# about "high" end closed back speaker cabinets..



## GTmaker (Apr 24, 2006)

Hi Folks..

Simple question ..
Do "high " end closed back speaker cabinets have some type of sound dampening material inside OR 
are they completely empty.?

all responses much appreciated.

G.


----------



## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

I'm quite sure that there was a thread about this topic in the past.

IIRC, the consensus (for the most part) was that damping material was for stereo speakers and not used for guitar cabs.

Again, if memory serves, GC forum member "nonreverb" is quite well-informed on the topic.

I await subsequent responses with interest.


----------



## Budda (May 29, 2007)

There was no damping material I could see in my Orange PPC412. It's all about the dimensions IIRC.


----------



## JamesPeters (Feb 2, 2006)

It's a matter of preference. Damping material can be useful for taming the most obvious resonant frequencies. Choice of materials (wood) usually makes a person consider the tradeoffs among: weight, strength, workability (how easily the wood can be cut/routed/etc. without breakouts/chips/etc.), and resonant properties. Pine for instance may be a good choice for a particular kind of midrange resonance, but it's really soft which means you have to consider how you work with it (differently compared to baltic birch) including the thickness you use. You may find cabinets made of pine which have baltic birch baffles for instance. Anyway if the cabinet's design is to be strong/solid and also sound the way you want, sometimes adding a bit of damping material can help. 

If someone says "high end cabinets shouldn't have damping material", I'd like to hear how they justify that statement. 

Try adding 1/4" poly batting (from craft stores, for plush toys or pillows) only one layer thick on the inside of your cab's rear panel and listen to the difference. It's really interesting.


----------



## GTmaker (Apr 24, 2006)

_Try adding 1/4" poly batting (from craft stores, for plush toys or pillows) only one layer thick on the inside of your cab's rear panel and listen to the difference. It's really interesting._

normaly I would not do this but since I havent gotten too many responses I just cant let you off the hook that easy..
Please explain ..."Its really interesting"

G.


----------



## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

Did you do a Google search for this topic?
There is a lot of very interesting reading out there.
www.google.ca/search?q=damping+in+guitar+speaker+cabs&oq=damping+in+guitar+speaker+cabs&aqs=chrome..69i57.11919j0j7&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=91&ie=UTF-8


----------



## JamesPeters (Feb 2, 2006)

GTmaker said:


> normaly I would not do this but since I havent gotten too many responses I just cant let you off the hook that easy..
> Please explain ..."Its really interesting"
> 
> G.


"Damping material can be useful for taming the most obvious resonant frequencies." 

From my experience: whatever resonant frequencies of the cab itself (the wood) are the most "peaky", those are the ones you notice affected the most by the batting. If your cab is really honky (tons of midrange resonance for instance in a pine cab), you'll notice less of that. If your cab has more low end and high end resonance (baltic birch tends to resonate like this), it'll tame that most noticeably.

If you add more layers the cab will start to sound more "dead". It depends on the material of course. I've found that 1/4" poly batting works surprisingly well (better than thicker "egg crate foam") but any more than that can be overkill.


----------



## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

JamesPeters said:


> "Damping material can be useful for taming the most obvious resonant frequencies."


Will damping it have any effect on a ported cab?

I have an old Garnet 1 x 12 cab that is ported in a similar manner to the Saxon cab in this pic.










There is no "shelf port" (correct term??) inside the cab, only a "slot" at the bottom.










Thanks

Dave


----------



## jbealsmusic (Feb 12, 2014)

greco said:


> Will damping it have any effect on a ported cab?
> 
> I have an old Garnet 1 x 12 cab that is ported in a similar manner to the Saxon cab in this pic.
> 
> ...


It will actually have a greater effect on a ported cab.


----------



## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

jbealsmusic said:


> It will actually have a greater effect on a ported cab.


I'm going to try this.

Thanks jbealsmusic


----------



## GTmaker (Apr 24, 2006)

greco said:


> I'm going to try this.
> Thanks jbealsmusic


I dont know what you are going to use Dave but Q Components sell white padding thats made for the job..

G.


----------



## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

Thanks G...here is the info:
http://qcomponents.ca/McBride-ES-1.html

I played around with all sorts of configurations. I didn't have any batting so I used a hand towel (figured why not...batting is often pure cotton and about the same thickness...sort of...LOL) on the (one piece) removable back. It did change the sound...there seemed to be less shrill highs and less booming of the bass. 

My cab is made from cheap, rather light materials and I think it has limitations as far as ever being able to sound all that great.

I was thinking of stopping at a local quilting store as they have a huge selection of batting and sell it by the yard, AFAIK.

I'm also liking the results with the cab facing the wall. I know that it is an old "trick" but it certainly works!


----------



## GTmaker (Apr 24, 2006)

HEy Dave

Thats the stuff I bought when I redesigned my old Traynor Bass cabinet.
I like the way that its easy to handle and very easy to install...

I we go there again soon . maybe we can split a couple of yards for future use.

G.


----------



## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

I bought some poly batting from my new good friends at the Creative Sisters Quilt Studio.
We had lots of laughs. 
I bought extra for you to try G.

Cheers

Dave


----------



## GTmaker (Apr 24, 2006)

Thanks Dave...
bring it with you and coffee is on me...
can you please not invite the Quilt Sisters....sounds like a cult to me.

G.


----------



## JamesPeters (Feb 2, 2006)

greco said:


> Thanks G...here is the info:
> http://qcomponents.ca/McBride-ES-1.html


Yeah that's polyester batting. Same stuff I bought from Wal-Mart in a pillow-sized bag for around $12, and used in a bunch of cabs. So it probably cost me around 60% of that (if that stuff is 1/4" thick on average, like the stuff I bought). It works well, anyway.


----------



## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

JamesPeters said:


> Yeah that's polyester batting. Same stuff I bought from Wal-Mart in a pillow-sized bag for around $12, and used in a bunch of cabs. So it probably cost me around 60% of that (if that stuff is 1/4" thick on average, like the stuff I bought). It works well, anyway.


My local Quilting ladies convinced me that theirs was the best quality in town for the price...LOL
They cut it to whatever fraction of a meter that you want (it is 108" wide) and were joking with me the whole time. 
Cheers
Dave


----------



## JamesPeters (Feb 2, 2006)

greco said:


> My local Quilting ladies convinced me that theirs was the best quality in town for the price...LOL
> They cut it to whatever fraction of a meter that you want (it is 108" wide) and were joking with me the whole time.
> Cheers
> Dave


Put it up to your ear and say "hmm...this sounds better to me..."


----------



## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

JamesPeters said:


> Put it up to your ear and say "hmm...this sounds better to me..."


Thanks for the advice...it does sound like I'm batting 1000 with this very good stuff indeed, but I have nothing to compare it to. Maybe they were trying to dampen my spirits about the other suppliers.


----------



## jb welder (Sep 14, 2010)

You deserve a drum roll for that one Dave.
(no button for that on the forum? )


----------



## mr trick (Sep 21, 2013)

cabinet noise is caused by the cabinet flexing, if you add inner bracing that is just a bit to large you can get the cabinet to always be in the outer range of motion, and cancel some of the noise, a small roll of your quilting in all the corners will stop some corner bounce, the difference in whether the theory works or not is dependent upon the quality of your components.


----------

