NEW VIDEO: Rectifier 2x12 Vs. Road King 2x12

[HaggertysMusic]

As per request we recently filmed a 2x12 speaker comparison featuring the 212 Rectifier and 212 Road King. I found the results very surprising!

The blend of speakers in the road king cab, as well as being simultaneously closed and open back, was less bright and had more emphasis in the mids than the rectifier 2x12. This was surprising to me because I always kind of found the C90 to be a bit brittle, especially in an open back configuration.

Here's a link to the video and as always, constructive criticism and ideas for future videos are most welcome!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnJGAEyodHE

 

[YellowJacket]

AWESOME Video! Keep doing these, they are very helpful!

Recorded, I like the Road King cab better for cleans and the Rectifier one better for crunch / high gain tones. In person, things sound very different. I find the rectifier cab very bright and hard on my ears. The Road King cab sounds more even and less bright.

 

[fluff191]

These Haggerty's vids are such a great tool for folks who can't A/B stuff too often.

Great vid Don!!

And the Recto cab gets my vote on all counts. 8)

 

[VanWreckto]

The Recto seemed to be more balanced in the mids treble and lows. The Road King has a noticeable mid bump and treble spike.
I'd like to hear the cabs pushing some serious volume though. That would be the true test for me.

 

[HaggertysMusic]

Sweet! Glad you guys liked the video!

The Road King has a noticeable mid bump and treble spike.

Really? I heard this the opposite way with the Rectifier having a treble spike. The first time we uploaded the video we had the cabs labeled wrong! It's fixed now, and the orange cabinet is the Rectifier and the black cabinet is the Road King. Just wanted to make sure you didn't have them mixed up.

I'd like to hear the cabs pushing some serious volume though. That would be the true test for me.

FWIW, we did have the amp at quite a loud volume, as we do in all of our clips, so the speakers were getting driven and I think the Royer R121 accurately picks up what the sound was like in the room, but yeah as always, being in the room, hearing and feeling the cabinet makes some difference. Always try them out in person with your rig if you can!

 

[thejay]

Great video!

 

[YellowJacket]

FWIW, we did have the amp at quite a loud volume, as we do in all of our clips, so the speakers were getting driven and I think the Royer R121 accurately picks up what the sound was like in the room, but yeah as always, being in the room, hearing and feeling the cabinet makes some difference. Always try them out in person with your rig if you can!

The Royer is indeed most likely very representative of a live tone. What one needs to realize is that a sound card, amp, and computer speakers all colour tone as well. For instance, my Mackie MR5s make tone sound VERY different from my father's Altec Lansing 4 way computer speakers with a sub, or even my inlaw's JVC mini system. So ya, the speakers can make one cab sound more even while the other sounds like it bumps in certain frequency ranges.

Live, I DEFINITELY thought the Road King cab was very even while the Rectifier cab was excessively bright in the highs. I personally have very sensitive ears so I am always opting towards a darker tone, mostly because it hurts less. Of course, I'd re-eq an amp for a recording but I want to be able to hear when I am 40.

 

[joe web]

i like your videos! always great comparison thanks.
for my taste, i prefer the recto cab over the road king cab.

 

[glassjaw7]

Sweet! Glad you guys liked the video!

The Road King has a noticeable mid bump and treble spike.

Really? I heard this the opposite way with the Rectifier having a treble spike. The first time we uploaded the video we had the cabs labeled wrong! It's fixed now, and the orange cabinet is the Rectifier and the black cabinet is the Road King. Just wanted to make sure you didn't have them mixed up.

I'd like to hear the cabs pushing some serious volume though. That would be the true test for me.

FWIW, we did have the amp at quite a loud volume, as we do in all of our clips, so the speakers were getting driven and I think the Royer R121 accurately picks up what the sound was like in the room, but yeah as always, being in the room, hearing and feeling the cabinet makes some difference. Always try them out in person with your rig if you can!

I agree; the recto cab definitely had more of a brightness/ treble spike going on, which makes sense seeing as how that's the nature of v30s. The c90 mixed with v30 seemed to tame some of that in your face harshness of the v30. I thought they complimented each other very well. Great comparison, thanks!

Another great speaker mix is a v30/g12-65. I'd love to hear that combo next to a Road King cab!

 

[JCDenton6]

^ That's exactly what I thought of the comparison myself! Awesome video!
I'd like to try out a C90/V30 in an X pattern soon, but I usually play in B/drop A tunings, so maybe a full V30 cab is better for that...?

 

[YellowJacket]

I'm pretty sure the c90s have an extended bass response compared to v30s. The c90s will give you more meat / low mids in your tone while the v30 cab gives more cut and high mids.

 

[JCDenton6]

Thanks YellowJacket, I see 2 C90's in my future.

 

[MesaENGR412]

I love my C90/V30 x-patterned Recto cabs. I plan on getting a Road King 2x12 as my next cab purchase to be able to run a "6x12" stereo setup with my two heads. The mix of those two speakers seems to give a great, defined tone that is just a little different, and to me a little more pronounced, than just straight V30's. A little bit broader spectrum of tone perhaps. Here is a quick demo of my amps and the cabs: http://youtu.be/TpgVU6nk67o I play in Drop B in my band, Onward To Olympas. The speakers sound great both on clean and distortion modes. We used my two heads and these two cabs to record the new album. Tones turned out great.

-AJH

 

[VanWreckto]

Sweet! Glad you guys liked the video!

The Road King has a noticeable mid bump and treble spike.

Really? I heard this the opposite way with the Rectifier having a treble spike. The first time we uploaded the video we had the cabs labeled wrong! It's fixed now, and the orange cabinet is the Rectifier and the black cabinet is the Road King. Just wanted to make sure you didn't have them mixed up.

I'd like to hear the cabs pushing some serious volume though. That would be the true test for me.

FWIW, we did have the amp at quite a loud volume, as we do in all of our clips, so the speakers were getting driven and I think the Royer R121 accurately picks up what the sound was like in the room, but yeah as always, being in the room, hearing and feeling the cabinet makes some difference. Always try them out in person with your rig if you can!

It's strange, I find the RK to be brighter with more mids during the clean and crunch and the Recto to be brighter during the high gain segment.
I personally like the Recto more for all round performance. I am a fan of partially open back 2x12's like the RK though. When fully closed V30's can sound a bit buzzy in a 2x12. Otherwise I hear very little actual treble from V30's. It's the high mids seem to give off that perception.

 

[screamingdaisy]

I preferred the Recto 2x12 in most cases, the exception being leads/single notes.

The Recto 2x12 had more upper mid detail and sounded clearer overall. The RK 2x12 sounded really mid-pushed and lacked top end definition, which made things sound kind of muddy in comparison.

On the otherhand, the RK 2x12 really pushed single notes out in a ballsy manner, whereas the Recto 2x12 seemed to recess them and make them quite a bit weaker in comparison.

So, my vote is the Recto 2x12 for rhythm/chord work and the RK 2x12 for leads.

It'd be really cool if more amps had cabinet switching.

 

[JCDenton6]

I love my C90/V30 x-patterned Recto cabs. I plan on getting a Road King 2x12 as my next cab purchase to be able to run a "6x12" stereo setup with my two heads. The mix of those two speakers seems to give a great, defined tone that is just a little different, and to me a little more pronounced, than just straight V30's. A little bit broader spectrum of tone perhaps. Here is a quick demo of my amps and the cabs: http://youtu.be/TpgVU6nk67o I play in Drop B in my band, Onward To Olympas. The speakers sound great both on clean and distortion modes. We used my two heads and these two cabs to record the new album. Tones turned out great.

-AJH

A little off topic:

Your absolutely right about the sound of these 2 speakers mixed. I just got done installing 2 C 90's in an X pattern in my recto cab and it sounds amazing, like the 2 speakers were developed to be used with each other in conjunction with a dual/triple recto. The c90s give you more meat/low mids in your tone while the v30 gives more cut and high mids as YellowJacket stated, like the speakers make up for one another's weaknesses.

EDIT: And it's tighter overall :mrgreen:

 

[JAZZGEAR]

Great vid...and it just confirmed why I hate the Recto Cabs....spiky high end sizzle, and no mids...yuck :evil:

RK Cab all day for me :mrgreen:

 

[JAZZGEAR]

The Recto seemed to be more balanced in the mids treble and lows. The Road King has a noticeable mid bump and treble spike.
I'd like to hear the cabs pushing some serious volume though. That would be the true test for me.

No offense, but either you have to check your eyes or hearing. The eyes...cause you may be confusing (visually) which one was the Recto and which the RK.

I heard it the total opposite from you.....

 

[BostonRedSox]

Great vid...and it just confirmed why I hate the Recto Cabs....spiky high end sizzle, and no mids...yuck :evil:

RK Cab all day for me :mrgreen:

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