Best 1x12 cab for Mesa Mark V 25 head

I recently purchased a Mesa V 25 head and wonder what would be your cab choice. I play hard rock/Metallica covers mainly. 

Mesa Thiele cab with an EV.

If you can’t find (or lift) one, the later ones with the Black Shadow Celestion 90 also sound great.

I've got better than that..........
A Port City Wave cab .....probably the most expensive 1x12 you can get (see their website )
Its currently loaded with an EVM12 L  ......The uncontested best speaker for heavier rock
I'm keen to sell .....it worked superbly with my SLO 30 but I'm selling that too because I want to buy a really good vintage 335
If you want cab and speaker I'll do you a great deal to get it sold whilst there's a particular guitar floating around 
feel free to PM me

ICBM said:

Mesa Thiele cab with an EV.

If you can’t find (or lift) one, the later ones with the Black Shadow Celestion 90 also sound great.

This. 100%.

Yep.. my Mesa goes through an 1x12 EVM or with a cab with more. :). Monster sounding speaker and can handle the range the graphic EQ enables.

Do you have access to a crane or forklift?

An open back Boogie cab is fine too, If you can’t find a Thiele.
I still use 2 open back Boogie cabs with my Mk:3 head, Boogie rack, & I briefly used a Mk:V 25, & no lack of tone in any venue I played.

I had that very head (gone now) and I chose the Mesa Boogie 1x12 Mini Rectifier Slanted Cab, which I still have - this makes for a great and lighter, neat-looking and more portable rig and sounds bigger than it is and not directional.  It also handles the cleans and the overdriven sounds really well and it's V30 speaker.

I saw this up on Andertons earlier. Might be worth giving them a call and asking which speaker it has.

https://www.andertons.co.uk/second-hand-mesa-boogie-thiele-1x12-cab-892/

Aornic said:

I saw this up on Andertons earlier. Might be worth giving them a call and asking which speaker it has.

Celestion. It says so on the back panel, and you can see the thinner pressed-steel rim through the grille, not the thicker cast one of the EV.

Still a great cab, just not quite as immense sounding as the EV version.

I'll cheekily piggyback on here as the Mesa gang has come out to play; looking for a Widebody 1x12" open back.

Thanks for your replies all. I have found a Mesa cab loaded with a black shadow evm at £300. Would you buy this older model or get a newer cab model. 

Metallicum23 said:

Thanks for your replies all. I have found a Mesa cab loaded with a black shadow evm at £300. Would you buy this older model or get a newer cab model.

Difficult choice… that’s more of a bargain than the Thiele in Anderton’s, but I think the Thiele is probably better for the sounds you’re going for.

Or buy both and swap the speakers .

ICBM said:

Metallicum23 said:

Thanks for your replies all. I have found a Mesa cab loaded with a black shadow evm at £300. Would you buy this older model or get a newer cab model.

Difficult choice… that’s more of a bargain than the Thiele in Anderton’s, but I think the Thiele is probably better for the sounds you’re going for.

Or buy both and swap the speakers .

Is this because how the thiele is built or sized? I had assumed that Mesa cabs from 80s are still quality but I may be wrong. 

Metallicum23 said:

Is this because how the thiele is built or sized? I had assumed that Mesa cabs from 80s are still quality but I may be wrong. 

It’s because the Thiele is a closed-back ported cab and sounds like a small 4x12”. (Or close, for something so small.)

The EV cab there is the standard small open-back cab and sounds like a Mesa Mark series combo - still good, but for the heavier sounds the Thiele cab is probably better even with the Celestion.

It’s quite a difficult choice - you won’t go wrong with either really. The Thiele cab matches the amp visually better though, with the ‘Boogie’ logo and leather corners rather than the older metal ones (shallow I know!).

Metallicum23 said:

I think I will go for the open back EVM loaded. I have listened to some reviews of the C90 and I do not think I liked the sound. I may even prefer my Neo Creamback despite of the colouring and warmth. I may get a piece plywood to have a closed cab option. 

That’s a good idea. It’s also probably the safer choice, since if you come across an EV-loaded Thiele later, you could very likely sell the open-back one for what you paid for it.