greenback g12m loaded Marshall Vintage modern cabinet with E

I. have read a lot of posts saying greenback type speakers are not a great fit for the ED that I would normally agree. Recently Ive been trying to sell my ED. Typical with any gear I sell when offers start getting serious I usually revisit every possible combination of guitars, speakers, effects that I own to make sure I'm doing the right thing. I have held on to my stiletto ace 2 years to long and now it is my main gigging amp because I didn't give up on it. But I have been using my new Jensen mod 70 watt speakers with very satisfying results with the ED, also I have been seriously gassing for a EVH5150III 50 watt. So I though the Ed would have to go. Yesterday I plugged in to my vintage modern marshall 4x12 with celestion g12c greenbacks with my amp in the red mode running at 90 watt with the gain at 2 o'clock the treble at about 10 the mid back down to 11 the bass off then cracked just enough to get some low end thump and the presence at 2 With it set like this and my strat with an Dimarzio AT-1 plugged straight into the amp It is a good cross between an Andy timmons and EVH crunch sound that is very punchy fat and just compressed enough. I then boosted the lead tone with a xotic ep with the knob set at 12 and it blooms into a very pleasing singing lead tone. Also the blue channel is very usable set like this. People with greenbacks should try backing off the treble and mids, turning up the presence and turning the bass down to 0 and bumping up until its sounds right to you. I was very pleased because I tried this cab with my old settings Its was not good at all. My normal settings with the Jensens and also my wgs 65 and vintage 30 is: red mode gain at 2 treble 2 mid 2 bass at 10 and pres at 12 This is a very simple set up that I going to try out at practice next week. Also the speakers in this cab have had a lot of playing time in the last year with my Stiletto so they are nicely broken in. So in conclusion I think the Ed s going to stay for awhile longer

I really like greenbacks with the ED. As soon as I tried one, I realised that I had seriously underestimated the difference they can make. A lot of the really vintage tones that I love were made with Greenbacks. You can get close with other speakers, but its just not the same. The poor reputation of the greenback with the ED may just be a result of most people wanting more modern tones.

I know people complain about the Greenback having loose bass. I think the trick may be just not to push them to hard or to use lots of them. I use one at home at relatively low volume and it sounds great there. I have also used a 2x12 with Greenbacks and at band volume they were getting a bit muddy. A 4x12 probably would probably fix that issue.

The next thing I want to try is changing one of the V30s in my Stiletto 2x12 for a greenback and see how that goes.

My opinion is a 4x12 always sounds better even at reasonable volume. My Ed started out as a single 12 then a 2x12 then a 3x12 and finally all is right with my tone world with a 4x12. I showed up at a show a couple of weeks ago with 2 heads and 2 4x12 cabinets and the sound man said "you are going to have to keep that down" before we even started. By the end of the night he nothing but complimented my tone and thanked me for keeping my levels under control. 8)

Greenbacks are awesome, particularly in a 4 x 12. I agree that a 4 x 12 really is the preferred format for a wicked crunch tone. If volume was no issue, I'd play through a Stiletto 4 x 12 hands down since it sounds absolutely epic with an Electra Dyne. I'm kinda one foot in the door with vintage and modern tones, and the Electra Dyne with a v30 filled 4 x 12 definitely nails this. Basically, I always teetered between a v30 4 x 12 and a greenback 4 x 12 with my Dual Rectifier, but ultimately the Electra Dyne nails the tone I was trying to get out of the Dual Rectifier through Greenbacks. Such a SWEET amp!

Having a young family while in school, I haven't had much time to play out so I content myself with a 2 x 12 and I have a custom 1 x 12 Electra Dyne Extension cab on order. This will be best for my needs for a long time. If I ever need a 4 x 12, I'll happily get one!

I play my Electradyne through Marshall 425 A. Great cab! Settings clockwise: gain at 2 treble 1 mid 12 bass at 9 and pres at 10. 45 watt, master 10 o'clock. Hard Rock all night long.

J

Yup :mrgreen:

My days of 412 cabs are long over because I get all the tone I need with the right 212 cabs and I did lots of A-B comparison before finally saying goodbye to 412s. I use a Bogner 212OS, Stone Age 212C and Port City 212OS. My Stone Age is going to have the Celestion Creambacks which are 65 watt Greenbacks or Scumbacks. I have used an ED with Scumbacks and it was amazing. Gotta have one cab with Greenbaqcks or better yet, Scumbacks or Creambacks.

I play the ED through my Marshall Cab from 1973, has original creambacks, sounds good to me.

I had an ED with a rectifier 2x12 w/V30`s. I changed one V30 with a Heritage G12-65...better.......changed the second and i really think it made abig difference!.......I don`t have the ED anymore but this cab will satisfy me for a long time. I don`t know about anyone else but the Heritage speakers though expensive are worth every penny to me! i think everyone has a certain sound in their head of what it should be. Maybe i got lucky but i`m soooooo glad i tried these. Good luck w/your sound!jeffp

Inside my cab...Made in England green goodness :mrgreen:
....whole lot of gorgeous birch too.
Match made in heaven with the ED.

very nice. what is the exact Celestion description for greenbacks? and the AX cab? You recommend for classic rock?

hunter said:

I play the ED through my Marshall Cab from 1973, has original creambacks, sounds good to me.

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ok while we're posting greenback cab pics, original Creamback cab, 39 years old, sounds splendid with the ED (keeping the Bass pot low)

Nice rig hunter !

I know you agree with me that the ED sounds amazing thru
a 4x25w cab.....at any volume.

Greenbacks are G12m 25 Reissues or G12m Heritage.

Ya, I particularly like the Marshall 1960ax 4 x 12. I also like the mesa Stiletto cab with an Electra Dyne.

looks great....i`m sure it sounds awesome too. Thanks for info YJ...........I`m always listening...jeffp

hunter said:

I play the ED through my Marshall Cab from 1973, has original creambacks, sounds good to me.
ok while we're posting greenback cab pics, original Creamback cab, 39 years old, sounds splendid with the ED (keeping the Bass pot low)

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Keeping that Bass pot low is the secret. Mine is rarely much higher. I just don't understand why Mesa chose to give the ED a mostly unusable bass range at least in vintage lo mode. Its not just with Greenbacks, V30s and C90s do it too.

J.J said:

I just don't understand why Mesa chose to give the ED a mostly unusable bass range at least in vintage lo mode.

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Single coils.

Myself, I usually run the bass knob at 1:00. It's not the tightest tone on earth, but it gives a warm/fat sound with a chunky low end that creates a cool texture when the amp is pushed into overdrive. Instead of small/tight buzz it creates thick flabs of dirt. Keeping the preamp gain low balances out the extra bottom and the end result is a moderately tight but thick as **** tone.

All the high gain humbucker players forget about the single coil guys. It is a travesty. This amp is a monster and I'll be really sad when Mesa decides to discontinue it due to lack of sales. My brother and I both agree that it is the best Mesa amp to date, bar none.

screamingdaisy said:

J.J said:

I just don't understand why Mesa chose to give the ED a mostly unusable bass range at least in vintage lo mode.

Click to expand...

Single coils.

Myself, I usually run the bass knob at 1:00. It's not the tightest tone on earth, but it gives a warm/fat sound with a chunky low end that creates a cool texture when the amp is pushed into overdrive. Instead of small/tight buzz it creates thick flabs of dirt. Keeping the preamp gain low balances out the extra bottom and the end result is a moderately tight but thick as **** tone.

Click to expand...

I don't know, personally I don't think Vintage low sounds all that good with single coils. I have 3 different Strats with 3 different kinds of single coils and am never thrilled with any of them. Vintage high though is a different ball game.

With Humbuckers (1960 LP RI with Burstbuckers and the SG with Bare knuckle Mules) I generally find the neck pickup unusable for any rock rhythm. The bass thump just seems to interfere with the bass guitar. I can get the bass control closer to 12:00 with the bridge pickups, but as soon as I try and palm mute some bass notes it sounds off again. I always like to get the cab up and will often move it around on stage to minimise the flub, but teh bass always ends up back down at 9:00.

I'll start off by saying that live, Bass at 9:00 is best and rather typical of Mesas. My Recto is much the same.

Bear in mind that Les Pauls can have a tubby low end as is, which mean that there is always some sort of compromise when using them with a boogie. I have a set of BKP Rebel Yells in my Les Paul and they have a tighter bass response, something which is a boon for this amp. Honestly, it isn't enough but it is a start. My second order of business was to set up the pickups. I set the bridge HIGH and dropped the pole pieces to phatten the tone. I then lowered the neck pickup and raised the pole pieces. This brightens the tone and reduces the flub. The result is that I can switch between pickups and have usable tones. I still run the bass at 9:00 live...

I think that a Nailbomb bridge and a Rebel Yell neck would also be a favourable pickup combination in the right guitar.