Jenkins Sound Shop Highway 61 2x12 Cab

Yes. JSS is back in business!
A custom made 8 ohm cabinet with one 12" Weber Blue Dog 50 Watt Ceramic Speaker and one Weber Silver Bell 50 Watt Ceramic speaker. Open or closed back operation. It is unlike most Highway 61s in that it is made entirely of Mahogany ply originally intended to restore an old Chris Craft power boat. It is black tolex with smooth black grill cloth, chrome corner protectors, white piping and a mahogany panel across the top of the front. A single Fender style carry strap is on top. It shipped at 56 lbs.

I love the way it sounds. So far I have been using it for cleaner tones with my Dual Showman Reverb, running in open back mode. It is big, rich and clear sounding. My wife, who rarely even listens, said it sounds wonderful. The DSR has massive power and the cab handles it very well, with no buzzes, rattles, or other complaints. It is the perfect compliment to my closed back 2 x 12. This is my third JSS cabinet. They all sound different and they all sound great.

Very reliable. Would and do use it with no back up. Given its weight, I don't see how it could be any more solid or any stronger.

When you buy from JSS you deal directly with Doug Holt. I have met a lot of great people in the music business and he is one of the very best.

To get a custom made cabinet of outstanding quality, with the speakers I chose, in a choice of colors, for less than the price of many mass produced cabs is unbeatable in my mind. If what you want is what Mr. Famous X uses, go for it. If you want to be more individual, have something made for you, and sound awesome, you can not beat JSS.

Open or closed back with two Weber speaks. The baltic birch plywood is super hard.very rigid and quite thick. Doug even puts a light coat of varnish on the inside like some high end acoustics to keep it from absorbing moisture. Mine is black with some nice removable casters.

I love this cab. The speaks are C-12B and 12S- a good combo that Doug recommends. This is currently my fave and I use it with a Mesa Lonestar and a Matchless Chieftain. The Mesa has more headroom and my band is loud so that's the combo I use most.

Simply a fantastic sounding cab with no buzzes or cabinet flex. The speaks hold tight at high volume levels. The cab is pretty new and I expect it to sound a little warmer after each high volume performance. I don't mic my speaks and play outdoors 95% of the time and my band is very loud- I blame the drummer but the good ones are usually loud.

I have some very nice equipment with my Taylor acoustics being standouts. This cab is built with that level of precision. All the joints are very tight. The only thing I might recommend to Doug is heavier speaker wire or George L's etc..

This is the best looking, inside and out, cab I've ever seen. I use it open back.

Cab is super tough and will hold up. I put 100 tube watts through the speaks and they are holding up ok. They are rated at 50watts each so I'm pushing the envelope. They stay tight enough for me and they seem to be holding up ok. Time will tell. The cab will never fail me.

It's nice to work with someone that you have some connection with. I had the vision of Doug toiling away on my cab and I feel that he put a little extra in to it so I can try to get a little extra out of it.

It's a subtle thing but makes a difference to me in a big way. I like top drawer stuff so you can focus on the muse. This is an excellent purchase for me. I have other cabs a 1X12 and 2X12 closed back with Celestion Vintage 30s. Those boxes are resting although I use the 2 2X12 cabs together for bigger shows- best of both worlds.

I think of this box has having the physics of my Taylor 614CE. If you've ever played one- you know that's a huge statement!!

Right on Doug- keep building as you have one of the best boxes I've ever seen- I take that back- it's the best box I've ever seen and is a good balance of being solid without being to heavy.

Love it!! I can't say anything about it is less than perfect. The cosmetics, sound and build quality are excellent. The Webers are great in this combination.

Highway 61; Black Tolex with Oxblood Grill cover; Two Weber Speakers. Doug builds his cabinets with the option to have an open or closed back. Great feature for different sounds and venues.

Best sounding cabinet that I have ever heard. I am currently using a Dr Z Route 66 head and The Klon Centaur for overdrive along with some others. This combination is just to sweet for words. I have Three Fenders; a Gibson 335; and a Guild Starfire III. I can't get a bad tone out of these speakers.

Solid

Doug is the best in the business. You will not find a better person to work with.

I've been playing for 25 years as a professional musician and I will never get rid of this cabinet. I have owned just about everything out there and the Jenkins Highway 61 get's a perfect score in my book. The sad thing is that Doug is going out of business. The competition is just to huge. The Wal-Marts and Home Depots of Guitar Cabinets are dominating with less quality and tone. It's just the american way I guess. There are lots of great cabs out there but I am just blown away by Dougs work. If you have the opportunity to own one of Doug's cabs; jump on it. Do whatever you can to get one of these cabs.
Thanks Doug for all that you have done for all the musicians out there. You're the best!

Not an "amp" review but a custom cabinet review. Jenkins Sound Shop "Highway 61" 2x12 cab, loaded with Weber Alnico B & S speakers. Straight, no frills, cab. Smooth black tolex, nickle corners, wicker grille clothe and white piping. A flawless cab and Doug's craftsmanship is top notch. An excellent product from a very competent builder.

Doug breaks the speakers in before he loads the cab. This cab is set up at 8 Ohms. I have Weber Alnico B & S speakers and I will never buy another Celestion Greenback as long as I am playing guitar. The tones from this cab rival any 4x12 in half the size. By breaking in the speakers you are actually hearing "new" speakers that sound 40 years old. This cab will crunch with any cab on the market and the clean tones are pure vintage to my ears.

Jenkins Sound Shop builds cabs that last. This cab is so solid and so well constructed I just can't see it falling apart. Outside of falling out of a moving van.

Be sure to contact Jenkins Sound Shop during the correct hours of operation. Doug is a very busy person but will always contact you back either by phone or email. Doug was great to work with during my Highway 61, 2x12 cab construction. I enjoy it so much I ordered a Jenkins 4x12...this review to follow.

I have been playing guitar for 22+ years and I have never heard a better speaker cabinet. I play a 50's Les Paul Standard, a 1999 Les Paul reissue, and a Scott Lentz custom S-Style guitar. All top choice guitars and now I have top choice cab to play through. Jenkins Sound Shop cabs are lighter than most cabs but sound much better. Great for both the back and ears.

Please see the previous reviews. (The only thing different is that I did not request a ohm switch for the jack)

I use a Gibson Les Paul Classic with Classic 57 pickups. I drive this cab with a Marshall JTM 600 head which is a great amp for varied classic rock tones (it can also handle old school metal ala Sabbath). This cabinet is excellent tonally. The first 2 months I used it with the optional half-back off and really loved it. It had a very spacious quality without losing its articulation. It didn't get muddy or boomy with the back off at all. Then about a month ago I put the back on for giggles and I liked it even better. It's hard to describe how it was better, but it seemed that the clean tones were just a bit more punchy and it did this without really losing its spacious tonal qualities. It's real strength is how much it wails for lead tones. I love to crank my amp through this cab. Its resonance just makes this cabinet a wailing wall of sound.

I bought the cabinet empty (for $349) and put some Weber speakers I had (C12b and C12S)into it. It may be a combination of things, but with this set up (amp/cab/speakers) I am able to "set it and forget it" as they say in those infomercials. I used to hassle around with other amp/cabinet/speaker combinations constantly twisting knobs to acheive a decent clean rythm, crunch rythm, and lead tone from my rig and it was impossible to get all three at once. I tried different speakers with different cabinet situations and I always seemed to need to turn a knob or two when going from one tone to another. With this Jenkins cab (and my Marshall JTM600) I can smooothly transition from one tone to another and the Highway 61 handles all of these tones fantastically.

I think this amp would work well for anyone who plays country clean, to dirty blues, to hard rock, to old-school metal. It is not suited for modern high-gain tones, but that is not what Jenkins Sound shop was going for anyhow. Very versatile and toneful cabinet!

This cabinet is built very well. The thing screams quality when you open it up and check out the construction. Even the screws, washers and metal corner covers are a step above your average stuff you find in mass produced gear. Doug even threw in extra hardware (screw/washers) for the back panel. Very classy thing to do... The only thing about it that seemed to be a little less than top quality is the nameplate. Like someone said previously it is a lightweight brass stick-on plate like you would find on the door of an office. Everything, and I mean everything else, on this cabinet is top-notch quality.

I dig this cab so much I am going to go to one of those "Things to Remember" shops in the mall and have them make a sturdy brass nameplate to replace the original.

Point Blank: Doug is making awesome quality cabinets that cannot be had for better money. I have seen some of the lower cost cabinet companies and they are making ok stuff, but make no mistake the quality of Jenkins cabs is unrivaled for the cash. They are making truly boutique quality cabs for half the money.

Doug was really great to deal with when I ordered my stuff. I feel comfortable that he would back his stuff up if a buyer was not happy with their purchase.

I had asked Doug if he could throw in an extra strip of piping so that it would better match my head and he was very obliging.

He is a great guy to deal with.

I have been playing for just over 20 years and alot of gear has gone through my hands. Currently I own a Gibson LP Classic, MIA Fender Hardtail Strat, Marshall JTM600 head, Sovtek Mig 50H head, Guild Thunder 1 combo tube amps and lot's of effects pedals. If it were lost or stolen I would buy one again in a second. It was one of the best value purchases I have ever made for gear. I love the flat-out tone I get when I crank my amp and wail leads. I don't hate anything about it. It can't do high-gain metal, but neither can my strat. I wouldn't hate something for not being able to do something it was not meant to do. I compared Jenkins to many other more expensive boutique cabinet makers as well as to a couple of lower cost makers and this looked like the best deal out there and I am totally happy with my decision.

The cab deserves a really classy name plate so I will be more than happy to spend a few extra bucks myself and have one made for it.

These cabs are very toneful and worth every penny. Go buy one today! You will not be dissapointed.

2x12 cab capable of open-back or closed-back operation. Extremely wide range of Tolex, grillcloth and speaker options. Got mine unloaded because I already had a Vintage 30 and Classic Lead 80 targeted for it. See www.jenkinssoundshop.com for more information. This category gets a '10' for the choices offered by Jenkins and the open/closed back capability.

I have owned a Fender Tone-Master 2x12 and Guytron 2x12. I have played and heard many other 2x12 cabinets in my 30 years on the instrument and I have never played anything that sounds as good as the Jenkins Highway 61. This cab makes all of my amps sound warmer, smoother and more open than they do in their own cabs (in the case of combos) or with other 2x12 cabs (in the case of heads). In fact, I initially bought the Jenkins as an extension cab for my Shiva combo. But, the amp sounded so much better into the Jenkins all by itself that I actually went to the hassle and expense of converting my Shiva 1x12 combo into a head so I could just run a simple head/cab combination. The Shiva 1x12 combo cab has been collecting dust ever since!

I also recently bought a Uni-Valve head, which sounds absolutely astounding into the Jenkins, but actually only mediocre into the Shiva 1x12 combo cab or my Allen Accomplice 1x12 combo cab.

After hearing what kind of improvement in tone this thing can provide for any amp, I am now convinced that the speaker cab itself is at least 50% responsible for an amp's tone.

The cab is extremely well-built. Once again, I'll defer to www.jenkinssoundshop.com for the details. I've gigged with this cab heavily for over a year now, but haven't subjected it to any abuse, so I can judge reliabilty based only on construction and comparision to other cabs.

Doug Holt ranks up there with the best of 'em in the customer service department. He'll talk your ear off regarding cabs and anything musical and will not rest until you are completely satisfied. He gets my highest recommendation.

Overall, I don't think it can get a whole lot better than this. You simply cannot go wrong with a Jenkins cab. If I ever need another cab, I won't hesitate to take out my credit card and give Doug a call, period.

I ordered my Highway 61 in red tolex with wicker grill and gold piping, the cabs's a thing of beauty! For speakers I started with Weber alnicos... a blue dog and silver bell... on Doug's recommendation. The Silver Bell died in shipping and that led to a conversation with Doug regarding the amp I would mainly use it with... he recommended using Jenkins speakers... made by Weber, with ceramic magnets. The cabinet is used live on stage and in the studio.

Guitars: Historic Les Pauls... '54, 59; Historic '59 335 reissue, assorted vintage Strats and a new '56 Relic Strat, Relic Nocaster, '54 Gibson ES-5. Amps: mainly the cab is used with a THD Univalve, which is part of a two amp setup... the THD is for overdriven tones and distortion.
The Jenkins speakers are made by Weber to Doug's specifications and sound killer, they have 30oz. ceramic magnets. Great,tight lows with lots of definition, fat, richly harmonic mids and wonderful "airy" highs. I have yet to get a bad sound out of them. The cabinet is very resonant and has a removeable 1/3 back which really opens the sound up. No rattles or farting speaker noises to be had.

The cab is built like a tank, with very careful attention to detail...flawless work on all the fit and finish. This thing's handbuilt with pride and it shows.

I've been playing guitar for a long time and Doug Holt is the best person I've ever dealt with in the industry. When my cab arrived one of the speakers was dead. I emailed Doug about it and he called me in 20 minutes!! ... talk about support. We discussed speakers and he suggested a set that would meet my needs, maybe better than the ones I ordered... they were on UPS the same day. I've never dealt with anyone so helpful.
Best customer support I've ever had.

I've been playing guitar in bands, professionally for about 20 years. I've owned every cool guitar and amp known to man and own alot of wonderful tweed, blackface and brownface Fenders, I'm also a big fan of Victoria Amps.
This cabinet has a huge, open tone I've never been able to get in a 2x12" cab before, there's no comparing it to anything else out there 'cause nothing sounds as good. Couple great tone with killer looks and add the best of customer support... how can you go wrong?
I can't wait 'til the 4x10" comes out!

2 great features on my cab are removable top rear panel so I can use this Cab as an open back or closed back. The 2nd feature that I love is a switch that allows me to go between 4 ohm(Para) and 16 ohm(Series). Very helpful, especially in the studio

This cab is perfectly balanced. Nice highs, tight lows, and user friendly mids.Not too heavy in any frequency. I have a bunch of these cabs and all my speakers sound exactly like they should in these cabs.
No boominess or muddiness. Everyone that hears these cabs, says man that thing sounds real nice.

These cabs are built better then anything I have seen. Very sturdy.
No rattles or wierd resonance due to poor construction.
Doug spends a ton of time building these and pours his heart into every one of these. He won't send one out until it's perfect.

He always spends time with me to make sure everything is just right. He also asks me what kind of speakers and amp that I will be using the cab with. He'll spend an hour with me if that's what it takes. He is one of the kindest and most honest people in this business.

Jenkins Cabs are the goods. I have 5 of them and have tested them against many others. Doug's Cabs are the Rolls Royce of cabs in my book.

It's a 212 cabinet, with a removable back panel, weber b and s speakers, basketweave tolex and natural cane grille. the thing is absolutely flawless in fit and finish. similar in size and general appearance to a vox ac30 or bluesbreaker combo. i was thinking today that it would look great next to an ac30 onstage.

i run a Hiwatt lead thirty into it, using a Rickenbacker 650. It is brilliant. no other way to put it. Just Beautiful, clean or dirty, incredible complex feedback if you are into that, and i am....the Hiwatt is very British sounding(duh) and with a few tweaks it can go from chiming Vox to grinding Marshall, and sound really good at both....seriously, today i plugged in my echoplex and did some perfect shimmery U2ish atmospherics, and then, i played "Paranoid" for fun. the whole time i could not believe i was playing the same amp i had used for the last two years....of course i was playing it through a factory presswood piece of junk that someone had paid too much for when it was new. do yourself a favor, Do Not Buy a Mass-Produced Cabinet!!! Why, when you can shoot the shit with the guy who is building you a good one? for comparable money?

Puh-Leeese....

Never have i bought anything, anywhere, and been treated this well, got absolutely what i paid for and more, and been so completely sold on a company or a product. how's that. no bullshit.
this guy(Doug) actually put the speakers on a tone generator to break them in so i could enjoy the cab the first day, without waiting the normal ten hours of playing to hear them open up.

i was shopping very carefully for a cabinet....that's why i found Doug...i wanted a two twelve, and played Marshall, Mesa(ewww)
Fender, some vintage stuff(some of that was great, but pricey, and tore up)...this has the whole package...quality built by a guy who deserves my business, who doesn't overcharge based on some bullshit boutique attitude. Tone, looks, price....it's all there.
absolutely i would replace it if it were lost. honestly i can't see myself using any other cabinet ever again. i would just get cool anp heads and more jenkins cabinets.
the one thing i am not crazy about is the nameplate...it is engraved brass like you might see on an office door...but i can see how a small operation like Jenkins would have a hard time getting custom molded nameplates like the biggies have, and if that's the tradeoff, i'll take it, everytime.

2 Celestion Vintage 30's, 9 ply birch cabinet, custom baffles, blond tolex, oxblood grillcloth, white piping. It is a closed back with a removeable panel to make it an open back. cool.

Great blues tone. I am using a Fuchs Overdrive supreme and a Warmoth hollow tele with Harmonic Design Z-90's ---- wicked!

Heavy and solid. I doubt if there will ever be a problem with this cab.

Doug Holt is one of the nicest guys on the planet in this biz. He called me up to make sure all was well with the speaker selection before he put it together. He also did a great job re-tolexing my Bandmaster Reverb head cab in matching tolex and grillcloth.

This cabinet kicks major ass. You won't find anything like it in this price range. If you play blues, you need this cab.