Sick of my EVM-12L's

I just don't enjoy playing through my 4x EVM loaded halfback cab anymore. They sound and feel so sterile and stiff, (not to mention it weighs a million pounds!) so I'm trying to decide which speakers to swap in. I've been debating doing this for years now, but am finally fed up!

V30's sound pretty good to me, but not great. I like their feel and give, but the tone could be better IMO. I did like a cab that had greenbacks and g12l-35's in an X Pattern a bit more than the V30's with my Mark III.

I'm thinking about some WGS speakers, namely the Invader (50 watt "sweeter and creamier" version of greenbacks) or Veteran 30, maybe a combo of the 2? I also like the Eminence Legends. And I'm unsure whether to keep 2 of the EVM's or not? I'm not sure how well they would pair with a speaker that actually breaks up? Any speaker suggestions, thoughts?

edgecrusher said:

I'm thinking about some WGS speakers, namely the Invader (50 watt "sweeter and creamier" version of greenbacks) or Veteran 30, maybe a combo of the 2? I also like the Eminence Legends. And I'm unsure whether to keep 2 of the EVM's or not? I'm not sure how well they would pair with a speaker that actually breaks up? Any speaker suggestions, thoughts?

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I never liked the EVM-12L either... too flat/boring/sterile for me. I like something that adds a bit more of it's own character.

I like V30s a lot (particularly Mesa's OEM V30s), so my opinion is kind of skewed that way. A cool option is to mix G12Ms with V30s to give a bit different flavour. It gives you the punch of the V30 with the crunchy breakup of the G12M. You just have to be careful with the volume/bass settings as G12Ms start to mush up if you push them too hard.

G12Ms are cool on their own as well. Gives a more classic rock tilt to the tone and drops the overall volume slightly, but you do need to be careful with the volume again. I don't find it an issue with Mesas since they have a master volume... so it's not like an old Plexi where you need to crank the amp up to 7 or 8 before it starts to produce the sound you want.

Mesa's V30s are a little darker and smoother sounding than off the shelf V30s, which are a bit brighter and harsher sounding. The slant Recto 4x12 is my favourite cab ever.

I've never tried the WGS Invader, but I do have a set of their Green Berets and they've been nothing but a good speaker. They don't sound like a Greenback, but they are in kind of the same tonal territory. Cool speaker, but I like the Celestion version better.

I LOVE Weber California (ceramic) speakers in my Mark III and Mark IV. They do not sound sterile, like the EV's, have great tone and response, and can handle the power. However, I do not play metal, so they may not be the best for that, but for blues, rock, funk, reggae... they are great!

I have 2xEVM-12L and 2x Emi RWBs in my 4x12 Recto slant for hard rock/metal with a Mark III and an RA. I find this livens up the EVM sound a lot without losing the essential characteristics of big headroom, detail, and good response at all frequencies.

I'm using WGS Green Berets. Good sounding speakers and they seem to be holding up well so far. Break-in time wasn't too bad on them either.

CoG said:

I have 2xEVM-12L and 2x Emi RWBs in my 4x12 Recto slant for hard rock/metal with a Mark III and an RA. I find this livens up the EVM sound a lot without losing the essential characteristics of big headroom, detail, and good response at all frequencies.

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That sounds pretty cool, I do like the overall sound of the EVM's, I just want a bit of movement and mojo from my cab.

I think I'm going to start off by selling 2 of the EVM's and picking up a couple WGS speakers. I'm really leaning towards the Invaders since I like the idea of a beefed up Greenback. The British Lead might be a good choice too since the C90/EVM combo is so highly regarded, but I'm thinking they might not have the crunch I'm after.

have you considered the Eminence Commonwealth? Low resonance frequency...

edgecrusher said:

I think I'm going to start off by selling 2 of the EVM's and picking up a couple WGS speakers. I'm really leaning towards the Invaders since I like the idea of a beefed up Greenback. The British Lead might be a good choice too since the C90/EVM combo is so highly regarded, but I'm thinking they might not have the crunch I'm after.

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Good idea. EVMs usually team up well with other speakers.

I went to a local music store today to try out a cab I saw there last week when I was buying strings. It's an older Peavey vertical 212. I figured it probably had crappy stock Peavey speakers in it and didn't bother trying it out then, but I looked it up later and found out some of these came with Celestion G12K-85's (212 MC) and some came with Peavey Scorpions (212 MS). I called them up and found it was indeed a 212 MC with the Celestions!

I brought in my guitar and Mark III head to test it out, and it sounded great, so I bought it! It was a pretty good price too at $225

It's nice to finally have some speakers that have a bit of crunch/give/squish/mojo! They're not near as full and bassy as the EVM's, but that's ok because I run my bass knob at 0 and could never use the pull deep without it being way too bassy through the Mesa cab. The pull deep is actually useful now through this Peavey cab which is cool. These G12K-85's also have a good bit more high end sizzle to them compared to the EVM's, but it sounds good. They sound really good together in stereo too, I guess I need to start looking for another one and make a wet/dry/wet rig :mrgreen:

I've never tried the WGS Invader, but I do have a set of their Green Berets and they've been nothing but a good speaker. They don't sound like a Greenback, but they are in kind of the same tonal territory.

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I've listened to a youtube shootout with the Green Berets and a number of other top drawer speakers, and they sounded as close and nearly as good as a Celestion Blue to my rock blown ears.

The original EVM-12L's really are best in a closed-back or ported cab imho. in the mark combos they sound good too, but can be a bit harsh/sterile unless you warm up the power section w/the right tubes and/or get some smoother tubes in the preamp. Back in the day, they were exceptional in their low-frequency response. These days there are some others that can do the low-end thing pretty well also. i've found that the EV Classic re-issue is quite good: not quite as bright & a bit warmer over all. ...a little lighter than the original too seemingly.


addendum: the re-issue doesn't do the low-end thing quite as well as the original. i've gone back to using the originals in my combos.

funny this comes out the day I buy a mark lll combo shell with an EV in it ........ I like my sound thru my 50 watt black shadow and thought I'd start with the combo shell and then possibly get a thiele with the mc90 and transfer speakers ..... the black shadow is in a studio 22 and i run my mark lll thru it live the past few shows .

dodger916 said:

edgecrusher said:

I think I'm going to start off by selling 2 of the EVM's and picking up a couple WGS speakers. I'm really leaning towards the Invaders since I like the idea of a beefed up Greenback. The British Lead might be a good choice too since the C90/EVM combo is so highly regarded, but I'm thinking they might not have the crunch I'm after.

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Good idea. EVMs usually team up well with other speakers.

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Especially the MS-12!

Why not leave your cab as-is and purchase a large 1x12 or 2x12 cab and start experimenting? You may later fall back in love with that big monster especially on out-door gigs.

On another note, I just finished recording a new album with a 1x12 boogie cab with the new Eminence Maverick speaker with the built in attenuation. I absolutely loved it and I could get the volume way down and still keep all the hormonic feed back etc. Sound samples are here www.coyotebros.net

I did just that actually (look a few posts up) :lol:

After spending a few days with the Mesa cab and the G12K-85 loaded Peavey cab, I'm finding the EVM's aren't so bad afterall. I guess I was just looking for something different and really wanted something that sounds good miced up for recording (the EVM's are not very good in this aspect IMO). It is fantastic for live use though! (besides the weight, lol)

The G12K-85's are a bit fizzy and thin (i'm sure the 2x12 cab construction makes a big difference here too), while the EVM's are super thick and full with zero fizz, but the K-85's do sound great miced up. I still want to swap out the top 2 EVM's in the Mesa cab though. I hear many good things about the MS-12 but they seem to be quite rare; what speakers that are available new have a similar sound?

I was going to suggest, depending upon your musical styling, some of the Mesa C90 Black Shadows. I replaced the EVs in the bottom of my 2x12 Boogie cabs and have loved them from day-one. For modern and near-classic applications, they have been perfect.

But I'm working predominantly in a classic rock gig for now and needed less bite and crunch, so I just bought WGS ET60 and Veteran 30 combo to put in one of those cabs. They haven't arrived yet, but if you're interested in feedback, I'll give a tone report.

Very interested, keep us posted!