J Design Cabinets 212 Ported Guitar Cabinet

While this cabinet was based on the standard JDesign 212 Blues box, it's a very non-standard design, meant for my use as a stereo keyboard stage monitor, rather than guitar amp. It has 2-10" coaxial speakers, is ported for 55Hz, and uses a pair of plate-mounted custom crossovers. It looks like a standard 2-12 combo case from the outside, but it's not!

I ordered the cab with "hunter" (dark) green tolex, Marshall salt-and-pepper grille cloth, and white piping. The cab has black epoxy-paint hardware, including deep-dish handles on the side to easily hoist it up into my arms during load-in and load-out. It also has removeable casters and fairly tall rubber feet, which allows me to put the cab on top of my "lowboy" Leslie speaker. Overall, it looks a lot like a Marshall Bluesbreaker -- but some kind of limited edition, thanks to the green tolex.

Jeff at JDesign was very willing to work with me to make the cab fit all of my acoustic and esthetic needs, including seperating the two halves of the cabinet to improve the stereo field at low frequencies. This was very important to me because I was basically "transplanting" the components from another speaker cab (a piece of crap I bought on eBay), and I didn't want to make any changes -- I just wanted a better, more reliable cabinet. I talked to a couple of other custom box builders before purchasing, and neither of them were interested in varying their product one bit to match the needs of a keyboard player.

The cabinet is nice and "tight" sounding, which is important in a box that will be used for everything from piano to Clavinet to Mellotron to analog-style synthesizer. While it doesn't have bass response down to say, 30Hz, I wasn't expecting that out of a Fender Twin sized cab with a pair of 10s. It produces solid, even bass to about 50-60Hz, with a smooth rolloff below that. Very predictable, and more than useable for a stage monitor.

The box is well-built with plenty of glue and screws. There are 16 screws holding the back on -- 14 around the perimeter, plus two attaching to the center baffle that cuts the cab in two. The tolex is quite rugged: I used a power drill to screw down the crossover, and the Phillips head slipped at one point, bouncing off the tolex. I can't really tell you where at this point. It has the quality look and feel of my old Ampeg VT-40, which fell off a half-dozen stages without looking like it had.

I've been playing in bands for almost 40 years, and I've gone through enough gear to fill the average band's van 3-4 times. I know quality workmanship when I see it, and I see it in my JDesign cab. I expect this to remain a staple in my lineup for many years to come.

The cabinet has a 2-year warranty. Given that I supplied the speakers, crossovers, and wiring I doubt that I'll have any reason to use it. Nevertheless, JDesign was very helpful and accomodating during the creation of the design, much more than might be expected at the price I paid. (One of their competitors told me, quite frankly, that he "could make a dozen guitar or bass boxes in the time it would take to create a custom cabinet for [me]."

Would I replace it if it was lost or stolen? In a heartbeat ...

Made in '04. This is not a standard model so I won't get into details. At this point, I have learned that it's better to go custom. Most of my gear is custom or is highly modified. So, having a resource that I can go to with any requirement is very valuable. You can ask for the features you want and he will give you feedback and suggestions, then build it. His stock models look very nice and versatile.

It gets a 10 because it's exactly what I asked for.

This design is a variation on his ported cab. It's rattle free and has very tight bass and nice low end. It sings well in the upper registers and handles simultaneous frequency coverage well.

Excellent void free birch ply, attention to little things (rubber-sided back panel washers, good seals, real good tolex job, etc), and great workmanship (the dovetail corners got tested by the shipping company and passed the test). No worries.

I asked for something a little different than stock, and Jeff was right there in understanding what I was after. I don't know what his background is, but he has a very good practical grasp of his field. I had never heard of him, and in fact had an order in to a well respected boutique cab builder when I stumbled upon the site. Jeff demonstrated initiative, command of his craft, and genuine interest. I cancelled the other order. It was night and day. The whole exchange was via email which I prefer, and he was very communicative.

I use a few amps with it, mostly very loud amps with high wattage speakers. The cab has responded fine. I'd love to hear a 4X12 version.

His prices are fair. They are on the conservative side for what you get. Really, the build quality is very good. I do not know if his prices will stay on hte low side for long. Some of the snobby boutique guys are way more, and they are stuck in the past. Jeff can help you push things forward.

The cab gets compared to cabs I own or have owned from Chunky (they made the later Jackson cabs with the silver grilles...nice cabs), Budda, Vibroworld, Marshall, and VHT. The Jackson and the VHT's are nice at handling modern playing, but the JD is more unique and is the result of me trying to solve issues with stock cab models.

I requested a ported cab to get better definition and projection with my 7-string and it came with 3 ports along the bottom of the baffle; Jeff said he tuned it accordingly and tested it afterward for increased low-end response. I also specified 2 jack plates, each have 2 jacks in parallel. I wired L and R speakers to their own plate, leaving me the option to then daisy these to a bottom 2x12 cab also wired in stereo, or simply jumper L&R together for 8 ohm mono operation. Speakers are Jensen NeoDyniums -- you know, the one with the super-light magnet -- Celestion has ads all over every guitar mag for their version of this new technology (except theirs cost 3x as much).

I'll give it a 9 only because I have a cab I prefer, but there is no comparison in terms of value for the dollar. Make no mistake, this is a cab built by a tiny shop with attention to detail and a real concern for craftsmanship. The cab is flawless, obviously made with precision and with a perfect tolex job. I had a hard time deciding which colors to combine, which should onlyu get more difficult as his photo gallery grows! I have owned many cabinets, and don't want or need to deal with heaving 4x12's around. I prefer to stack 2 2x12's for gigs or practices, and use one L and R for my stereo rack at home. I decided several months back that I was really tired of my old Mesa Recto cabs and the high-end harshness of the V30's. After much experimentation I found I don't really want much speaker breakup or coloration of my sound. When playing at high volumes I use high wattage drivers in the bottom cab and the Jensens in this cab are rated at 200W so they are clean. I took a chance on these but am quite pleased-- they sound great on clean tones and just a bit harsh for high-gain riffing. But I'll take it any day over the Vintage 30 sound I thought was the shit for many years. Now I think they're not well balanced, but are all midrange and slighlt muffled sounding. For reference I'm using several preamps - Mesa Quad, Soldano X88, Voodoo Labs, Bogner Triple Giant, and a VHT 2/50/2 amp. This cab has a slight "woodiness" to the tone which is hard to describe,(something I attribute to the cab rather than the speakers) but it's a livlier sound than my other cabs and that's not a bad thing. If I were ordering another (and I most likely will) I'd ask for a somewhat deeper cab, as I think this one is a little overpowered by the speakers in it. But it's a keeper.

Oh yeah, this thing is well built. Remember-- more heft does not = more rugged. I was so used to my Mesa cabs that I got casters on this one. Silly me! The quality birch plywood used is much lighter than the cheap stuff Mesa and many others use, and with the Neo speakers the thing is ultralight. I have every reason to think any warranty issues would be taken care of better than any other company would do. I mean, if you drop it off of your Ryder truck or down a flight of stairs you deserve to buy another, but if some drunk yahoo trips and knocks it on it's side it'll be him that gets hurt.

Just like the others said, my experience was that of talking to a man who is very responsive and who knows his craft. He had it at my door within 3 weeks of my order, and this was not exactly a stock offering. Also sends photos of the work before you get it. Yeah, nice guy.

The rating 10 is characterized as "fantastic value", and I think JDesign cabs are just that. Here is a boutique cabinet builder who is not out to rip you off, but building a sound product at a reasonable price. Imagine that!

Very thick plywood construction throughout, including speaker baffle.
Removable heavy-duty casters AND thick rubber foot pegs. 2 2" ports at the bottom of the speaker bafflejust to the outside of each speaker. Very nice recessed steel handles on each side and steel corner protectors. It only has one input jack and cannot be daisy chained and is not stereo so I gave it an 8. Great assortment of finish options and different grill cloths. This cabinet is a standard 2x12" cab size, but he will custom make any size for you.

Gibson V98 with ceramic humbuckers and BC Rich Mockingbird Neckthrough with DiMarzio Super Distortions. Play mostly all the different genres of Metal, with some blues and pop stuff too. I ordered mine with 1 Vintage 30 Celestion and 1 G12H30 Celsetion. The sound is awesome! It projects very nicely and has an incredibly full sound. Everyone is looking for extra bass response today and this cabinet has it, I imagine the ports must help keep it so tight and projected. I cranked my Marshall 9100 power amp into it and it never farted out or got muddy. The clean sounds are fantastic too. I've been using multiple Peavey 5150 cabs and this little 2x12" sounds sooooo much better than them in every category! I definitley will be adding a second one soon!

It's brand new, but it feels like it is built like a tank! Very solid. It looks and feels like it would take some serious abuse before breaking. I wish they offered steel mesh speaker grates though, because being in a gigging band can be harsh on cloth speaker grills. The black steel corner protectors and handles seem really strong and look great. The casters and foot pegs are without a doubt the highest quality I've seen on any cabinet!

Jeff Earl answered emails very quickly and effeciently. I spoke with him at length over the phone and he was very helpful! We even discussed building some custom sized cabs for me in the future and he sent me all the specs for the design the next day along with multipe speaker options and prices! He said it would take about 10 days to build and ship, but he had it built and shipped in a week. I am very impressed and will definitely be a repeat customer!

I've been playing for over 24 years now!!! I've owned numerous 4x12" cabs over the years, mostly Peavey stuff. This is my first 2x12" and I will definitely get another to run my stereo rig. The sound is unbelievable and the portability of it is great! No more carrying around 100 pound cabs that sound marginal at best! I do wish it had a stereo option and steel mesh grill, but I'm not complaining! The looks and sound of this cabinet will bring me back. The great, personal service was the icing on the cake!