Need help choosing cab for MK IV

Hello all. I've been lurking for a while, but this is my first post. I plan on buying a Mark IV in the next few months, and I was hoping some of you could offer your comments and suggestions on which speaker cabs might work best for my needs. I'm looking for the Mark IV to be my general-purpose amp for harder rock and/or metal sounds, and the local Boogie dealer has no Mark IV's in stock, so I really can't try anything out locally.

I was originally thinking of getting a combo and a vertical slant 2x12, so that I'd have the option for the open and closed-back sounds; but the only 2x12 slant cabs I see these days are the oversized Rectifier ones, which look a little larger than I was hoping for. Do they not make a smaller 2x12 vertical slant anymore?

Or what about a combo and a single Thiele cab? For those of you who have heard the 2x12 Rectifiers and the 1x12 Thiele cabs, do you find that one works better for some things than the other? Also, I hear some of you guys mention a preference for EV speakers over the stock Black Shadow - could you provider some detail about what makes the EV sound better?

Also, the amp will be used with both single coil and humbuckers, so I'm really looking for the most flexible option. Oh, this will be a home and studio amp, so I'd love to keep the rig fairly small (no 4x12 cabs), but I will go with function over size if I have to.

Thanks for your time, guys!
Sam

Personally I think a closed back cab will be better for you for metal/harder rock.

I personally went the cheap route, I got an avatar g212h custom with a vintage30 and a g12h30.
If I could go back, I would have gotten a VHT fat bottom cab or a Recto cab.

A single 1x12 thiele cab will be more than enough. Do already have a combo or plan to buy one? I´d suggest you to buy a head and one 1x12 Thiele (EV Speaker) - loud enough for rehearsal and almost every gig. Maybe you should consider a 2x12 recto, but it will be bigger and heavier too carry ...

i have to add that i had a 4x12 rectifier cab (standard) - it was too heavy, too loud for gigs and rehearsal. Soundwise it was looser and dirtier and beamy left me somewhat unhappy with the tone. Maybe that it would be now different, but i don´t see any reason to change my cab again ...

To clarify: I don't have anything yet, I'm on the fence about getting a combo with extra cab, or a head.

Grandor, what was it about the Avatar speakers that you don't like? I hear pretty good things about them, so I'd be interested in what let you down.

Interesting, the 4x12 sounded "flabby"? I'm definitely looking for a tight response. I have an old Silverface Super Reverb, so I can get that looser sound already.

Thanks for the input, guys, keep it coming.

Since you want to keep your rig small, I suggest you go for a combo And mate it with a Thiele cab. Thsi combination will give you a mini stack and be very versatile.

The openback of the combo will give you a great clean tone and will also cut through the mix well if you play out. The Theile will give you a nice tight bottom tone. You could unplug the combo's speaker and simply use the Theile if you wanted too. Or, you could even mic both speakers/cabs at one time.

IMO, this setup offers the most tone options.

Alos, I'd suggest getting one Black Shadow and one EVM speaker - prefer the EV in the Thiele and Black Shadow in the combo. But with two of either speaker, you really can't go wrong.

i'd think twice about a mark combo - the heads are already heavy but thats not to compare to the weight of the combos. I have 2 cabs for my mark III, one thiele (EV speaker) and one open back (EV). So far i stopped using the open back cabinet, because when it sits on top of the other cab i mainly heard the open back cab and not the thiele.

@offal: I am now not sure if the 4x12 standard was flabby ... but the thiele is tighter and uch clearer. I have to admit that, when i sold the 4x12, i wasn't completely happy with the amp either but the thiele made it somewhat easier to dial in good sounds. If you have little experience with mark amps - be prepared for some serious knob turning ... :shock: but it will pay out - i rarely (never) find an amp that i like more than my mark III, although i would like to check out a IV - it has supreme features with footswitchable effectloops and seperate controls for lead and rhythm channels - really cool
I wonder why the mark series amps are not more widely used nowadays ... :?