I sent an email a few hours ago about this, but I've been racking my brain, and I just want to open this up for discussion.
I have a closed-back 2x12 under an open-back 2x12 in my rig. The bottom cab has an ET65 and a British Lead, and the top cab has two Celestion Greenbacks. The overall sound is pretty massive on the bottom end, and kind of sharp sounding. What I generally like is tight lows, warm present mids, and smooth highs. I need broad versatitlity, and good headroom
What I want to do is swap out the Greenbacks for a couple more WGS speakers, but I can't decide which ones. At the current moment, I'm thinking of moving the ET65 and the British Lead into the open-back top cab and putting a pair of Retro 30s in the bottom cab... or I could get another ET65 and a Retro 30 and do Retro 30/British Lead in the bottom cab, and dual ET65s in the top cab.
I realize it can get hairy mixing that many different speakers, so I could always get another ET65 and British Lead and do an x-pattern or maybe put the British Leads in the bottom cab... then again, maybe the top cab.
As you can tell, I'm having a hell of a time trying to decide. =P
Let's start here: do you like the sound of the closed-back WGS-loaded cab by itself? If not, what do you feel is missing?
Actually yes, I was having pretty good results going through the ET65 and British Lead by themselves. I really like the individual sounds of those two speakers, and to my ears they combine really well.
I guess now I'm just down to deciding how to configure a quad of two ET65s and two British Leads. I can't decide between an x-pattern or which speakers to put on top or bottom. The open-back/closed-back thing plays into the decision quite a bit.
Okay then, leave the sealed cab alone ... if it ain't broke, don't fix it! Now, on the open-back cab, you can use the same combo (and, yes, I would suggest the X pattern). Another idea would be to put a more articulate and touch sensitive speaker in it ... Say a Retro 30 and an ET 65 ... or a Retro 30 w/another Britt Lead. Just an idea ... it would give the rig a bit more overall shine on top, a bit more 3-dimensionality, and a little bit more nimble response. Let us know what you choose and how it works out.
Hope my 2-cents helps!
Well, I finally ordered a pair of retro 30s. I put a retro 30 with the british lead in the open back cab, and I have the et65 and the other retro 30 in the closed back cab.
Last night was the first time I was able to try out the new speakers in a live situation. The open back cab highlights the mids and highs with some pretty great crunch, and the closed back cab really hits hard in pretty much all the right areas of the spectrum. I think what I may do is swap out the british lead for another et65 in the next few weeks.
My main concern all along about adding another british lead and et65 was that the overall sound would get too wooley and not have enough cut and articulation for high gain riffs. Having said that, I can't say enough about how well the et65 and retro 30 work together. It's the best combination since peanut butter and jelly.
In almost every circumstance ...