Battle of the 2X12: HARLEY BENTON vs MESA
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 เม.ย. 2018
- Both of these are loaded with VINTAGE 30's.
Harley Benton: bit.ly/2BuH6Kb
Mesa: bit.ly/2ErmzWH
Check the video out, listen closely, and leave a comment as to which sample you think is which cabinet. I'll do a followup in a few days to tell you what cabinet is what.
Bought the HB with my own money. The Mesa is Rafinski's
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I'm Glenn Fricker, engineer here at Spectre Sound Studios. I love making records, and after doing it for sixteen years, I want to pass on what I've learned. On my channel you can find tutorials on how to record guitar, bass, real drums and vocals. There's reviews and demos of tube amps, amp sims, drums, mics, preamps, outboard gear, Electric Guitar, Bass Guitar, and plugin effects.
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A sounds better alone, but B sounded better in the mix
I heard the exact same thing. I agree.
haha same exact thought i had.
Exactly my thoughts! I would guess that B is Mesa, have no idea thou... :D
É o Patrux! That was my thought
Agreed!
Well, this is very interesting, Glenn! Cool idea!
Thomann Music I ordered the Harley Benton 2x12 with v30s about a month ago. Awesome cab. Especially for the money. The fact that it's even in competition with one of the best 2x12 cabs ever made says a lot. And it's a fraction of the price even shipped to your house from Germany, which only took a week.
Im telling you guys, if B actually turns out to be the HB one i'll immediately purchase one, not joking.
I got my HB 2x10 bass cab from you guys and it is delightful.
OH hell yeah. I actually already own one but still wanna get a Mesa one day.
Should the "B" really be the Harley Benton (wich i highly doubt though) I'll just get a second one of these :D
i have a HBV2*12 and i think it's the B , never used the mesa except once i try my amp at the music shop ... the cab A sounds brighter while the B it's quite crunchy . I'm absolutely not complaining about my HBV ( used with a marshall jcm 900 and with a Orange micro dark ) , but i guess the price gap it's justified for a reason , isn't?
A sounds better alone, B sounds better in a mix. but everything considered, both are awesome and i would take either as a cab.
Blake McConnell lol most realistic comment yet..
On it's own - A
In the mix - B
B is for Benton
A= Mesa
B= HB
Imo it's actually the opposite. There's no way in hell that a mesa sounds that bad in a full mix unless you tried on purpose. But hey, it's a matter of taste. There's people here saying b has less mids than a which is absurd to me lol. B clearly has a more pronounced upper mids register. Oh well, only time will tell :)
Johnny 5 i agree 100%
That was my first thought but I really can't tell now. Cab B sounded too midrangy and hissy on the top when soloed, but in the mix it might be better for the overall sound.
i think people are guessing based on what they think sounds better. IE, the better sounding cab must be the Mesa. but that's not how cabs work. it's not about good or bad. it's about how they affect the signal chain.do they make it brighter? Darker? pronounce mid frequencies? Scooped mids? in this case, we're really just comparing the construction of the enclosure and the quality/setup of wiring as to the difference, since the speakers are presumably the same. It's not about better or worse. it's about comparing it to a reference point. darker, brighter, crisper, warmer, thinner,- to some standard that we all know what it sounds like. a 6505 amp, a mesa cabinet, vintage 30 speakers, sure sm57 to name a few metal standards. otherwise, we're just walking around in the dark without a reference point randomly saying that we think that shade of black looks maybe a tinsy bit darker than the shade of black over there.
It was said that the Harley Benton has vintage 30s. Which are high ice picky mid-range sounding. Unless the EQ from A to B was severely changed. B had a lot more high-end. That's why I think vintage 30s. But what do I know!
I really liked the sound of cab A on its own, but in the mix I have to give it to cab B, it just fit SO well!
So much production value in these videos, you must never sleep.
Hi Glenn! I think the Mesa is cab "B." From my experience the Mesa's always had that extra "grit" or "dirt" on heavy tones.
Personally, I liked cab A, which I hope is the affordable one. However, I find that these kind of shootout are really about individual preference. Even if cab A is the more expensive one, I would consider buying it because that is what my ears prefer to hear.
I like Cab B in all tests
TWINSIESSS
Same
Agreed, my guess is it's the Mesa but really hope I'm wrong. Either way, Cab A didn't sound horrible and could probably be tweaked to get closer to what I like about Cab B. Which brings up a question, which cab was used to get the initial sound and were all amp / EQ settings left the same for the other cab?
Same here
I own one of These and would say b is the HB box
My guitarist used the HB 4*12 for years (before switching to amp sims and in-ear monitors), and this cab never let us down. We didn't get to use it a lot in the studio but it did a great job onstage.
You are one of the few TH-camrs that make me smile every time I see a new video on my feed, thank you.
I'm feeling Cab A pretty hard whichever it is, maybe the Mesa?
Cab A sounded best to me not sure which one it is but that one sounded better in my opinion B sounded a little harsh in the high end.
when you do shootouts like this, you should have them do more guitar techniques like pinch harmonics, natural harmonics, palm muting, power cords dissonant chords etc.
Both cabs sound great. I am not a producer or a really well versed tech-head in the realm of amps/speakers, but this video shows the quality that HB is putting out. I can't decide which one is which, but I have nothing bad to say about either sample.
Also, the kid playing in the mix (I forget his name at the moment without looking at previous videos; no disrespect at all) gives me some serious shred-envy. Hats off to him. Excellent player and a pleasure to hear/watch.
Glenn you surround yourself with great players and put out great content. If I ever ran into you I would owe yoi a high five and a beer/shot/coffee/soda/sandwich or any combination of these items as a show of gratitude.
Thanks for making available stuff to watch that isnt mind-numbingly boring and/or pandering. Hope your channel continues to go in the direction you are aiming!!
Cheers from PA!!
I keep coming back to this video and I can never tell which is which. I can't say which one even sounds better to my ears because they're so similar. I think I'm gonna get a Harley benton cab. Thanks Glenn!!!
Had a couple of V30 loaded HB cabinets for almost 8 years now, a 4x12 and a 2x12, and they really sound amazing, only cab I found that really sounded better to date was an original 70's Marshall cab that was really broken in and sounded freakin insane. Other than that, HB have stood up to anything I've tried yet, Orange, Mesa, Marshall, boutique stuff. Some of the stuff sounds different obviously, but I wouldn't really say better. For the price they offer their cabs at, Harley Bentons are the winners.
I think B is the Harley Benton, it sounds the most like the one I have. Really great cab for not a lot of money.
BTW, can you make an episode on Limiters? Never could get them to sound right.
Thank you for this content, so useful!
Was considering the HB 212V. Thanks for this Glenn, curious to hear the results!
Basically impossibile to say which is which. Not even 2 mesa or 2 HB cabs would sound the same. What did i prefer? By itself cab a, since has more of that classic scooped metal sound, in the mix cab b had slightly more upper mids and it fitted better in that particular mix. So if i had to spend money on one of it i'd pick b.
Davide Pannone well i own a mesa cab 4x12 and its sounds vermillior the same, and i know the answer i guess
You're seriously comparing a 2x12 to a 4x12? Lmao.
i prefered B in the mix
Can they find the EXACT mic position for each cab? Did they break in the HB speakers? Not a good comparison.
Now you are nitpicking really lol. It's not like the purpose of this vid was to make them sound exactly the same, but it was a blind test between a 800 bucks cab vs a 300 one. That was the purpose of this vid.
B sounds better on the solo tracks but I prefer A in a mix
Nils9800 same! I've noticed at solo part B has more gain
Same!
I feel the opposite tbh xd
Hey, you've got this the wrong way around, mate :)
I've had V30 loaded cabs where the left and right speaker sound as different as that.
As for the people talking about break-in time - it really only affects the high end, the cone gets "softer" the more it moves, so it can't respond to high frequencies quickly. It rounds off the treble, it doesn't somehow add 10dB of mids.
By itself I really enjoyed the A-Cab for crunch and metal, but in a mix I feel the B sounded really nice for the rhythm!
I preferred Cab A in every aspect, so let's see what's what (:
I'm not sure which is which. They both sound pretty good. If I was to hazard a guess I'd say Cabinet A was the Mesa.
You're correct A is a Mesa.
You can do cheat by opening another window on your computer watch Ola' Englund's 2x12 Mesa Metal demo sound. Ola has used two different Mesa 2x12 cabs one the recto 2x12 other a roadster 2x12 both with exact same speakers only difference is the cabs weight.
Dale Weber Ola also has older videos where hes using the Harley Benton 2x12 if that helps. Just search Ola Englund Harley Benton 2x12.
that's so weird! i'm gonna be picking up a HB 2x12 this weekend haha! great video Glenn! they both sound great to me. Cab A has more mids and air-iness, Cab 2 s=is tighter and more scooped. The differences are subtle but interesting. I'd be happy with either! Cheers!
to me the real lesson here is both sound good, which to me means you can just buy whichever you prefer and be happy with it.
i'm sure in a balanced mix you can produce great music with both.
I'm thinking Cab A is the Harley Benton. It has a little bit more openness that Cab B. Cab B has a thicker sound to my ears, and that has me thinking Mesa
yeah, mostly because if i remember correctly, bentons cabs are open backs, where mesa cabs are closed, i think...
I wonder if that could be changed by modifying the cab itself? If not, you're still paying less for two Vintage 30s shipped to US from Germany thank the same set from anywhere I've found in the US. AND you get a cabinet around them haha
Yeah, its totally better the benton cab, still sounds super good on a far cheaper price thanks to the speakers, (even tho i think ive heard that there are different countries that make them, still who cares?) you can build a cab yourself or get another cab and swap the speakers, but the construction i think does have a fairly important impact as well...
Absolutely. Different woods, and thicknesses there of, will have different tonal qualities inside the cab. If you had the capabilities to perfectly match the materials/dimensions of a Mesa 2X12, then, in theory, you could replicate it. Construction and materials go a loooonnnngggg way
I have both, mesa is much more closed/distant, almost muffled.
Clean: B
Crunch: A
Metal: B
Mix: equally good
I hope the better samples are HB's.
i agree with you on each...
I think B sounded smoother overall. It definitely sat a lot better in the mix. The clean tones were kinda hard to tell which was which. I just wonder how much of those differences could be evened out with mic placement and some EQing.
Definitely a clear difference in tone, but both sound perfectly viable in a mix to me! (With a just a teeny bit more amp tweaking/mic adjustment, depending on the cab)
I'm amazed the difference is that big
ты шо тут делаешь ваще
I prefer B, both sounds good though.
Henrik Örn na A
I think for the price its a no brainer. The differences to my ears are quite subtle. Meaning this could easily be manipulated by shaping the tone via EQ to make up the difference. I tip my cap to HB for offering such an affordable cabinet. Good video.
Surprisingly I think both work well in the mix. I tested them against each other at Thomann and I gotta say there was a huge difference in sound in the room. The HB sounded thinner and didnt manage higher volume the way the Mesa did. I ended up saving my money 'till I could afford the Mesa cab.
Couldn't say what is what, but the B sounds overhaul better.
*overall. ; )
Sorry I'm french ^^'. Difficile de ne jamais faire de fautes, even tho I'm trying to improve myself.
I know many people resent being corrected but I'm not trying to be mean or being a Grammar Nazi just to piss people off. My only purpose is to help people correct themselves.
By the way, I'm portuguese. : )
:v
A sounded better.
And man you need to step up your distorted sounds, that shit was terrible.
Love the sound of Cab B. My guess is it's the HB.
Glenn, would you ever consider doing a full start to finish mix tutorial on guitars? I've seen some of your other videos that have specifics, but I would love to see a start to finish tracking of a guitar (plugins, compression, mic placement/ choice)
Love the vids!
Really like Cab B for the Rhythms in the mix, Cab A for the lead work cuts through really nicely...
The "A" cab had much more low end, and sounded better for my ears. Eventually, the "B" cab sounded better in this mix, but I think it's mainly because of the mic placement, or post production. Anyways "B" was too harsh. I think the "A" was the MESA! (hope so):)
same
4years after do you have the answer please? 😅
There's one problem here! The Mesa's V30's are broken in, the ones of the Harley Benton aren't. If it turns out people like the Mesa better than it might be because of the new V30's not releasing all their supposed to have frequencies. Breaking in speakers really really matters.
Love to see a test on this as well
That's what I was thinking, and if that's true my guess is A is the HB cause of how much tinnier it sounded.
"Breaking in speakers really really matters."
Please make a real world serious test that prouve that. Seriously please do, that would be interesting in any case.
I know lot of people TALK about this breaking in things, but where are the evidences ? V30 have been around since 1986 (not to mention other speaker using verry simmilar technology since much longer) so that's more then 3 decades, and no evidence records ? I don't say that's false, just say that's for the least questionable.
Just my 2cts
It's not questionable. I ordered a panama tonewood 2x12 cab. my first experience with brand new speakers. sounded terrible and super muffled. i recorded it. then made another recording three months later. same guitar, same amp/settings, same mics. HUGE difference. honestly, i hate buying new speakers just because of the break in time. originally, my carvin cab with vintage 30's, sounded WAY better than the tonewood with panama BFM's (way different speaker btw). now, about a year later... wouldn't trade that panama cab for the world, nor the speakers in it.
Andreas Nold EXACTLY!
Hey, cool to meet you in Frankfurt today. I'm the guy from Switzerland at the Joyo booth. About the cabinets: I think they both have their strengths and weaknesses. In the crunch setting I find cab B fatter and more pleasant but in the high gain setting I find cab B too fizzy and prefer cab A. In the mix I prefer cab A for the lead sound and cab B for the percussive rhythm sound.
That was a nice Solo on the Les Paul. Respect!
Don't know, I think the Mesa Cab Clone would be a better option!
😂😂
CAB A = HARLEY 2X12 (Slightly darker, less spity high end)
CAB B = MESA (Deductive logic from first conclusion, and sounds like what I think MESA sounds like - high treble, spity)
CAB B sounded the best, most DJ0NT
has the follow up video been posted yet? I like them both, curious to what is what!
I liked Cab A in all crunch tests, mix included. Clean, they were very close.
A sounds better, not sure about brand
I would agree.
What's the point of guessing?
Even if I get the right answer, I still won't get any of these cabinets for free. :)
leothemetal it’s not about guessing, it’s about not having any bias towards a sound because you know which is which.
But I do agree what’s the point of not telling us at the end of the video
Dude, I was just trying to get some free stuff ;)
Interested to know the results of this as both offer a different vibe! Am I right in thinking the Mesa compact is quite a bit smaller than the HB cab?
Now I use the Harley Benton with a Peavey valveking and it sound really amazing. It's maybe a really cheap cabinet but it's pretty damn good.
Explain to me how they are 50 views under 2mins on a 4:12min video.. 🤘 Great content
I think about half a minute counts as a view. So well within your numbers then.
It's uploaded (but "unlisted"), linked to on the SMG website, the newsletter gets sent out, and a few minutes later, it's published. It was still "unlisted" when i watched it a few minutes ago.
You *do* know that more than one person can watch videos at the same time, right? So, 50+ people clicking on video, watching for two minutes, gives you the view count. Comprende?
Because view counts don't correlate with the length of the video
Chris Franklyn 15 seconds actually
I watched this video & a couple of others comparing it to the Mesa. I was intrigued by the slight difference in sound from these 2 cabs, so I did a little bit of research. Not everything is equal. Albeit they are both loaded with vintage 30's. The difference is in the volume of the cabinets, and I am not talking about db's, but the actual amount of "air space" in the cabinets. The Harley Benton has a slightly larger internal volume in its enclosure which would result in slightly more lush bass response. If you really want to make the sound even fuller I would suggest that one cut a piece of 6" thick fiberglass insultation the size (HxW) & stuff that into the back of the box.
The Mesa has to be Cab B. In the mix it has the richness of the metal tones of, say, John Petrucci, but I do like cab A also. I've actually owned one for 2 years and I love its clearness in representing the sound of whatever head I throw at it. I think the mesa would darken the tone and turn it muddier(not necessarily in a bad way though!) Cab A: HB, Cab B:Mesa. Either way, two kickass cabs! Thanks for the comparison Glenn!
Just going from what I remember from cabinet impulse responses I've heard, I'd say A is the Mesa and B is the Harley Benton. Neither of them sounded bad, but I preferred A just because it sounds a bit more full. Then again, I'm not listening on the best of speakers so I'd be happy to be wrong.
There were moments where I thought I like the “darker” sound of B, during the clean parts, but there were definitely other parts that felt like it was missing something. I guess that’s always the trade off, isn’t it?
Hi Glen, I have a Question regarding Legator Guitars since you featured them on your channel a lot: I'm in Canada for a few months and Legator aren't sold in Europe. Do you think it is worth to buy a Legator here and take it with me home? Are they really that good?
Cheers and have a nice day, love your videos!
Nic
They weren't better than eachother. They just brought different colours to the palette. Personally I only liked the B can for cleans but that's about it. Awesome video, I have no idea which is which 😂
I love that you're doing a completely blind test. Let the ears judge, not the label on the gear. I was surprised that there was that much noticeable difference between the cabinets. Cab B was "better" on the speakers I'm currently listening on. Will check later on other systems and with headphones.
Both are great, liked them each in different ways. With some EQ they could be almost indistinguishable, I'm sure.
I liked cab B better for everything except the “crunch” setting. I think B is also the Harley Benton. My reasoning is that it isn’t as round in the bottom end, so it seems to have a different mid push.
Hey gelnn, what do you think of the Presonus stuff? I haven't used much but I'm thinking of getting a studiolive AR mixer. Thanks!
Hey Glenn - are the cabs both broken in aaand is the micing the exact same? ;)
I loved Cab B! Awesome video!
Good video Glenn! Purely guessing, I think Cab A was the Mesa cab and Cab B was the Harley Benton because it seemed to have more midrange and less bottom end. I’m also assuming the Harley Benton 2x12 is loaded with Chinese-made Vintage 30’s vs. the British-made Vintage 30’s that Mesa uses. They both sounded great, though!
I couldn't really tell a difference with the clean tone. Alone, I'd say A sounds a little better, but in the mix, I'd have to go with B. Can't wait to find out which is which!
They both sound great. Especially in the mix. This is tough to decide. Either one would work great. I did think that can A sounded better soloed but can b sounded fuller in the mix.
Before I get to the end, I think Cab A is the Harley Benton cab. Sounds thinner to me. B sounds heavier and bassier bur a bit dull which in my mind means there’s more mass,which makes me think it’s the pricier cab. Of course this doesn’t mean anything since I don’t actually know what I’m talking about.
Edit: just realized you ended it with a cliffhanger. Haha. Looking forward to the reveal, I actually was thinking about ordering this exact one today.
I just Picked up the Harley Benton and it is just Incredible and it does have the Clear cone V30’s (2023)what a freaking Beast with my Boss MK2 Head!
B is the winner for me just for the better crunch and mix the only part where I didn't like it was the metal they both sounded amazing clean
In the Metal Guitar comparison, I think cab B is the Harley Benton. To me it sounds just like a brand new speaker cabinet and has that "shine" that new V30s have. They both sound great!
Hey Glen, I'd be interested to hear which one of these you prefer to use in a mix. To my ear, Cab B sounds like you'd have to work a little harder to get it to sit in the mix but it gives you mixing options that I don't think cab A does.
Would be great to get your feedback on this. Cheers
I'd have liked to hear two different songs through both cabs, seeing as the A/B comparisons on their own had drastically different tones from the full mix (making it hard to have a baseline comparison), but that's not a problem.
I agree that B sounded better in the mix, but still had a very scratchy top end that would have been miserable to tame.
I own a hb can with V30 and sounds really good by itself!i tested in the sane way the 2 cabs and i found the Hb a all around metal cab where the recto was too scooped! I cant say exactly witch cab is here...but i think A is the Recto Cab and B is the Hb
Really liked the A but B sounded pretty good in the mixes too
Can A is the Harley Benton, cab B is the Mesa Boogie cab I’m pretty sure.
I think they both sound great 👍
and which one is which....? sorry i cant find your "following video"
Are the HB front loaded or rear loaded speakers? I have read that it influences the sound quite a bit. And that's what I think I heard here. My 2 cents.
hey glenn (glen?), im new to buying a Cab + head, and just wanted to make sure i have it right before i buy this sick harley benton. so the cab is 16 ohms, which means that whatever head i buy CANT be more than 16 ohms, right? but if a head is any amount of ohms less (say a head is 12 ohms, like i think the sunn beta lead is) that is 100% fine?
thanks for everything glenn, you're doing gods work
cheers from NY
I'm gonna guess B is the Mesa 2x12. It sounds more like some of the higher-end impulses and actual mesa cabs I've used in the past.
Hey Glen i am new to the cab world and bought a 4x12 Harley Betnon and i was wondering if it was possible if you can run two amps throw it at the same time?
Both sound nice. B has a specific note ressonance too strong, so I guess this is the HB because the speakers are not "broken in"
I like more the A for riffs and B for solo.
I like them both! I already have a Mesa 2x12.. maybe I need a HB.
Such a tease Glenn! ;) I couldn't tell you which is which, but I liked the sound of A better.
A- had a fat chunk low end that made the low notes on the cleans really stand out and you got a lot of chuck out o it. For that reason I like it for rhythm.
B- still had noticeable low end, but was less in the way and I found that in the mix I heard more a the bass guitar’s attack when he was engaged simply because the aforementioned attack of Cab b was out the way. But I loved how B sounded when Christian was soloing.
I leek them both for different reasons.
Aw what a JIP !!! I wannna know now.
I like :
A - Clean
B- Everything else
Cab A for Cleans, Cab B for Crunch, cab A or B for drive / full mix? any would work for me there.
They're both very good and usable sounds guys.
If what I have heard about Mesa's OEM v30s vs production v30s is correct, I'd say Cab A is the Harley Benton and Cab B is the Mesa. I think the difference in the high end hiss is the dead giveaway. Both sound great. I have a homemade cab with a Mesa OEM v30 and a Chinese v30 in it. Sounds awesome!
To my ears they both sound great! if i were to buy a cabinet now, i see no reason to spend the extra 500 on the mesa cab. Seeing as to me both A and B sound awesome, the HB cab is the clear winner in price/performance for me.
I like the darker sounding cab in the mix for sure
What's up with cab B at the end of the full mix clip? The low end sounds really woofy and distorted/blown on the chugs.
Just found this video whilst looking for 2 x 12 cabs. Cab B gets my vote. Hope I can find the other video to find out what it was.
Can tell in the standalone metal that A is Mesa and B is HB. The eq shift between the British voiced V30s is unmistakable
Like the HB but also love mesa 🤔. I should buy both 😊
Slight preference for A solo, but in the mix it's very close and I need to go listen again when I can turn the studio monitors up.
They honestly both sounded great. Think they would compliment eachother great if in a mix together.
Cab A has a very nice low end to it. Makes the mix sound much fuller imo.
In my oppinion A is better for clean and B for crunchy riffs. B has that really nice dark tone that I like! I also think the A cab sounded better on those palm muted parts in the mix! :)
So what's the total cost to have it shipped to my door in Oregon, USA? I wanna know for comparison to the price of the HB 1x12