Blues Jack 112 - Studio
Recognize the cabinet? It looks an aweful lot like a Reason Amps cabinet, doesn’t it? That’s because the one of the founders of Reason Amp, Anthony Bonadio, also owns a cabinet making company called Stage Craft Gear, a not very widely known cabinet maker – at least among consumers. They’ve actually made their start as an OEM cabinet supplier for a lot of amp companies through their parent company, Rhyme Musical Enclosures LLC. But as an OEM, they don’t get their logo on the cabs, and believe me, there are some heavy hitters who use their stuff.
In any case, they’re launching a brand new site at http://www.stagecraftgear.com – very soon – like today or the next! I’ve seen the look of the new site, and it totally kicks the shit out of the old one! Their designers did a great job!
Get a Free Cabinet!!!
I don’t have all the details around this, but Anthony did tell me about a cabinet giveaway that they’re having. You’ll have to go to the site and sign up. I only saw some sub-pages when I went to the site that have the new look, and the home page hadn’t been updated yet – I imagine the giveaway ad will be there.
Okay, let’s get down to business…
Yeah, it’s great that Stage Craft Gear has a new site, and even better that they’re giving one away (I hope I’m the lucky winner 🙂 ), but that’s just airy-fairy stuff, in my opinion. What’s really important about Stage Craft Gear is the fact that they make the cabs for Reason Amps. It’s amazing how you read a lot about amps, but IMO, there’s just not enough attention paid to the cabinet. It’s the resonance chamber for the speaker, for chrissake! And it can make or break an amps’s sound!
My personal experience with the SM25 112 Combo is that it’s sound is “open.” It’s not a tight-sounding amp at all, which is a really good thing when you’re on stage, and a lot of that has to do with the cabinet. It’s tall, and not very deep, but it projects a gorgeous, bright tone that really complements the big sound that comes out of the standard Eminence Governor that’s installed in the cab. The Governor works AWESOME in that cabinet. On the other hand, I used a Governor in a deeper, heftier cabinet (made by another manufacturer), and it sounded like shit! Way too tight, and high-mid to high-freq tones were really subdued.
The point to this is that my experience with a single Stage Craft cabinet leads me to believe that these guys make very special cabinets. It’s no surprise that several boutique amp manufacturers use them. They kick ass!
Ensuing Cab Review
I’m going to be reviewing a cabinet from Stage Craft really soon. Check back here. If my previous experience is any indicator, this cab promises to be very special. Stay tuned!
Guitar Gear 