Things you could'nt care less about that the vast majority of guitar players luv...

[Rex_Rocker]

I agree. My best-sounding cab is my Marshall MX212. Granted, I put 2 Eminence Wheelhouse speakers in it, but the MDF does nothing to negatively affect the tone of the cab.

They are, on average, darker than Birch cabs. I wouldn't say that's necessarily negative, but guitarists are generally traditionalists, and MDF cabs certainly don't sound like plywood cabs.

[El Dunco]

They are, on average, darker than Birch cabs. I wouldn't say that's necessarily negative, but guitarists are generally traditionalists, and MDF cabs certainly don't sound like plywood cabs.

My Dad was a carpenter. We made cabs out of jarrah, birch etc. They sounded great but I sold them because my back absolutely can’t take transporting all that weight. They panels were about 50% thicker than factory cabs and we made separate “chambers” for each speaker.

[Phantasmagoria]

Open vs Closed back, baffle w/ front-mounted vs. rear-mounted speakers, cab configuration (1x12 vs 2x12 vs 4x12 etc)...they all make a difference. MDF vs Ply...not so much. Guitarists are more like "lets play follow the leader" mindless sheep (dumbasses) than "traditionalists" imo .....or at least "traditionalists" is a polite term for what they are.

The average guitarist judges tone based on brand, cost, heresay & popularity (ie what the next guy is using)...not by what he hears (or does'nt hear) himself...

[El Dunco]

That’s why I’m soops done with V30s, unless it’s from a very specific manufacturing period or blended with another speaker. I’m over the moon with my G12K/Emi Legend blend in the Marshall 1960A. It’s tight and modern yadda yadda but keeps the rawness I want I feel is absent from the contemporary glut of overly polished and interchangeable guitar sounds because they all use the same signal chains. I avoid 57s for guitar for the same reason. It’s mids on mids on mids…

I was really hoping with all the decent sim and IR possibilities we’d get more variety, not less.

[Phantasmagoria]

It's not the gear as much as the mindset.

[Securb]

Those are neodymium right? Have'nt really heard a lot about them.

Yep with hemp cones they sound amazing

[Securb]

They are, on average, darker than Birch cabs. I wouldn't say that's necessarily negative, but guitarists are generally traditionalists, and MDF cabs certainly don't sound like plywood cabs.

I do not think that there is a noticeable difference. It is more important what the design of the cab is than the materials. If a cab has decent baffles you are hearing the speakers and very little else.

[Rex_Rocker]

Open vs Closed back, baffle w/ front-mounted vs. rear-mounted speakers, cab configuration (1x12 vs 2x12 vs 4x12 etc)...they all make a difference. MDF vs Ply...not so much. Guitarists are more like "lets play follow the leader" mindless sheep (dumbasses) than "traditionalists" imo .....or at least "traditionalists" is a polite term for what they are.

The average guitarist judges tone based on brand, cost, heresay & popularity (ie what the next guy is using)...not by what he hears (or does'nt hear) himself...

I couldn't hear a difference, but I would've liked to hear a distorted tone. **** cleans, LOL.

[Rex_Rocker]

I do not think that there is a noticeable difference. It is more important what the design of the cab is than the materials. If a cab has decent baffles you are hearing the speakers and very little else.

I don't think so. Or unless most cabs don't have "decent baffles". Under the mic and in the room, there is a clear difference between a Mesa Rectifier 1x12 and a 4x12, even if the speakers are the same. So you're not just hearing the speakers. Even if you move those same speakers to a Marshall 4x12, they will sound different than the Rectifier 4x12. So you're not just hearing the speakers. Unless you mean niether the Marshall 4x12 or the Mesa 4x12 have "decent baffles".

I wasn't talking **** on MDF. I was just saying MDF doesn't sound the same as ply. Not worse. Just not the same.

Regardless if it doesn't sound the same, I was under the impression is more brittle than ply, and heavier too, makint it less road-worthy.

[Rex_Rocker]

Not night and day difference. It won't make or break your sound. But there is a slight difference here even if it's just the back of the cab changing.

[Clint 55]

**** cleans, LOL.

I can't imagine living distorted lol. That's probably why I'm a jazzer and not a metalhead.

I guess that's one thing I couldn't care less about. Chug chug chugging my entire life.

[Securb]

there is a clear difference between a Mesa Rectifier 1x12 and a 4x12, even if the speakers are the same. So you're not just hearing the speakers. Even if you move those same speakers to a Marshall 4x12, they will sound different than the Rectifier 4x12.

As I said, a big factor is "the design of the cab"; the sound of the same speakers in a Marshall MX212 and a Birch Marshall cab with the same design is going to be minimal, almost inaudible to the human ear. Jim Marshall did not use Baltic Birch because of its sonic qualities. He used what was cheap and available, just as Leo Fender used Northwestern Pine.

My wood Marshall, Carvin, Ampeg, and Fender 4x12s all sound very different because of the design of the cab, not the materials used. The Ampeg and Marshall are both birch and sound very different.

[Rex_Rocker]

As I said, a big factor is "the design of the cab"; the sound of the same speakers in a Marshall MX212 and a Birch Marshall cab with the same design is going to be minimal, almost inaudible to the human ear. Jim Marshall did not use Baltic Birch because of its sonic qualities. He used what was cheap and available, just as Leo Fender used Northwestern Pine.

My wood Marshall, Carvin, Ampeg, and Fender 4x12s all sound very different because of the design of the cab, not the materials used. The Ampeg and Marshall are both birch and sound very different.

I don't disagree, honestly. I think part of the reason MDF cabs are looked down upon is because they're usually built to a budget with lower quality control standards and loaded with budget speakers, just like the MX cab you mentioned which comes with Seventy 80's.

Like I said, I'm not trying to talk **** on MDF cabs. I bet a well-designed cab made of MDF would sound fantastic and be plenty rugged. But they are usually cheaper lower-end cabs.

I had a Vox Nighttrain cab that was MDF. I tried swapping the speaker, and those little parts that fix the speaker to the baffle stripped the MDF it was fixed on and pretty much pulverized it. From a single speaker swap. Not going to say all MDF cabs are like that, but lower end MDF cabs kind of are.

[Seashore]

Just on the carpentry side I f'ing hate MDF. My bass 2x12 got soaked in the poop deluge and I pulled the speakers, not sure if I want to build a cab or just buy something. Not building with MDF, that's for sure.

[ehdwuld]

Ehat size drivers were in it?