rickgk said:
Thanks heaps that's great info. What are your thoughts on the G-Flex Cabs? I am interested to know more about the langner pre too, how do you run your rig live?
I've used my randall rack (rm4 -> gforce -> vht) into the following with these results:
Marshall 1960b - Good tones, especially with the SL+ and Plexi modules, but not so much with the Ultra or Modern modules, didn't have the 1086 at the time I had the 1960b cab... Overall, the Marshall cab didn't have the bass response I wanted but was "warm".
Carvin Legacy 4x12
Sounds great, but still not enough low end thump for my liking.
Laney 4x12 with H|H speakers
Same results as Marshall cab.
Genz-Benz G-Flex 2x12's
I have four of these and always use at least two at a time. For big shows, I'll take all four. For the style of music I play, I don't think there's a better cabinet. My tone is pretty high gain, but articulate, I don't want "flubby". I don't oversaturate to the point of paint peeling off the walls, I think a tone is better when you back off the gain a little and let the tone speak for itself instead of killing everyone with too much gain.
The Genz Benz 2x12's are bass ported, allowing more low end than you could ever need without ever getting "flubby" or farting.
They do tend to lack a little warmth that you get with a Celestion 30 cab, but they sound incredible for the style of music I play.
The fact that they are 2x12's makes it easier to build your setup for the size you need as well.
I've used one 2x12 a couple times, but the cab needs to be off the floor in order to hear it well on stage IMO, but my rig always sounds WAY better when running two cabs.
The Langner preamp is a hard-to-find piece that is worth it's weight in gold. Todd Langner was the guy that all the 80's metal guys went to for modding their ADA's primarily -- you can find out more info on him at www.adadepot.com
The Langner is a two channel preamp with a boost on the gain channel.
The tone you get out of it is reminiscent of Dokken - Back For The Attack or John Syke's tone on the 1987 Whitesnake, self-titled disk. It's one of the best hard rock tones ever. That should be a fact, not an opinion. HA!
I actually run my live rig very similar to how I record; I did one of those GuitarGeek representations of my live rig; here ya go.