Does a cab itself really matter?

[Gizzorge]

4 x 12 Recto over sized = life changer!

 

[Nicklotsaguitars]

Very very easy for a bad cab to ruin a good amp.
I fell foul of the same malaise a few years back. JCM 2203KK and a cheapo Hayden cab with Vietnamese Vintage 30's in it.
Horrible, no bass, one dimensional sound.

A lot of things factor into cab quality. They aren't necessarily what you think, depending on what you're after. Internal dimension is a huge factor, as you can negate or emphasise frequencies. Much like how you'll sometimes get a bad sounding room that sounds great with 100 people in it. The aforementioned Hayden cab sounded a lot better once I took 150mm off the depth of the thing.
Materials matter immensely. I've seen bassists with home built 4x10's. Made from cheap, thin ply. Who get a great sound. Despite common opinion that you need thick premium timber. 13-18ply birch is pretty much the industry standard on closed backcabs for good reason. The layers stop the cab vibrating like made, so it can push all the sound forwards. Which the aforementioned bassist didn't want.

What does matter, regardless of those factors is construction quality. Good fingerjoints or better still dovetail. The baffleboard needs to be super secure as does the backboard on a closed back cab.

You can pick up great cabs for peanuts at the moment. A Marshall 1960a will be as cheap as chips from someone who is sick of the thing taking up room in his house. The 1936 is more convenient in my experience. I paid £100 for mine.

 

[thunda1216]

IMO you should not overlook a 1x12 thiele cab . . . they have great bass response, tight (exactly what you want), good portability and sounds wonderfull, THE perfect match for any Mark series amp.

and you will not have problems find one used in a great condition for usd 300-ish. If you found one EV loaded, grab it!! but the c90 loaded are also very cool 8)

this. I have a couple of home built thiele spec cabs loaded with Peavey Scorpions. Hard to beat for any style of music with a variety of heads...