I think G12H's sound the best for the Express.

[leadfootdriver]

I've flip flipped a bunch of times, but a G12H works well in a mix for what I like.

Here's how it sounds today.
DEAD

[Blackburn]

Great sounding clip! Love that tune!

Ken felt the same way about the Hs. That's what he wrote in the TW pages anyway. Yours sounds really fat. Did you wire it up like Ingrid?

[leadfootdriver]

Nope, it's a Kelly. I have a tendency to go to bright, so I dialed it back a little. Plus it going thru an attenuator.

[geetarpicker]

Ken always like the G12Hs in his Ampeg 4x12. That said, he would also suggest the G12Ms if you wanted a less bright sound and lower volume levels. I tend to always come back to the Ms for that reason.

[Plexified]

I have pre rola 25 oo3 cones in my two ampeg cabs and they are amazing to say the least . They destroy the same Marshall slant and straights I have with the same speakers . The Ampegs have almost an ability to throw the midrange out in a way where you can almost visualize or 'see' it . It sounds crazy . Whats crazier is with the insulation still in the ampeg it was bigger and just off the charts . I have never heard them with the 30/s or the H magnet , but all I can say is wow . That would be time to mike the drummer and shoot the soundman for shure . Also If I were to have this cab fall off a two story building it would just leave a mark , as said by Paul Deceasere a guitar builder for EVH . My Marshalls from the 60's dance on the floor from the resonance , but the big Ampeg stays put . Plus the best description I heard from a friend aside from sound was 'to kill a roadie'

[Roe]

I like the Hs as well

[RCGPNY1]

I always liked the H's -probably my favorite. I wonder why Ken F. would say they are brighter than M's...they are not....they're more efficient, so without compensating for that they might seem more "forward"..but all one has to do is look at the published freq.response curves for these speakers to know that the M's peak is a little higher in frequency that the H's.
Also having played in many different stages in my years of playing I question that a V4 cab can "bury" a good Marshall 4x12 speakers being equal. I have done a lot lof research into phsycho-acoustics and found there are many resons why people perceive certain differences in sound.
Much of it is-beleive it or not-plecebo effect and just when you hear something you've heard before you tend to hear different aspects of the sound because you a)expect to or b) your brain is concentrating on a slighlty different aspect of the sound...I know its a long post but someone else on the forum made a link to a forum about perceived differences in sound on youtube..everyone should check it out!

[Nigel Tufnel]

I agree! I recently scored a quad of heritage g12h 55hz and contrary to the very mixed reviews I read prior with some saying they are too bright or too harsh I find them to be perfect for my express (not built by Ken but by me with a few small liberties taken). Yes they are more aggressive than pulsonic 30's, just rehabbed a 72 Marshall cab for a friend of mine and compared his cab with mine rather extensively… The old one's are sweeter for sure but they're 42 years old! Both cabs sounded great with my express but I prefer the reissues just for the fact that the have "authority" they give the express a little more of that marshall percussion that I am addicted to without sacrificing the touch and bloom that it has with 25's. Not lucky enough to have any vintage specimens of those but I do have a great sounding 4x12 with english 6402 greenbacks. Just my 2 cents.

[Plexified]

I guess I should clarify that the V4 doesn't destroy or bury the vintage Marshall . It differs like this , the Marshall cab does not hold the low frequency completely , it allows it to radiate a certain way . The V4 holds the low frequency and has no give therefore you get this extreme effect raging out of the speakers . Sometimes I think I can almost see the sound coming out of it as crazy as that might be . Its very focused almost like your pant legs are a flap pin when when your Marshall is on ten kinda thing . But the cab does sound better given the same g12m celestions from the 68 vintage .

[RCGPNY1]

"Better" is a subjective term. The V4 cab is more "inert"-less resonance.
Although not built of pressboard like a '70's Sound City cab they do the same kinda thing. The Sound City cabs just seemd to push the sound out of the cab...although in actual use...it could be heard no better than a 4x12 Marshall...just sounded a little bassier.