NCD: Matrix NL212

digitalscream

Right, so...the cab had its first night out with the band tonight. The verdict?

Bloody excellent.

To put it simply, it sounded exactly as you'd expect a guitar cab to sound - not a cab with neo speakers in it, just "a good guitar cab". There was no brittleness or ice-pickiness at all. In fact, it put out a more rounded sound than my Jet City cab does, and even more low-end (which is a turn-up, because the Jet City cabs are known for their bass response).

Everybody commented on how good it sounded; the speakers being modelled after V30s certainly helps, I think, because that's what the Kraken was designed for. In fact, it sounded very similar to a gig a few weeks ago when I had to use somebody's Zilla Fatboy loaded with V30s.

The only change I had to make, aside from turning the bass down, is to whack the volume up a bit. I think these speakers are a shade less efficient than the Eminence ones in my other cab. That's not necessarily a bad thing, though.

All in all, I think this is one of my better purchase decisions. More than I've ever paid for a cab in my life, but totally worth it.

Even if you don't have a bad back, I'd absolutely recommend one of these without hesitation.

thomasross20

I BLOODY knew it!!!!!!!!!!!

I was looking at the matrix amp and NL cabs a while back but consensus here was they must be naff since they were so light etc.
I'd love to try one... Would love to have a small head and NL cab - absolutely light setup but would sound great.

I think my Blackstar is 24kg and that 212 is 13kg.

Man.... I've so got GAS for an LP-style guitar.... and a small head and cab.
Would love an AFD head but fat chance of that happening.

digitalscream

thomasross20 said:

I was looking at the matrix amp and NL cabs a while back but consensus here was they must be naff since they were so light etc.
I'd love to try one... Would love to have a small head and NL cab - absolutely light setup but would sound great.

Yep, we were totally wrong. I must say, it doesn't feel like it weighs much more than the Kraken, which is only supposed to be 8kg. I don't have any scales to hand, but I suspect somebody has their numbers wrong (not convinced it's the cab, because I fail to see how you can make a 2x12" that weighs 8kg).

It's worth noting that I specifically asked for the demo cab, rather than one straight from the factory - not for any price reasons, but so that I knew the speakers were already broken in. Apparently they do sound very toppy to begin with, but put a few hours of noise through them and that drops off very sharply.

thomasross20

Well whenever I go the head and can route I think my mind is made up, I'll be getting the NL212 cab. I'm all for light / ease of use

thomasross20

What head do you use? How much weight can it take? I was also interested in the VB800

digitalscream

thomasross20 said:

What head do you use? How much weight can it take? I was also interested in the VB800

One of these:

...but it can easily hold one of these (tested):

thomasross20

What do you prefer out of those two? 

Wow... Victory head + NL212... amazing. 

Can you do a video / sound clip? 

thomasross20

One of these + Victory V40 (the single-channel acoustic head) + pedal board for my own distortion + effects would be great. 

digitalscream

thomasross20 said:

What do you prefer out of those two? 

Wow... Victory head + NL212... amazing. 

Can you do a video / sound clip? 

Honestly, I prefer the Kraken. It's got a clarity to the Gain I channel (which I use for heavy rhythm) which no other amp I've come across has.

That's not to say that I'd be unhappy gigging with the Jet City at all; they're brilliant amps, and this one in particular has served me well for 4 or 5 years.

I'm going to book some time at our rehearsal studio next month to do some comparison clips at proper volume, which I can't do at home. The one thing that the JCA50H has going for it over the Kraken is that it's possible to run it at home volumes. The Kraken can't really do that, even in 2W mode; the power scaling just seems to determine where it breaks up rather than scaling the volume controls.

thomasross20

Ah ok... good point. Does it do good cleans?

I heard the V50 is "the daddy." Tried that? I wonder if the V40 is ok at home volumes, I recall it had a lot of options. 

Big thing though is that the cab is good for live usage (it is, right?) despite its weight. I knew it!! 

digitalscream

thomasross20 said:

Ah ok... good point. Does it do good cleans?

I heard the V50 is "the daddy." Tried that? I wonder if the V40 is ok at home volumes, I recall it had a lot of options. 

Big thing though is that the cab is good for live usage (it is, right?) despite its weight. I knew it!! 

I presume by "it" you mean the Kraken? Check this thread out - the first clip is with the gain up high on the Gain I channel but the guitar volume rolled off. The second clip is exactly the same settings, but using the bridge pickup and with the guitar volume all the way up.

I've tried the V50, and I found it a bit "meh", really. Then again, I don't like amps with a clean and a dirty channel; I much prefer two high-gain channels so I can do most of my control smoothly from the guitar and through varying the pick attack.

And yes, I have no qualms about the cab from a live perspective

thomasross20

Wow it's defo high gain. Probably too high gain for me , to be honest. 

Great news about the cab... 

randella

I'm absolutely loving the sound of these cabs, being as I am bad of back. I looked up the spec for the 1x12 and it weighs precious little more than my Boogie minirec lunchbox head. Another day I might have the money and will be giving them a good hard look based on this glowing review. Thanks for posting!

digitalscream

@randella - to be completely honest, I wasn't particularly impressed with the 1x12" version straight up, so I didn't spend a lot of time with it. It was the 2x12" which instantly grabbed me.

randella

@digitalscream - advice appreciated.  Although, as hinted, it'll be a while before the dollars are burning a hole in my wallet either way!

I long for the day when an Axe-FX costs £250, fits in your pocket, plugs into the desk, and somehow has whatever it is that makes us all haul around great sodding lumps of equipment just to get that 'thing'

thomasross20

Still going good with this??

digitalscream

Yep - well, kinda. Now that my band has shuffled off this mortal coil, I have absolutely no need for a cab at all (all my recording is via a dummy load and impulses). With that said...the cab managed a few rehearsals and a single gig and did its job admirably

Cabicular

Wanna flog it ?

digitalscream

Cabicular said:

Wanna flog it ?

Nope. As noted elsewhere - the cab is so good that I'm keeping it, even though I have absolutely no need for it (and probably won't ever need it, at this rate).

Cabicular

Well if you get sick of it 'tying up capital' give me a shout
I'll probably pick up a second hand one at some point I've seen a couple on the bay
Or I could put a couple of neos in a pair of Orange PPC112s those cabs are pretty light as they are