Mesa/Boogie 4x12 Traditional Cabinet

i wanted to take a dump in this cab, set it onfire and push it over a cliff. this is the 2nd traditional 412 cab i had the misfortune of coming across and both were worthy of nothing more than using them to potty train elephants.

if you like a muddy, cluttered, harsh tone buy this cab but please take it with you to china before you play through it..... or just put your head in an oven.

i found that these cabs do not do any better when urinated upon.

very reliable. unfortunatly these cabs can easily handle touring. solid as a rock.

if you want the best sound your amp can produce, go with a marshall 1960a or 1960b.

btw - mesa 212 traditional is outstanding in all aspects. 2nd only to a marshal 1960 300watt cab.

i have no idea what they were thinking when they produced the 412 traditional. ive been collecting a few of them to build a skunk habitat.

Well, it's stereo in and a cabinet, so not much more can be imagined.

Honestly, going into buying this amp I didn't want to. I was about 17-18 (23 now) when I bought and HATED Mesa. I went into guitar center one day with a friend and my head, and we literally plugged into EVERY cab they had. I really wanted to not buy it, but after playing through the cab against EVERY OTHER in the store it was the only one I could even imagine spending money on. It was used when I bought but in PERFECT condition. It has NEVER broken up or even not handled ANYTHING I've ever thrown at it. I was in awe when I took it to the space to play it at incredibly volumes. I personally use a Jackeson Soloist with DUncans, and I couldn't ask for a better handeling amp. It doesn't even shake when I play it.

It's built like a tank, literally! I think it weights around 90lbs or something, it's up there in weight. I've NEVER had a problem nor been afraid of it being at shows and breaking, it's been gigged for something like 5 years now and its still as solid as the day I bought it!

I've never had a problem

Overall rating, I'd say for the price range, nothing compares. I went into trying cabs with a hatred for mesa, and after trying EVERYTHING every company had to offer near this price it came WAY ahead. I just recently purchashed a VHT cab, but not for an upgrade, just to coloor up the tone with two different cabs. If I ever lost it, I would IMMEDIATELY go out and buy another. I've personally never stood by a music product like this cab. The ONLY ONLY ONLY thing I would even consider doing is buying those celestion century speakers, but that's just to lighten up the load when taking it around.
Pro-The excellent sound and reliability
Con-Heavy

4 inputs on this 4 x 12. Stereo and mono inputs and a line out,i'm still not sure what it does. Celestion V30 speakers. Metal handles, and removable casters (which is a great feature).

Before i got this i had a Marshall BV 1960 with Vintage 30's in it. I got the Marshall really for the vintage 30's and it certainly served it purpose. The vintage 30's have a real warmth that i like. I'd always planned on getting a Mesa cab to go with my Dual Recto head. First time i played through this at practice it nearly blew a hole in the wall. This Cab moves some serious air. The lows are soo tight, the mids sing and the highs cut through without being harsh. It was such a difference that even our drummer noticed the difference. I've since played through a number of other cabs, including an Orange, Hughes and Kettner and ENGL. The Mesa eats them all for breakfast. Again its got Vintage 30 speakers in there and it makes such a rumble. Its soo good a bought another one.

Have had the first one for about a year and a half now. Still sounds tight and full. Its built really, really well. Heavy bastard. I've never had a problem.

Never had to call them.

I've been playing for 16 years. My current set up is Gibson Les Paul Custom and Gibson Les Paul Classic through an Ibanez TS-808, Boss Digital Delay, Boss Noise Suppressor into Mesa Dual Rectifier solo head and 2 Mesa Traditional 4 x 12 cabs. These cabs have made my rig sound exactly like i've always wanted, HUGE!!!! I had a 5150 rig before this, and a Marshall rig before that. Mesa are the most reliable amps you can buy. Expensive, but you get what you pay for. If i had any of this stolen i wouldn't replace it with anything else but another Mesa.

Has 4 inputs at the back with possible stereo. Thats about the best a cab can get.

I Play my own material in a band and my influences are nirvana / blink 182. This has more gain than anyone will ever need! There are a huge variety of sounds available and it really nails the blink 182 sound even with a strat with single coils.

However, i find that using a boss ds-1 with the clean channel gives a better nirvana sound than channels 2 and 3.

Overall alot of versatility and needs alot of time to get the sounds you want.

Nothing wrong yet

not dealt with them

One piece of advice to really improve this amp- USE A MESA CABINET.
i first used it with a marshall cab and it sounded very good but not 1700 pounds worth. SO, i spent my load on a mesa cab and the sound is pretty much perfect now. The mesa cabs are the best around and will sound as good as the head you use. The marshalls will only sound as good as they cost.

I was going to sell the mesa and get a marshall head to save loads of money - and a marshall half stack sounds amazing for crunchy rock.
However, i kept the mesa simply because my drummer convinced me that the words 'mesa' across the amp were worth a grand more.
Mesa amps can do things that marshalls can't (i.e. tight brighter sounds) whereas marshalls beat mesa any day on the crunchy classic rock.

Overall, buy the mesa if you want to look like a great band before you start playing. It really is a great amp and when you hear it you understand why it is worth so much.
But if you want a really good rocky amp without spending your annual wage then get a marshall.


p.s. The mesa's clean channel is excellent even at loud volumes.
p.p.s. There will never be any need to turn this amp up over half way unless you are playing a stadium and you have very good ear protecters

It's a speaker cab... not many features are possible... it has stereo inputs and a parallel out, which is nice.

This thing really took my sound to a new level. I was using a Laney 4x12 cab which sounded good with my Triamp, but GEEZE! I got this thing and it made everything much, much more full and... just... better. It's kind of hard to explain. Compared to the Laney, it's much more full due to the increase in lower mids. It has a TON of bass... I personally can see no reason for this much, but I like it anyway... lol. This cab is kind of expensive, but it's great and worth it, in my opinion. Their caster solution is absolutely ingenius. And it needs to be for all 120 freaking pounds of this beast! I do NOT like the weight, but all great things come with a price. :) (including my H&K Triamp... which weighs in at 70lbs!!)

I mostly use this in Praise and Worship and Christian metal, both of which it just completely excels at. I'm loving the tone I'm getting. I've got an Ibanez SZ520QMBB for P&W and a Charvel CSM-1G for metal, a homemade TS-808, homemade small tube amp, and, for effects, a TC Electronic G-major. I love my setup. I did have some hard times trying to record this cabinet (as opposed to the Laney). I have a feeling the room acoustics played a small part, or, if nothing else, my ignorance. :)

I seriously doubt I'll ever have a problem out of it.

I think it has a 5 year warranty. That's sweet. I've called before and they were nice. Cool.

This thing is great. If you're thinking about getting one, do. The great thing is that you know the resale value won't go down, unlike most other cabs. Just buy a used one.

I definitely wouldn't try building one. Too much trouble for the same price as a used one. I think it's kind of ridiculous to try to build a cabinet when you can buy a used Mesa or even a NEW Avatar for the same or CHEAPER! It's a lot of work to build those. But, for some people who have worked with wood for a while, it's not a problem. That's not me, tho... heh.

Anyways, this cabinet sounds AWESOME and I'm extremely happy with it. Plus it just looks sweet. :) I got a slip cover for mine and will probably one day get a case for it if I do any kind of touring, but I can't afford it right now.

I'm running this cabinet in stereo with a Triaxis and a 2:90. Before buying this cabinet, I tried a Marhsall 1960A (75 watt speakers), and a Carvin 4x12, and neither of them had the tonal warmth and depth that I get from the Mesa Traditional Recto. cabinet. The only problem is that this cab. is a lot heavier (physically) than the others, but the sounds are worth the extra work. Great for anything from Jazz to Rock!

Incredible sound! I thought it would be boomy, but it's not--it makes my amp sound really smooth and sweet (the highs are not at all harsh, and the whole sound is rich and creamy). I had no idea that a cabinet could make this much difference.

I just got it, but I don't expect any problems.

No problmes yet.

I've been playing for thirty years, but this is the first time I've had an entire Boogie setup: I should have done this a long, long time ago!

well. I wish it had a beer holder. other than that its good. (built it meself:)

i buildt this cab myself.
i used 2x mesaboogie black shadow speakers ( for a kinda bass-boost )
and 2x mesaboogie vintage 30's for more clear tone and top.

this is great for metal!

the result is that i have never ever heard a cab sound better. i will never ever sell this.

what im saying is build your own. find measurements on the web, buy the speakers u want, build it( fun ), brag about it, tell everyone how great u are (very fun).

AND ! i only paid 530 bucks. jawho !

awesome !

well.. I buildt it myself.. and i am lazy, so i guess the support sucks

i love this monster. i will never stop using it.

build one urself!

This amp is pretty new, i got it in late 2003, for 800 dollars from GC. 4 input jacks, but there's really not that many "features" on a cab.

I'm using this cab (straight) with a peavey 5150. All of my guitars are Fender Telecasters with Hotrails in the brige. This setup is a metal machine. This cab is so clear, and doesn't get fuzzy with the 5150's gain like my old marshall 1960 did. The bass on this thing is amazing.

This thing is really well made, it's been knocked over, rolled on, ran into during shows, and it still works like new. The casters are awesome, they slide in and out instead of popping in, and they're really tough.

never had to deal with them, but from what i've heard it's really good. Just remember to send in your warranty card asap.

This is an amazing cab for the money, and sure beats the hell out of marshalls. If you play metal, hardcore, metalcore, or anything heavy, this cab is for you. Just get a good head to go with it. The best one would be a mesa recto, but the 5150 sounds amazing too, and is 500 dollars cheaper.

a cab can't have much features, but the four inputs, heavy build quality and top of the line custom speaker gotta count for something...

bar none, best sounding cab i've heard. beats the oversize cab for note definition and claity, if not for overall size. however, it still sounds HUGE. i've tried marshall, carvin bogner, soldano and diezal. marshall are overpirced, and not much tone. soldano and bogner beat out the oversize cab for tone, and the diezal is extradorinary.
however, i na side by side, the mesa has more top end "air" and sweetness, and the biggest bottom ever! (the smaller cab has a tighter bottom than the oversize)

incredibly well put together.

haven't dealt with

i'm a professional guitarist with year s of gigging and session work under my belt. i can say with out reservation-

best cab on the market, and believe it or not.. it's a bargain
i could have afforded any cab, and this is the one i chose.

Not many features on a speaker cab, but...
nice lumber, great speakers, and it looks awesome

i use a single recto head with a telecaster. my guitar has a hot rails in the bridge, like tom morello. this helps me geta huge, heavy sound. the low end on this cab is WAY tighter than the oversized cab. it's more focused, more percussive, with less.. "WHOOOMPH"
the high are more penetrating, less sparkly clean, but you can get a great clean sound with this cab. i play heavy rock, Rage style riffs, but also use a lot of clean chords, and the cab sounds fantastic for both. i like this better than the oversize, and it (of course,) blows marshall cabs out of the water for tone and low end response.

built like a brick,
it's a MESA!

haven't dealt with them, heard good things, no first hand knowledge

not the cheapest, but THE BEST

Good selection of options on the speaker input section. Custom celstian vintage 30s

Im usuing an Ibanez ar300, (dual humbuckers, alot like Les pauls) and a gutted fernandez with a single ESP humbucker in the rear. I LOVE THIS CAB! Everything i plug into it sounds 30 times better. Very even distrobution of tones, great bass response (way better than marshall)

some of the tracks on my bands site were cut with it. I usually just use a pod pro for recording, its faster and i can do it till the wee hours and not piss off my neighbors.

www.stow-away.net

built very very strong. Removable castors are different from other companies (the ones that kinda plug in) these are way more durable and wont pull out. Leather corners is a nice touch. Very solid construction.

never had to deal with them

I would have to say this is the best cab i have ever herd. The fact that i own one now is kinda werid, mesa stuff was always like the holy grail, and now i have one! gives me a hard on! I have played through many amps and cabs, and this one smokes em. I had a peavey rig (ultra plus 120 and a XXX cab) it sounds like poo compared to this one. I have worked at music stores for 3 years, and played on everthing known to man and this cab smokes em. I had an ampeg cab, a music man cab and one older peavey, and this thing blows all them out of the water as well. Recorded on marshalls, and this sounds better.

basically, buy it, you wont be dissapointed,

Purchased new in 2003. Has stereo and mono operation. Flawlessy crafted. Nice leather corners. Use it for live gigs. Plenty of power, more than needed. Vintage 30 speakers, 280 watts.

Use Strats and LPs (Seymour Duncan p/ups) through Mesa Mark IV. Amp only needs to be on 2 to get loud! Seriously. Clean sounds ring clearly and distortion hits you in the gut. Drummer in my band couldn't believe the difference between the Mesa cab and the various Marshalls we have used. Mesa is a winner.

Hasn't failed me. Built very solid and heavy. Get someone to help you lift it! Although I can manage to move it myself if needed. Again, it's a Mesa. Where can you go wrong? Hand built in the USA.

N/A

Very happy. Great purchase. Almost bought a Marshall 1960BV, but glad I didn't. Worth the $$. Would buy it again if stolen. Good thing it's so heavy because it makes it difficult to just grab it and go.

Mesa/Boogie Traditional 4x12 Cabinet with celestion Vintage 30s (Slant). Simply this thing is built like a tank, sounds awesome - retains the low end very well even with a 7-String Guitar. Want to hear it, check out my website for Video Clips & MP3s @ www.jim-horne.com

Holds the low end very well - pure thunder: Want to hear it, check out my website for Video Clips & MP3s @ www.jim-horne.com

4 - 10 hours a day I use this cab for over a year and not one problem...

A perfect 10 - they actually call you back (take notes Ibanez)

Perfect 10 - I am not here to knock Marshal, but compare it to a Marshal 4x12 Cab and see for yourself - a Marshal Cab with Vintage 30 speakers costs more (depends where you buy I am sure) but the Mesa is built stronger - with real metal handles, Leather, etc.., etc.. and retains the low end better than Marshal (to me). Once again, I am NOT here to knock Marshal Cabs - I am just comparing Quality & Price... Want to hear it, check out my website for Video Clips & MP3s @ www.jim-horne.com