Hello, I am new to QC world, I am looking for suggestions on a guitar cab to use with my QC and Powerstage 200. My presets are mostly Marshal rigs, so wondering if I should get a Marshal cab only, or does that even matter?? My current routing is from QC->Powerstage200->FOH. I am looking to throw in a cab for stage volume.
If you like the sound of a particular cab + speakers it isn’t a bad idea to get that same one for the sound on stage
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Was thinking of this one - Marshall 1960A 300-watt 4 x 12-inch Or a Mesa 2x12 rectifier Cab, any ideas or other suggestions?/
Those are pretty standard and good sounding options. The 412 will sound more full than the 212. If you’re going to use the 212 I would suggest putting it on top of a road case so it’s higher up. Just having the 212 on the ground will make it harder to hear + it’ll be pointed directly at peoples faces depending on the size of the stage. Having a road case with the 212 will make it be about as large as a 412…..
A slanted 412 would give you better monitoring, and some better low end response.
Other great options would be an Oversized Mesa 412 or Orange 412. The 412 Marshall you mentioned is pretty standard and sounds great. Plus I’m assuming you’ll have an IR go to FOH, and that may get added into the stage monitor for you as well so you have some of your guitar in front + behind you.
Thank you so much, I m planning to go from Powerstage with Cab sim on to FOH through the XLR output and I think from powerstage to cab, it will not have the cab sim? . Will that work? Basically my presets on QC will not have any cab simulations.
If you’re using the cab sim on the Powerstage, then the cab sim will not go to the guitar cab itself.
The Powerstage will only apply the cab sim to the XLR output.
If you’re using a cab sim in the Quad, then you’ll need to split the signal two ways, so the cab sim on there is just going to FOH, and the amp sound (without a cab) is going to the Powerstage.
That will work, but having tried it myself, the cab sims/IRs on the QC are FAR better than the one on the PS. It’s useable, but I would consider it more of a backup than a main.
My current QC routing is to put an FX Send block between my QC Amp and QC Cab. That send feeds the onstage cab, then the main QC XLR outs are for FOH with a proper cab/IR within the QC.
I currently own two Mesa cabs, a 2x12 vertical and 4x12 traditional, both slanted.
The 2x12 vertical slant cab is beefier than people give it credit for, it looks great on stage (or at least better than a 2x12 horizontal sitting on top of a road case), the angled top speaker gives me just enough “monitoring” that I need, and the whole thing is a manageable 75 lbs. Overlooked, but highly recommended. Two 60W Vintage 30 speakers for a combined 120W.
Oh, and I love my 4x12 trad slant cab too. 
EDIT: I use an Orange Pedal Baby 100 and it works great with the QC and the cabs. I run everything in mono. (I’ll save my hot take on stereo rigs for another day.)
The Mesa 2x12 vertical slant cab looks great, how do you feel the low end response is? When compared to a 4x12. Now you got me thinking between the Marshall 4x12 vs the Mesa 2x12, they are pretty much the same price, though…
The Marshall 4x12 is almost certainly going to have more low end punch than the Mesa 2x12 (vertical slant) just from the extra speakers alone. But the Mesa doesn’t sound thin.
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My cab is a Sommatone Roaring40 1x12, with an Eminence Cannabis Rex 50w 16Ω speaker. I use a PowerStage 170, and it’s just perfect for me. Any gigging I go direct, but in the event I can’t she’s in the backline.
Don’t forget that half the tone of a cab is in the colour of tolex and grille-cloth. Seafoam green, silver piping, jet black everything else = good tone. It’s just science 
Considering your application though with the PS200, I really like the 2x12 mesa suggestion!
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I am new to the QC also. I did play through Amplitube for a few years but the QC is far better.
I thought about how these digital guitar processors already have speaker models so it seemed to me that the best sound ought to be had by not running through another speaker that was a real guitar speaker cab. Rather it ought to be the best sound by preserving the digital output as clearly and accurately as possible. So a pair of studio monitors is what I decided to try.
I got Yamaha HS8 powered monitors and they make for terrific sound. You can feed the same signal to the house system and out it’s speakers and get the best sound to where it’s needed, to the audience. Playing live I suppose it’s odd to have a pair of speakers at your feet to hear yourself, but in the studio, it’s very very nice - loud clear top quality sound.
The HS8’s are very scooped sounding. Couldn’t ever vibe with them. The lows are muddy, highs are strange, and the mids are so scooped it’s hard to dial a sound accurately for use anywhere else
Cab simulator and IR blocks are separate from amp blocks. If you’re using studio monitors or going straight to FOH, use 'em. They sound great.
If you want real “air” by pushing the amp block signal to a physical power amp and speaker cabinet, just turn them off, or don’t include them in your preset, or route the signal path such that it avoids going through an cabsim/IR block.
That said, If you’re searching for captures, just be aware that some people capture their amp with a cabinet, and some don’t.
Thanks for your take on the HS8’s! I have some QC setups that include scenes where I can go solo to a Dr Z MAZ18 combo. What you say fits what I also hear - the bass not very defined, etc. It’s maybe the awesome stereo sound the QC can make, the hi fidelity like a well recorded song, that gets me mostly playing through the QC and the studio monitors. Don’t have time and money to try other monitors and lucky I am happy with what I have.
Thank you for the tips @DiffractionCircuit . I do use the QC to send to my tube amp and exclude the amp+cab from the QC preset then. I did try some of the amp+cab included in send to the tube amp, but it’s not very good.
on a related note, just came across EVH 5150III Hypersonic FR-12 1,000-watt Powered FRFR, they just revealed this in NAMM 2025 and is expected to arrive sometime this year, sounds very promising with a PowerAmp and FRFR housed in one unit. Any thoughts?
I believe it’s the same thing as the Fender Tonemaster FR12 with different cosmetics and it nowhere near 1000 watts.
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