The Iso Cab came in today

[TheArchitect]

Its the Randall version. Comes stock with a Vintage 30. I'm a long time Greenback user so I am inclined to change it but since I don't know what impact a sealed environment will have on tone I think I am going to wait a bit before any big changes.

How many hours to break that speaker in? I haven't bought a new amp, speaker or cab since I was in high school! All used/vintage.

My buddy had an older version that was decent enough but they appear to have made some improvements. The insulation is more like what demeter is using instead of just foam rubber. The gooseneck is no longer one of those flexible kind that tend to not hold there position. Its a solid bar with a pivoting mic clip. A little less versatile but all of the common mic postions are doable and it ain't gonna move. The baffle is also ported. I don't remember that from the older model but maybe it was. Can't say for sure. The handles that were prone to rattle are now spring loaded hold them firmly against the side. They may still be problems, time will tell but they look like they will be fine.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: The Iso Cab came in today

I've been curious about those too, since the Randall version is probably the only affordable one out there. Do a review after you get a chance to use it for awhile.

Seeing as how you've got 3 Marshall heads, I'm sure your neighbors woulda pitched in to buy FOR you! LOL

 

[TheArchitect]

Re: The Iso Cab came in today

I've been curious about those too, since the Randall version is probably the only affordable one out there. Do a review after you get a chance to use it for awhile.

Seeing as how you've got 3 Marshall heads, I'm sure your neighbors woulda pitched in to buy FOR you! LOL

I hadn't thought of that!! But, since I haven't "Unleashed the fury" on them they may not appreciate the mass destruction those 4 tube animals are capable of

I will review when I get enough play time on it. I have a whopping 15 min at this point. Enough to know I already like it better than my POD. That said, I have no seat time with a V30 and haven't mic'ed a cab in quite a while because of the apartment lifestyle restrictions. Need to figure out the the mic choice too. Using the sm57 industry standard as the baseline.

**EDIT** I'm not in an apartment any longer but as GJ pointed, dimed Marshalls are LOUD, hence the ISO cab. Plus, for recording purposes it allows me to hear what is in the monitors and not the cab blasting away. **End EDIT**


More to come!!!

 

[AmirH]

Re: The Iso Cab came in today

OOOH, yes I'm very intersted in your review. I just started my last quarter at the U for the year, so I'll actually have some *gasp* money soon.

 

[Jeff_H]

Re: The Iso Cab came in today

You can speed up your break in time by hooking your cab up to a stereo and playing at a decent volume for a few hours. Point it at the floor and leave it while you go to work. Should be fairly well broken in by the time you get home.

 

[Kosh Naranek]

Re: The Iso Cab came in today

I'd be interested in the review too. I'm a multi-unit building dweller, but I'd love to be able to get the tone of a mic'ed cabinet in my home studio.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: The Iso Cab came in today

I can assure you....the lady that lives downstairs has broomstick holes bored into her ceiling! LOL I wrapped up my rehearsal space and brought home 3 tube amps, including a 120W Bogner. She's probably ready to commit suicide!!! hahahahaha
I'll bet if I asked, she'd buy me that speaker coffin. hahaha

 

[aleclee]

Re: The Iso Cab came in today

You can speed up your break in time by hooking your cab up to a stereo and playing at a decent volume for a few hours. Point it at the floor and leave it while you go to work. Should be fairly well broken in by the time you get home.

Is the "point at the floor" part really necessary since it's an iso cab?

 

[tone4days]

Re: The Iso Cab came in today

Is the "point at the floor" part really necessary since it's an iso cab?

oh ABSOLUTELY necessary aleclee .... you want the effects of gravity to be uniformly distributed on the speaker as it softens ... if you do it with the speaker in an 'upright' position, the bottom half of the speaker will have diffferent softening from the upper half ...

i think i mightve read abot this in Eric Johnson's book

t4d

 

[MrHeavyMetal]

Re: The Iso Cab came in today

why don't you crank 50 watts thru it for 4-6 hours. that outta help break it in and also give you some practice time.

 

[TheArchitect]

Re: The Iso Cab came in today

Initial thoughts are pretty positive.

1) They need to label the impedence of the cab. Somewhere I picked up it was 16 ohm. Not so. 8 Ohm. That said, no apparent harm done. Using the correct impendence definitely fixed a few audible artifacts I was hearing but couldn't explain

2) The V30 doesn't suck but its bright nature was a little iffy with my Marshalls. Probably a little better match for a Mesa or something along those lines. For my purposes I will probably replace it with something like a Greenback, GH30 or something from Eminence.

3) The Mic mount. While the straight, solid bar does not move like a flexible one might it does limit mic positions. For live gig purposes probably not a big deal but in a recording environment its a bit more critical. I added a 6" gooseneck and solved my problem.

4) The bottom half (behind/underneath the speaker) has no insulation of any kind. In speaking with a friend who has used this cab it was suggested that some acoustic foam in the bottom tightens up the sound a bit. I haven't tried this but it sounds reasonable and I trust his ear.

5) Mic's. It doesn't come with a mic but I wish it came with the ability to mount two mics. I may make this modification. So far I have tried my trusty SM57 and a newly aquired Sennheiser e609 with respectable to pretty good results. My choice would be the 609 with this setup as is. Will have to re-evaluate when speakers change etc.As I get re-accustomed to my amps, experiment a bit and refine my engineering skills for the new toy things will continue to improve a lot. Having spent the last several years apartment bound and using a POD almost exclusively for recording with just an occasional Amp session my engineering chops are a little rusty and the amps are a very different and far more variable element to capture than a POD.

6) Sound reduction. Don't expect silence. With a cranked 50 watt JMP it might still annoy the neighber in the next apartmant but it probably wouldn't send them into a PO'd rage. The vibration through the floor might though. I left the cab in the hall outside my control room. When cranked I could easily feel the floor vibrating under my feet 10-12feet away. A Auralex gramma or something similar to isolate it would be highly recomended especially for the apartment dwellers if you need that much volume to get your tone.

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: The Iso Cab came in today

Thanx for the nie review!!