Angled or Straight?

It would think it's minimal but I could see that the angled cab might project the sound at a different angle.

Plus if you were going to stack cabinets I think you might waant the straight ones.

But I'm only quessing I have no real experience with either, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn once or twice.

I think originally the Marshall cabs were 8x12, all in one piece. For...Townsend I think they made them. But they were too bulky and heavy to carry around so they sawed the thing in half and made two 4x12s with the top one angled like it had been (to project more over the head of the guitarist and reach the audience, in theory) and the bottom one straight so the sound would blow out over the stage and hit the first rows right in the face.

Townsend still didn't like it though. Hendrix picked up on it a little bit later.

Nowadays a full-stack is not really needed with the developement of really good sound-reinforcement systems - which weren't really around back in the day. I can't think of anyone who actually needs 8 12" speakers all firing off at the same time. ;)

Well, maybe some.

But now the angled cab by itself will have a pair of speakers aiming roughly at your head so you can hear better, while the other pair melts the faces of the audience. It looks cool too, but...there are times you (well, maybe just me) don't want to hear yourself that much, and getting rid of even that slight angle (by using just the straight cab) can prevent your own face from melting. You can play louder and not feel so conspicuous in your own ear.

I don't use half or whole stacks, but I normally don't like the speakers facing up at me either way.

I get to self-conscious about my playing and being too loud and mess up even more than normal. ;)

Other than that, they're about the same weight, can handle the same load and...pretty much sound the same. I think the angled cab might have less resonance or something, but probably one of the amp guys will be along to discuss that.

As DemoEtc said, the purpose of the angled cab is to aim the speakers up where you, the guitarist, can hear it.

Actually, an angled cab or placing a combo amp on a stand that aims the speakers up slightly helps prevent a guitarist from playing way too loud. With a combo amp especially, the sound is hitting the guitarist in the legs. That's not where your ears are. Because of this the guitarist often does not hear the amp well and will crank up the volume super loud. The audience is getting blasted. :shock:

So angling the amp or speakers up helps you to hear exactly what the audience is hearing.

As for those cabs, the only difference between the two is one is slanted and the other straight. If you only had to choose one, probably most would choose the slanted cab for the reasons discussed before. Plus, the slanted cab looks cool. 8)

Both cabs come with Celestion G12T-75 speakers. This speaker is known to produce big bass and highs, but with subdued or attenuated mids. This will give you the classic Marshall "scooped mids" tone. It is also closed-back which will give you a tighter bass than an open-back cab.

The G12T-75 is a pretty good speaker, this has been used for years as the standard speaker in most Marshall cabs. So if you have heard a Marshall stack, chances are you were listening to this speaker. Some guitarists substitute other speakers. Slash puts the Celestion Vintage 30 in his cabs. This speaker has great smooth mids which is great for lead guitar. It has good low end, but not as pronounced as the G12T-75. The G12T-75 has brighter highs as well (some say a little harsh or shrill), the V30 is not quite so piercing. The V30 is really one of the best sounding speakers of all time IMHO.

I read an article by Zakk Wylde, he puts EV 200 watt speakers in his Marshall cabs. These powerful speakers can handle tremendous low end and volume without distorting.

Don't know if that helped. But if you are into that Marshall scooped mids tone, this is the cab.

I'm looking for really thick chords with harsh distortion that is really beefy but also really growls. And then for leads a more sonic distortion. I plan on using this pedal for the sonic leads, but I am hoping that the dirty channel will be enough for the beefy, growly rhythm. Ideally, I will be running my guitar through this GK bass half-stack and this Marshall half-stack, with the pedal for lead/melody stuff:

GK:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/GallienKrueger-700RBII-Bass-Head?sku=482587
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/GallienKrueger-210SBXII-Bass-Cab-?sku=601070

Marshall:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Marshall-AVT50HX-50-Watt-Amp-Head?sku=482634
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Marshall-1960A-4x12-Angled-Cabinet?sku=482772

Pedal:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Maxon-SD9-Sonic-Distortion?sku=155057

Here is a perfect clip showing the sound that I am looking for (you can see that all the guitarists in this band are using Marshalls!):
http://youtube.com/watch?v=v2HRzP7gCeo
The sound isn't that great because it was really, but you can see what I am aiming for.

Would the G12T-75's be good for this or is there another line of speakers better suited?

Any comments/feedback on any of the equipment that I linked would be extremely helpful and greatly appreciated.

P.S. As always Wes, you have been extremely knowledgeable and helpful, so thank you for your great information and any future information...really, thank you.

Nexion

This is a tough one. I cannot possibly tell you how that band got that exact tone. You are listening to a complete band, the sound is a combination of every player using different equipment through a sound system that probably cost more than your house. :D

They were tuned down.

Couple of things you can check though, I did find sound clips on that pedal.

http://www.maxonfx.com/9/sd9/

Click on "Play Sound Flash Samples" down on the left. Look at how low some of the gain settings are on some samples. You do not need max gain to sound heavy. In fact, that clip on YouTube did not sound like the band was using extreme gain at all to me.

Here's a clip of a Les Paul (which one guitarist was using) with DiMarzio pickups through a 1960A cab.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=T2T0AMrFRXw

Another LP through a Marshall head into a 1960A cab.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ikEIW0CMgjw

Here's another clip by that same guy, this is a little closer to your clip.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=AAwRLhioiJc

And when I think of the word "sonic", I cannot help of think of one of my favorite all-time bands, the Smashing Pumpkins. They used Marshall amps (especially James Iha). Here is a live clip that is pretty sonic.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=cECTX3mPu1o

And here is a great Pumpkin song, Rocket. Crank this video up and you will hear how awesome a Marshall cab really sounds. I believe they liked the Electro Harmonix Big Muff for distortion (along with a thousand other effects). Listen at 2:13, doesn't get much heavier than that.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Jdgj0cSgPLo

Now that is sonic. :D

These are most likely Marshall 1960 cabs.

Hope this helped.

I guess I've seen too many angled cabinets, but I really don't like the way they look all that much. I'm sure they're better for sound if you're playing alone, or with a band, as the top two speakers work better as monitors for your sound...but aesthetically? I've gotten really tired of the slant cab. I just don't like seeing them. If I ever got a guitar stack, I'd totally get a straight cab. They just look cooler, in my opinion. More rough, more brutal, whatever word you want to describe them. Rugged, low-slung? I dunno. It's a box, with a fuckton of power. I guess I just like boxes.

Thanks Wes.

I'm pretty confident with what I have picked out. And I am pretty set about these pickups:
Bridge:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Seymour-Duncan-SH4-JB-Humbucker-Pickup?sku=300035

Neck:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Seymour-Duncan-SH2N-Jazz-Model-Pickup?sku=300060

For this guitar in Transparent Black:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Gibson-Les-Paul-Studio-Plus-Electric-Guitar?sku=517346

P.S. I also appreciate the Pumpkins. Here is a link to my favorite of theirs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvzLWPGeXVY

By the way I just watched that ISIS video I linked two posts ago and the sound quality really destroys the song at the end. You have to hear them live, amazing.