Mesa Cabinets

[MikeStrat]

It seems like a lot of pros are using Mesa Boogie cabinets second only to Marshall. The heads vary more but I seem to see a ton of cabinet users. Why is that? Are they that good or is it just that Mesa is willing to shell out the money for more endorsements than other companies?

[SEAN RAF]

From my own experience, Marshall cabs are the last resort, even when used with Marshall heads. I'd use a Laney cab before I'd ever use a Marshall. They look good though.

[skarhead]

Regarding the mesa cab judging from my own long gone Standard 4x12 - Killer construction - mine was approximately 14 years old and altough beaten up from various tours the construction (ply , bracings etc ) were all top notch.

Regarding the sound ? You may like 'em or not - probably the Traditional (Currently Stiletto) would suit me more than the STD (loose) but they're a class on their own - not stating that I haven't heard *better* cabinets - yeah but better is subjective and it is connected with the tone you want to achieve.

Marshalls ? Well I heard a couple of nice ones and apparently the really old ones (70's and JCM 800 cabs) are better then the new ones (a little bit different constructionwise afaik - more plywood - altough I haven't played them ) but for some reason they're an industry standard.

[Infernal Death]

Personally i think they are one of the best cabs out there. Definitely up there with Bogner, Soldano and other boutique brand amps, where the amps from Mesa aren't quite there (of course IMO, but i play a Mesa myself). I have a 1x12 Mesa Rectifier cab and it's awesome. It really puts my 4x12 Marshall to shame. I would own a 4x12 Rectifier cab in a heartbeat if they weren't so bloody expensive over here.

Flo

[Mordor]

I have a standard mesa 4x12 and a JCM900 4x12 side by side in my rehersal place. When I got the Mesa cab I knocked on both cab, and where the marshall sounded like cardbox the mesa felt like a friggin brick wall! They sound pretty different too, but the marshall has celestion 75 and the mesa has V30. The mesa cab is much more full and tighter than the marshall.

[Firebird V]

I had a marshall JCM 800 cab and got rid of it after scoring a Mesa Cab. They were both loaded with the same speakers and both slants. The Mesa cab is built much much better. Much fuller tone than the Marshall. Rounder tone. The marshall cabs do look better in my opinion but sound is more important to me so... the funny thing is I run the Mesa cab with a first generation Crate 4 x 12 cab loaded with the same speakers and the Crate cab holds its own very well. The Crate cab has metal handles and is all plywood construction. I think the Crate was built in the early mid 80's.

[Robotechnology]

Old Marshall cabs were made well and sound great. Newer Marshall are < Mesa and 75% of the rest of cabinets on the market. Exceptions may be the handwired jobbies and the Vintage Modern cabs though.

[ezbprimerib]

I use both. My mesa oversized cabs have vintage 30's which I use most. But I also use a TSL 100 that sounds best with my marshall cabs with gt75s. The mesa cab is much heavier and larger than the 1960 marshall cab.

[Bert]

Mesa rectifier cabs are hard to beat & I have two of them: an upright 2x12 and the standard 4x12. But I also have a Marshall 2x12 1966b (which came with valvestate heads from the 80's) that I also love. It's super light --- appears the cab is made of solid pine compared to heavy birch ply in my mesa rectifier cabs -- so it's an easy first choice of cabs when I have to lug my gear to a gig or practice.

[Electric]

I used to have a vertical Mesa 2x12 with Celestion Black Shadows. It was an awesome cab. When I upgraded to a 4x12, I liked the Diezel 4x12 Front Loaded a little better than the Mesas I tried. The Diezel seemed tighter and more "in your face."

[xDEATHSTARx]

i had a overszed mesa but i wasnt in love with it and now i have a traditional 4x12 and i like it much better because its slightly tighter and not as boomy. i personally like my bogner uberkab cab better than any cab ive ever owned, it just sounds perfect to me. i had a couple marshall cabs and they werent for me, build wise i wasnt impressed and sound wise they just dont compare to anything by vht,diezel,mesa or bogner.

[Dreamland_Rebel]

mesa cab's construction is top notch. way better than current Marshall.

a lot of players that use mesa cabs and want them to sound more like marshalls are getting them with the 90w celestions that boogie offers.

other top notch options would be Avatar cabs. their price is fair and their options are great.