Review: daRibeira Salamandra R112TW
Hand-made in Guimarães in northern Portugal with dovetail-jointed solid swamp ash or tulipwood, daRibeira cabinets are available with all the regular speaker configurations.
Rather than having conventional tweed or vinyl coverings, the bare-wood cabinets are sprayed with thin lacquer coats before being fitted with Switchcraft jack sockets and faux leather handles.
In use
The challenge when reviewing this attractive 1×12 cab is to assess the Salamandra independently of the speaker. Jensen describes the C12N as having aggressive mids, bright highs and loose lows. In this cabinet, the lows sound focused, punchy and deep, while the midrange isn’t that aggressive.
We compare the Salamandra against our Princeton-style cabinet, which is loaded with a Fane A60. Although the Fane has extended treble and high sensitivity, the supposedly less sensitive C12N sounds brighter and louder in the Salamandra.
It has a bigger tone, too, with the sort of player-friendly midrange response we associate with solid-wood cabinets. Merely tapping the Salamandra produces clear notes, so there’s no doubt the cabinet is contributing to the overall tone, and we find it projects impressively.
Although we hear a slightly papery rasp, experience tells us it’s a speaker thing – the cab itself is buzz and rattle free. Besides a slight kink in the speaker cloth in the upper-right corner, it’s beautifully made, too, and we like the overall style.
daRibeira Salamandra R112TW
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The lacquer offers the wood little protection and great care will be needed to maintain the Salamandra’s looks if used for gigging. As a home or studio cab, these concerns don’t apply; we appreciate its light weight and cannot fault the sound.
Key Features
PRICE €419
DESCRIPTION Solid tulipwood open-back 1×12” cabinet. Made in Portugal
POWER RATING 50W
SPEAKER Jensen C12N (as reviewed)
DIMENSIONS 500 x 450 x 280mm
WEIGHT 11.5kg/25.3lb
CONTACT daribeira.webs.com
Like this? Try these…
Zilla Cabs solid-pine 1×12 cabinet £400, GLB Micro €980, Victory V112C £374
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