Marshall 4x12's....insulating back panel worth it?

  • Thread starter Thread starter SLOgriff
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SLOgriff

SLOgriff

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Would adding insulation on the back panel of a standard Marshall cab make it a little darker in tone? ....Like Bogner does to their's.

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id be curious to this answer as well. i have a cab that is overly bright and might be interested in insulating the back panel if it helps darken it
 
I don't think it would darken the tone much. The insulation usually does more for pronouncing the mids. What do I know though? I've never added insulation to a marshall cab.
 
Adding insulation kills the tone of the cab if you arent careful. It can sound lifeless and lack response. I tried it once and hated it.
 
I've seen more than a few threads where people were saying they took that insulation shit out and it was a big improvement.
 
My experience is that cab insulation works best with ported cabs.
My Krank 4x12 sounded really dark and overly tight. Artificial sounding really.
I then found that the cab was ported, which I didn't know. Anyways, I removed the batting that was stapled to the back and sides. I left the batting on the top and bottom though. The cab sounds better. Big difference in response as well as the bass and treble. More snap and livelier at high volumes.

I put the batting from the Krank on the back of a sealed Marshall 425A and couldn't hear a difference at all. So I guess that's why you see it lots in ported guitar cabs and ported bass cabs. Some home audio/theater stuff too.
 
I used to do this years ago. Its a matter of experimentation to figure out whats just enough insulation to not take all the life out of the cab. I wound up using very little and got good results. Dont know if I would go thru all the trouble again though cause each cab was different and took a lot of time testing it to get it right.
 
Try chalking all the seems on the cabinet. I did that and it made a difference in thump.
 
guitarmike":2cj8p0m8 said:
Try chalking all the seems on the cabinet. I did that and it made a difference in thump.

chalking?
 
sixstringking713":3gd8i62a said:
guitarmike":3gd8i62a said:
Try chalking all the seems on the cabinet. I did that and it made a difference in thump.

chalking?

Butthead voice: He meant Caulk. Huh Huh. Huh Huh.

I had an old Music Man 4X12 that sounded great. It was smaller than a Marshall cab (speakers were not as far apart on the baffle) and had batting on the back. Tight, lively, and warm is how I would describe it.

I also have an old Horizon vertical 2X12 that is more like two 1X12's, since each speaker compartment is completely isolated and ported. Thick batting in there and it is one of my favorite cabs.

I prefer the Egnater oversized 2X12 I am using mainly that does not have any batting. In short, I don't know.
 
sixstringking713":1vpjud1y said:
guitarmike":1vpjud1y said:
Try chalking all the seems on the cabinet. I did that and it made a difference in thump.

chalking?

I'm sure he means "caulking".

When you seal a cab to be absolutely air tight, that makes a huge difference. I will go through the trouble to seal all the seams, as well as holes for casters and handles. If you look at the back of a Mesa cab, they have caps on all the unused jacks to keep the cab sealed when they aren't used. That will give you the punch and tightness.
 
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