Open back cabs vs. Closed back cabs

[lex666]

Which do you prefer and why?

What are the tonal advantages of one over the other?

Do you prefer something in-between?

Thanks!

[St_Genesius]

Re: Open back cabs vs. Closed back cabs

If I had to choose, I'd go open 9 times out of 10.

But what I have is in-between and, imo, pretty much perfect.

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: Open back cabs vs. Closed back cabs

For clean tones I Love an open back combo cabinet...The sound comes out the front and back and seems to fill more musical space...

For gained tones,normally the closed back projects better,keeps things tighter,lows are tighter,upfront...As a compromise I prefer an open back cab.

[gvis]

Re: Open back cabs vs. Closed back cabs

I was mixing, with the bottom 1x12 cab closed and the top 1x12 open. But I found the open top cab was taking away from hearing the more immediate punch of the bottom cab, and it was creating less than desirable tones spreading into the room from the back (not always, just depending on which room I was in), so I closed the top as well and now it just crushes. And it still fills the room fine because the bottom cab is angled 1.5 inches and the top 2 inches. Of course, a drummer probably wouldn't hear it as well.

And I used to like my open back deville and hellhound before I chopped them, but now I think I prefer all closed back, at least with my current setup, because it still feels open enough to me, unlike the the tight and compressed results from a marshall jtm45 with 4x12 cab that was parked in my basement for awhile. Not sure why that setup sounded more closed in, but it did great as well.

[Quencho092]

Re: Open back cabs vs. Closed back cabs

In an open cab, you hear the front impulse of the speaker then the rear impulse out the back. Sound dissipates thru the room.

Closed back, when the speaker cone compresses to push against air in the cab, this builds potential energy and affects the tone forcing it to push harder out the front.

Ported cabs like mine have a slot on the bottom so when the speaker pushes to the back of the cab, it squeezes the soundwave out the slot directed forward instead of backward. IMO it's best of both worlds but some might not like it for guitar. I recommend that everybody try a good ported cab with tweeter at some point as it is a very 'airy' focused, room filling tone that excels at any venue.

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: Open back cabs vs. Closed back cabs

Like both....

[frankfalbo]

Re: Open back cabs vs. Closed back cabs

Agree with Quencho92. Totally depends on what space I'm trying to fill. Open = ambiguous, possibly putting sound in places I don't want or need it to be. Also can contribute to phase cancelling in various parts of the air. This is neither good nor bad, just a byproduct. Closed = direct, puts the sound where I want it, more focused, less bleed to other parts of the room.

One criticism I have with open backed cab users is that in small venues they don't always walk around the room while playing (or having someone else play) to survey how their guitar sounds around the entire venue. It sounds great from where they're standing, but sounds "bar band" and unprofessional elsewhere. By the same token, it is possible to use a closed back cabinet poorly too, blasting the skin off of a few unfortunate audience members. Both have the potential for getting lost in the mix in places in the room, but I find it's easier to get stuck with unintended negative consequences with an open cab. Small ports and anything around a 75% closed back are usually pretty safe too.

[Quencho092]

Re: Open back cabs vs. Closed back cabs

Indeed, and whatever 'boominess' from a ported cab can be dialed out in the EQ. I frequently mess with 60hz to add or subtract air, it only really adds audible bass to the first 5 frets of E string, everywhere else it just 'exhales' the notes which I like. Imitates 4x12 sounds.

[gvis]

Re: Open back cabs vs. Closed back cabs

While we're at it, don't forget baffle size, which matters for both open and closed back. Not saying larger is better than smaller (more a matter of taste), but, for open back, I've found by direct comparison using the same amp and speaker that a larger baffle is smoother and more open, with less of a mids oriented sound. This is consisent with baffle research I'd done at the time.

[NecroPolo]

Re: Open back cabs vs. Closed back cabs

I like both. Open-backs spread the sound better, closed-backs are much more focused. With different EQ, both can work for all styles, especially when there is a mic in front of them.