Ok, here's a longer report... honestly, I'm at a point now where I feel like I have TOO MUCH to say about this cab. The more I think about it, the harder it is becoming to nail down my experience in words.
Again, forgive me for my lack of expert knowledge on amps, power, frequencies, etc... I dial stuff in until it sounds good to my ears... there's no science behind it.
Increased articulation: The one almost immediate thing that I have noticed with this cab is the overall clarity and definition of every note. Every plucked or picked note has a defined attack, backed with moving air across all frequencies, not just in the bottom end. This is a hard thing to explain without hearing it... but I feel like there must be a specific group of higher frequencies that most tweeter-loaded cabs don't have in that tiny range where the pad of your finger makes that slight "pop" when it plucks the string. It holds true playing with a pick as well... every plucked note has an upper-mid punch to it, that I've never quite heard before in this way. And it's not a harsh upper mid like you might be thinking... it's an airy upper mid punch... which almost seems like a contradiction of terms, but it's the only way I can describe it. I've had punchy tweeter loaded cabs as well... my DB 112's are "punchy" and I don't want to take anything away from those cabs... but this is simply different. Air is being moved across a much broader range of frequncies... I feel like I can feel the mids, and not just the low-end. This is strange to experience, and even stranger to describe, but it's so, so good.
Every note played is heard... complex chords have wonderful separation and are not muddied. Every plucked or picked note has a defined attack, backed with moving air. Have you ever played a chord and it seems like you have to look for the 3rd or the 7th in that chord in order to really hear it? I feel like every note is now there and in plain view.
Effects: I have a massive pedalboard, and I love effects. All I can say is that if you love effects, this cab could be a gamechanger for you. You know that clarity that I described above? Have you ever used heavy fuzz or distortion and feel like you lost definition and clarity? Do you feel like the tweeter in your cab turns into an annoying buzz-saw when you use fuzz or distortion? Well, I have a Wren & Cuff Pickle Pie B, which is a ridiculously saturated muff-style fuzz, and it simply comes ALIVE with this cab. All of the harshness gets pulled out of the frequency set that sounds like a mosquito buzzing in your ear, and gets placed a little further down in that specific frequency spectrum that sounds a little more like a creamy high-end distorted goodness. A little further down from there, you retain that upper-mid attack and articulation that you have WITHOUT the effect.
Every effect on my pedalboard sounds more interesting and complex with overtones that I've simply never heard before.
Amps: So far, I've tried both my TH500 and my STM900 with the ML212. Both heads were dialed in to where I thought they sounded great with my pair of DB112 cabs, and the EQ settings were left that way when I plugged into the ML212.
The TH500 has a small but significant bass and treble boost (1:30), with a bit of a mid cut (10:30), and, IIRC, the mid-freq knob is at the 2:30 position. The STM900 is practically flat, with a very small mid cut at 600K. Both heads sounded great set like this through the DB112 cabs. Slightly different, but still great. The TH500 sounds a little "flatter" and the STM900 has a slightly warmer, scooped tone.
Plugged into the ML212, however, the STM900 really, REALLY shines. Keeping the settings as they were, I preferred it WAY more than the TH500, where I preferred the TH500 more through the set of DB cabs.
I know Roger is not a big fan of the STM900 and most other heads that have "baked-in" EQ-curves when set flat, but this amp is seriously a match made in heaven for this cab. They compliment each other SOOOO well. I love, love, LOVE it.
Basses: I used all of my basses and they all sound frikkin' awesome. ESPECIALLY my fretless... there's some yumminess from the strings on the fretboard that happens that I've literally never heard through a tweeter-loaded cab. It's all here now... every nuance. This cab just loves to dish out the frequencies that make fretless basses sing.
The built-in "scoop" that active basses tend to have, even when set flat, compliments the upper mid extension of the cab right now, whereas passive passes seem like they could use a boost in low-end, especially... but I expect this to change quite a bit as the cab breaks in and after I have had a chance to play with EQ quite a bit more.
More on weight: Again... I cannot stress this enough... unless you have bad back problems or other specific health issues, you should NOT be intimidated by the weight and form factor of this cab.
If you're relatively healthy and don't have to do multiple flights of stairs before and after every gig, I don't think you should be concerned at all about this cab.
Especially if you have the caster set, which is quite cool.
More on volume: All of my basses are hanging on the wall in my music room, and, at one point, the strings on them were all vibrating violently when I was playing. I have a dresser in my room, and the bail pulls were about ready to rattle out of their fixtures... and I was still unable to see a lot of movement coming from the 12s.
It was only after I started using my MXR Blowtorch in conjunction with my octave pedal at near offensive levels when I noticed some obvious excursion.
Obviously, things change A LOT when you're sandwiched up between a drummer, guitar player, keyboard, etc... but I cannot see how I will EVER have any volume problem in pretty much any situation with this cab.
My ears are STILL feeling it right now... it's just LOUD.
Dispersion: When I turn my back to my DB112 stack and back up to it so my heels are almost touching the cabs (this is the case in over half of my gigs), I get a lot of lows and low mids that honestly sound and feel fantastic... but I lose a lot of high end and that midrange articulation that gives each played note the definition it needs to be heard, rather than felt.
This still needs to be tested in a live band situation, but doing this with the ML212 literally had almost no change in the overall sound of the cab. I was REALLY surprised by how great this cab still sounds with my back facing it and standing right up against it. I can't wait to try it out during a gig.
In conclusion: So far, I'm just really, REALLY happy... and from everything everyone keeps saying about break-in, I can only see myself getting happier as time goes on. I've honestly already started thinking about selling my entire Aguilar rig and buying a set of ML112's to replace them.
And I'll be the first one to admit that I tend to get overexcited about new gear, but... I'm trying really, really hard to keep a level head about this, and no matter what I do or how I try to slice it, this cab is literally a gamechanger for me. All I've been able to think about today is getting home to juice it up some more... I'm just really excited to play through it and the thought of using it at my next gig is verging on sexual.
