# Harley Benton G212 Vintage Cabinet



## LMak (May 7, 2011)

I have never heard of this brand or this cabinet and I was wondering if anyone had any experience with it? It looks alright and I can't see why it would sound bad when it has Celestion Vintage 30s.

Here's the specs if anyone is interested.

-2x12 Celestion Vintage 30 Speakers
-120W/8 Ohms and 2x 60W/16 Ohms
-Switchable Mono/Stereo
-16mm Plywood
-Black Tolex trim strip


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## Curt (May 7, 2011)

I've never had experience with Harley Benton cabs... of course I live across the pond, and they don't stock those here, afaik...

But a few of my friends on the other side of the world have used them and are fine with them..


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## Andromalia (May 7, 2011)

Street word on those is: "not the best but awesome for the money". Never owned one myself but quite a bit of people seem to agree on this. If you're looking for a V30 stereo 2x12 and aren't dead set on getting "brand X" or "tone Y" and are on a budget, go for it.

(Harley Benton is the in-house brand of Thomann, if you wonder)


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## LMak (May 7, 2011)

Curt said:


> I've never had experience with Harley Benton cabs... of course I live across the pond, and they don't stock those here, afaik...
> 
> But a few of my friends on the other side of the world have used them and are fine with them..



I'm always a bit worried when it comes to cabs. I'm not very knowledgable when it comes to sound from them and what makes some cabs better than others. Especially with the massive price differences between the Beruga and Harley Benton compared to Orange and even Marshall.


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## LMak (May 7, 2011)

Thanks Andromalia. I'm not dead set on a tone or on brand, I want to be left open for other genres and if I manage to popularise a relatively unknown amp make, all the better.

I did find it on the Thomann website. Makes so much sense now!


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## WhiteWalls (May 7, 2011)

I own one.
I know the low price tag may raise some eyebrows but let me reassure you it's a very good cab, sound-wise i like it a lot better than other (much more expensive) cabs i tried prior to purchasing it, as far as construction quality i had no problems with it so far, and i used it for several rehearsals and shows.

It's also quite light which is very important for me, i only weight 60kg but it's light enough that i can carry it around by myself.

I also read a ton of reviews before going for it and i'm certainly not the only one extremely satisfied with this cab.


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## Demeyes (May 8, 2011)

I have one, it's actually a decent cab. I have 3 other cabs in my house, 2 marshalls and a Laney and the HB sounds as good as the rest. It's a little bit lighter construction wise but it will stand upto being thrown around with other gear without breaking. My one gets used on recording a good bit as my friends use it as a house cab when they record bands and people are usually happy with the sound from it.


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## Rook (May 8, 2011)

They aren't great, but quite similar to the Framus CS212 - there's one of those on eBay uk for £100, I'd go for that.


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## Pedrojoca (May 8, 2011)

WhiteWalls said:


> I own one.
> I know the low price tag may raise some eyebrows but let me reassure you it's a very good cab, sound-wise i like it a lot better than other (much more expensive) cabs i tried prior to purchasing it, as far as construction quality i had no problems with it so far, and i used it for several rehearsals and shows.
> 
> It's also quite light which is very important for me, i only weight 60kg but it's light enough that i can carry it around by myself.
> ...



this.

And Ola Englund managed to get quite a nice tone out of them... let's just hope that it's not ALL post processing.


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## ToniS (May 8, 2011)

^^Ola uses little to no post-eq on his guitar tracks, so what you hear is basically straight from the mic


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## Pedrojoca (May 8, 2011)

^^^^^ yeah, i know but somewhere around here someone said and others kind of confirmed that he used some post-processing, now sure about it, though....


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## WhiteWalls (May 8, 2011)

Post-processing or no, the fact that both his Harley Benton and his Mesa 2x12 sound very similar is obviously good for the HB, considering how great Mesa cabs are


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## Rook (May 8, 2011)

If you close mike a speaker, it doesn't really matter what cab's it in, you're mostly hearing the speakers - which are the same.

Don't go on YouTube vids dude, seriously.


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## LMak (May 8, 2011)

Fun111 said:


> They aren't great, but quite similar to the Framus CS212 - there's one of those on eBay uk for £100, I'd go for that.



Thanks for that tip off 

I'll wait until it's nearly finished and then I'll take a bid


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## Arterial (May 8, 2011)

I think they're pretty good cabs.

For the price of course, the price barely covers the V30s that are in them.

Mind you that for obvious reasons, they won't be as good as a Mesa 2x12 or an Orange 2x12 =P


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## LMak (May 9, 2011)

Pedrojoca said:


> this.
> 
> And Ola Englund managed to get quite a nice tone out of them... let's just hope that it's not ALL post processing.




This was more than helpful. It's actually a Powerball I was going to be running through the cab and hearing the Blackmore through it, it sounds awesome.


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## Zenerith (May 9, 2011)

I happen to own that cabinet and i think it's great quality for the money. Sure there are better ones out there but it's more than good enough for me, i'm going to run my axe-fx II through it once i get my hands on that cursed machine


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## WinstonWolf (May 9, 2011)

it's great quality for the money - that's right - but the CV30's are made in china, and thats WHY this cab is so cheap. But it still sounds really nice  Its better than all other cabs with 'no-name' speakers like bugera.


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## Rook (May 9, 2011)

WinstonWolf said:


> it's great quality for the money - that's right - but the CV30's are made in china, and thats WHY this cab is so cheap. But it still sounds really nice  Its better than all other cabs with 'no-name' speakers like bugera.



The only V30's not made in China are those in Mesa Cabs.

Every other V30 cab (no exception) has Chinese made V30's and has done for about 5 or 6 years now.

Yes, that 'every' includes Orange, Diezel, Bogner, Marshall, you name it.


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## LMak (May 9, 2011)

Fun111 said:


> The only V30's not made in China are those in Mesa Cabs.
> 
> Every other V30 cab (no exception) has Chinese made V30's and has done for about 5 or 6 years now.
> 
> Yes, that 'every' includes Orange, Diezel, Bogner, Marshall, you name it.



Does that mean Orange and Diezel may be taking the piss slightly with their high price? Paying for the brand not for the quality of the cab?


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## Rook (May 9, 2011)

^^^Quality of the *cab*, absolutely not.

Quality of the speaker, arguably, though I understand the Chinese Celestions are no different to the Ipswitch made ones.


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## LMak (May 9, 2011)

Fun111 said:


> ^^^Quality of the *cab*, absolutely not.
> 
> Quality of the speaker, arguably, though I understand the Chinese Celestions are no different to the Ipswitch made ones.



Ahhh, I see what you did there.

Thanks for this information guys. This is all very very helpful. So much closer to understanding more about gear 

It was a part of my guitar playing life I just never truly got interested in until a year ago. Absolutely insane


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## Rook (May 9, 2011)

LMak said:


> Ahhh, I see what you did there.
> 
> Thanks for this information guys. This is all very very helpful. So much closer to understanding more about gear
> 
> It was a part of my guitar playing life I just never truly got interested in until a year ago. Absolutely insane



Lol I remember that - going from a guitar freak to a flat out gear nerd and then saying things about cab contruction or pre/post gain stage EQ'ing and thinking 'how do people not get this stuff???'.

It's only recently I realised I had a problem.

My name's Nick, and I'm a gearaholic.

Yep, I'm addicted to gearahol.


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## LMak (May 10, 2011)

Fun111 said:


> Lol I remember that - going from a guitar freak to a flat out gear nerd and then saying things about cab contruction or pre/post gain stage EQ'ing and thinking 'how do people not get this stuff???'.
> 
> It's only recently I realised I had a problem.
> 
> ...



Haha! These are the things I'm hoping to properly learn about while I'm here. That and live stage sound. I used to be such a typical guitarist thinking Marshall was all there was. It's embarrassing when I look back on it.


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## Pedrojoca (May 10, 2011)

Fun111 said:


> Lol I remember that - going from a guitar freak to a flat out gear nerd and then saying things about cab contruction or pre/post gain stage EQ'ing and thinking 'how do people not get this stuff???'.
> 
> It's only recently I realised I had a problem.
> 
> ...



hahahah so true, that's my story aswell.

i'm just glad that gearahol only hurts your bank account


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## Rook (May 10, 2011)

Lol, and my girlfriend and formerly my parents' bank account


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## WinstonWolf (May 10, 2011)

Every single one ... thats strange - becouse i have Engl E212VH Pro cab and my V30 are not chinese. Ou, and those in Framus wasn't too. Ouch, and inside CAA212 cab wasn't too... and Diezel 212 WASN'T TOO. MAN - something strange is going out HERE! HELP us change ANY V30 to chineeessseee in every cab in the world 

Ok, im just kidding - no offence - there is of truth in your words  but not ALL of V30 are made in china... and for sure they are not inside CAA, Engl, Diezel or (yes, i agree) Mesa cabs  But every new HBenton, cheap randalls etc.

yes, ive check it. twice  But im still saying that those chinese V30 are not so bad  And all those cheap cabs are souding really nice.


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## LetsMosey (May 24, 2011)

Thanks for starting this thread... I too have recently been looking at a used HB cab I found locally on CL and wondering if it's worth a trade I'm considering. I may do the swap!


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