Best cab for death metal?

[MetalHeadMat]

Hey guys, I hate to make a thread like this, but when it comes to most amps or cabinets I know next to nothing, and would like some opinions. I'm pretty sure I blew my cab at band practice the other day, and would like to start looking at a new one. I use a Line 6 HD100 Spider Valve MK1. I was looking at a Mesa Boogie Single Rectifier half stack as a replacement for everything, but it's just not in the cards at the moment. Plus, my HD100 can keep up with almost everything.

I play in a death metal band, along the lines of Death, Morbid Angel, Carcass, Suffocation, etc. When we play shows or practice we're never mic'd up. Currently, I'm using a Marshall VS412 cabinet, which up until this point has sounded absolutely brilliant. Pretty sure I blew it at band practice the other day. If I didn't, I'm still going to look at buying another cab for home and shows, while leaving my other cab at our practice area.

I've been looking at Vader's, Mesa Boogie's, the Line 6 412VS, (the stock cab for my head), and Marshall JCM's. Instead of looking for whichever is cheapest, then going and trying one out on a classifieds site, I'd rather get some opinions and suggestions as to what I should look into.

So what do you suggest?

[zeegler]

It would odd to blow the entire cab at once I would think. Are you saying that all 4 speakers stopped working at once?

[MetalHeadMat]

It would odd to blow the entire cab at once I would think. Are you saying that all 4 speakers stopped working at once?

Well we were playing good for a bit, then I had to hit the kill switch on my patch cable and help my drummer do something. When I come back, there was no noise whatsoever, unless I full on cranked my amp. When I did that, I'd get a very faint, clean tone. I tried switching patch cables, guitars, speaker wire, all to no avail.

After I tried my head on one of the other cabinets in the space, (note, there was no other cab there I could plug into my cabinet for testing), and it worked great. Plugged it back into my cab, same as before. So I don't necessarily think I blew the cab, there just may or may not be a short in the wiring perhaps.

Note: My head has one 16 ohm output, two 8 ohm outputs, and two 4 ohm outputs. I tried both 8 ohm outputs on my cab, with no results.
Note #2: The other cab I tested my head on in the band practice area, was an 8 ohm cabinet, just like mine.

[Devotee]

A friend of mine (DL from Cruciamentum) swears by his Mesa 4x12.

[straycat]

Tear into the cab and find whats wrong and fix it.
May be the input jack or a bad/loose connection on the back of a speaker.
I have a Basson 4X12 cab that would be perfect for your kind of music but would cost an arm and a leg to ship it.

[Hellbat]

Well, Immortal use fake Marshal cabs on stage, so I would suggest Marshall for a good death metal sound.

[Rich#6]

Is there a fuse on the inside of these?

[javert]

Well, Immortal use fake Marshal cabs on stage, so I would suggest Marshall for a good death metal sound.

Along with some Engls backstage!

[MetalHeadMat]

Around me there's a gentleman with a Peavey 5150 cab and the Line 6 4x12 that comes with my head, both for a good price. Does anyone have any opinions on these?

Is there a fuse on the inside of these?

I don't think so, but I could open it up and get back to you!

Well, Immortal use fake Marshal cabs on stage, so I would suggest Marshall for a good death metal sound.

I was thinking of taking this approach, but it just doesn't seem feasible.

Tear into the cab and find whats wrong and fix it.
May be the input jack or a bad/loose connection on the back of a speaker.
I have a Basson 4X12 cab that would be perfect for your kind of music but would cost an arm and a leg to ship it.

I'll give it a whirl, but what kind of speakers do the Basson's have?

A friend of mine (DL from Cruciamentum) swears by his Mesa 4x12.

I've heard a lot about Mesa 4x12's, that's the #1 for me at the moment, but I'd feel goofy if I didn't have a Mesa head

[straycat]

The Basson is made in the USA and has Eminence Legends.
Tall cab and built like a tank.Tends to bring out the bottom end of an amp.
The speakers are silicone sealed to the baffle board and screwed as well.
The cab is very tight and no rattles very thick and throaty sounding.
I ran my 83 Mesa SOB 100 watt head thru it at a jam and it thundered.

[MetalHeadMat]

I did a little bit of looking around, and none of the Basson cabs for sale around me have the speakers you have in yours

I'm going to fix my cab to either leave at band practice, and then leave the new cab at home. Or the exact opposite. I'm going to try my friends Vader cab next week, and a Mesa cab at the local music store. Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated

[dannyr]

Bogner,Diezel,Engl,Marshall,Mesa,etc all make great cabs that would work for you.

[spencer4hire]

Do not overlook the Randall 4X12 cabs.

[jdr94]

almost any with vintage 30's. Avatar w the hellatones. Hell i had a crate bv cab with v30s and it sounded great. Mesa had the best sound to me but my contemporary avatar 212 w hellatones was pretty damn good sounding. of course i played a marshall jvm410, carvin v3, or a mesa single/dual/triple so that has alot to do with it.

[straycat]

My old 83 Mesa cab had IIRC 90 watt EVs in all four holes.Damn it was heavy.
Let us know what you come up with.