Sultone Plain Jane 112 Cabinet

This beautiful Sultone 1x12 speaker cabinet was completed in March of 2004, completely handmade in Memphis, Tennesee, by Bill Boekoff who is Sultone Amp Cabinets. It is truly a custom cabinet in that Bill made EXACTLY what I asked for. In my experience, most companies will offer a number of options but can't necessarily offer exactly what you want. In other words, this cabinet was made to my specifications w/re: dimensions, porting, wood choice, wiring, grill cloth, etc. It was built with mahogany and lacewood, the wide lacewood accent stripe running down the middle of the cabinet from side to side. It has dual jacks in back to allow parallel connection to another cabinet. It's ported in the rear with a long oval port like the Dumble, Two Rock and Tone Tubby designs. It's finished with oil rather than varnish or lacquer so there's no tone-dampening heavy finish, let alone tolex. Every detail is obviously the work of a fine craftsman--all joints are fit perfectly (and are nearly invisible), sanding is impeccable, grill cloth is exactly straight, all screws are spaced precisely, and every edge is smooothed and slightly rounded. Even the back panel is solid mahogany, not plywood. It couldn't have been crafted more solidly or beautifully. I even got a signed certificate with a picture of my cabinet, and Bill signed the inside of the cabinet by hand with my name, the serial number & the date of completion.

The sound is warm, full and beautiful. The tone is not dampened, of course, since it's bare oiled wood rather than tolex & glue-covered plywood. Also, though, it doesn't have the rather hard, harsh sound of some wood-only cabinets. I'm not sure why--maybe it's the choice of woods--but I do know it sounds better than any other cabinet I've tried (I've reviewed a beautiful solid wood 212 by KW Cabs & a 112 by Two Rock, and both sounded (and still sound) fantastic. But this Sultone Cabinet is even better. I think the long oval port gives you both the great bottom end of a closed back (but more articulate) and the clarity of highs & airiness of an open back. That's why I asked for it.

I haven't had it long enough to know for sure, but it's built like a rock. From a few inches away, seams and joints are invisible. There's not a flaw or blemish anywhere. Although, of course, oiled wood would be vulnerable to dings & scratches if you're not careful, it's well worth that risk (and even a few little dings over the years) to have a cabinet like this one.

Bill Boekoff is as accommodating a craftsman as I've run into. While there are a lot of nice guys producing fine products out there, I've never run into someone who will take great pains to give you EXACTLY what you've asked for....and deliver it in such a beautiful piece of furniture quality cabinetry. Bill also seems to be a tremendously nice guy. He even emailed pictures of the cabinet in various states of completion to me while it was in the process of being made. Do yourself a favor and visit the Sultone website at www.sultone.com. You'll see that Bill also makes cabinets with striking, art-deco type fronts. Who knows if Bill's artistry will always be available at such great prices.

I've played for more than 25 years now. I use this cabinet with a twice-modified Naylor SC38 that's in a Lacewood Head Cabinet (that's why I chose the Lacewood accents for the cab). I also have an unmodified prototype Naylor SC38. Suhr Teles are my guitars & I have a Thomas Rodriguez (know for fine classical guitars) Telecaster. Not only would I buy another if it were lost or stolen, I'm going to have to buy more of Bill's work although I don't really need it. It's just too good! I happened on the Sultone cabinets by accident when looking at the Collins Amp website. There's really nothing to compare it to, but I used what I thought were the best elements of the other great cabinets I've had or have. Bill brought it to life with his special touch. Buy a Sultone Amp or Speaker cabinet NOW--plain or fancy; traditional, gothic, art-deco styling; or your own new idea! And he did it at a price that was pretty amazing. More should & will know about Bill Boekoff & his Sultone cabinets soon enough, I hope.