Cab for small amp

[Kbonger]

After reading all the stuff about small amps I thought I might want one. So, after looking at cab and speakers I thought I'd just build one and load a speaker myself.

Then, I saw this, https://www.thomannmusic.com/harley_...12_vintage.htm

Sweet cab, 12" speaker and $155.

Any downside to this cab? The speaker alone is $125.

[Steve DeRosa]

I'm not a Celestion kinda guy, but objectively speaking it's a proven quantity and you could do a whole lot worse for the money...

That said, a couple bucks more gets you a slipcover as well - I had a couple amps without one early on and I swore I'd never do it again, prevents a lot of incidental damage in transit:

https://www.thomannmusic.com/harley_...v30_bundle.htm

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by Kbonger

After reading all the stuff about small amps I thought I might want one. So, after looking at cab and speakers I thought I'd just build one and load a speaker myself.

Then, I saw this, https://www.thomannmusic.com/harley_...12_vintage.htm

Sweet cab, 12" speaker and $155.

Any downside to this cab? The speaker alone is $125.

Harley Benton isn't known for top tier products, so there's that.

[printer2]

Originally Posted by Rudy4

Harley Benton isn't known for top tier products, so there's that.

So you are saying they are using cheap speaker parts?

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by printer2

So you are saying they are using cheap speaker parts?

Whenever a company builds to a price point then there's a chance the consumer will pay the price in the end. Consider all of those folks who bought the Fishman amps with the paper-thin covering. It cost them a lot to regain customer confidence after all the bad press.

I'm not sure what they use for components but everything could be a trouble spot, time will tell.

I've heard of examples of "name brand" components that were built to a lower standard for the final manufacturer's use.

[redir]

What amp do you have and what are you going for? I see that they also have a Thiele cap which is ported and would give you bass umph! It's nice to match the wattage of the amp with the speaker too for efficiency.
https://www.thomannmusic.com/harley_..._greenback.htm

[fpuhan]

Well, since you mentioned Celestion, I thought of the Monprice tube amp with spring reverb I bought. I paid roughly what your Thomann is going for, but their new price is a bit higher. Many folks have suggested this is a Laney Cub with a different name badge. For a tube amp used for home practice, it's quite the amp!

[rmp]

Why not try it?

The worse can happen is it's not as exactly good as one that you'd pay three times more, but it'll still work, and probably work exactly how you want it to.

[davidd]

Originally Posted by Rudy4

Harley Benton isn't known for top tier products, so there's that.

I have the same cab branded as Monoprice. It is a great cab. Birch ply construction and the V30 sounds great. It is surprisingly a great piece of kit. I'm comparing it to two other 12" cabs I have and it is easily as well made. I'm using it with my Quilter Superblock US and it makes a great gigging setup. Louder than my Deluxe Reverb.

HB actually is putting out some very good stuff these days. You might want to re-evaluate your perception.

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by davidd

I have the same cab branded as Monoprice. It is a great cab. Birch ply construction and the V30 sounds great. It is surprisingly a great piece of kit. I'm comparing it to two other 12" cabs I have and it is easily as well made. I'm using it with my Quilter Superblock US and it makes a great gigging setup. Louder than my Deluxe Reverb.

HB actually is putting out some very good stuff these days. You might want to re-evaluate your perception.

I'm pretty good at perception and even better with actual experience.

I purchased the most expensive bluetooth headphones Monprice sold. They literally fell apart in two months. They sent me a replacement pair that lasted 3 months and then told me that was the end of their warranty responsibility.

I'll pass on any electronics branded as Monoprice, too. Maybe their brand is simply re-badged, but good luck if you need warranty service.

[davidd]

Originally Posted by Rudy4

I'm pretty good at perception and even better with actual experience.

I purchased the most expensive bluetooth headphones Monprice sold. They literally fell apart in two months. They sent me a replacement pair that lasted 3 months and then told me that was the end of their warranty responsibility.

I'll pass on any electronics branded as Monoprice, too. Maybe their brand is simply re-badged, but good luck if you need warranty service.

Comparing headphones to a speaker cab is like chalk and cheese. Having had over the last 60 years loads of amps and cabs, some cabs custom built, I can assure you that these cabs are as well made as many out there and sound great.

A solid birch ply cab with a Celestion V30 for what Thomann is selling them for is a crazy bargain. A V30 alone is $169.

I've bought a few different cables from Monoprice and they have been great. I'm sure they have a myriad of suppliers and some products are better than others.

The consensus over at the TDPRI is positive.

https://www.tdpri.com/threads/monopr...d-cab.1068417/

[redir]

Sometimes cheap is cheap and you get what you pay for but these cabs have good speakers in them and claim to be plywood construction. They probably cut corners on how the cabs are made, the joinery and so on. But it has all the ingredients of a good cab. Just don't bang it around too much

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by davidd

...HB actually is putting out some very good stuff these days. You might want to re-evaluate your perception.

Don't have any hands-on experience yet, but the more recent reviews I've read have certainly changed my perception - they seem to be emerging as a legitimate high value-per-dollar entry in the budget market...

Originally Posted by Rudy4

I'm pretty good at perception and even better with actual experience...

I'll pass on any electronics branded as Monoprice, too. Maybe their brand is simply re-badged, but good luck if you need warranty service.

I recall similar issues when Bugera first emerged on the market as an independent brand (separate from Behringer) in the early-2K's - it took nearly a decade for them to live down the (justified) bad rap...

I took a chance on a V22 combo in 2010, shortly after word got out that the initial bugs had been addressed...

Mine's been trouble-free for the last 13 years, for most of which time it served as my main gigging amp, and I own three other Bugera amps (all similarly trouble-free)...

TMK all of Monoprice's offerings are rebadged, from a broad variety of sources, and while I'm sorry your experience was less than favorable it's equally possible that there are in fact some hidden gems in the lineup...

FWIW the 15W 1x12" combo (allegedly a rebadged first-generation Laney Cub) is a cult favorite with the TDPRI guys/gals, as a bucks-down alternative to the Blues Junior as well as a popular mod platform: when initial reviews singled out the poor-sounding spring reverb the issue was promptly addressed, and while I understand the cabinet is comparatively lightly built, with a little bit of due diligence it serves its intended purpose adequately...

I see no reason to believe the OP's experience should be any different...

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

Don't have any hands-on experience yet, but the more recent reviews I've read have certainly changed my perception - they seem to be emerging as a legitimate high value-per-dollar entry in the budget market...


I recall similar issues when Bugera first emerged on the market as an independent brand (separate from Behringer) in the early-2K's - it took nearly a decade for them to live down the (justified) bad rap...

I took a chance on a V22 combo in 2010, shortly after word got out that the initial bugs had been addressed...

Mine's been trouble-free for the last 13 years, for most of which time it served as my main gigging amp, and I own three other Bugera amps (all similarly trouble-free)...

TMK all of Monoprice's offerings are rebadged, from a broad variety of sources, and while I'm sorry your experience was less than favorable it's equally possible that there are in fact some hidden gems in the lineup...

FWIW the 15W 1x12" combo (allegedly a rebadged first-generation Laney Cub) is a cult favorite with the TDPRI guys/gals, as a bucks-down alternative to the Blues Junior as well as a popular mod platform: when initial reviews singled out the poor-sounding spring reverb the issue was promptly addressed, and while I understand the cabinet is comparatively lightly built, with a little bit of due diligence it serves its intended purpose adequately...

I see no reason to believe the OP's experience should be any different...

I'd definitely consider a Bugera if I were to buy another tube-based small combo or head. They have the reputation among users to justify my confidence in a purchase.

I'm always open to considering any brand, but just no wide-eyed acceptance of manufacturer's claims. I've been burned a few times in the past and those companies will have a hard time getting past my door.

Bottom line, it's not much money to risk. I'd be more concerned with gigging equipment that hasn't been on the market long.

[abn556]

Its all about construction details on cabs. Are they 5/8” baltic plywood or some cheap pressboard? Do they offer a convertible back that allows you an open or closed back option? Also does it have the width and depth so your head sits on it cleanly.

The V30 is not my favorite Celestion. I like Greenbacks better. I really prefer Weber’s Blue/Silver Bell combo in a 2 x 12, though I do have a 1 x 12 format combo with a greenback and a Princeton Reverb LE with the 12” Jensen. I had a Marshall 1960A with 4 x V30s, a Marshall 2 x 12 extension cab with V30s, and a Mesa Boogie 4 x 12 with the V30s. So that is 10 V30 speakers that I have owned in 3 kinds of cabs, so I feel I gave them a good chance. l find the V30s to be more for a modern crunch sound than a classic Marshall/Celestion tone.

If you pay a little more, you’ll get a lot more cabinet.

Avatar makes some nicer lower priced cabinets:

https://avatarspeakers.com/product-category/guitar/

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