Need advice on building guitar cab iso booths.

[kasperjensen]

A&S is always expensive but I did hear it with the lid closed and it was damn near silent. They told me they made it in conjunction with UCLA audio department and did a ton of tests on the baffling and amount and placement of the foam. Who knows what was involved but it seemed to work if not being priced in the working musicians budget.

You sure they didn't perform a variation on that old Ace Ventura trick he pulls with the door open/closed?

On a serious note...

If it is damn near silent, and doesn't sound particularly different from recording "open", then it's probably a worthwhile investment for studios that don't have a live room, or only 1. It would be great to record quietly, or being able to record live with a band without having the bleed.

I would love one, but I don't think the front door to my studio is big enough...


If it could fit though... I would definitely consider it, if the shipping to Europe wasn't ridiculous.

Man... The thought alone of being able to fully crank a 100 watter and no one being none the wiser, is making me drool.

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

Not a bad idea here either: http://www.clearsonic.com/amp_isolation.htm Maybe not perfect isolation but pretty decent and I like the fact it can be taken down when not in use. I looked at the price points and I think for a small cab you might be in the 3-500$ range..

 

[fearhk213]

A&S is always expensive but I did hear it with the lid closed and it was damn near silent. They told me they made it in conjunction with UCLA audio department and did a ton of tests on the baffling and amount and placement of the foam. Who knows what was involved but it seemed to work if not being priced in the working musicians budget.

You sure they didn't perform a variation on that old Ace Ventura trick he pulls with the door open/closed?

On a serious note...

If it is damn near silent, and doesn't sound particularly different from recording "open", then it's probably a worthwhile investment for studios that don't have a live room, or only 1. It would be great to record quietly, or being able to record live with a band without having the bleed.

I would love one, but I don't think the front door to my studio is big enough...


If it could fit though... I would definitely consider it, if the shipping to Europe wasn't ridiculous.

Man... The thought alone of being able to fully crank a 100 watter and no one being none the wiser, is making me drool.

I'm with you on that. I've been wanting an iso cab for a while, but what I'd really like is to be able to record my 4x12 cab quietly. It's pricey for sure, but if it does what it says without sounding "boxy" that would be a killer piece. Problem is going to be getting that thing through anything but a double-door.

 

[Greg Riley]

Dan Donegan using a 4x12 ISO box with 4 mic's in a live setting. (7:00 - 9:00 on the video ) Also an interesting take on switching your rig with a midi signal triggering from the drums. I remember Geoff Tyson from T-Ride also trigger switched his live rig way back. https://youtu.be/O_5CmwexFY0

 

[Random Hero]

I'm quite interested in these. Gonna get a 2x12 for my live sound but I might end up sticking my 1x12 in an iso box/cupboard and mic'ing it up for recording. Doesn't Pete Thorn do something similar?

 

[Ventura]

A&S is always expensive but I did hear it with the lid closed and it was damn near silent. They told me they made it in conjunction with UCLA audio department and did a ton of tests on the baffling and amount and placement of the foam. Who knows what was involved but it seemed to work if not being priced in the working musicians budget.

There are 2 things I've come to realize with practically anything out there and semi-specialized:
1. R&D costs money
2. You get what you pay for.

In this case, if these ISO boxes truly work at otherwise earbleed levels, they're well worth the price to get that killer tone and sound while hittin the REC button.

Peace,
Mo

 

[kissmyace]

http://www.jetcityamplification.com/2010/03/10/jetstream-iso12usb-available-summer-2010/

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

The Jet City needs to be twice the size... too boxy sounding all closed in like that.

 

[Digital Jams]

$2500?

Enjoy your non lubed fisting on that one.

James could build an iso enclosure in his studio for $500.

 

[Greg Riley]

I agree!

$2500?

Enjoy your non lubed fisting on that one.

James could build an iso enclosure in his studio for $500.

 

[Anonymous]

$2500?

Enjoy your non lubed fisting on that one.

James could build an iso enclosure in his studio for $500.

You guys seem to be missing the point of the A&S case. It is an ATA approved flight case in addition to the iso box capability. It is for touring musicians to fly around the world and use on stage, not to stick in a studio for reducing external volume while recording. That is why it is so expensive. It would be ridiculous to buy something like that thing for home/studio recording unless you like wasting money, however, I understand why it is priced the way it is and for its intended purpose, it isn't a "fisting" considering how few of them they are going to sell and what it took to develop it. Even if you wanted to spend that kind of cash for some reason for home/studio recording, it is completely impractical for all but the largest studios due to the sheer size and the fact that there is no way to take it apart.

The box I have works great and it is held together by velcro so you can easy assemble/disassemble to move it into a room or closet. While I paid $800 for it shipped to my place (from vocalbooth.com), it could be built much cheaper if you are handy (which I am not, nor did I have the time).

Anyway, I didn't respond to this thread originally, because James was asking about info from people who have first hand experience building one, which I do not...

Here are some pictures of mine if it helps at all:

For what it's worth, almost all the real amp clips on my music page (sig), including my Mojave PeaceMaker clips were recorded in that iso cab and they don't sound boxy at all. And I had that 100W PeaceMaker completely cranked with the volume on 10...

Steve

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

Ok here is my question... that black acoustic foam that looks awesome vs lining a box in a closet with rigid fiberglass.... what would be the differences? Seems to me the foam just reflects where the fiberglass would absorb some and also help with sound?