My Guitarist bought a 5150 amp a couple of months ago. He currently has a cream Wolfgang. He was playing through the 5150 through a old Jackson 300w 4X12 Cab. It sounded to muddy.

We went on a search for a cab. Of course a 5150 cab would be the easy way out. We tried out Mesa's, Crate's, Marshall's and Peavey's. The Marshall 1960 Vintage with Celestion Vintage 30's sounded awesome. In my opinion better than the 5150 Cab.

Has anyone else tried mixing and matching the 5150 with different cabs? And or different types of guitars?

I used to use an old Marshal cab for the warmth it gave and the 5150 cab for it's bright responsiveness. I eventually stopped using the 5150 cab altogether cause of space restrictions, (most clubs hate it when you bring two cabs, especially if you not stacking them, and they will usually only mike one) and by itself, the 5150 is way to bright and sterile sounding.

When I bought my 5150, I tried every cab I could get my hands on including MB/Riveria/non5150 Peavey/Marshall/Crate..... and the best by far is the Marshal. The 5150 cab is good in the studio as it give a very wide bandwidth response, but for live playing go Marshal.

Also, (and I know someone is going to give 18000000 reason why this is bad) if your cab has wheels, take them off or turn the cab on it's side, by doing this you are greatly increasing the surface area that's in contact with something solid ,ie the ground. The body, resonance, and overall presence of the cab increases through the roof.

In rehersal I had the best tone ever! I had both cabs on the ground, and either baffled from behind, or tight up against the wall. If I wanted to have that Huey thump, all it took was some heavy palming, and if I wanted a stightly distorted, (al la Knofler/Gilmour) tone a real tight touch would do it.

My point is selecting a cab IMO is harder then selecting a head. A head sounds, (basicly) the same all of the time but with a cab, you need to spend a lot of time fucking with it in all sorts of situations!

Buy a Marshalhttp://www.vhlinks.com/vhlforum/smilies/biggrin.gif


As far as guitars go, an old Les Paul gave me a tone that was so good I could cry, and in the studio, that was it. Live I used a costom job that I built, it was originaly a Robin Melody II/III? but I only used the wood, (that thing is way heavier then a Paul), I have a Jeff Beck in the neck, and a PAF/Trembucker in the ass. It sounds almost as good as the Paul and it has a Floyd so I can wiggle it!

IMO big/solid/heavy guitars make the most sense, but lots of guys have their own take on this. Use Ed's philosophy, "if it sounds good, it is good", which is easier said then donehttp://www.vhlinks.com/vhlforum/smilies/biggrin.gif

------------------
Baluchitherium

[This message has been edited by homeunit (edited May 25, 2000 at 08:36 AM).]

Home unit,

I definitely agree with you on the Marshalls. The guy in the store kept saying Boogie's, Boogies, Boogies. We tried a Boogie and it didn't sound that good. It was very muddy. We plugged into the 1960BV Marshall and it was Night and Day. And the Marshall was $100 cheaper than the Boogie. I also agree with the 5150 CAB. That CAB is 300 watts. I find that a 280 watt cab gets driven more and but still is clear with a Marshall cab.

My opinion: 5150 Head with a Marshall Vintage CAB destroys a Mesa Boogie stack. And its for about half the price.

I'll have to try the caster approach.

Thanks for the info dude!

------------------
Nobody rules these streets at night but me, The ATOMIC PUNK

I am a Marshall man through and through. I don't even own a 5150 anymore, but I will say the 5150 straight 4x12 is the bomb with that head! Give it a chance.

I run a Crate 4X12 with two extra 12" Celestion speakers and the combination is great for playing live. You should try mixing it up with different combinations. Old with new, different sizes, different brands together.

------------------
Focus Pokus.........Hott Damn!!!!

I agree with Homeunit and Jape. I'm a 100% Marshall man, but if you're gonna use a 5150 head, run it through a marshall cab.

There is something about Marshall cabs that give them that majical resonance. Marshall uses a special birtch marine plywood that comes from the Baltic region. Like any musical instrument, the tone of the wood is very important in a speaker cab. I love the 1960 cab with the 5150. I also had a Carvin Legacy cab and it did't sound right. I pulled all the Celestion Greenbacks out of the Carvin cab and put them in an 1960 Marshall cab I bought used. I couldn't believe the difference. I use a regular 1960 cab with high gain amps and the greenacks with a Sovtek Mig-50 head. It's a perfect setup for me. Jim Marshall says he basically has made the 4X12's the same way since the 60's. I still think Marshall makes the best cabs. They're not cheap but they are tough and will last forever.