I Removed the Batting From My Bogner Cab

[FourT6and2]

And it definitely made a difference. Whether that difference is good or bad would be up to you. But in my case, it made the cab more resonant. With the batting, the cab was a little more... I don't know... clear? And there is more low end with the batting (a tiny bit punchier too), which makes sense, because it increases the internal volume the speakers see. But without the batting the whole cab is just more lively, "excited" and airy. Less low end. But I can compensate with the amp EQ. I'm diggin' it so far.

Anybody else try it?

 

[Racerxrated]

I've usually gone the other way with cabs and added batting/insulation. Seems to focus the sound more and adds articulation.

 

[FourT6and2]

I've usually gone the other way with cabs and added batting/insulation. Seems to focus the sound more and adds articulation.

Yep, that's how I'd describe the "before" sound with this cab. But I found it comes at the cost of some resonance. Cab seems to really vibrate a lot more without the batting. Maybe there's a happy medium? Maybe I'll strip a few layers of the batting away and put a layer that's half as thick back in.

 

[cardinal]

I've played with adding to cabs. I agree it does what you describe, but it's easy to add too much, which makes the can sound completely lifeless and dull. I ended up taking it out of the 4x12s but keeping it in 4x10s.

 

[crwnedblasphemy]

Yeah. Pretty spot on. I actual added to 3 sides of my splawn straight cab and it tamed the res, added a bit more punch and focus. I love it. Whatever you are trying to go for, this simple inexpensive way is awesome for straight 4x12s

 

[Guitarnobody]

I've removed it from my cabs and prefer it out. You should try removing the center post for added bass and sound. Decoupling the front and back makes a difference.

 

[Racerxrated]

I've always heard that creating a better seal also around the back panel improves the sound some. I have a couple Marshall cabs I'm gonna try this with.

 

[JamesPeters]

I found this, after messing around with batting.

First, I don't want to use too much. Too much makes things sound flat/dead. Might as well make the cab out of 2" thick MDF.

Second...the results from hearing it in several cabs (in/out and comparing, sometimes doing a side by side comparison of identical cabs one with and one without whatever frequencies in which the cab resonates the most, it reduces that and makes it sound more "even". The effect is noticeable at any volume but more pronounced at higher volume. So if your cab resonates a lot in the mids (cabs made of softer wood like pine or shop-grade "birch" plywood with who-knows-what in the inner layers), it'll keep the mids from peaking as much. If your cab has a lot of low end and treble resonance (cabs made of Baltic birch for instance), it tames those peaks and makes it more balanced so the mids are more noticeable by contrast (which is what people usually notice first about that sort of thing).

Third: the type of damping material matters and sometimes not in ways you expect. What Engl uses in their cabs ("egg carton" shaped dark grey foam), despite being much thicker/heavier than the 1/4" thin poly batting I bought from WalMart (from the crafts section, for use in plush toys or pillows), made less of a difference. That's a result I didn't expect.

I find the 1/4" poly batting to be great actually, doing the job well enough and noticeably enough in any cab I've tried it in. It never seems to over-deaden the sound if all I use is one layer, and it always seems to shave something off the peaks just enough that I can appreciate it. There are exceptions to everything though; I'm sure some cabs sound perfect without it, and I doubt it'd make much difference in most open-back cabs.

 

[JamesPeters]

You should try removing the center post for added bass and sound. Decoupling the front and back makes a difference.

Having the baffle and/or back panel moving more freely can also lead to some "loose"/"flubby" bass at very high volumes. If you adjust for it or don't play that loud, it's not an issue.

I've always heard that creating a better seal also around the back panel improves the sound some. I have a couple Marshall cabs I'm gonna try this with.

If air escapes the cab it will affect the sound. To get a "well sealed" sound it can be a bit tricky. You shouldn't over tighten the speakers to the baffle; the gasket shouldn't be compressed such that the frame is bent where the speaker bolts are, for instance. Put in the speaker bolts "finger tight" then tighten just a little more to add some tension to the bolts so they won't loosen much over time. If the baffle is warped and you're trying to get the speaker to sit right--best to replace the baffle instead of over tightening the speaker mounting bolts. A bent speaker frame can cause issues in the performance of the speaker, effectively ruining it. The rest of tightening/sealing a cab is relatively easy, as long as no screws have stripped out the wood where they're installed. Some gaps in wood joints may have to be filled with silicone or something similar (but don't put any where the back panel is installed otherwise it may be very difficult to remove the back panel later!) For instance I've noticed some recessed handles will leave noticeable gaps where air can escape, and putting some silicone there can help.

And, sometimes you might prefer the sound with it not so sealed. I bought a Marshall straight 4x12 once, with greenbacks. Sounded awesome in the store. Got it home, still sounded awesome. Turned the amp up, bass was loose like crazy. Opened it up--center post had not gotten the screw inserted on the back panel (since a screw was missed on the front, and the center post rotated out of the way of the center so it didn't get a screw from the back panel); it was just dangling. The speakers were almost ready to fall out, the bolts were so loose. And every screw imaginable which could affect the sound in that way, was loose. (All the screws on the baffle, back panel, speakers, handles, you name it.) After getting it straightened out, the cab performed perfectly at higher volume...but at lower to moderate volume it sounded plain, sort of flat. To recreate some of the initial response I got from the cab, I put some small washers between the speaker and the baffle, to leave a tiny gap (while being able to keep the bolts at the proper tightness). I called it the "relic mod" as a joke, a friend had suggested. "Wow that old Marshall cab sounds so great!" well...maybe things are loose in the cab and that's part of it? Nah, couldn't be! Live and learn...

 

[fek]

I used to chase rabbits down these holes. Learned a few things and lost lots of hours. I almost had myself worked up enough to take off the back panel of my favorite 1960B with Greenie's and add some batting. I think I will just play through it instead.

I do find the need to open it up once a year to check the screws holding the speakers in though. Those always seem to work loose after a while.

 

[blackba]

I tried egg crate foam in all my 112 and 212 cabs and always preferred it without. I put foam on all side walls. Always sounded more lively without any foam. If I were to try it again, I would just try it on the back panel.

My old fender bandmaster 212 cab came with insulation. I ended up taking that out too and making a new opened back panel for the cab, love it now.

 

[JamesPeters]

I should also mention I only bothered to add the batting to the back panel, not the side walls. I wanted to try that first and listen for the differences. It made enough difference that adding any more wasn't necessary.

 

[FourT6and2]

Well to be fair, Bogner cabs come from the factory with batting already installed. I simply removed it to see what it would sound like. I have a few Bogner cabs. But they all have different speakers. So I can't really do an accurate A/B. Unless I swap the back panels from two cabs, one with batting, the other without.

I do like the lively, more resonant nature of the cab without the insulation. Though I might wind up missing some of the tightness. We shall see!

 

[JamesPeters]

It depends on so many things. How loud you play, what the amp is doing in terms of frequency response, what room you're in, and so on. I just moved and in this new place there's no electrical noise anymore (whew!) but the acoustics are really different (d'oh!) So what sounded really good in terms of my cab and settings has changed considerably since the move.