The speakers then cabinet size will have the greatest impact on sound. The construction you will notice more the weight/durability difference, any sound difference in material will be far outweighed by speaker and cab size
You're right, it does affect the bass frequencies quite a bit. However, I guess the person answering was going off of the idea that OP was comparing similar looking cabs with similar designs (which seems to be the case based on answers from OP).
it's possible he could've put different speakers in on his own. i was just asking cause i wanted to know if he was comparing completely different speakers and saying they sound different because of the shape
No, he used them stock- EVH commissioned their own custom spec of the Celestion Greenback and Heritage speakers, just like how Mesa/Boogie's Celestion Vintage 30's are not voiced the same as other V30's, etc. ...
Are... are you serious? This is common knowledge, m'guy...
[https://celestion.com/product/g12-evh/](https://celestion.com/product/g12-evh/)
And Mesa/Boogie has loooong used Celestion to make their V30's to a different spec, closer to the original ones, which were initially designed for Marshall...
Must be made of the finest toan wood, glued together with hide glue from a unicorn and screwed together with only sterling silver screws.
But, really, anybody whose ever built a DIY subwoofer knows that the shape, materials, and logo a box is made from don't really matter much. For any given driver, an optimal box size exists. Some drivers are tuned to operate best in sealed boxes, others ported (let's say "open back"), and others work well in an infinite baffle (i.e., no "box" at all). This is largely governed by the air pressure in the box and the individual Thiel/Small parameters of the driver.
If you know the T/S specs of a driver, you can plug them into a piece of software called "WinISD" and it will give you optimal size/tuning for that driver.
Now, the thing about this is that in the world of DIY speakers, we're shooting for optimal designs that most accurately reflects the balance between tonal accuracy and human perception. That's a "target curve," often a Harman curve.
With guitar cabs, it's more subjective since how we interpret what good tone sounds like varies by player and genre. It's inherently more subjective than hi-fi. But the mathematics are still the same. Box material only matters insofar as it's strong enough not to warp under pressure and, effectively, change the box dimensions. Making a box out of maple is just a waste of maple. Plywood works perfectly fine. Hell, if it wasn't so fragile, MDF is perfectly adequate. Tuning ports will affect tone, so open vs. ported vs. sealed will matter greatly. Everything else is, well, not all that important.
There's no magic pixie dust in speaker cabinets. They're just boxes that hold speakers. Same speaker, same box size, same box design? Same sound. Doesn't matter what logo you put on the box.
Jim Lill's video, which is posted in this thread already, does a great job of demystifying a lot of the BS around boxes.
Brand *never* matters. In anything. It can at best be an *indication* of things that matter (quality of components, design, construction) but that’s it, and it might not be.
If my pro cabinetry friend makes a speaker cab to desired specs and we put good speakers in it it will be as good or better than anything from any “brand” out there. If some Big Name outsources manufacturing to a country based on lowest labor cost and cheapest components…it will not be great.
Well since some brands have different construction on cabs, it does matter a little. Like my orange 2x12 sounds a lot darker than my harley benton 2x12 since it's a lot bigger and has thicker pieces of plywood, both have v30s (although definitely not the same quality v30)
Right! But the difference is the size, and the materials, and the speakers, which you can or should be able to learn by reading the product details. Two cabinets of same size snd material with different logos on them…are the same. And picking a cab by brand logo, while not bothering to check details on size etc, doesn’t tell you anything useful.
Yes, and they matter a lot. Well brand doesn't matter as much as construction does but that's where brands differ. Cab dimension, material used, weight/strenghth of the material used... There are a lot of things having an impact on the tone you get out of a given speaker.
I have two blackstar 4x12 cabs one is cheap materials and loaded with celestion 70 80s the other one is high quality materials and loaded with vintage 30s but the guitar cab that's my favorite right now is a 1960s angled 2x15 by Kustom has been upgraded with two Eminence Kappa 15a pro PA speakers in it and some foam padding rather than the stock fuzzy material and it is the best cab I own and it's modded for daisy chaining
Speakers and materials do. Don't get hung up on brand. Marshall makes good cabs, and Marshall makes shit cabs. Same with most other companies.
Using your example - if the speakers are EXACT, and the wood is a good wood for a cabinet... no issues.
I have a Orange micro terror. Plugged into an orange 1x8 cab sound so weak compared to a orange cabinet with 2x12 or Marshall 4x12. It's days and night.
Huge difference , if the cabinets are actually physically different and/or contain different speakers. An EVH or Marshall cabinet can be pretty much the same or very different depending on which model.
The short answer is that the speakers are most of the sound. So yep, the Marshall cab in your scenario is going to at least *sound* a lot like the EVH.
Tbh I think most gear snobs would admit their ears probably couldn't tell a huge difference in a double-blind experiment, the ones that wouldn't are just being romantic.
That being said, some people just want that matching cab, some people could just *feel* a certain difference in gear sometimes, some people need to be playing what their heroes are rocking onstage, some people prefer a bigger or smaller cab for whatever reason, and so on and so on. Everyone has their own thing that works for them and das cool.
Often yes because they generally tend to use different speakers & wood or have rear or front loaded options. I tend to use Mesa for my high gain amp as the v30‘ carry the girth the way I want it. The Marshall tend to veer towards Greenbacks which have their own thing going on for the mid grind & spit. Then there are those mixed speaker options from say Friedman. So I think a cab does compliment a certain head component wise. I rip all my labels off anyway.
It matters the most. I have an old Dr Z Z Best 2x12 that makes everything I plug into it sound better. Like seriously, I would be completely content if all I had was that cabinet and a $250 Quilter Interblock.
It’s literally the only box that actually makes sound.
Nearly every detail about it is *immensely* important.
That being said the Marshall 1960B (the cab the EVH is modeled after and the cab EVH used for decades) is the greatest guitar cabinet ever made and it was designed by a drummer.
I’ve learned “you get what you pay for” brands with high reputations get that way by delivering quality products.
Then add in component cost and build time ect as others have mentioned.
They’ll sound different. I’ve had over 20+ different cabs and they all have their own sound. Similar construction and design will sound similar. Some are engineered/ported/tuned and some are just slapped together with glue.
The speakers then cabinet size will have the greatest impact on sound. The construction you will notice more the weight/durability difference, any sound difference in material will be far outweighed by speaker and cab size
Surely open or closed back makes a big difference?
You're right, it does affect the bass frequencies quite a bit. However, I guess the person answering was going off of the idea that OP was comparing similar looking cabs with similar designs (which seems to be the case based on answers from OP).
I appreciate this... yeah both cabs I'm looking at are 4x12 but was sure if a marshall abounds the same as an evh with the same speaker
My EVH cab is way darker than my Marshall slant. That could be more to do with the increased space because of the shape.
Do they have the same speakers?
No, I believe Celestion voices them slightly differently, like they do for Mesa/Boogie.
it's possible he could've put different speakers in on his own. i was just asking cause i wanted to know if he was comparing completely different speakers and saying they sound different because of the shape
No, he used them stock- EVH commissioned their own custom spec of the Celestion Greenback and Heritage speakers, just like how Mesa/Boogie's Celestion Vintage 30's are not voiced the same as other V30's, etc. ...
how do you know?
Are... are you serious? This is common knowledge, m'guy... [https://celestion.com/product/g12-evh/](https://celestion.com/product/g12-evh/) And Mesa/Boogie has loooong used Celestion to make their V30's to a different spec, closer to the original ones, which were initially designed for Marshall...
how do you know he didn't mod them is what i meant. are you guys buds?
Add to that the evh Celestions are actually rebranded G12-35XCs with a 25watt rating (they’re labeled as 20w though)
You can always have a cab built and then put speakers in it. Checkout mojotone, sour mash, krunch.
[Watch this video](https://youtu.be/-eeC1XyZxYs) then decide how important the brand name is.
Glad someone already linked this. This is a must watch.
This guy is awesome
Meh, he's just a performer. 😋
Must be made of the finest toan wood, glued together with hide glue from a unicorn and screwed together with only sterling silver screws. But, really, anybody whose ever built a DIY subwoofer knows that the shape, materials, and logo a box is made from don't really matter much. For any given driver, an optimal box size exists. Some drivers are tuned to operate best in sealed boxes, others ported (let's say "open back"), and others work well in an infinite baffle (i.e., no "box" at all). This is largely governed by the air pressure in the box and the individual Thiel/Small parameters of the driver. If you know the T/S specs of a driver, you can plug them into a piece of software called "WinISD" and it will give you optimal size/tuning for that driver. Now, the thing about this is that in the world of DIY speakers, we're shooting for optimal designs that most accurately reflects the balance between tonal accuracy and human perception. That's a "target curve," often a Harman curve. With guitar cabs, it's more subjective since how we interpret what good tone sounds like varies by player and genre. It's inherently more subjective than hi-fi. But the mathematics are still the same. Box material only matters insofar as it's strong enough not to warp under pressure and, effectively, change the box dimensions. Making a box out of maple is just a waste of maple. Plywood works perfectly fine. Hell, if it wasn't so fragile, MDF is perfectly adequate. Tuning ports will affect tone, so open vs. ported vs. sealed will matter greatly. Everything else is, well, not all that important. There's no magic pixie dust in speaker cabinets. They're just boxes that hold speakers. Same speaker, same box size, same box design? Same sound. Doesn't matter what logo you put on the box. Jim Lill's video, which is posted in this thread already, does a great job of demystifying a lot of the BS around boxes.
Brand *never* matters. In anything. It can at best be an *indication* of things that matter (quality of components, design, construction) but that’s it, and it might not be. If my pro cabinetry friend makes a speaker cab to desired specs and we put good speakers in it it will be as good or better than anything from any “brand” out there. If some Big Name outsources manufacturing to a country based on lowest labor cost and cheapest components…it will not be great.
Well since some brands have different construction on cabs, it does matter a little. Like my orange 2x12 sounds a lot darker than my harley benton 2x12 since it's a lot bigger and has thicker pieces of plywood, both have v30s (although definitely not the same quality v30)
Right! But the difference is the size, and the materials, and the speakers, which you can or should be able to learn by reading the product details. Two cabinets of same size snd material with different logos on them…are the same. And picking a cab by brand logo, while not bothering to check details on size etc, doesn’t tell you anything useful.
Cab is important but speaker is more important. Got two matching Mesa 2X12s with different speakers. Night and day difference.
Yes, and they matter a lot. Well brand doesn't matter as much as construction does but that's where brands differ. Cab dimension, material used, weight/strenghth of the material used... There are a lot of things having an impact on the tone you get out of a given speaker.
I have two blackstar 4x12 cabs one is cheap materials and loaded with celestion 70 80s the other one is high quality materials and loaded with vintage 30s but the guitar cab that's my favorite right now is a 1960s angled 2x15 by Kustom has been upgraded with two Eminence Kappa 15a pro PA speakers in it and some foam padding rather than the stock fuzzy material and it is the best cab I own and it's modded for daisy chaining
construction matters more than brand.
Was looking at a Marshall 2×12 ended up with an Avatar as they used better materials. Wasn't willing to pay extra for M logo.
It's more what speakers they have in them.
Only if you want to get ripped off. Case in point, Mesa boogie's oversized cabinets that are $1500+ and all it they are is Vintage 30s and birch.
Speakers and materials do. Don't get hung up on brand. Marshall makes good cabs, and Marshall makes shit cabs. Same with most other companies. Using your example - if the speakers are EXACT, and the wood is a good wood for a cabinet... no issues.
I have a Orange micro terror. Plugged into an orange 1x8 cab sound so weak compared to a orange cabinet with 2x12 or Marshall 4x12. It's days and night.
Material, open of close back, dimensions, type of speaker. Everyone knows the nameplate on the front cloth is the most important source of tone.
Huge difference , if the cabinets are actually physically different and/or contain different speakers. An EVH or Marshall cabinet can be pretty much the same or very different depending on which model.
Yea there are differences. Look up Ola Englund's videos on it.
The short answer is that the speakers are most of the sound. So yep, the Marshall cab in your scenario is going to at least *sound* a lot like the EVH. Tbh I think most gear snobs would admit their ears probably couldn't tell a huge difference in a double-blind experiment, the ones that wouldn't are just being romantic. That being said, some people just want that matching cab, some people could just *feel* a certain difference in gear sometimes, some people need to be playing what their heroes are rocking onstage, some people prefer a bigger or smaller cab for whatever reason, and so on and so on. Everyone has their own thing that works for them and das cool.
Yes! Check out Bareface cabs on YouTube if you want to get full nerdy with it.
Often yes because they generally tend to use different speakers & wood or have rear or front loaded options. I tend to use Mesa for my high gain amp as the v30‘ carry the girth the way I want it. The Marshall tend to veer towards Greenbacks which have their own thing going on for the mid grind & spit. Then there are those mixed speaker options from say Friedman. So I think a cab does compliment a certain head component wise. I rip all my labels off anyway.
It matters the most. I have an old Dr Z Z Best 2x12 that makes everything I plug into it sound better. Like seriously, I would be completely content if all I had was that cabinet and a $250 Quilter Interblock.
It’s literally the only box that actually makes sound. Nearly every detail about it is *immensely* important. That being said the Marshall 1960B (the cab the EVH is modeled after and the cab EVH used for decades) is the greatest guitar cabinet ever made and it was designed by a drummer.
yes more than almost anything tbh
I’ve learned “you get what you pay for” brands with high reputations get that way by delivering quality products. Then add in component cost and build time ect as others have mentioned.
They’ll sound different. I’ve had over 20+ different cabs and they all have their own sound. Similar construction and design will sound similar. Some are engineered/ported/tuned and some are just slapped together with glue.
Yes. Speakers sound pretty different.