Can anyone here recommend a good affordable isolation cab?

LatsMcGee

New member
I have a big boy amp I've wanted for along time staring me in the face as trade bait in a local deal and I just don't think I can resist, I'm going to need an Isocab, I looked at the jet city a few years ago and many people for some reason told me to steer clear....what do you guys recommend???
 
Re: Can anyone here recommend a good affordable isolation cab?

based on the youtube side by side comparisons, I would only go with the silent sister for that product
 
Re: Can anyone here recommend a good affordable isolation cab?

I do like that fridge idea.

If you're handy and have the tools, you could try making one. I just started a build on one last week, and if I wasn't working all dam^ weekend it'd probably be close to being completed in a couple days.

My box for inside the box.

 
Re: Can anyone here recommend a good affordable isolation cab?

I thought about building one there for a while, but decided against it.

If it has an FX loop you might look into the Two Notes C.A.B. I've heard great things about it, and if I had the dough I would probably own one.
 
Re: Can anyone here recommend a good affordable isolation cab?

I use the Randall ISO cab and am actually going to pick up a second one for blending. Most iso cabs only attenuate 29-30 dB, so you will need to reinforce it quite a bit if you want to get sane levels out of a cranked valve amp regardless of wattage.

I put mine on an Auralex Gramma, added Auralex Studio Foam to the inside, and wrap a few duvets around the outside when recording with it. When placed in an adjacent room or closet, you can barely hear it and it does not disturb anyone. My kids are able to watch TV or do homework whilst I record, no problem. But that requires much more attenuation than 29dB if you are winding your amps up.

Friend of mine has the Jet City. It's similar to the Randall. Also discontinued now.

There are a couple of other iso cabs like the Rivera that allow multi mic'ing, which is nice, but the Rivera is overpriced in my opinion for only 29dB of attenuation. I can get two Randalls and still save money over the Rivera...

The cabinet may be an issue, especially without treatment inside, if you are playing downtuned since it ports into the upper chamber with the microphone and give you a boxy sound if you are not careful. Careful mic, speaker selection and mic placement is essential.
 
Re: Can anyone here recommend a good affordable isolation cab?

Jet City had an ISO cab model that I believe is being discontinued. Amazon has it for 400, from a bunch of japanese retailers.

http://www.amazon.com/Jet-City-Amplification-JetStream-ISO/dp/B0066JG5LC


There's also the Randall ISO cab which is also 400 and not coming from japan.

http://www.amazon.com/Randall-ISO12..._sbs_MI_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=1PG3GM9WS0S6ZKMPGR7B

I have tried a few of the ones listed here. As big as they are they are not big enough to sufficiently quiet the amp, provide enough internal volume to avoid the boxy sound, or provide enough absorption to deal with all of the reflections in an enclosed environment.

I ended up building my own. The details are here.

http://prorecordingworkshop.lefora.com/topic/7387340/ISO-Cab-Build-has-begun?page=1#.U1vDCEnD_mI
 
Re: Can anyone here recommend a good affordable isolation cab?

I have a big boy amp I've wanted for along time staring me in the face as trade bait in a local deal and I just don't think I can resist, I'm going to need an Isocab, I looked at the jet city a few years ago and many people for some reason told me to steer clear....what do you guys recommend???
What is your situation exactly.?
Is this in a house, apartment, recording studio, on a stage.?
 
Re: Can anyone here recommend a good affordable isolation cab?

Randall all the way. It is the only one that is ported afaik, and you can tune the bass response by blocking the port to varing degrees. The randall sounds great, like a stack. I didnt like the v30 in it and tried differnt speakers. I have been using the randall for close to ten years. I have moded mine with an extra xlr jack and put some auralex behind the speaker to tune. Most of the playing I do at home is with the amp cranked, miced in another room and through the studio monitors, with some FX from the digital mixer. With this setup, I can find just the right amount of tube and speaker distortion. Until you are miking your cranked amp on a regular basis, you can't really know it.

Some people say isolation will never match a real cab, but for close miked rock you cant tell its iso. Having versatile EQ and resonance control helps.
 
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Re: Can anyone here recommend a good affordable isolation cab?

^ I don't use the v30 in mine, either! I have 4 different speakers that I swap out depending on what I am looking for, but most of the time I use an eminence Swamp Thang.
 
Re: Can anyone here recommend a good affordable isolation cab?

^ I don't use the v30 in mine, either! I have 4 different speakers that I swap out depending on what I am looking for, but most of the time I use an eminence Swamp Thang.

Cool, I'll check that one out.
 
Re: Can anyone here recommend a good affordable isolation cab?

OH.....Then you can just get creative, including using your garage and some blankets. You can even put a cab in the trunk of your car. There are some good suggestions above in this thread.
It all seems like a lot of work for home use. You are going to mic this back into a PA in your living room.?
Most people consider some thing like a 5 Watt amp
But you can do all kinds of things.:cool:
best
 
Re: Can anyone here recommend a good affordable isolation cab?

Currently I have a pretty small place but I'm going to be purchasing a new house in the near future, the new place will be larger....
 
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