Guitar Amp Isolation Box

  • Thread starter Thread starter MercyfullMusic
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MercyfullMusic

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I want to build an isolation box in my garage to record my cranked Fender Twin Amp in. It needs to be very dense I imagine in order to keep sound as quiet as possible outside of it, but I don't want something so heavy I can't move it. Any ideas?

Also what does anyone think of using cinderblock and just stacking it (not cemented) into a cube and building some fantastic lid?
 
Randall makes exactly that -- not expensive, works very effectively, not too heavy to lift!

The Randall Isolation cab.............

Bruce
 
MercyfullMusic said:
I want to build an isolation box in my garage to record my cranked Fender Twin Amp in. It needs to be very dense I imagine in order to keep sound as quiet as possible outside of it, but I don't want something so heavy I can't move it. Any ideas?

Also what does anyone think of using cinderblock and just stacking it (not cemented) into a cube and building some fantastic lid?

There are commercial products that do this, check with your retailer

If you want to build something, its a matter of making a mufflebox which is a rectangular box with padding and foam inside.

I've had fairly good luck with simply putting an amp in a walk-in closet and covering it with blankets.
 
The Randall Isolation looks like a great idea. The only problem I see in this case is that it's basically a single speaker closed back cabinet with an isolation box attached to the front. This is going to sound quite different than a dual speaker open back Twin. The walk-in closet idea mentioned before seems like the best kind of solution - though it's better to line the closet walls with insulation rather than cover the amp.

If you want to build a dedicated box, a simple plywood box lined with acoustic foam will give quite a lot of sound isolation. "Black Hole 5" insulation is even better, but it's very expensive http://www.speakercity.com/damping.shtml). I can also explain how to make something similar for a lot less money if you're interested. You want to make the box about 1 foot bigger than the amp in each dimension (about 30"x36"x24" HxWxD). This will give enough volume so you don't alter the speaker properties and also allow unrestricted airflow between the front and back of the amp cabinet. When you put the amp in the box, place it slightly off center and a bit diagonal. This will help reduce standing waves and avoid a "boxy" sound.

Caution: The biggest risk here is heat. You will essentially be creating a little tube amp oven. You could potentially damage your amp, or even worse cause a Fire .

This danger makes everything more complicated. I would highly recommend either building an external mount for the amp head (with a shield like the amp cabinet has) or buying dedicated speakers and building a mock cabinet that goes inside the isolation box. The latter would give you the convenience of the Randall, avoid the hassle of disassembling your amp, but still retain that Twin open back sound.

Anyhow, a multi purpose isolation BOOTH like a closet would be the best overall solution.

barefoot
 
Crank it

I looked at the Randall. It looks cool but a little expensive for what it is to me. I think I could build something pretty cheap and do just as well.

The one thing I did worry about was heat, I don't know how much to worry about that. Would 1 foot all around not be enough air to cool it? People laying blankets on amps can't be good but it sounds like they don't have problems. I'm just not sure.

I'm worrying too about phase problems from sound reverberating in this little cube. It would seem I need a very thick layer of foam or something in there to absorb this super loud sound cranking in such a small space.

I also thought about building a triangle with the wide end at the amp's back. I was in an iso booth like this once and the corner where the two angles came together was "dead" quiet for reverberations. I'm thinking maybe 1" thick plywood all around with about 2-3 inches of foam and maybe even a double wall with an air gap to break up sound.

What do you think?
 
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