05/11/24 - Reformer 112 w/ Neo 250 Copperback - USA

I tried it with a variety of amps, large, small, high watt, low, clean, gain, high gain, simple circuit reactive, multi-channel bells and whistles... etc. This was partially because I'm selling off a lot of amps, so had them out to photograph and list.

Let me say this... I love the cabinet and speaker. I have found that I prefer full response Neo speakers because I can always dial in or use cab sim to get other legacy tones. And I directly compared this to two other cabs that I think are relevant. The first is an original Forte side ported 2x12 cab with Celestion Cream and V-Type. The second is a custom cab made for me replicating the Electro Voice TL806 front ported build plan that the Sica/Jensen people recommended to me for the Jensen N12D (also flat/full response).

Have to say, from the start, I was disappointed with the Forte, probably most because of the darkness of the speakers. It also ways a ton on it's own without speakers, so I chose not to replace with neo speakers, and am selling it. Aside from that and relevant to your product, I found that it seemed to work like a half a pie, where the front sound had mid/high, with gaps between front and the mid/lows coming out of the sides with little reflection from the back wall... as one would expect.

The EV front port is actually my go-to cab. I get rich full sound with good dispersion. I run it closed back, but can open a center panel for rear reflection. I have it in a corner which helps dispersion (I think... I'm very naive about gear, and don't know much more than what my ears tell me... didn't grow up in bands so little direct input to my brain from experts.)

So now, your Reformer. I guess I expected to clearly hear very specific differences, but didn't... which is why your cab is so great. It has even dispersion 360 (maybe even up, but I don't know that... just that I played it both seated and standing. I should say, I also played facing it, not back to the cab this weekend, Will have to turn around in the coming days when I get time.)

Here's the thing... it's just the beautiful clear articulate sound I love, that I can paint in many ways from pedals to attack to guitar knobs to equalizer to modeling. And the sound fills the room in a way that doesn't draw attention, but does give an immersive feeling. I haven't tested it in a group setting yet, but I would suspect that it helps bring the whole band together. My wife and I see a lot of live music in small venues, and we like to sit closer to the stage so we hear the music direct from the band's gear rather than the house. As you can imagine, the location of the seat can vary the mix we hear off the stage. That's okay for us because we are trying to distinguish the artists and instruments which makes it more interesting than a wall of sound. Having said that, I imagine your products would tend to help blend the stage sound and connect the other instruments within the dispersion your cabinet creates, but that is just speculation.

In a few words, I love it, and it will be near my EV/Jensen cabinet in my primary playing space, and go to for other amp heads I have. (The EV cab has a one off head from VTAmps built for me and detailed together with the cabinet, so those always stay together.

Some folks use the term "reference" to mean an archetypal specific tone, like a Strat, or a vintage Magnatone, etc. I think of it a bit differently. I feel that a clean clear articulate cabinet like yours is the "master reference" from which all others are defined by subtraction. Yours is the "everything" cab, though partly because of the speaker choice. I need to spend more time with it, but if I had to pick one, it would be the Reformer or the EV, and probably break the rules of the thought experiment and keep both. If you ever are bored, you might try to build the EV front port just to experience it. I attached a spec from the interweb... there are a few out there. Last note, I have mine on it's side with the port on the left, no reason, just fits the head better that way.

The Reformer is the best gear purchase I've made in years.

Happy to provide additional feedback, though I fear I've already shared too much :) and may be displaying huge swaths of technical ignorance.

Best of luck, though you shouldn't need it with your product excellence.

Oh, and I offer this to the best makers that have provided me super gear and instruments. If someone in the New York City area wants to try one of your cabs before buying, I'm happy to give them some time with it (as long as they're not a serial killer :) For example, I've done this for Frank Scheucher of Zerberus guitars, and even held some US based stock for him. Back then we had a tiny little gear shop as more of a hobby than business for a few years before Covid when we shut it down.) To be clear, we aren't representing anyone any more, but I'm surely happy to help you and other musicians find what works for them, and definitely more musicians should have one of your cabinets.

Also happy to clean this up into a single paragraph if you want to use it in your marketing anonymously or just my first name, or feel free to do your own edit. Humbly, I'm not sure it would help you, but you're free to take it and do as you wish.

Jim