Box of Doom isolation cab review

The Box of Doom crashed in to the Zombie catacomb a while ago and I was curious above sanity about how well this thing actually isolate, how user-friendly it is and how it perform regarding sound quality. Those were actually my top three reasons for buying it in the first place. I wanted to complete my studio, located in a home environment. 

I unpacked is, mounted a SM57 and plugged in the amp and my computer and the truth is that it blew my mind from the very first seconds. To mice a guitar amp professionally without being disturbed of to high volumes at home and not to disturb the neighbours and my newborn daughter was my main goal.

Photo: The Guitar Zombie

The Box of Doom is built by Sylvester Vogelenzang de Jong, you can read an interview with him here. It´s technology is placed inside a very robust flightcase box. It´s a beautiful and heavy piece of sound art. The lid is massive and gives you a feel of how well built this isolation cab is. Its just screams quality in every little detail.






Specifications

• AllXs system
  1x L-bracket (220mm)
  1x L-bracket (165mm)
  1x L-adapter (70mm) [including mounting nut/screw]
  3x 3/8'' scew for fixing mic clamp (including rubber)
  1x adapter 3/8'' to 5/8'' 
• 3x XLR connections
• 2x XLR-XLR cables (length 500mm)
• Celestion 12''  G12M 65 Creamback  G12M  65 watt  8 Ohm
• 669 (H) x 692 (L) x 518 (D) (including wheels)
• 42 kg (based on BoD including Celestion V30)
• dB reduction (laeq) 29dB [based on Celestion V30]

Photo: The Guitar Zombie

Isolation and Absorption
Inside the Box of Doom there are 6 different absorbtion and isolation materials with "airchannels" placed like a labyrinth letting the air pass in and out freely. This is actually one of many reasons why this thing sound so honestly and well when used correctly.

Micing possibilities
You can use up to three mices (XLR), placed in different positions to get the most out of your amp in a recording or a live situation. To use it in recording environment is of course the first you think of but many players actually use the Box of Doom live, and I am pretty sure the sound engineers will love this and stop harassing guitar players for playing to loud. They will also get themselves a very clean signal with zero bleed to work with.

Photo: The Guitar Zombie

The mices are mounted in a ALLXs-system which let you posistion your mixes practically wherever you want with extreem precision and you can also leave them inside during transport and just plug the thing in when you get to your new location. This solution is very userfriendly and very stable. There is also an option to buy a Box of Doom with goose-neck, for those who prefer that.

You can of course use whatever mices you want, but I had a SM57 and a Sennheiser e906 at home, which has a very similar behaviour. The best is to use mices with different characters. It´s a matter of taste with lots of opinions so lets leave it right there. Anyway, when I make an EQ analyse in Logic, I note that the guitar EQ lies in between the frequency 200-5000 Hz. A new friend of mine gave me this tip to check the quality of mices ability to deliver a guitar sound. This means that the Box of Doom behaves not only quiet but also acoustically very well. The result is like mixing a normal cab, which is not to say about many of the competitors. The guitar tone, if you have a great one from the beginning, stays great och very honest. You don't need to much at all with the EQ in Logic or at the mixing board. It´s very organic all the way and the amp sounds as it´s suppose to do. I´m a bit surprised by the fact that it is that easy to dial in whatever amp you want with a indisputable result.

EQ and sonic quality
I made an EQ analysis in Logic and noted that the guitar lies stable between the frequencies 200-5000 Hz. A buddy gave me this tip for checking the quality of the equipment to deliver a good guitar sound. This means that Box of Doom is not only quiet but also acoustic schematically good . You do not need to tune very much at all with EQ i post production. It is in general very organic and the amplifier sounds as it is supposed to do. I'm a little surprised that it is so easy to dial in a good sound.

Speakers and the cassette baffle system

Photo: The Guitar Zombie

The speaker is placed from the side and not at the bottom as in many other iso cabs. This means that you don't risk dropping a mice on the speaker during the positioning process and damage the speaker.

The speaker is mounted in a cassette baffle system which means you can easily change speakers in a minute in the studio for instance, or even live of course.

The two holes in the cassette is made to let air goes back and forth inside the box and contribute by itself as muck as the air channels inside to the character of the "sound".

Photo: The Guitar Zombie

The extra speaker box, optional, is as robust built as the main box and you can order it containing one or two speakers and it´s easy to carry.

You can choose different speakers, Celestion Creamback G12H 30 (Classic), Celestion Creamback G12M 65 watt, Celestion V30, Celestion Greenback G12M 25W and a EVM Electro Voice Classic 12L - 200 watt. 

These are all great speakers with individual characters. I ordered a V30 and a Creamback 65 watt speaker and I love them both. The Creamback is my favourite for now though, warm and tight but still a bit vintage.

I have made a short clip of how it sounds here:

 

The overall impression
This is exactly what you want if you record musical stuff in a pro-studio, at home or if you´re playing live infront of an audience. The price is comparable to a high quality 4x12 cabinet like Mesa and it spare you many hours of trouble trying to mice an amp in any situation. 
Check out more on www.theboxofdoom.nl 

Rating:
10 Zombies (5)