Hello
I´d like to share my first impressions of different combinations with different cabs.
1. going with 212 (open back) g12c did mush up the bass quite a bit. It got me shimmer and sparkle I loved, but lacked midrange and made the lower mids sound a bit muddy.
2. the g12c in an oversized open back 112 gave me a great sounding, articulate voice. The bass wasn´t as overwhelming as with the 212. The way this cab was built (floating baffle, compact but deep) supported the midrange and warmed up the treble. It was less sparkly as in the american voiced 212.
3. The 212 with g12c/et65 was not my favorite choice. It gave me the midrange I was hoping for, but mushed up the bass even more. The et65 dominated a bit. So I lost some shimmer and sparkle and could not find the advantage to a single speaker design. I had the impression the g12c didn´t contribute a lot to the sound.
4. the et65 in a larger 112 (not too deep, like a tweed 210 in size) gave me more sparkle and shimmer and a tighter bass than the combination with the g12c. It sounded suprisingly "american", so I had to give the g12c/et65 another testdrive in that separated application with 2 parallel 112.
5. 2x 112 et65/G12c turned out much better. The low mids and bass had better control and stayed quite stable. There was plenty of sparkle and shimmer. This time the g12c (in its oversized cab) seemed to add shimmer to the sound and - surprisingly - did not sound overpowered by the et65 anymore. So separate cabs seemed the way to go.
6. g12c/g10c 1210cab. Yeah! Punch, midrange, sparkle. Everything is there without mushing up the lower frequencies. Very tight attack. Not as snappy as the g12c alone (but still enough!), bright, articulate with a more aggressive touch than any other 212 g12c application I tried. I had the impression I get a tad less shimmer, but maybe break-in period might tame the g10c a bit - so maybe it´s getting a bit less aggressive and a bit more shimmer. But this is a keeper anyways. I guess a chambered cab might (or not) bring out the advantages of each speaker even a bit more (I think so because of the impression each speaker sounded better in a 112 application than in a 212). I will keep you informed when this got a bit more playing and rehersal time. But this is definitely something you should try!
7. g10c/et65 in separate cabs. Shimmer, shimmer, shimmer, lots of body and a tight bass response, though lots of bottom. Another really precious thing. There was no icepick, but really sparkling treble response. It sounded glassy and clean did shine like the sun. Still lots of punch. It tended strongly to the american side, but had some hints of grit, especially in the lower frequencies, that gave charakter to the sound. Wonderful. Keeps you wanting more.
8. g10c in a really big cab (212 size, but only the g10c active). Glassy shimmer with lots of body and a tighter bass response than the g12c, though not less bass, just tighter. If I had knew this in the beginning, I maybe wouldn´t have bought the 12" - because this gives me anything I wanted from the 12", but more. More body, more shimmer, better control over the bass. Cool. I have to admit, this 110 has anything I hoped for in a small package.
Bottomline - I learned that a 10" can be beefier than a 12". I learned that I prefer separate cabs over 212 / 1210 because everytime I went for separate cabs the speakers could really play out their strength better than combined in the same housing. The bass was always tighter and there was more sparkle and shimmer retained. I guess I have a 212 for selling and going to buy one more 112 / 110. Hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed my "research". The quest for tone is to be continued...