Review: Port City 2×12 OS Cabinet w/ WGS Veteran 30s

September 11th, 2010 by Andres Gallo

Port City Wave Cab with WGS Veteran 30s
$550 – $750

Design

During the last 2 months I have been the lucky owner of a Port City Wave OS 2×12 cabinet with WGS Veteran 30 speakers, and promised myself I would write a review on it. I knew I had to write about it since the first time I plugged my amp into it, as I was very happy with its sound quality, and as it keeps making me smile every time. I had no idea a cabinet could make such a big difference in the sound quality of the guitar, furthermore, it looks a lot better than just about every other cabinet I have seen.

Looking at it, it has a really beautiful tolex finish, a tough but great looking mesh grill, a front port at the bottom, and a durable handle which looks capable of carrying something 20 times heavier than the cab. Everything about the design seems to have had been thought throughout to be not only aesthetically pleasing, but functional. Proofreading this article, I can see my language makes it seem as if I had fallen in love with this speaker cabinet, and perhaps such is the case even though it is still not perfect. It is beautiful, sounds great, but its very heavy and would heavily benefit from having wheels as due to its shape it is designed to be carried by only one person. I am certain Daniel at Port City can offer wheels for extra charge, however.

Sound

It’s bigger in size than most 2×12 cabinets, but smaller than a 4×12, however it sounds substantially bigger than any 4×12 I have tried. WGS claims their Veteran 30 speakers sound like Celestion vintage 30s but better. In the Port City Cabinet they sound bigger and smoother than any Celestion vintage 30s I have ever heard, although I have never heard the Port City cab with Celestions. The sound has that definition of vintage 30s, but there is something special that I can safely assume is due to the combination of the Veteran 30s and the cabinet. The sound seems a lot more rounded, and seems to come out of the speaker into a room filling aura of pure awesomeness. I can equalize my amp in ways that would have made it harsh before. Overall, the sound of this combination is absolutely phenomenal; the cleans sound cleaner and bigger, and my higher gain channels sound meaner and more defined.

Reliability

As already mentioned the cabinet looks like a gorgeous tank. The cabinet is without a doubt built to last, and I feel I’d receive help from Port City should any problems arise in the future. Daniel Klein from Port City, for example helped me with all questions I had, and even helped me with the process of getting the WGS speakers into the cabinet. Long story short, I appreciated their great customer support, and also that of WGS.

Conclusion

All in all I recommend this combination to all of you looking for a new cabinet. The design of the Port City does as advertised making a positive difference and improvement in the sound quality.
For those of you who may be curious about the WGS Veteran 30s, they are similar to the Celestion Vintage 30s but smoother. I have not compared the two brands in the same cabinet, but from the sound I got out of the WGS in my cabinet, it is a beautiful thing.

Port City Amps
Wherehouse Guitar Speakers