I think this is a good cabinet comparison video

riffpowers

I saw this on YouTube , I think it's a great video that shoes the differences between the cabs in a practical way .
quite an ear opener for me ! I know cabs make a huge difference , but I think this video illustrates it really well. 

bandmaster188

The cream back 2x12 was a clear winner to my ear holes. Can't say I liked the sound of any of the other cabs

TTBZ

Yeah I thought the neo creambacks sounded way better than the V30s.

timmysoft

TTBZ said:

Yeah I thought the neo creambacks sounded way better than the V30s.

They do, it’s a science fact 

grungebob

The vertical cab sounded best to my ears, a bit brighter clean and less fizz with the gain. 

Voxman

Well, the clear winner to my ears is the 4x12 on both cleans and distortion.  But as the size and weight  of a 4x12 are not practical for most of us, I much preferred the regular PPC212 and OB version that I thought sounded warmer and more natural.  I was actually very disappointed with the vertical Neo Creamback PPC212V tones that I found too 'shrill', fizzy, nasal and lacked fullness and balls. We all hear different things and have different tastes of course.

ICBM

I thought the closed back 2x12" was the outright winner for both sounds - the most balanced and clear while also being full and punchy.

The 4x12" was good, second best overall, but a little too hollow-sounding particularly on the dirty sound.

The vertical 2x12" with Neos was 'interestingly' different clean - a good sound, although very middy and quite distinctive which probably limits its versatility - and awful dirty, really fizzy, boxy and nasal. Disappointing.

The open-back horizontal 2x12" was nowhere near good as the closed one clean, quite boxy - contrary to the normal received wisdom - but actually surprisingly very similar to the closed one dirty, again contrary to expectation!

I would be interested to hear what all the cabs sounded like with the other speakers, ie are the big differences between the vertical cab and the others the speakers or the cab.

guitarfishbay

ICBM said:

I would be interested to hear what all the cabs sounded like with the other speakers, ie are the big differences between the vertical cab and the others the speakers or the cab.

I can kind of answer that because I’ve heard the same speakers in 4 different sized cabs, and the exact same speaker in 2 different sized cabs.

I actually think the dimensions of the cab make a big difference.

My favourite speaker is the Mesa V30.

Personally I have 2 of the Recto 2x12s with them, and an EVH 412 which is roughly Marshall sized also with the Mesa V30s. I’ve previously owned the straight front oversize 4x12, and the singer in my band owns the Stiletto 2x12, which is a bit smaller than the Recto 2x12.

In general the bigger the more the tone seems to extend at the bottom and at the top. Though it’s not really linear. For example the Stiletto 2x12 is quite a bit less bassy and with less top than the Recto 2x12, but the EVH isn’t really any brighter than the Recto 2x12 but is noticeably bassier. The Oversize 4x12 is brighter than the EVH and bassier, even though there’s not a lot of difference in the dimensions. However it’s balanced and sounds big, whereas the Recto 2x12 is a lot tighter and more aggressive sounding.

I always think of it like acoustic guitars, where I think body size differences make a noticeable impact on the sound. With the bigger ones sounding larger and comparatively more scooped than the smaller ones.

ICBM

I would agree with all that, I just meant those specific cabs . It isn't a fair comparison because the 'most different' cab - the vertical 2x12", which is not only vertical but also thinner material - also has the different speakers.

My gut feeling is that the nasty overdriven tone from the vertical 2x12" is a characteristic of the speakers and not the cab, because the horizontal open-back cab sounded much better, and when close-mic'ed it shouldn't make much difference which way it's oriented... but I could be wrong, since the differences between the open and closed horizontal 2x12" were the opposite from what I expected other than the general EQ.

Rocker

I found it almost impossible to hear any differences when using my iPad.  However I did try a number of cabs in a shop a couple of years ago and the Orange 4 * 12 beat everything else hands down.  At that time I naively thought I could squeeze a 4 * 12 cab into our music room but no chance, they are huge.  And the smaller cabs were so noticeably poorer sound wise that I ended up buying nothing.