Mongotone 212 Cabinet

I'm a lucky fella really as I recently (December 2005) managed to land myself the 2005 built Mongotone 2x12" speaker cabinet which was used for "January 2006 Guitarist magazine review" and how truly well they rated it. It's 20mm thick solid Mahogany with a solid Mahogany closed back, nitro cellulose laquer finish which is gorgeous, pocket handles and fully dovetailed construction, all finished to an impeccable standard. The cab houses 2 x Celestion Vintage 30's which are horizontally mounted to a marine grade 18mm Birch Ply Baffle. It's finished with a dark burgandy grill cloth which just sets this cab apart from any other I've ever seen of played. But it's greatest feature apart from the obvious performance it boasts is that it's got that "antique furniture" quality about it and the wife's sold on it and it lives in the lounge...ha! ...now try that with a Marshall lump...!!!! Weighs a ton but comes ready machined in the base to take casters which Mongotone can supply, oh and you get a nicely fitted cover, cause you really do want to protect this beauty.

I use a 1996 Les Paul Standard, an Orange Rockerverb 50 head & a bag of pedals. I play everything from 60's/70's rock and blues to modern day rock and have lots of hair metal moments inbetween and it handles the lot with ease. This cabinet has so much warmth, clarity and definition, you'll ask ask yourself how you lived without this cab for so long, I did...! Heaps of bottom end for a 2x12" and very articulate. There is no muddiness whatsoever at any level. Using the Orange's clean channel through this cab just puts you into tone heaven, you can make it sound so soft, get the dirty channel running at full stomp and it just says...."come inside and play"....it really can handle whatever you ask of it....!

I've had it about 4 weeks so no problems. It's been used nearly everyday since arriving and at times very hard. It Oooooozes quality and I know I'll never have a problem with it. You don't design and build a product to this standard to fail, so can safely score it a 10.

Marc is who I dealt with. You couldn't ask for a more pleasant & informative service from anyone. Nothing is too much trouble. Prior to my purchase Marc provided me with plenty sound clips of my cab using an array of amps and guitars, kept me up to date at all times as to when it would arrive. Excellent........

I've played on and off for years, maybe 23 yrs but only fell in love with playing in the last 12-18 months or so. Played many quality combos, heads, cabs. I compared this cab to Cornford's, Matamps, Orange's, Marshall's, Fenders and other boutique amps & cabs. It stands out in my opinion, by miles...!!!!

All Mongotone cabinets are made from solid Mahogany using Dovetail Joints, Birch Ply baffle board, Pocket Handles, Nitro Cellulose Lacquer finish, Wheat Grill Cloth, Leatherette Piping and Neutrik Jacks.

All cabinets described here have Celestion Vintage 30s and were made in 2005. The cabinets are easily versatile enough to cater for my sound needs - mostly blues and jazz, but have no tone control facilities (which I don't need anyway, but somebody else might), hence the 8/10 rating.

Note: the guitar used throughout was a Fender Strat w/ Kinman Pick Ups.

The 2x12” closed-back cabinet (diagonally mounted)

Running the amp section of the a Fender Princeton into this elegant unit, I was surprised about the increase in sound pressure that was now available, and without the penalty of any obvious strain or distortion. Compared to the single 12” driver in the Princeton, the sound was a tad bassier, but with a still well-defined and taut bottom and loads more headroom. The sound now had an extremely solid, almost physical presence. When playing the Princeton through this cabinet, I was surprised by the strong sense of articulacy and control shown by such a modestly powered amplifier, indicating that the Mongotone cab presents an easy electrical load. Especially when playing chords, there was no smearing of fine detail. All individual notes where easy to hear, harmonics rang with bell-like clarity. Treble response was quite smooth (though not too much so).T Even when playing jangly chords at high volume, the treble did not aggravate. The bass was lean (which I like, as it suggests an absence of cabinet colouration), but strong and propulsive, with little overhang. Attack through the 2x12” cabinet was good, but, probably due to its slightly bass-heavier balance, did not seem to be quite as quick off the mark as the Princeton's own single 12”.

The cabinet’s transparent nature seemed to play into the hands of the amp’s greatest strength, its beguiling, grain-free midband. Single-note runs showed this up best, where longer notes truly sang, perhaps encouraging a certain economy in playing. The absolute achievable volume from the Princeton was now far higher than the meagre 12W specification suggests. I’m not claiming that this amp can drive Madison Square Garden, but it definitely seems potent enough for rehearsals and small club gigs.


The 2x12” closed-back cabinet (horizontally mounted)

Not surprisingly, this cabinet showed a basic similarity to the diagonally mounted 2x12”, but there also significant differences. In common with the diagonally mounted 2x12”, it possessed a clear, articulate midband and treble and played very loud before any audible break-up. In fact, my ears caved in before the speaker did. (Please note, though, that I do not bang head.) In contrast to the diagonally mounted 2x12”, it seemed to possess a slightly recessed midband, almost as if the “contour” switch of an amplifier had been flicked on. Bass was plentiful but lean and treble was very articulate, perhaps becoming a little too prominent, but that might be a matter of taste. Certainly this balance – strong bass and treble married to a slight (and I Tmean slight) midband suckout – made for a sound that was easy to listen to and articulate even at low volume settings.

All in all, though, I had a slight preference for the diagonally mounted cab, which I felt to sound better balanced, and the 10/10 rating refers to this.

Too early to tell, but Mongotone offer a 3-year warranty on their cabinets (though not on the speakers). Judging from the quality of the workmanship and the use of dovetail joints -these last forever and a day- I would expect no problems whatsoever with the cabinets.

Mongotone were very friendly and helpful - I first dealt with them over the phone and then visited their premises (I only live 25 miles away) and played with their entire range for 3+ hours to my heart's content. They didn't hassle me in any way. When I mentioned that I had an old Fender Precision whose neck had snapped and been fixed by me, but at the cost of knackering the neck's finish, they said they'd touch it up for me for a nominal fee. They did not need to do this, but seem to care for their customers.

I have been playing music for over 20 years. My gear: Fender Precision and Yamaha BB2000S basses, Hoyer Telecaster guitar. Marshall and Carlsbro Delta amplification.

I compared the Mongotones to a standard 2x12” Marshall cabinet because it happened to be on hand. It retails in the UK for about #270 and is therefore roughly half as expensive as either of the Mongotones. So how does it fare? Well, dressed in somewhat drab and perfunctory black vinyl, it’s comprehensively beaten in the aesthetic stakes, although it looks robust enough to sustain some abuse and would probably tolerate a knocked-over pint with more grace than the solid wood Mongotone cabs.

Auditioned straight after the diagonally mounted Mongotone 2x12”, this cab sounded warm, with a generous, but soggy bass that lacked the taut definition of the pricier cab. Chords, too, sounded somewhat muddled. It was more difficult to hear “through” a chord and make out which notes were played. My impression was that this cabinet had a darker tonal balance, which, although not unpleasant, was musically limiting. I felt that nuances in the guitar playing were in danger of being drowned out by cabinet resonance.

Although the Mongotone are not cheap, I feel that they offer very good value for those who are critical about their sound and don’t want the speaker cabinet to do an injustice to the signal that they produce with their instrument and amplifier. Once you've had one for a while, it's difficult to go back to standard mass-market fare.