Roadster head, what cab to use?

I have had my Roadster for some time now. Always have been a great amp to play though. Well recently I got a JP-2C and paired it up with my most recent Mesa 412 cab. Vey tight sounding amp. Roadster seems a bit loose on the bottom end. Then I got the Vertical 2x12 for the JP-2C and I am totally blown away how that smaller cab sounds compared to the OS Recto 412. I have basically been using a 2000 OS Recto that I had to rebuild after a few years it was in storage. Not quite the same as the newer 412 cab. Was considering a Horizontal 2x12 cab. Will that be tighter in bass response than the 412 ?

I will try the Roadster through the Vertical 212 but have not done so yet. My RA100 sounded incredible though the vertical but way too small to fit the amp on top of it. Horizontal seems to make more sense for the larger heads. Any thoughts or suggestions. I think my old cab has had it as it is lacking resonance like the newer 412 cab has. Still the bass response is not as tight as I would prefer.

Those that have the Horizontal 2x12 cab, what are your thoughts or comments on it?

What, nobody using the Horizontal 2x12 cab? I thought this was a popular choice.

I run my Roadster through my 2x12 vertical Mesa and never looked back!
Even my guitarist with his Diamond head bought a Mesa 2x12 cab. They sound huge and tight!

Thanks for the response nismofreakish,

I love my Vert 212. Will have to try the Roadster through it, I got it recently to use with the JP-2C. Was thinking of the Horizontal cab so I can put the Roadster head on it and perhaps the RA100 head. Also understand that the Vertical will have more mids and huge bottom end. Having two Vertical cabs sounds like an interesting investment, at least I think that would take care of the drone I am getting with the 412. I can always mount my heads in a rack or something like that but makes for less mobility.

I have a Roadster but it is a combo so I have little experience with cabinets. However, have you considered the 2x12 Rectifier Compact Cabinet? It was originally designed to be the "Roadster" extension cabinet which makes me think it would work rather well with a Roadster head.
http://www.mesaboogie.com/cabinets--simulators/guitar-cabinets--simulators/rectifier-series/2x12-recto-compact.html

I have considered the compact cabinet. That would work with either Roadster or RA100. However, the Vertical has the same volume of the standard Horizontal 212. Love the projection of the angled top speaker but the bass is to die for. Very tight and bold, punchy. Also have heard many clips of the JP using the standard Horizontal cab. So I intend to use the cabs with all of my amps. However, if the standard Horizontal is deemed as boomy, I may reconsider the compact. Not sure what the plan is at the moment.

The horizontal 212 cab was waiting for me when I got home for lunch. I had a few minutes to run the Roadster though it. Compared it to the Vertical 212 that I am using with my JP-2C. Both Cabs sound similar but I actually prefer the horizontal with the Roadster. The Vertical is a better match for the JP. Actually either way you cannot go wrong unelss you want to place your DR on top of the cab, the Vertical is not wide enough so get the horizontal or go full size 412. You can opt to rack the amp and use any cab of choice. Happy with the Horizontal just as much as the Vertical.

Glad you like it! I am really happy with both my vert and horiz recto cabs. And the fact that the wider amps fit on the H is a big feature.

With the Horizontal with Roadster and Vertical with JP-2C, I can actually hear the fundamental difference between the two amps. When I was using the 412 with the Roadster, both amps sounded very close in fundamental frequencies. I did try the Roadster though each Horizontal and Vert separately and they both sounded quite similar in spite of the slight elevation in the mids of the Vertical cab. A reminder I need new tubes in the Roadster as I have many hours on the current set. Now I have to figure out how to make it all work in a recording.

I still have my 412 cabs and all three are keepers or at least both Mesa 412 cabs are keepers. I am thinking on putting the EVs back into the old recto cab, migrating the Celestion Creambacks into the small traditional (Egnator Cab) to have a different range of tones to record with. I really like the Creambacks with the Roadster, the EV are different but really blossom with higher volume settings. The old Celestion V30 just do not sound as I would have expected despite the amount of hours of use on the original V30. I have more hours of use on my newer OS Recto cab and it still sounds as good as it did with the first chord punching though it. I believe I added too much internal bracing to the old 412 cab when I was chasing around the various vibrations on the top baffle that I inadvertently altered the resonant tone of the old Cab. The New OS Recto cab with V30 is tight and resonates quite well so that one will remain as is. I would not personally recommend replacing speakers in a new cab unless you have no other alternative, unless you have an inexpensive cab or an old one that is in need of something to make it sound better.

What I like about the 212 cabs, less volume, not by much though but helps to get closer to the amp sweet spot without being over bearing. Vertical was a better match for the JP-2C as it does have a tonal difference in the midrange that helps with cut though without sounding harsh or brittle. Also it is the perfect size to move around, takes up less space and sounds incredibly good, the standard metal handgrips common with the 412 cab makes it easy to pick up by yourself or use another person to help carry if needed like the full sized 412. I do like the horizontal 212 cab, excellent choice for a Rectifier amp, even great for the RA100 head too. May take up more floor space than the Vertical but you save in one way as you would need a separate rack for the large heads as they will not sit on top of the Vertical cab. Only issue I would have with it is I would prefer a different means to pick it up than a single handle common with most heads and combo amps. I will have to double check on clearance with the JP-2C ( the Mark V head has the same clearance due to the exposed portion of the reverb tank poking though the bottom of the shell. At least it is the lower profile strap handle similar to the one used on the Roadster. I got the standard horizontal cab which weighs just a little more than the RA100 head with 8 lbs extra. It feels the same to my hand though when picking it up (ouch). The Vertical may weigh in at 75lbs but does not seem that heavy when picking it up as I can use both hands. Which one I would rather carry a long distance,,,, Vertical 212 wins in that category but would rather not carry any of them a long distance. Well if I had the Roadster combo, that would be no different than picking up the OS Recto 412 as they weigh about the same.

What matters most is how they sound, and they are all good. I believe there is a deeper bass response from the 212 vs the 412 as relative volume per speaker is a bit more with the 212 cabs than you would get with the 412. The good thing, out of all three newer Mesa cabs I have in my collection; OS Recto 412, Vertical 212 and now the Horizontal 212, I get no flub or lack of musical detail. All three are wow factors with each amp. As for my old Recto 412, that flubbed out very easily with the Mark V but more so with the Mark IV (more prone to flub than the V). Since I had the old recto cab for 14 years before I swapped speakers that did not impact me all that much except for cost of new cones. I had considered getting new V30 to install but was unsure the end result would have been rewarding and that would have cost just as much as the horizontal cab. Also I have a few sets of speakers to put into the old cab and did not want to hold on to more unused speakers. I would rather make us of what I have.

I like mine through the Mesa Rectifier Traditional Straight 4X12, or Stiletto Straight 4X12 cab

I've been thinking about this a lot lately. I'm currently using a Marshall 1960 cab were I pulled 2 of the speakers diagonally the used 1/2" ply to cover the holes. Works great. Cuts down on the weight and doesn't change the tone to much. I've been thinking about buying an empty all ply 4/12 cab and adding 2 of the Celestion G12k-100. Just my personal taste but I've never been a huge fan of the V30s.

I use an Avatar 2x12 with Creambacks. It sounds stellar for the stuff I play, your mileage may vary

Something about V30 in a 412 cab, some amps will sound brighter (Mark V, RA100) and some will sound great (JP-2C). I am on the fence about the Roadster and the 412 with V30. I prefer the tonal qualities of the horizontal 212 more than I do the 412 with the roadster. Even the Mark V sounded much better though the horizontal cab. I have tried mixing V30 with other speakers, one combination that sounded the best so far was MC90 and V30. Ran the Mark V combo and the horizontal 212 cab in parallel. Very impressive sound. Not sure if the MC90 would work in a sealed cab but the V30 looses composure in an open cab as I have tried that before. Other combinations such as V30 and CB-H75 did not work as well as the V30 remained dominant. EV and V30 was not that bad but again V30 remained dominant. Sensitivity as well as response curve play a key role in which speaker would be dominant over the other. I am not keen on mixing speakers in one cabinet but there is merit to the Road king 412 as it is half sealed with V30 and open with the MC90. Almost makes me want to get a lonestar 212 cab to mix with the horizontal recto 212 cab. Think I should try the Mark V combo with 212 through the Roadster first before jumping down that path.... I would rather put money for a cab into a new amp than into more speakers as I have plenty of those.

Why the oversized and not traditional?

I bought my first cab back in 2000. At the time, there were not many dealers local to me but was fortunate to have one. I wanted a 412 cab and the OS Recto was what was available. When I got the RA100 head, I needed another 412 cab, went the inexpensive route and got a traditional sized 412 cab (Egnator). The construction of this cab is all plywood of some type, no particle board or FDM that I can tell. Also has similar casters and locking plates used by Mesa. Loaded the original V30's into it that came out of the old Recto 412 (loaded with EV). the old V30's never sounded better with the RA100, even with the Roadster. Still on the fence about the traditional sized cab and found a deal though sweetwater for the OS recto cab to match the RA100. That cab is killer as it works great with all my amps. I had considered the traditional sized Mesa 412, however I was fond of the bottom end with the new OS Recto cab. I still have the Egnator cab, I will probably load the CBH75 into it. May go back to the EV in the old OS Recto cab so I have options (tried those out in the Egnator cab and it was a wash, they sounded bland), I did recently install the old V30's back into their original cabinet, unfortunately, they have no bottom and are super bright and they do not compare to the more recent V30's that are in my other cabs. Not sure if there was an issue or change since 1999/2000 as I found the MC90 was not so good of that year. It could have been the amp as it turned out to eat speakers (Mark IV combo). Still could have bought a traditional Mesa 412 cab, but wanted something more compact such as the Vertical 212 and the Horizontal 212 cab. I am quite happy I made the choice as the smaller cabs seem to offer a better platform for recording purposes. Also note that I was also evaluating the same 212 cabs for use with my other amps: Mark V, RA100 (head and combo) and JP-2C. I really do not need the 412 cabs but will use them when needed. Also, the OS Recto 412 (new or old) just does not thrill me with the Roadster. It is either too much of this or that or not enough of what ever it is... The EV speakers sounded awesome as do the Creamback H75. Quite different in tonal character though.