Stone Age Custom Cabinets...I'm an inch away from ordering..

[TubeScreamers]

Hi

Great forum, very informative. Glad to finally being a part of it.

I'm seriously thinking about ordering a cab from John from Stone Age Custom Cabinets. I think they look way to awesome, and reviews of the cabs are great.

I've been in contact with him through mail, and an hour long phonecall...from Denmark to the States...my poor phonebill.
But it was worth it. He's one of the nicest guys I've ever come across, and extremely knowledgeable, and really good at explaining a dumb... like me everything I needed to know. He walked me through all of my questions, and I'm an inch away from putting in the order.

But I still want to hear from you guys, so here's a little bit of my thoughts about the cab that I'm probably gonna order.
I recently purchuased a 64' Selmer Treble'n'Bass Croc Skin Amp. The best sounding amp I've ever owned. But I have no cab for it, I've been trying out Marshalls, 1960A, 1960BX and 1960BHW all great cabs, I especially love the ones loaded with greenbacks, both the G12M's and H's. I used to own a standard Orange 4x12, and they sound way better than the Marshalls in my opinion. But I'm looking for something extraordinary and unique for my Selmer baby, and that's where Stone Age Custom Cabs come into the picture.

I want John to build me a 4x12 cab. Here's the problem, I live in Denmark, so I'm worried about the shipping costs.
And will I get what I'm looking for, I mean here in Denmark I can buy a Marshall 1960bx or bhw for around 1000-1200$, a Orange cab is around 1500$, and if I want something like a Mesa or a Bogner the price is around 1900-2000$ Will I get more value for the money with a Stone Age Cab than the before mentioned brands???
What is your experiences?

Again, I love this forum, so informative, and great people too!!!

Hope you guys can help me out.

 

[Capulin Overdrive]

unless i'm missing something, he's using 5/8" instead of 3/4" plywood. that would be a deal breaker for me.


Splawn cabs are the best thing going for not being expensive, and are very well built with high quality parts and nice grill cloth.


how much would a Diezel cab cost you?


and what speakers would you use?

 

[Anonymous]

John makes some of the best cabs in the world. Seriously! If I could afford one, I would buy one of his 4x12's in a moment and I already own a Scumback 4x12 and CAE 4x12.

I owned one of his 212C's and the workmanship and sound were awesome.

 

[155]

just buy the cab, you wasted an hour of this guys time talking about maybe ordering a cab.....

 

[The Hoff]

just buy the cab, you wasted an hour of this guys time talking about maybe ordering a cab.....

Plus they are awesome cabs. In my opinion-probably the best. You won't regret it.

 

[stoneage cabs]

unless i'm missing something, he's using 5/8" instead of 3/4" plywood. that would be a deal breaker for me.

Why?

 

[Scumback Speakers]

unless i'm missing something, he's using 5/8" instead of 3/4" plywood. that would be a deal breaker for me.

Yeah, I have to wonder at this, too. I used to use 3/4 13 ply baltic birch in my cabs. The problem was that they felt and sounded too stiff, besides being heavier.

I'm not sure why they didn't sound as good as 5/8" birch, but they didn't, so that's why I quit using 3/4" 13 ply.

What's your reasoning behind this, CO?

 

[OldSkoolNJ]

unless i'm missing something, he's using 5/8" instead of 3/4" plywood. that would be a deal breaker for me.

Yeah, I have to wonder at this, too. I used to use 3/4 13 ply baltic birch in my cabs. The problem was that they felt and sounded too stiff, besides being heavier.

I'm not sure why they didn't sound as good as 5/8" birch, but they didn't, so that's why I quit using 3/4" 13 ply.

What's your reasoning behind this, CO?

I noticed that trend while looking at cabinets lately and I just assumed the builder was cheaping out on materials to save money or offer the cabinet at a cheaper price..
I Never once considered anything like that, I guess I should reconsider it in the future..

Is there really any sound difference between standard birch or Marine grade??

 

[Motorpud]

I've never used a stone age cab but I had an amp with a headshell made by them and it was built like a brick shit house I actually stopped to marvel at it when I first got it

 

[stoneage cabs]

Is there really any sound difference between standard birch or Marine grade??

no difference tonally....marine grade ply is manufactured with a marine grade glue to adhere the plies. Other than that, they are the same.

EDIT: assuming you are referring to voidless birch ply, as opposed to the cheap sub-grade shit birch ply featured at many home centers.

 

[Jay Strange]

Outta all the cab makers I 've bought cabs from StoneAge is the least to worry about
skimping or chincy workmanship.
John Wheeler's customer service is the gold standard for the industry.

 

[Capulin Overdrive]

unless i'm missing something, he's using 5/8" instead of 3/4" plywood. that would be a deal breaker for me.

Why?

i feel that the 5/8" is too thin and lets too much sound from the back of the speakers be heard.

 

[Scumback Speakers]

i feel that the 5/8" is too thin and lets too much sound from the back of the speakers be heard.

Uh...you're talking about a closed back cab, or an open back?

 

[Capulin Overdrive]

i feel that the 5/8" is too thin and lets too much sound from the back of the speakers be heard.

Uh...you're talking about a closed back cab, or an open back?

closed.

 

[Scumback Speakers]

Closed back? Uh, ok. I've never had anyone remark about that before...

 

[steve_k]

Any 412 cab makers use threaded inserts and machine screws for the back, or does everyone stick to the default wood screws?

Quality or overkill?

Just curious.....Steve

 

[Riddick]

Any 412 cab makers use threaded inserts and machine screws for the back, or does everyone stick to the default wood screws?

Quality or overkill?

Just curious.....Steve

I think the Cameron cabs have the threaded inserts, Roccaforte cabs do as well.

BTY---the Stone Age cabs are great, John builds a damn nice cab.

 

[jabps]

I'll just say this much...I've owned virtually every popular cab made and my fave hands down was a Mojave 4x12. That being said if I ever spent that kind of money again on cabs it'd be from the 2 manufacturers on here...Scum or Stone, the ply doesn't matter to me. It's the Tone...and if these guys are building them that way it's because of tone. That's good enough for me.

 

[glpg80]

I was going to say something early on but decided not to because i didnt want to set the tone for the topic in a negative way

I studied cabinets and researched every brand you can think of, Mojave, THD, Splawn, Stoneage, Scumback, Bogner, Cameron, 5150, Fender, etc.

the cabinet that came out on top was not the one that was built like a brick shithouse, the cabinet that came out on top was the one that both sounded good in the room AND needed to record great under a mic.

Splawn's cabinets did it for me. talking to them in detail about cabinet construction methods, the reason they build the cabinets they do is not because "its built like a brick shithouse" - their first consideration is great projection and great cabinet resonance and then build quality. they do both great by having logical reasons and user accounts as examples for why they do what they do and why they do not follow footsteps in other directions.

second in line was stoneage cabinets as far as pricepoint, design, construction, etc.

the best built cabinets out there today are THD cabinets. research it in detail and you will see they are overbuilt like nothing else said here so far - including scumbacks, stoneage, and splawns. but overbuilt does not necessarily mean best sounding. just as previously mentioned by 5/8" ply versus 3/4" ply.

YMMV. IMHO. .02 etc.

 

[steve_k]

I was going to say something early on but decided not to because i didnt want to set the tone for the topic in a negative way

I studied cabinets and researched every brand you can think of, Mojave, THD, Splawn, Stoneage, Scumback, Bogner, Cameron, 5150, Fender, etc.

the cabinet that came out on top was not the one that was built like a brick shithouse, the cabinet that came out on top was the one that both sounded good in the room AND needed to record great under a mic.

Splawn's cabinets did it for me. talking to them in detail about cabinet construction methods, the reason they build the cabinets they do is not because "its built like a brick shithouse" - their first consideration is great projection and great cabinet resonance and then build quality. they do both great by having logical reasons and user accounts as examples for why they do what they do and why they do not follow footsteps in other directions.

second in line was stoneage cabinets as far as pricepoint, design, construction, etc.

the best built cabinets out there today are THD cabinets. research it in detail and you will see they are overbuilt like nothing else said here so far - including scumbacks, stoneage, and splawns. but overbuilt does not necessarily mean best sounding. just as previously mentioned by 5/8" ply versus 3/4" ply.

YMMV. IMHO. .02 etc.

Interesting......

You didn't put Mills or Mesa in the comparison?

Hoefully the OP got the info needed to make a judgment. Not to turn this into another beating a dead horse thread, but bigger is not always better, as applied to speaker cabs. I thought the Mills AB's were the skin ticket. Sound great with Mesa's, but didn't do it for me with anything else, especially anything remotely near a Marshall tone. I bought one of Jim's bare cabs and loaded it with several styles of Scumbacks, and that fucker will move some air. And, its Naked. I don't gig with it, but if ever I need a reference tone, it is the cab of choice. For everyday use and gigs, I settled big time on Bogner. Above average quality, slight tilt back on the baffle with the straight fronts. Have both front and rear loads. I removed the V30's from one yesterday and installed my old, old Greenbacks. I do like blending a V30 cab and a Greenback cab with the modded Marshall's. While I had the back off, I noticed the center post being loose as hell. So, I took the grill off. I am not sure, but I think the post is held in place by a dowel pin or staples. I southern engineered a couple of long wood screws into the posts from the front of the baffle to secure it and put it back together. I was a little taken with that construction effort, as they aren't cheap by any means. They are all packed with fiberglass too. I will stick with the Boggies, but they should fix that and they definitely need to change the casters. I ordered up 5 sets of 3" Mesa casters, which are the best I can find and changed all the cabs out. They sound good and I don't mind tossing them around. Bogner uses 10 ga. wire too, which is excessive and is a bitch to solder, especially onto vintage lugs!

One of the best cab constructions I have come across is Wizard. Very high quality builds, no skimp. Threaded inserts for the back, wires harness on the door, not direct to the jacks. Double wired.

Just my opinion.

Steve