Best cab for the GM36?

Hey,

I'm on the verge of purchasing an amp, and based on the tonal versatility, size, and power soak (for bedroom practice), I think the GM36 will be my choice.

The only thing that makes me hesitant is that I planned on running it through an Orange PPC112, but some forums say that you hear a fizz when the gain is cranked up on the lead and ultra channels.
Is this true? As I would like to think that H&K would put a speaker (Celestion V30) in the cabs that compliments the sound of the head as opposed to ruining it.

If this is true, what alternative 1x12 cabs are there for around the £200-250 mark?

Hey Metallicker,

I've played mine through Vin 30s, Greenbacks, a Jensen Blackbird, a Mesa Black Shadow, and a WGS HP reaper. So far, the Vin 30 and Reaper are by far the best speakers (I don't even really like the Vin 30 with other amps). I've had best luck with closed or ported cabs, too. The Mesa Widebody Thiele is a great match. I also built a 1x12 off the same design, but made the back convertible. It's got the HP Reaper and sounds great closed and good slightly open. That speaker has more bass and less mid hump than the Vin 30, which probably explains the slightly open spread still sounding good with the GM.

Good luck with the purchase. I've been rehearsing and goofing off with mine for a couple months. I have my first gig with it Friday for the city July 4th celebration. I'll report back at that point.

My prior amp, a Tubemeister 18, I had initially paired it with a TM 1x12 cab (V30) and it was rock solid - no fizziness and I was really happy with it. However, I am a 2x12 type of guy, but the TM212 hadn't been released yet (it was in the works). I was going to wait but then I stumbled upon an awesome deal on a H&K CC212 cab (greenbacks) and figured I'd give it a shot... I love it. I didn't get the chance to A/B the two cabs because I had to return the 1x12 asap, but I will say that I don't hear any of this fizziness with the greenbacks.

I now have a Grandmeister paired with the CC212 and I am very pleased.

Thanks guys, that's very reassuring!

Quick question, the MIDI footswitch runs in stompbox or preset mode... is it possible to overwrite the presets they already have stored on there and replace them with your own?

Metallicker wrote:Thanks guys, that's very reassuring!

Quick question, the MIDI footswitch runs in stompbox or preset mode... is it possible to overwrite the presets they already have stored on there and replace them with your own?

Yes. And you can always do a "factory reset" if you want to restore the original presets.

Some folks use the iPad app to store a copy of the original layout, as well as their own.

The iPad app is a really awesome addition. I keep mine mounted on the mic stand and can make quick adjustments in the middle of a song without walking back to the amp. I can see all the settings of a preset as I call it up, copy presets very easily, and can name presets. You can also back up your own library. Too cool. I really think it's an integral part of the system.

i use an old vertical Tube Works 2x12 cab loaded with celestion 90watt Black Shadows.....gives a nice darker tone......also have a TM112 with a v30 and use it parallel with the 2x12.....not that it needs it but i have it so.........the v30 mixes nicely with the darker shadows.

Some people knock 'em, but I personally love the Black Shadows. The first cab I played my GM through was my Mesa Lonestar with a Black Shadow. Sounded great. Glad to hear you enjoying it.

hi all

i m a new owner of the GM36, definitively a great amp, very nice and versatile sounding. Awesome for clean to hard rock, heavy blues and a little heavy rock for my usage. Largely more than enough !
I get ride of my pedals (used with another clean amp): direct to amp, with an MXR carbon copy I love and MXR M108 Eq in the loop.

Must say the FXs are really good for my simple usage in my home stud and playing with friends and teacher.

Well I'm fighting a bit with that "fizziness" I've read on forums. I have 2 Palmer cabs: 1*12 open back with celestion G12H30 and a closed back 2*12 with eminence governor & wizard.
I mainly play with the 2*12 and I have, let say with factory presets bank 3, presets A & B, even with bank 3 preset C, some high pick & fizzy tone. I alway roll back the gain (too much for my taste) and try to adjust lowering the presence (and use my MXR M108 Eq in the loop).
I plan to switch the eminence wizard to a eminence cannabis rex to tame these shrilling and fizzy highs, or try a bigger 2*12 (TT cab).

Do you experiment the same with some cabs/speakers ? ok for a Cannabis rex or others suggestions ?

Bruno

I haven't played the Governor, Wizard, or C Rex with the GM, somI can't provide too much help there. I do find the amp to be very bright and it can get shrill if you let it. My learning experience was to start over with all knobs (except volume and gain) at noon, throw out my preconceived notions of how I set tone on other amps, then start tweaking.

The presence and treble interact immensely. With both medium to high and moderate gain, I got some fizziness, but it was easy to pull that out. The resonance and bass also interact a lot. I found I could use the resonance to pull back a little flabbiness from one of the cabs I was trying.

I guess my long rambling point is to try tweaking the amp first. You might find something that works with your existing cabs/speakers.

I also find that tweaking the tone from where I normally stand when I play helped get what I wanted. I absolutely love the iPad app, in conjunction with the foot controller. I'm usually about 10 ft away from the amp in rehearsals and most gigs. Being able to make adjustments without walking back and forth is a great bonus.

hi Egads,

thanks for the feedback.
Since my previous post, I retreived my TTCAB 2x12 cab with the same combo Eminence wiz+gov, from a friend. Clearly more suited to the GM: a biggger cab with less fizzy/very bright tone. But still need to tweak as the GM is on the bright side as you mentionned. I start presets from crash with all at noon as you suggest, or modify the value from factory presets and good really great tones.

And about taming the highs, I can now have the same king of tuning with treble/presence and bass/resonance as I do with my mxr Eq in the loop. Of course the mxr is a great tool to shape the tone in addition, but I want to understand the GM tone tuning to be able to only get the GM (no other pedal) when playing with friends.

I have the foot controler but still no Ipad for the app... that would be great to move to it of the new android app under development. I'm looking for a solution on this.

By the way, I ordered a used eminence Canabis rex to put into my palmer 1*12 open back and will receive it tomorrow... looking forward to test and be back to you.

Great to hear the larger cab helped you get the tone you were chasing. Let us know how the C Rex sounds. I'm very interested. I'm planning on building a new hardwood cab and keep going back and forth between a 2x12 and a 1x12 + 1x10. If the C Rex is a good fit for the amp, I might use that as one side.

BTW, where in France are you?

hi Egads

I'm in south france, close to a small town called Montelimar.

I should receive the CRex around noon, as usual with UPS... and will test into the 1*12. I'll be back to you.
The TTCAB is really a great cab (from Tube town site, the slanted TREx model). I made some test with the RedBOX of the GM, connected to a mixer and to my poweramp GM from Matrix (used for the AxeFXII): a gret sound and tone, not fizzy at all. Just perfect, very good this redbox.
I'll experienced too the 4CM connexion with my AxeFXII.

I've spent some time around there (Arles, Avignon, Aix, Lyon) but never in Montelimar. I really love that area.

Those TT cabs look cool. I like the idea of a 2x12 slanted cab, too. Do you find that it alleviates the need to tilt the cab back?

Yes montelimar is at 55 miles to Avignon.
The slanted 2*12 i slike a 4*12 with a very good sound dispersion, no need to tilt the  cab.

I just installed the CRex in my 1*12, previously with celestion g12h30.
It's just perfect to tame the highs of the GM bright side. for instance, for bank2-preset B factory, while I have to turn down presence & treble around 9 oclock, I can leave the knobs at noon or 1 oclock with the Crex.
Got plenty of mids, depth in bass/low med, and tasty highs.
I highly recommend for the GM.

Good to hear, on both the slant design and the C Rex speaker. Both will be on the shortlist when I build the next cab.

I had a Zilla 2x12 cab fitted out with a Vintage 30 and a Classic Lead 80.

Just got hold of a Marshall 1960tv with the 4x12 greenbacks. This really sounds fine with the GM, giving a warmer sound, whereas the Zilla was a bit bright for my liking.

Yeah the grandmeister sounds great with greenbacks! For my liking the gm is very bright and the Vintage 30 will push it more brightly.

I also have a 1x12 H&K cab that sounds very natural but also bright, at least with my guitar's pups. So we added an old Carvin 2x12 with Celestions for the other side of the stage by the bass player. It is in series from the output of the H&K 1x12, and it is only 4 ohms so it nicely pulls the wattage from the Amp so I can play at 18 watts with master around 9:30-10 without adding much actual volume, just spreads it out and the darker tone from the Carvin balances out the H&K nicely.

What's up guys,

I'm new to the forum here and have been reading quite a bit of good information on here. I bought a GM36 earlier this year and I love it. Recently talked myself into buying a cheap iPad on eBay to use the controller. I was impressed with it and being able to control literally every feature on the amp. Even though I may not use the full versatility of the amp since I tend to play a lot of heavy metal through it(I personally really dig the sound it makes). I use the effects a lot, but mainly just for jamming with mysel and messing around with different licks. Phaser and flanger are cool and all, but I've never found them to be practical with what I like to play, though, I do use the chorus and delay a lot. Anyway, I've been wanting to buy a new cab for it but just haven't been 100% sure on what I want. I have a cheap Crate cab that's been used and abused and I feel that it's really holding the Grandmeister's sound back. My question is: Is the H&K 212 cab really worth the $600? It's tempting because I tend to like matching equipment. But seeing that I can buy 2 Celestion Vin 30s for half the price and just build a cab getting away with saving some money. Or just buy a cheaper 412 cab for about half the price of the H&K one? For example, I first played the GM36 through a fender 412 cab at Guitar Center and it sounded really good. I'm just not sure if spending the extra money on the H&K would be worth it. Also, I haven't heard the GM36 through the H&K either, so I don't really know what it sounds like. I figured buying the matching cab would obviously compliment the amp, but I am only assuming.

Used a few different cabs and all sounded pretty good but I have a WGS Vet 30 that I liked in my Boogie so I decided to build a Thiele cab based on the Vet parameter. Wow. The thing kills. Tamed the high frequencies quite a bit. This is the winner by FAR!!! This amps sounds incredible through this single 12. If you've got even a little bit of skill, give it a try. Less than $100 in the cab itself. Here is the site on which the cabinet is based.

Cab Build Instructions

Here is a link to the spreadsheet for the calculations.

Cab Theile Calculations

Whatever you decide Brandon, have a serious think about basing it on Vintage 30s. Many people here would say you may regret it! I started with a pair of them and it was dire. Took the skin of my face and the paper off my walls! This amp is very harsh sounding with such toppy supporting kit. Valves are another issue and there are a couple of useful threads in here which you should read. The Vintage 30s are very efficient and have a good biting tone but smooth they just plain aint! And when you pair them with an amp like this you have a combination made anywhere other than in Heaven.

For me, I got a vast improvement with a pair of G12M Greenbacks but there are other speakers other people will recommend. I'd genuinely still like a bit more bottom end on tap which I think would help with the GM36's restricted tone control range but I'm going to give my credit card a bit of time off before exploring any further.

I tried loads, ended up with this, worth a listen for sure.

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Odd I'm using an orange ppc 212 open backed cab and i love it -

I see h and k use the same celestiionvintage 30s in their cabs ?

Can't see why any manufacturer of an amp would place speakers in their cabs which don't sound good with the Amps they make ?

I must stress that I have not tried any other cabs yet as I like the sound of the orange cab. I find I can deal with any treble issues using Eq and tone control on my guitar BUT as I said when I started I've not tried other cabs.

When I purchased my slightly used GM36 I also purchased a slightly used TM112. To my ears this cab with the GM was still quite bright, but sound improved after a tube swap. I considered the Jim Root 212 cab, but decided I really wanted the H&K mini stack look. So after 4 months I started hunting about and found another TM112. For this cab I ordered a Warehouse guitar speaker ET65. Installed it today and WOW! I really like the creamy thick sounds it produces. The real heaven came when combining with the V30 cab. These two speakers simply compliment each other very well and create balance (at least to my ear).