I'm not into the search for specific tones other people used. There are a lot of great recorded tones that inspire me, and I like reading about the gear people used and so on - otherwise I wouldn't be here - but that's academic. I care a lot about finding the ideal sound for what I'm playing with my own gear. Zero interest in mimicking someone else's sound, even for covers.
Things you could'nt care less about that the vast majority of guitar players luv...
- Thread starter Phantasmagoria
- Start date
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One of Jerry's Kids
I have to agree with you on this one. I might hear someone use a delay or piece of gear a certain way and get inspired to do something similar. However, there is never a time when I want to insert a specific person's tone into a song. The few times I did try it just didn't work.
Phantasmagoria
watch where you point that sabre
I think MDF cabs are great. The only downside is if they are exposed to water/get really wet. But that's not great for ply either so maybe not ideal for heavy road use/touring. But "eh they sound cheap/****ty" is'nt something I concur with at all. I might even like them better than ply sound-wise. ( MDF is by far the most popular choice for hi-fi speakers....entry level up to mega-$$$$$$).
My best sounding 1x12 is still my DIY semi-open back w/ an Emi Legend GB128 which is MDF.
So's my Bugera 4x12 w/ it's stock Bugera speakers & it sounds killer...
Single SM57 ...no processing:
My best sounding 1x12 is still my DIY semi-open back w/ an Emi Legend GB128 which is MDF.
So's my Bugera 4x12 w/ it's stock Bugera speakers & it sounds killer...
Single SM57 ...no processing:
Securb
One of Jerry's Kids
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.
Phantasmagoria
watch where you point that sabre
Those are neodymium right? Have'nt really heard a lot about them.... but it makes sense cuz MDF does tend to be heavy af ...some (like Mincer :laugh2
might consider that a downside too.
Rex_Rocker
Well-known member
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
Sock Supplier to RHCP
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
watch where you point that sabre
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...
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
Sock Supplier to RHCP
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.
I was really hoping with all the decent sim and IR possibilities we’d get more variety, not less.
Phantasmagoria
watch where you point that sabre
It's not the gear as much as the mindset.
Securb
One of Jerry's Kids
Yep with hemp cones they sound amazing
Securb
One of Jerry's Kids
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
Well-known member
I couldn't hear a difference, but I would've liked to hear a distorted tone. Fuck cleans, LOL.
Rex_Rocker
Well-known member
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 shit 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
Well-known member
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
OH THE DOUBLE THICK GLAZE!
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.
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One of Jerry's Kids
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
Well-known member
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 shit 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.
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