A fairly recent convert to 12" speakers and the mini-stack in particular, I've been very fond of my Aguilar GS series 12s. I've got the 412 and two 112s.
Since I've been running them with a Mesa Boogie M-pulse 600 I decided to pick up a pair of the powerhouse 1x12s to try. Here is my first-week review compared to the Aguilars:
Cons:
* Heavier than the GS. A pretty challenging 1 hand carry, but unlike Aguilar they provide two handles. Carrying one at a time is trivial, and I can still do one in each hand if I want to (but its pretty heavy for that).
* Corners don't stack-lock. Just a nit.
Pros:
* Tone. At first, at low volume, I thought I liked the Aguilar better. But as I moved the volume up toward playing level, I realized how great the powerhouse sounds. It has a LOT more low end, but the lows are very focussed and clear. It has full and smooth low mids, slightly less middle mids (dips somewhere around 500-600), and a lower voiced top end with plenty of note-defining high mids. It also has a very immediate response across the spectrum. Overall it has more of a rock sound. Somewhere between the Aguilar sound and my Aguilar + BDDI sound. It has some real authority along with a great toneful vibe and I love it. My distortion sounds MUCH better through this cab and I never used the BDDI (which I used on rock songs with the Aguilar). The Aguilar still sounds great, especially for less aggressive styles. I'll probably keep them both.
* Volume. The Mesas are significantly louder than the Aguilars. The sensitivity listed on the Mesa is 105db, and I believe it.
* Look. C'mon they just look really cool.
* Features: The crossover settings allow for a lot of different top end sounds. If you want some real snarl ... its there for you! Or you can make it sound shiny and modern ... or mellow. Twin speakons AND twin 1/4 jacks ... its very well thought out.
I'll report back as time goes on.
Since I've been running them with a Mesa Boogie M-pulse 600 I decided to pick up a pair of the powerhouse 1x12s to try. Here is my first-week review compared to the Aguilars:
Cons:
* Heavier than the GS. A pretty challenging 1 hand carry, but unlike Aguilar they provide two handles. Carrying one at a time is trivial, and I can still do one in each hand if I want to (but its pretty heavy for that).
* Corners don't stack-lock. Just a nit.
Pros:
* Tone. At first, at low volume, I thought I liked the Aguilar better. But as I moved the volume up toward playing level, I realized how great the powerhouse sounds. It has a LOT more low end, but the lows are very focussed and clear. It has full and smooth low mids, slightly less middle mids (dips somewhere around 500-600), and a lower voiced top end with plenty of note-defining high mids. It also has a very immediate response across the spectrum. Overall it has more of a rock sound. Somewhere between the Aguilar sound and my Aguilar + BDDI sound. It has some real authority along with a great toneful vibe and I love it. My distortion sounds MUCH better through this cab and I never used the BDDI (which I used on rock songs with the Aguilar). The Aguilar still sounds great, especially for less aggressive styles. I'll probably keep them both.
* Volume. The Mesas are significantly louder than the Aguilars. The sensitivity listed on the Mesa is 105db, and I believe it.
* Look. C'mon they just look really cool.
* Features: The crossover settings allow for a lot of different top end sounds. If you want some real snarl ... its there for you! Or you can make it sound shiny and modern ... or mellow. Twin speakons AND twin 1/4 jacks ... its very well thought out.
I'll report back as time goes on.
a thing of beauty there!
