real techy question...

[blackmusic]

alright heres a good one... what does the size of the cab, wood, and weather (?) or not it is straight or angeled. Someone told me the straight cabs sound 'better' but whatever. What does all those things have to do with the tone?

~thanks

 

[Roel]

The speakers are what produce the sound, so what their size/type does is kinda trivial. The cab around it is what angels the speakers, what keeps them into place (if the cab resonates, certain freq will be amplified some more, some frequencies will be absorbed, ...)

Same for placing, it's all calculated.

Wheter (<- !!) they are angled or not: this will change the direction that the sound is aimed at. It'll probably change the tone a little too, but I don't think it's all that obvious. Don't think there's some kindof general thing to say about it since the tone is dependant on that many other parameters.

But I'm just guessing here...

 

[Aaron Cheney]

Think of it in these terms:

On an acoustic guitar, what produces the sound? The vibration of the strings, right? So technically, any guitar with identical strings should sound the same, right? Wrong. The strings resonate over a cavity that amplifies the sound (the guitar body). How it is shaped and what it is made can alter its tone dramatically. Just listen the huge difference between a dreadnaught, a jumbo, and an auditorium size steel string. Tonewoods are also huge factors: cedar tops are warmer, spruce tops brighter. Rosewood, mahgonay, maple, walnut; all huge factors.

Now apply that to a speaker cabinet. Although sound coming out of two speakers may be exactly the same, the cabinet they are mounted in, and the way they are mounted plays a role in shaping what you actually hear. Different shapes, sizes, and materials will alter how a cabinet resonates. Different baffles and port configurations too.

Good cabinet construnction is one of the things that really seperates low/mid and high end amplifiers. Many lower end models use chipboard and low end woods for their cabinets, while highenders use premium-grade plywood with no voids.

Generally speaking, a bigger cavity will resonate at a lower frequency. If someone is telling you straight cabs sound better than slanted ones, it's probably for that reason. A straight cab has more room to resonate inside it that a slanted one, just as a full size dreadnaught acoustic guitar has more room than an identical model with a cutaway, and produces a deeper and (many argue) better sound.

Aaron
http://www.aaroncheney.com

 

[gbondo9]

and just to throw my experience in here as well....
Mesa makes GREAT Cabs. Ive played many a head through my Mesa 4x12 and the sound outta those cabs are tight and clear. The only reason I mention this here is not as an ad for mesa (although I do love their gear), Its to point out that Mesa uses about twice the amount of reinforment when building their cabs. They are bout 2-3 times heavier than the marshall and carvin cabs that Ive also lugged around.