mesa cabs...your thoughts.

ravendouglas

ravendouglas

New member
i have a buddy who wants to sell me a new ,in a box mesa 4 x 12 cab..i just bought a dime slime guitar from him as well.....dont know which one it is yet....he wants 600 bucks and it has diamond plate sides on it..it has been used a few times but its back in the box and in storage..he prefers marshals ....i am leaning toward picking it up....so if you use a mesa cab i would like to have your input. the cabs i currently use are ok...but cheap...b-52 .....he said the cab cost over 1000 bucks i dont know how true that number is..or if the 600 is too much...he did mention it is an oversize cab ...not even sure what that means....i guess its larger than a normal 4x12.......eminence speaker are whatt he told me are in there for speakers..i dont know if mesa built it that way or he put them in....texas heat i think..is that ringing a bell with anybody?
 
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Re: mesa cabs...your thoughts.

its hard to go wrong with a mesa cab. i have the standard sized rectifier cab, and my rhythm guitarist has an oversized one. both sound great, if youre into v30s that is. personally there seems to be this harshness in the high end i cant get rid of on mine but that could be a number of different things, i think for me it might be im playing too loud in a little room hahah
 
Re: mesa cabs...your thoughts.

Price is about right on both ends. If it's got the diamond plate on the sides, it might be a custom shop cab. The standard and oversized recto cabs don't have that. It should also have V30's or possibly Black Shadows in it is a custom cab. Even if it does have Texas Heats in it, $600 is about the going price. I gave $450 for mine, but the guy was hard up for cash.

They're good, solid cabs, but be warned, they are not light. If you got a thing with moving around a lot of weight, it might not be for you. My oversized recto cab weighs in at 106lbs and it's a bear to move it.
 
Re: mesa cabs...your thoughts.

Ok first of all, the Standard Recto cab IS the oversized model. (32" tall)
The Stiletto cab is now back to being called the Traditional. (30" tall)

ALL Recto cabs come with Vintage 30's.
If this one has Eminence speakers, it has been opened up and swapped. Fact.
This brings the price of the cab down since Eminence speakers are of lower value.

The Diamond plate sides was a common thing in the late 90's and early 2000's. It is a cool look. But does not add more value.

Because of the speaker swap, I would value the cab at $450.

Whether or not you will like the sound of the cab is up to you. I have been finding that I don't like the sound of oversized cabs as much as regular sized one's. I find the highs to be too chirpy and the lows are too spongy & deep for my liking. I like a fast, crisp attack and these things negatively affect that IMHO.
I think the cab will sound good, but I don't think it would be my personal choice.
 
Re: mesa cabs...your thoughts.

Tone is totally subjective especially if the V30's are gone, but they are very heavy, built like a tank, and have great quality casters on them. I would probably like the Eminence speakers, I didn't care for V30's in the one I had. Hence it's long gone. But I did sell it for 600 as a reference.
 
Re: mesa cabs...your thoughts.

ok i should not post befor coffee...just got off the phone with wes...the cab as he described it is an oversize recto with the diamond plate sides...seems i remember a mesa catalog and in it was an option for this metal plate side work . also he has a krank cab with texas heats,and the original v30's are still installed in the mesa...some where in recalling our conversations i got some info crossed up.
 
Re: mesa cabs...your thoughts.

ravendouglas said:
ok i should not post befor coffee...just got off the phone with wes...the cab as he described it is an oversize recto with the diamond plate sides...seems i remember a mesa catalog and in it was an option for this metal plate side work . also he has a krank cab with texas heats,and the original v30's are still installed in the mesa...some where in recalling our conversations i got some info crossed up.
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OK so $600 is the going rate then for the Mesa. (new price is $1150 I believe)
The Krank will be a Krankenstien 4x12 if it has Texas Heats.

Between the two I would go with the Mesa.
 
Re: mesa cabs...your thoughts.

Van Noord said:
OK so $600 is the going rate then for the Mesa. (new price is $1150 I believe)
The Krank will be a Krankenstien 4x12 if it has Texas Heats.

Between the two I would go with the Mesa.
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he tours with the krank and its not for sale...thanks by the way for all the info people...im gonna snatch it up.
 
Re: mesa cabs...your thoughts.

ravendouglas said:
i have a buddy who wants to sell me a new ,in a box mesa 4 x 12 cab..i just bought a dime slime guitar from him as well.....dont know which one it is yet....he wants 600 bucks and it has diamond plate sides on it..it has been used a few times but its back in the box and in storage..he prefers marshals ....i am leaning toward picking it up....so if you use a mesa cab i would like to have your input. the cabs i currently use are ok...but cheap...b-52 .....he said the cab cost over 1000 bucks i dont know how true that number is..or if the 600 is too much...he did mention it is an oversize cab ...not even sure what that means....i guess its larger than a normal 4x12.......eminence speaker are whatt he told me are in there for speakers..i dont know if mesa built it that way or he put them in....texas heat i think..is that ringing a bell with anybody?
Click to expand...

Mesa Recto cabs ship stock with Celestion Vintage 30 speakers in them. I don't know where he got the idea they have Eminence speakers. You should have him open the cabinet and see what speakers are inside before exchanging any money.

If it is a diamond plate sided Recto cab, it's "oversized" dimensions would make it a few inches taller (thus more internal size) than a standard 30x30" 4x12 cabinet. This tends to be a touch bigger and a little deeper in sound resonance as opposed to a standard 4x12's tightness.

But, for what it is worth, it really depends on what your expectations are of the speakers. Vintage 30 speakers can sound great, or they can sound harsh, nasal, and boomy. I use a Recto Standard cabinet in conjunction with an old Crate cabinet loaded with 80 watt Celestions. The Recto cab alone sounds good, but a little too nasal for me. Used with the other cabinet, it balances perfectly for the heavier styles I play though.
 
Re: mesa cabs...your thoughts.

I have a 4x10 Mesa I wasted my money on with some kind of wierd double baffle that suks goat ballz.
In general, I dont have a high opinion of Mesa cabinets compared to vintage designed Fender floating baffle, Bogner, Cornford, and other cabinets, although the 4x12 1/2 open back is cool on paper.
 
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Re: mesa cabs...your thoughts.

yeah hes got a kinda funny stage set rig...he has a mesa recto...but uses a krank cab side by side with a marshal cab...and he is selling the mesa cab..im gonna pick it up .
 
Re: mesa cabs...your thoughts.

Got mine for $560 back in late 2010, no diamond plate though. Had some scratches and scuffs here and there so $600 seems like a fair price for a mint condition one.
 
Re: mesa cabs...your thoughts.

Where do you play.?
Have you owned/gigged/ a 4x12.?
Do you need to push that much air.?
If you WANT a cab that size.....go for it. But there is no NEED for a cab that size, not anywhere..... especially in a house, a bar, or a 3000 seat venue.
Have you seen what 600 dollars will get you in a 2x10 or 2x12.?
Again, if it is something you WANT.....
Regards the comment about Eminence not being able to go the distance against a V30, I will just chalk that up to hype and/or inexperience.
best
 
I like a 4x12 cab because the matching head sits nicely on top, and the top of that is a convenient height to place extra pics and stuff. Plus , I have two each of different drivers, so I can use it as a 2x12 of either one.
 
Re: mesa cabs...your thoughts.

zzmoore said:
Where do you play.?
Have you owned/gigged/ a 4x12.?
Do you need to push that much air.?
If you WANT a cab that size.....go for it. But there is no NEED for a cab that size, not anywhere..... especially in a house, a bar, or a 3000 seat venue.
Have you seen what 600 dollars will get you in a 2x10 or 2x12.?
Again, if it is something you WANT.....
Regards the comment about Eminence not being able to go the distance against a V30, I will just chalk that up to hype and/or inexperience.
best
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yeah im one of those players....lol.....love my 4x 12 cabs......practical?.....no.......is it rock n roll?....hell friggin yeah.
 
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