How much different does a cab make?

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Dumb question maybe but just wondering. How much difference can there be between cabs. I mean the actual box, not the speakers. I have 2 cabs. Both are birch ply 2x12's. One straight, the other slant. Both were made for me by Creative Acoustics in Raleigh, NC. One is loaded with a celestion G12H30 and a Greenback. The other is loaded with celestion V30's. I went this route because I already had the speakers. They sound fine except they are very directional. Volume and tone is quite different directly in front of cab vs. slightly off axis. Even 15-30 degrees seems to make difference. Sound is better slightly off axis to me with high's being less "bitey". I've thought about getting some new grill cloth to see if this makes much difference. Current grill cloth is pretty thin looking stuff. When I look inside the cab it's is nothing special. Just a box with cut outs for 2 speakers. Speakers front load. There are no baffles, ports, etc. Should I try the grill cloth thing (not as cheap an experiment as you might think) or just bite the bullet and sell this stuff off and get a different cab? I am not looking for thunderous low end. I just want something that "spreads" my sound out a bit if that makes sense. I always just thought of the cab as box to hold the speakers but I'm guessing there is a bit more to it than that. School me on cabs.

BTW, I would love to have a stereo 4 x 12 but I'm pretty much stuck with 2 x 12's due to stage space limitations is some of the places we play.
 
I feel the cab is just as important as the speaker in it when it comes to sound.
 
to be honest, there are alot of variables to tone.

the age/hearing of the players. the day/humidity, air/altitude pressure, the grill cloth, the speaker age, location of where you are standing, the accoustics of the area around you, cables, soldering, amplifier, guitar woods, etc etc etc - we could be here all day naming them all.

i will say that different woods do resonate at different peaks and respond to sound differently - bogner claims a warmer tone. mills claims a more solid low end and 3d dispersion by design working with the phase of the speakers.

the cabinet and grill cloth which acts as a low pass filter are just as important as the speakers.

i like basketweave cabinet cloth - there is a difference you can hear. tone bra's some people use as well.

if the cabinet is not holding together or rattling due to improper design then i would flip it. otherwise cabinets are cabinets - each will have different characters. find the ones that work for you and stick with them. the speakers and cloth and wiring will change the tone more drastically unless you are going from a 4x10 cabinet to a 4x12 cabinet. 4x12 to 4x12 - it really comes down to playing them to see the differences.
 
Very important. I see people with new amp days and they try it with just one cab and I think to myself that they aren't testing what the amp can do at all! Some amps sound great with one cab and off the charts bad with another. That's no exaggeration.
 
Most all guitar cabinets are directional and sound different off axis. The grill cloth will make a difference, but I don't think it's gonna be enough for the change you're looking for. If you're looking for more if a 3-D sound, you should try an open back 2x12. ;)
 
Keep this in mind: a good piece of equipment does not need to be altered or modified to produce good results.

The good thing about your quest is that you don't really care for the thunderous low end but more for the spread. Big punchy low end and projection comes from closed back 4x12's, open jangly and spacious comes from an open back cab. You won't get the same kind of overdriven heavy chugging sound from an open back cab though. If you wanted to split the difference then try replacing the back of the cab with particle board or other very porous material. When in doubt, if you are not satisfied with either of your cabs then I'd hand them off and get something you will be happy with.

Try taking both speakers out of one of the cabs and running them like that. The cab makes that much difference.
 
Just a quick point: If you find your tone too shrill when you stand directly in front of your cab/speakers, then you have a fundamental problem with the way you've dialed your amp. If it sounds shrill to you, it is going to sound shrill to the poor buggers in the audience the cab is aimed at..... :scared:

Sure, you can get some great tones with off-axis mic placement (and/or your location on the stage). But, at the end of the day, the sound you have coming out of your cabinet needs to sound good at ALL angles. Re-dial your amp! :thumbsup:
 
Thanks for all the good replies. I've seen some grimacing in the audience once or twice when I hit a high note. Sounds different at home so it may have to do with room acoustics or just plain volume since I rarely practice at the same volume I gig. I'll see if I can dial some of the shrill out with amp settings. My V30 loaded cab stays at my practice spot and there isn't a lot of time for tweaking at practice so my amp settings have been set up using my greenback/G12H30 cab at home. I'm sure that makes a difference since the V30's are known to have the high midrange punch. I want to cut through the mix but not through eardrums. Thanks for the link to the TGP article. The foam idea looks cheap and simple to try so I'm going to give it a shot.
 
glpg80":1bdi1s4t said:
to be honest, there are alot of variables to tone.

the age/hearing of the players. the day/humidity, air/altitude pressure, the grill cloth, the speaker age, location of where you are standing, the accoustics of the area around you, cables, soldering, amplifier, guitar woods, etc etc etc - we could be here all day naming them all.

i will say that different woods do resonate at different peaks and respond to sound differently - bogner claims a warmer tone. mills claims a more solid low end and 3d dispersion by design working with the phase of the speakers.

the cabinet and grill cloth which acts as a low pass filter are just as important as the speakers.

i like basketweave cabinet cloth - there is a difference you can hear. tone bra's some people use as well.

if the cabinet is not holding together or rattling due to improper design then i would flip it. otherwise cabinets are cabinets - each will have different characters. find the ones that work for you and stick with them. the speakers and cloth and wiring will change the tone more drastically unless you are going from a 4x10 cabinet to a 4x12 cabinet. 4x12 to 4x12 - it really comes down to playing them to see the differences.
Click to expand...

This.

But in short, they make a lot of difference. Some would argue more than the head itself. But there's loads of variables.
 
threadkiller":2snyh0fx said:
Thanks for all the good replies. I've seen some grimacing in the audience once or twice when I hit a high note. Sounds different at home so it may have to do with room acoustics or just plain volume since I rarely practice at the same volume I gig. I'll see if I can dial some of the shrill out with amp settings. My V30 loaded cab stays at my practice spot and there isn't a lot of time for tweaking at practice so my amp settings have been set up using my greenback/G12H30 cab at home. I'm sure that makes a difference since the V30's are known to have the high midrange punch. I want to cut through the mix but not through eardrums. Thanks for the link to the TGP article. The foam idea looks cheap and simple to try so I'm going to give it a shot.
Click to expand...

An oversized cab helps to tame the upper mid spike of V30s, but you've still got to strike a good balance between guitar/amp/cab. Balanced tone is just that, balanced, not one piece doing the majority of the work.
 
Everything affects everything...either for better or worse.

I used to think cabs weren't as big a deal as they are, until I heard some cabs on the market with my speakers in them. Then I knew cabs made a difference I could hear (easily).
 
Wow. It's like when Beavis had the little sparklies going around his head.


psychodave":mfqnelrg said:
glpg80":mfqnelrg said:
to be honest, there are alot of variables to tone.

the age/hearing of the players. the day/humidity, air/altitude pressure, the grill cloth, the speaker age, location of where you are standing, the accoustics of the area around you, cables, soldering, amplifier, guitar woods, etc etc etc - we could be here all day naming them all.

i will say that different woods do resonate at different peaks and respond to sound differently - bogner claims a warmer tone. mills claims a more solid low end and 3d dispersion by design working with the phase of the speakers.

the cabinet and grill cloth which acts as a low pass filter are just as important as the speakers.

i like basketweave cabinet cloth - there is a difference you can hear. tone bra's some people use as well.

if the cabinet is not holding together or rattling due to improper design then i would flip it. otherwise cabinets are cabinets - each will have different characters. find the ones that work for you and stick with them. the speakers and cloth and wiring will change the tone more drastically unless you are going from a 4x10 cabinet to a 4x12 cabinet. 4x12 to 4x12 - it really comes down to playing them to see the differences.
Click to expand...

^^^^^^^^THIS!!! :D
Click to expand...
 
threadkiller":lb17foa5 said:
Thanks for the link to the TGP article. The foam idea looks cheap and simple to try so I'm going to give it a shot.
Click to expand...

I was one of the first people to try this and it works exactly as it says it does. Easy one of the best improvements to my live sound at any price.
 
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