass reflex cab, or what Kevin O'Connor would call "detuned") and replace one of the remaining two with a V30. That was my favorite configuration when I owned the cab. I put it back to stock and sold it to guitar center to go all-in on EV's though.
 
As someone with multiple 412 and 212 cabs ( V30s, EV, T75, K85, ET65, etc ) and many combos,
the best bang for buck tool is and always will be EQ .

With that said, old PV straight K85 cabs will pummel the earth. I picked one up for $200 2-3 years ago. All my Mesa's absolutely annihilate through that cab (similarly to my old Orange PPCHP8 cab ). Humongous, fat balanced tones even across the board.
 
There’s someone on FB marketplace in louisburg selling one of those mode four cabs for $400…

I thought about grabbing it but scored a wizard cab for a reasonable price instead.
 
Peavey 5150 cabs. I have a few that i blocked off two speakers diagonally and use them as 2x12’s with various speakers. The Sheffields had to go! You’d never know they were 2x12’s hearing them. Got them for a couple hundred a piece.
 
yeoldefortran said:
There’s someone on FB marketplace in louisburg selling one of those mode four cabs for $400…

I thought about grabbing it but scored a wizard cab for a reasonable price instead.
Click to expand...
Saw that. There was actually a second one that was in Benson that just went. Small issue in that I am flying to Italy today and have too many errands to run beforehand to make an in person deal work. If it’s still around when I get back next weekend I will snag it
 
Buy a used 4X12. Prices are crazy now. Or a used 2X12 if you need to save space.
 
Randall XL 4x12
Peavey 5150 4x12. Seriously they’re built like brick shit houses.
Avatar 4x12

You can’t go wrong nor will be disappointed in any of these cabs. Load them with your speaker of preference and rock on.
 
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