Closed Back Speaker Cab

Gene H. Brown · From: Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada

Has anyone out there ever used a closed back speaker cabinet, and if you have, how did/do you like it.
I have a chance to pick up a Peavey closed back Cabinet with a porthole in the front with a PAS 15" speaker. I know the PAS speaker is heavy, but I am looking for a 15" cabinet to go with my Fender Twin Top so it won't be that heavy in two pieces.
Just wondering how the closed back would be with Steel Guitar?
Thanks
in Advance
Gene

------------------
If You Keep Pickin That Thing, It'll Never Heal!
;)

Jim Smith · From: Midlothian, TX, USA

The speaker cabinets that come with the Stereo Steel rig are closed back. I love mine!

http://www.stereosteel.com

John Hawkins · From: Onalaska, Tx. on Lake Livingston * R.I.P.

What Jim Smith said.

John

Smiley Roberts · From: Hendersonville,Tn. 37075

I have 2 Peavey wedge monitor cabs,w/ 12" B.W.'s in 'em. LOVE 'em!

------------------

  ~ ~


  ©¿©  It don't mean a thang,   


  mm   if it ain't got that twang.


       www.ntsga.com

David L. Donald · From: Koh Samui Island, Thailand

I don't know that actual cabinet,
but a properly ported closed back cab will likely be more efficiant, (read; louder), than an open back cab.

The main loss is that open back interaction with a wall behind the cab..
on a bigger stage and no near, rear wall, it just becomes a loss of power.

[This message was edited by David L. Donald on 27 August 2004 at 03:23 AM.]

David Higginbotham · From: Lake Charles, Louisiana, USA

I am using 2 closed back, ported front, insulated cabinets that I built and loaded with BW 1203's. Best sound I have ever had! I do not intend on going back to 15's after hearing these.
Dave

David Doggett · Posted 27 Aug 2004 9:16 am

Gene, I play through closed-back cabinets mostly. They are more consistent; whereas open-backed cabinets sound different depending on what is behind the cabinet (brick wall, curtains, open area, etc.). Many off-the-shelf closed back cabinets are designed for bass or PA, and so are larger (and heavier) than you really need for steel. I have a couple of small closed-back cabinets made by Duane Marrs. I modified them with stiffer backs and tubes in the port holes. With JBL 15s they sound really good, and have really good lows with my Universal.

If you have your Twin in a head cabinet, maybe you still have the old combo cabinet. You can convert that into a great closed-back reflex cabinet. Just put a back on it. The front slot where the amp chassis was directs the sound back out the front. The lows will be improved if you put a reflex shelf below the slot so that it is attached to the front baffle and sides, but has about a 1" slot between the shelf and the back. You now have a bass-reflex Thiele design cabinet at very little cost.

Closed-back cabinets are designed to be used behind you at the back of the stage. Open-backed cabinets were originally designed to be placed out in front of the player at the front of the stage. Consequently they had the controls on the back of the amp. The open back acted as a monitor, so the player could hear from behind the amp. Also, a closed back cabinet would resonate enough to rattle the tubes and electronics. Therefore, open backs are still used on combos, even though nowdays they are mostly placed behind the player. Some people still like the open back sound and think closed back cabinets sound boxy and woofy. But I like the consistency and strong lows of closed-back cabinets.

Gene H. Brown · From: Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada

Thanks for your ensight fellas, I am going to give her a try, I've never tryed a closed back before, but it really makes sense that you would lose a lot of lows behind the amp in an open backed speaker cabinet.
Thanks Again!
Gene

------------------
If You Keep Pickin That Thing, It'll Never Heal!
;)

Donny Hinson · From: Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.

The closed-back cabinets, and the open-backed ones are entirely different. Closed-backs emphasize the lows much more, and tend to "focus" the sound. Open-backed cabinets give much better high end, and have a very open, "spacious" sound. If you want fat, punchy tones, go with the closed back, and if you like the high-end emphasis (like the old Mooney, Green, and Brumley sounds), go with an open back.

Use of monitors might also affect your decision, since a closed-back cabinet spreads very little sound on the stage. Open backed amps, on the other hand, can be heard much better and clearer by other band members if you're not miking instruments and providing monitors for the rest of the band.

One other thing, closed-back systems are usually larger and heavier, since they have a requisite minimum size for the best sound (damping) characteristics. When I had a steady sit-down gig, I usually used a 9 cu. ft. Altec-Lansing design bass reflex cabinet with two 15" SRO's. The sound and power was, well, pretty awesome!

James Morehead · From: Prague, Oklahoma, USA - R.I.P.

Donny, It would seem like you would get the best of both worlds by using one of each---one open and one closed back??

Tom Gorr · From: Three Hills, Alberta

Gene,

Offtopic - but noticed you're from Whitehorse. I lived there for 4 months back in 1994 while on a project. There is no friendlier place !

John McClung · From: Olympia WA, USA

Anyone ever tried putting a back on a Webb amp? How'd it sound? Mine has the old original K-130 JBL @ 8 ohms, in case that's important or pertinent.

Sam White R.I.P. · From: Coventry, RI 02816

Hummm I wonder what Mike Brown has to say on this subject. I was told that you need the back open so the speaker can breath. I was told this by a great steel player and he worked electronics for 35 years for a living.
Sam White

David Doggett · Posted 31 Aug 2004 7:17 am

One thing nobody mentioned yet is that closed-back cabinets protect the speaker from low-end blow-out. That's why most bass speakers are in closed back cabinets. I recently let a bass player use my NV400 open-back cabinet and he blew the speaker, even though he was playing very quietly. This is less a problem with steel than with bass - I would have had difficulty blowing the Black Widow speaker with my uni, even playing much louder than he did. Nevertheless, I put my two JBL 15" speakers in closed-back cabinets, because they do not have the handling power of a Black Widow and need the protection when I use them with an amp of 100 watts or greater.

Speakers aren't alive, so I don't see why they need to "breathe." However, if you mean you like the open-back sound, then that is simply a matter of personal preference that people seem to divide evenly on (including electronics experts and life-long pros). Most separate speaker cabinets (e.g., stacks and half-stacks) are closed-back, although you can get some either way. There are reasons for the closed backs, and the manufacturers know what they are doing. If you do a search on the Enhancer, you will see that these are devices to simply turn an open-back cabinet into a front-projecting closed-back system. But they are big and bulky, and I prefer just to start with a closed-back cabinet to begin with.

As Donny says, open-back cabinets let more sound out to the stage (and less to the audience), particularly if they are not placed at the back of the stage. Putting open-back guitar cabinets in front of drummers and bass players is a good way to let them hear the lead and rythmn guitars well. Closed-back cabinets really need to be on the back line. I prefer my steel speaker to be some distance behind me on the back line. If it is close behind me, it sounds plenty loud to me, but I tend to not play loud enough for the rest of the band and the audience to hear me well. At the back line it is easier for me to get my volume right with the rest of the group.

I would be careful about putting a closed back on a combo amp. This encloses the amp chassis within the speaker compartment. Low-end speaker vibrations will impact the amp itself, which is not good, particularly for tube amps. That is one reason most combos come with open backs. It's a compromise made for combos. It protects the amp chassis, but not the speaker. It lets more sound out onto the stage, particularly to the rear, but less is projected out front to the audience. The sound itself is a matter of personal preference, and there is no "wrong" choice for that.

W. J. Copeland · From: Palestine, Texas, USA

FYI** I BUILD MY OWN SPEAKER CABINETS AND HAVE BOTH CLOSED AND SEMI-OPEN BACKS. EACH HAS A UNIQUE SOUND. MY PREFERENCE HAS BEEN THE SEMI-OPEN BACK FOR STEEL. WHILE IN DALLAS THIS PAST MARCH, I NOTICED JOHN HUGHEY WAS USING SPEAKERS WITH SEMI-OPEN BACKS SO I ASKED HIM ABOUT THE DIFFERENCE. HIS COMMENT WAS, HE JUST DOES NOT CARE FOR THE SOUND COMING FROM A CLOSED BACK SYSTEM.

Forum Index > Electronics		Next oldest topic :: Next newest topic

All times are GMT - 8 Hours	Jump to: