Newbie single rect question

Hello all. First time posting here. I currently own a marshall valvestate vs100 watt head(transitor head) with a 4x12 marshall cab. I am looking to upgrade to a single rectifier most likely. Would I be able to use my marshall cab with the mesa head or will it sound like crap? Not sure how the mesa cab would be different from the marshall cab I have.

PS. I play hardcore/metal music mostly.

Hi, and welcome to the board!

As far as using a Marshall cab with a Boogie head, there are several people that do that. It's all in the ear of the player, if it sounds good then keep doing it. In some cases some people perfer Marshall cabs, depending on what speakers are in it, over boogie cabs.

What speakers are in it now??

I believe it has 4 12 inch Celestion speakers. Not sure which model of Celestion though.

My main concern is not really wanting to lay down almost $1,000 for a cabinet if the one I have will work just as good.

It'll be fine! Here's the thing, you'll love the tone of your new Rectifier, it'll be a major improvement over your current head! Once that honeymoon is over, you'll start asking what guitars we play, what strings, what tubes we use, and most likely, what cabs again! There will be a difference between the cabs, but for now, the Marshall will more than suffice! As previously stated, many players prefer the Marshall cabs anyways! Maybe your one of those?

Thanks for the replies everyone. One more thing jbird. Do I need to be concerned about the wattage rating on the cab I have when I am hooking the single rectifier head up to it?

I don't think the wattage will be an issue, as will matching the head to cab ohms! I believe the Marshall cab is 16 ohm, right? You'll want to match that with your new head, which should have two 4 ohm outs, one 8 ohm out, and one 16 ohm out!

I will have to check jbird but I am pretty sure its either 8 or 16 on the cab. Now my next step is finding a good deal. Another quick question while I have your attention. I play pretty heavy music. Is there any difference in the amount or level of distortion from a single to a dual? From what I have been reading they are both about the same and the dual just has a few more channels available plus 50 more watts.

chelch said:

I will have to check jbird but I am pretty sure its either 8 or 16 on the cab. Now my next step is finding a good deal. Another quick question while I have your attention. I play pretty heavy music. Is there any difference in the amount or level of distortion from a single to a dual? From what I have beenr eading they are both about the same and the dual just has a few more channels available.

Click to expand...

I've played both. The single seems brighter and has more clarity but with 50 watts of headroom the cleans aren't as great as the other two recs and you don't get to shape your sound as much because of the single rectifier option.

You'll still get the 'rectifier' sound with it though. I tried all three out and I felt that the single wasn't enough, the triple was too much, and the dual rec was the 'baby bear' of the pack 'Just right.'

And as far as I remember, most Marshall cabs are 16ohms.

Yup, what he said! :wink:

even the cheaper MG 4x12 marshall cabs have celestion in em.

Id say if you have at least a 1960a (or better) then you'll probably be happy. If its a MG or AVT cab (which have celestion rockets) then you will probably be looking for a new cab soon too

and there is no tangible difference in distortion between any of the rectos.

Platypus said:

The single seems brighter and has more clarity but with 50 watts of headroom the cleans aren't as great as the other two recs

Click to expand...

now how do you figure the cleans arent as good?
All the greatest sounding clean tube amps have all been under 100w!
Hell, most fenders were even under 50.

dynamics themselves doesent mean better tone.
A 1200w crown power amp is going to have WAY more headroom than a blackface fender twin, but whats going to sound better?

no soul said:

Platypus said:

The single seems brighter and has more clarity but with 50 watts of headroom the cleans aren't as great as the other two recs

Click to expand...

now how do you figure the cleans arent as good?
All the greatest sounding clean tube amps have all been under 100w!
Hell, most fenders were even under 50.

dynamics themselves doesent mean better tone.
A 1200w crown power amp is going to have WAY more headroom than a blackface fender twin, but whats going to sound better?

Click to expand...

Just my experience with it, the clean sounded very sterile on the Single rec and broke up too early.