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  • Marshall, Mesa or Genz Benz

    I'm looking into a 2 x 12 and haven't had a chance to compare any just yet. My local guitar shops have the Marshall 1936 and the Mesa rectifier 2x12's in stock, but no Genz Benz. I guess I'm looking for any opinions good or bad on either listed. I believe the Marshall and Genz Benz are stereo and the Mesa is mono only. What's the big difference in that as far as sound goes? This is going to be used with a Peavey XXL head I just picked up used and some kind of tube head in the future, possibly a XXX. Thanks.

  • #2
    Re: Marshall, Mesa or Genz Benz

    i love the vertical mesa 2x12's
    Widow - "We have songs"

    http://jameslugo.com/johnewooteniv.shtml

    http://ultimateguitarsound.com

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    • #3
      Re: Marshall, Mesa or Genz Benz

      I have heard mixed reports about the Benz, some love it and some hate it.

      The Mesa Recto would be a sure bet, those are great 2x12's. I don't know what these cabs go for new, they are costly like the Benz for a 2X12 if ya ask me. I'd look at eBay for a used one and maybe save a couple hundred.

      As far as Stereo, I don't know about any benefit of going stereo if you only have one amp so I wouldn't let affect your decision.

      Speaker type and cab construction have a lot to do with it and a lot of that is subjective. The Mesa has V30's and the Road king has a mixture of V30 and C90. I like both of those speakers. The Benz has something like the Celestion 75's in it.

      Again for the price of George Benz ($500 or so) you would be able to get a used 4x12 for that price range.

      Also check out avatar cabs, I heard great things about them and they are priced really well. http://www.avatarspeakers.com/
      shawnlutz.com

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      • #4
        Re: Marshall, Mesa or Genz Benz

        www.avatarspeakers.com has some great deals, and some people on this board swear by them.

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        • #5
          Re: Marshall, Mesa or Genz Benz

          Mesa really are great, I hear many think Genz are awesome though. Bogner 2x12s are pretty respected as well.

          I'd probably chase down a MESA if I wanted a 2x12 because they are reasonably priced and easier to get.

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          • #6
            Re: Marshall, Mesa or Genz Benz

            VHT 2x12 Fat Bottom...I love mine.

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            • #7
              Re: Marshall, Mesa or Genz Benz

              Why not to go with Peavey Triple XXX 2x12?
              They are pretty cheap and will be good match up with the amp you have.
              Also I recommend Mesa Rect 2x12.
              I had couple of these and lovd them!

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              • #8
                Re: Marshall, Mesa or Genz Benz

                it all depends on what kind of music you play.
                i find the genz benz to be too bottom heavy, good if you palm mute alot, bad if you like open chords, etc.
                the marshalls i've tried are very mid rangy, while the mesa seems like a good in between, but very pricey.

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                • #9
                  Re: Marshall, Mesa or Genz Benz

                  Do not go with the XXX cab, they are cheap for a reason. They sound lifeless. Also, the XXL is solid state and the XXX is tube--they're going to have different requirements of a cab because they drive the speakers in a different way. When you mix and match, it usually doesn't work very well.

                  The Genz Benz cabs sound great, but the bass tends to be a bit boomy. If you do a lot of fast, palm-muted rhythm work, then this cab will fart out a lot on you. If you do a lot of solo work, and love big ringing chords, the GB will make you sound huge. The Mesa is the good all-around choice, perfect for hard rock to metal. Avoid the Marshall, since their 2x12s only come with the Celestion G12T-75W speakers, the worst sounding Celestions ever produced.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Marshall, Mesa or Genz Benz

                    I was just in the studio with Disgorge last week when they were doing guitar tracks. Amazingly enough, they had on hand two Marshall 4x12's, one Mesa 4x12, one Jackson 4x12 and one Benz 2x12. I wasn't there when they compared them, but they ended up going with the Benz and it sounded great. They do as much fast palm-muting as any other band I've ever heard, and that says a lot.

                    Personally I really like my Mesa 4x12, but I haven't A/B compared it with many others with MY particular guitar rig.

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                    • #11
                      Re: Marshall, Mesa or Genz Benz

                      [ QUOTE ]
                      I have heard mixed reports about the Benz, some love it and some hate it.

                      The Mesa Recto would be a sure bet, those are great 2x12's. I don't know what these cabs go for new, they are costly like the Benz for a 2X12 if ya ask me. I'd look at eBay for a used one and maybe save a couple hundred.

                      As far as Stereo, I don't know about any benefit of going stereo if you only have one amp so I wouldn't let affect your decision.

                      Speaker type and cab construction have a lot to do with it and a lot of that is subjective. The Mesa has V30's and the Road king has a mixture of V30 and C90. I like both of those speakers. The Benz has something like the Celestion 75's in it.

                      Again for the price of George Benz ($500 or so) you would be able to get a used 4x12 for that price range.

                      Also check out avatar cabs, I heard great things about them and they are priced really well. http://www.avatarspeakers.com/

                      [/ QUOTE ]

                      Partially true. Yes if you were going to use a bass-heavy amp with the GB it'll fart, but use it with a Marshall or mid-high amp and it'll be heaven, since your palm mutes will sound huge and fat! V30 loaded Mesa 2x12s are also love/hate cabs, some think it sounds flat like a thick blanket was put over the cabinet, some think it sounds very organic. I think they're pretty good, but have noticed a bit of flatness.

                      The GB does not have Celestion G12T-75 speakers! [img]/images/graemlins/nono.gif[/img]
                      They make their own speakers which sound a lot better IMO.

                      As for the topic question, I wouldn't go with Marshalls since it'll only accentuate the piercing brightness of solid state amps. If possible I'd search eBay for Eminence loaded VHT fatbottoms, or Soldano cabs. They're my personal favorite next to Bogner and Steavens (pricey!)

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                      • #12
                        Re: Marshall, Mesa or Genz Benz

                        I've had 2 vertical slant mesa cabs 2 traditional 2x12's and other mesa cabs, one of the slants with V30's in it the other with G12 75,s the G1275's I liked better, with my dual recto rackmount I used to ahve that setup ripped! but the V30's sounded like there was a blanket over them"neeradj"
                        My friend just bought a PV XXX head and used the Genz Benz ported cab and LOVES it, and I love it too, it soudns great with that amp, but it sounded like poo with my Diezel Herbert, the Diezel really comes to life with a front loaded Diezel 4x12, but am thinking of getting the 2x12 to go with the 4x12, or maybe a 2x15.

                        I personally think for an SS amp with such a midrange like the xxl/xxx has I would go with the Genz Benz or maybe an Avatar cab, as the price is low and the quality on both is good.

                        if you wanted to invest...READ Invest in a better cab so that when you upgrade the head later if you so choose, I would steer clear of the mesa (IMHO) just because they are not the top of the line anymore and don't offer, to my ears a versatile amount of tones, I would go with a Diezel 2x12, the front loaded one, a VHT fat bottom, or a bogner 2x12, although I think the bogner and diezel cabs are the same if I'm not mistaken because they are made in the same factory in CA?

                        Anyways man, best thing to do is try whatever you can, don't listen to us for the bible truth, after all they are your ears on the side of your head!


                        Peace Easy!

                        Chris S
                        RIP Brother Dime!!!

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                        • #13
                          Re: Marshall, Mesa or Genz Benz

                          Yeah I was thinking the same thing "spiralarchitect", but the Bogner oversized 2x12 surely didn't sound as flat to me and it's loaded with V30s as well

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                          • #14
                            Re: Marshall, Mesa or Genz Benz

                            Looks like decent stuff from Avatar at a good price. Thanks for the link atilla, I could go with a 4x12 at those prices.

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                            • #15
                              Re: Marshall, Mesa or Genz Benz

                              I have a Genz-Benz 2x12 and I've used it with a few amps, Powerball, Plexi, JCM800, DSL50, Bogner Shiva, no farting at all. I threw some real V30's in it and put wheat cloth over the metal grill and it's pretty sweet. The only reason I'm going to get rid of it is I want to mix the V30 with G12H30 and I need to bump up to 4x12 to do that and keep the wattage high enough for my heads, 2x12 would only be 60watts.

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