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A few months ago, I was in the market for a guitar cabinet
Specifically I was looking for the best 1 x 12 cabinet for my guitar
After doing a lot of research and checking online for a good one, I found out that the majority of 1 x 12 cabinets out there are either crap or they just don’t work properly.
Most guitarists spend a lot less time thinking about their speaker cabinet than they do about their amp or pedals, but the truth is the materials used in the construction of the cabinet and baffle and the shape of the interior space will have a large impact on your overall sound profile.
Which is why I decided to write this article and show you the top 5 best 1 x 12 guitar cabinets in the market today and where you can easily get them
At a glance, here are the 5 1X12 cabinets for guitar, I will be reviewing
- Orange Amps Guitar Amplifier Cabinet
- Fender Super Champ SC112 80-Watt 1×12-Inch Guitar Amp Cabinet
- BUGERA, 1 Guitar Amplifier Cabinet
- Seismic Audio – 1×12 Guitar Speaker Cabinet
- Peavey 112-C Guitar Enclosure
The Best 1×12 Cabinet
1. Orange Amps Guitar Amplifier Cabinet
This closed-back speaker cabinet has a 16-ohm impedance and comes with a Celestion Vintage 30 speaker.
The solid birch construction is durable enough to survive rough gigs and bumpy rides, and it’s got a powerful output for a 1X12 cabinet.
The vintage look and distinctive orange covering mean it looks as good as it sounds.
The cabinet is also extremely versatile and a great cab for guitarists who play in a wide range of styles.
At high gain settings it’s perfect for metal and punk, but it also plays beautifully clean, with punchy, accentuated mids and lows and clear, ringing highs.
This should be on anyone’s list of the best 1×12 guitar speaker cabinets.
Click here to see this product for yourself on Amazon
2. Fender Super Champ SC112 80-Watt 1×12-Inch Guitar Amp Cabinet
This particular product is ideal and the best 1×12 cabinet for blues.
It is designed to pair comfortably with the Super Champ X2 head from the same brand
It comes with a Celestion G12P-80 speakers that brings a British flavour to your tone of this American made cabinet
It has a smooth and modern sound which helps when played clean but can also deliver a classic, rock growl when you increase the gain
It’s unique closed back construction helps to keep the tone focus which in turn gives you a clearer and heavy punch articulation with more oomph in the end
One good thing about this cabinet is that it has the power to function as your main and only speaker and can also work beautifully as an extension head.
If you are short for cash and looking for a cheap 1×12 guitar cabinet, then this is your best bet.
Click here to see this product now
3. BUGERA, 1 Guitar Amplifier Cabinet
The Bugera guitar cabinet is a true beauty in every sense of the word
It has high sensitivity and 80 Watts of explosive power handling.
This ensures that it continuously delivers on producing high quality crisp and clear sounds
This is a world famous, British Engineered 12 inches Turbo sound speaker cabinet that gives awesome sounds and quality when used
It comes with an 8 Ohms Impedance which has dual TS connectors
It is lightweight and extremely durable with multiple sound boards that help with clear audio quality
It is an ultra low resonance and ultra low vibration cabinet so you can be sure that no external background sounds will affect your sound
The sound is consistently high-quality with clean tones and high gain, and the construction is solid, meaning no rattling or other noises when you start to play hard.
With all this power, it’s still incredibly convenient to transport, with a built-in handle to make it more comfortable to carry.
Click to see the Bugera at the lowest price
4. Seismic Audio – 1×12 Guitar Speaker Cabinet
If you’ve already got some high-quality speakers and just want to upgrade the cabinet that’s housing them, you can get better materials for less money by buying an empty cabinet.
This cabinet from Seismic Audio is a great choice if you want to go this route.
It’s constructed of ½” birch plywood that’s well-braced for durability while still being lightweight enough to transport to gigs.
Both the back panel and the front grille are removable, making it easy to load, wire, and adjust your speakers.
The combination of the black Tolex cover and tan cloth grille give it a clean, vintage look that looks perfectly at home on the stage.
Click here to see this product on Amazon
5. Peavey 112-C Guitar Enclosure
The Peavey 112C Guitar Speaker Cabinet is a pretty sweet cabinet.
It’s compact, measuring at 12 x 12 x 12 inches, making it our most compact speaker cabinet so far.
The major reason we love this speaker cabinet is because it gives us the best of both worlds. Yep. This is a genuine convertible speaker cabinet. You can decide to go for the more natural and organic feel of an open back design. Or you can decide to go for the louder and punchier projection of a closed back design. The choice is really yours.
Thankfully, the cabinet boasts a Celestion Vintage 30 speaker. This is one of the best speakers in the business. So, rest assured, your tone and sound quality are safe here. They will definitely come out great.
To give this a beautiful appearance, this comes with a white piping with a black grill and black tolex. And then the metal corners and rubber feet also enhance the beauty even more. Plus, a plywood construction also makes this cabinet quite high quality.
Altogether, the Peavey 112C is a great quality speaker that delivers a beautiful tone and awesome value at a sub-$300 price tag.
Click here to see this product on Amazon
What to look for before buying a 1×12 Cabinet
Open or closed back cabinets
The first thing you need to be aware of before making a purchase is the Open or closed back cabinets.
These cabinets tend to have a tight sound with sharper attacks that’s especially focused in the low end.
Open-backed cabinets are not completely open—usually only ½ to 1/3 of the actual back is exposed, but it’s enough to let the sound escape from both sides of the cab.
This means an open-backed cabinet has a looser tone and increased sonic envelope.
My advice? It depends on what you hope to accomplish
Since a closed-back cabinet projects sound in a single direction, it’s easier to capture with just one or two mics, and a closed-back is probably best if you’re doing a lot of studio work.
An open back, on the other hand, has a fuller, more three-dimensional sound and does great in small venues where the monitors and speakers are limited.
