Mark IVb Combo, replacing C90 with Fane AXA S12L

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I saw the video. The WGS sounded better than the Celestion V30. Then again the recording of the Celestion V30 sounded better than the V30s I had. They were okay at first but I had options not to use the recto 412 cab when I only had the Mark IV. Once I got the Mark V head, the V30's had to go. I replaced the V30 with EVM12L black label speakers and they can take anything thrown at them by either the Mark V or the Mark IV. As for style of music I play, it varies. Recently I have been retracing my roots with what is now classic rock. Led Zep, Scorpions, Judas Priest. Deep Purple, Pink Floyd, Rush, ACDC, Dokken, Great White, White Snake, etc... The Mark V powered by 6CA7 and pushing the EVM 412 does it all with ease. However, the Mark IV has been sitting in the corner unused. It is a great amp just to let it rot. The MC90 is an okay speaker but has limits when bass and volume increase. The Mark IV also lacks the clarity or definition when you compress the signal with the lead channel. The Fane Studio speaker is similar to the Classic EVM12L in tone with a tight and punchy bass response. It comes in closer to the Black Label EV which has less compliant spider and cone suspension (stiff) which is very close to the OEM EV12L Mesa Black Shadow. What I like most about the Fane is the neutral tone which really brings out that dry acoustic sound in the clean channel. It is no slouch in the high gain settings either. Frequency response on the Fane Studio is relatively flat, no dramatic dips or humps across the band. From my experimenting, the Fane studio performs best in the open cavity of the combo amp. The only issue is available room to manage tube changes. Far more clearance for the preamp tubes than the EV as well as power tube do not rest on the driver. Installing the power tube that is almost centered to the speaker is the tricky one.

The Emi tonkerlite (wanted the ceramic version but got this instead) sounds terrific in a sealed cab. Turns out it was a good fit for the cab that I ordered since it was not ported like I though it would be. Running both EMi and Fane in parallel on the 4 ohm speaker jacks provides the same characteristic of the EVM412 and cleans up the Mark IV almost to Mark V character. Just a point, the Fane sounded quite different driven by the Mark V. EVM12 are better for the V.


As for V30, I do not like them, I cannot stand them "SAM I AM", I do not like them in a car, on a plane or on a train, they sound like crap when I try to play guitar. I am considering the Mesa RA100 and will get the mesa half stack to go with it. So I will have fresh V30 to hate. Perhaps they will sound good. My goal was not just to make the Mark IV sound better, but to find something that would sound good with other amps. At least I will be able to channel it though a EV412 cab. Not sure if the RA100 cab on sweetwater is the Road kiing version or the fully sealed recto version.
 
I did remove the Fane from the Mark IV. Also removed the Emi tonkerlight from the ext. cab. I wanted to try out the MC90 and V30 combination. It sounded great for a short time. Unfortunately, with the master volume at 3 I believe the amp is practically at full output potential. Beyond that, the power section begins to compress and tone goes down hill fast. Considering how loud this amp is when channeled through a 412 with a master volume at 2, at 3 it is really flexing the spiders on the speakers. I guess I had too many goals to accomplish; find a suitable speaker for use with the combo amp, and to test candidates for a 412 build project that I am planning for another amp (RA100). How well the speaker can deliver tone at high gain, clean, etc... So far all speakers I have used in the Mark IV generate good quality clean tones but there are limits on bass and midrange settings that will drown everything.

The Emi Tonkerlight can really deliver the bass. With a clean signal you will get piano like tones and pristine highs. Bring on the distortion, you get the same ugly tone that the MC90 and V30 can generate, farting notes. Matters not how much bass you remove, even with mid and bass at 0, any notes played on the low E or A strings generates flub with moderate volume applied. Despite the small sized neo magnet and super light weight, the distorted signal looses definition quite easily. Perhaps the speaker is not quite broken it yet. I did use this in the Mark IV by itself since I was swapping speakers, why not try it again in the combo. I played it as long as I could tolerate, the driver magnet really started to soak some heat along with sight odor of burning insulation. I ordered an 8 ohm speaker, I believe they sent me a 16ohm by mistake. DC resistance should be in the neighborhood of 8 ohms. This thing measures 15.6ohms. Most of the time I ran this speaker parallel to the Fane so the overall effective load was 4.76 ohms. (Fane measures 6.8 ohms).

The V30, same issue as the Tonerlight. Considering they came from my Mesa Rectifier 412 cab that I bought new 13 years ago, they may not be fully broken in since I did not make use of the 412 (primarily since I did not care for the tone and speaker breakup). They sounded okay after I obtained the Mark V. I just could not get a pleasing tone out of them. Even when coupled with EVs. I tried that too. However, there is some good things to report on the V30. It compliments the tone of the Fane Studio speaker remarkably well. I can hear it flubbing out at times but the Fane seems to compensate for the low frequencies so the flub is not noticeable.

The MC90, definitely broken in. I believe it has performed better over the 13 years. It is definitely past due for retirement.

Once I got the Fane back into the Mark IV combo I was happy again. It does have a soft midrange attack, it sounds great by itself but sounds better when combined with a speaker such as V30 that has more mid frequency hump in its response curve.
 
I am now testing another speaker in the Mark IV. Once I broke-in the Fane, it was not as tight in the bass. It sounded really good while the speaker was fresh. It still sound great if you open up the volume. I replaced the V30 that I installed in my 1x12 closed back extension cab. The new speaker I am currently tying out is a WGS Black Hawk HP 100 ALNICO type speaker. So far it seems to have similar qualities as the EV but is not bass dominant at low volume, but rather more balanced overall. I did try the WGS with the V30, that sounded terrible. However, the WGS blends very well with the Fane Studio as a pair. Just a note, the WGS Black Hawk HP can perform well on its own and does not require to be paired with other speakers to sound good. I definitely will not miss the Celestion made speakers if I toss them. I will keep the MC90 if I ever sell the Mark IV (will be hard since it actually sounds really good with the WGS speaker, time may tell another story after it breaks in). The FANE studio is not a bad option for a combo, however there are alternatives that may better suit your style and liking. I was hoping to try out the Fane Medusa 150C but that will not happen. End of Story.... :|
 

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