8,720
edits
Changes
Tone
,→Cabinet Back
=== Cabinet Back ===
Another huge impact on tone is the construction of the back of the cabinet. The back of the cabinet is important because as the front of the speaker pushes air outward, the back of it is pulling air in the opposite direction. Without Sound travels in all directions, and without a cabinet at all, a speaker will absorb most of the sound pushed from the front by pulling from it from the back . Directionality is frequency dependent (sort of - dependent on the size of the speaker), with low frequencies spreading more than highs. Thus, speakers will sound bright and thin without a cabinet.
Typically, there's either open back, half-back, 3/4 back, or closed back. Any kind of opening in the back will cancel out some lows, with the smaller the opening, the less lows canceled out. Furthermore, a fully closed design will have a stronger impact on resonance, covered below. On the other hand, a fully closed back requires compressing the air inside the cabinet, which means more of the speakers' energy is spent on compressing air vs. outputting sound. So open back designs are louder than closed back. Ported bass designs overcome this by forcing the air in and out the cabinet in a certain manner to prevent cancellation. This is why they are popular for subwoofers. Most guitar cabinets don't feature bass ports, although this is becoming more popular. Most 4x12 and 2x12's use closed back designs for tight, thick bass. Volume is usually not an issue, due to using multiple speakers. They are preferred for hard rock and metal tones, where punchy low end is an important part of the sound. For more vintage sounds where it is less important, open back designs are fine, with many vintage amps being combo's (amp and speaker in the same box). === Cabinet Size/Shape and Resonance ===
== Gain Staging ==