Anyone built a Guitar Speaker Iso Cabinet?

[mjslakeridge]

I would like to build an isolation cabinet for my home studio to cut down on noise while recording loud distorted guitar tracks. One of the guitarists who frequents the studio brings in a large Bogner tube amp head, and his 2 x 12" speaker cabinet and cranks it up. The guitar can be heard throughout the entire house. Some of these sessions are 5-6 hours long, so you can see why I would want to come up with a solution.

The iso cabinet would not need to house a combo amp, just a speaker or speaker cabinet. I have a 1 x 12" speaker cabinet with a Celestion Vintage 30 speaker, and also a loose Vintage 30 speaker that I could use.

I tried making an iso cabinet using a cardboard box about 2'x 2' x 2', lining it with foil-backed insulation (the type used to fabricate hvac ductwork), and then lined it with another layer of cardboard on the inside. The speaker cabinet and microphone stand are then placed on the carpet, and the box is placed upside down on top of everything. I then put something heavy on top of the box to weigh it down and it "kind of helps" reduce the db level if placed in a closet, but not to my satisfaction.

I watched a bunch of Youtube videos, including one where a guy used a kick drum road case lined with acoustic foam, one where a European guy made some huge boxes using butcher block counter top material, and a bunch of other variations. I also watched the video by the maker of the "Silent Sister" iso cabinet ($1,000 retail-not interested), and a very good video of a guy comparing the "Silent Sister" vs. the Demeter iso cabinet.

I have decent carpentry skills, so I could build an iso cabinet, but before I commit to it, I was wondering if anyone here has built a cabinet and is satisfied with it. I would like advice on the type of wood used, lining material, method of attaching the door, size of the cabinet to reduce the "boxiness" of the sound, closed box or vented (ported). If someone has successfully built an iso cabinet and is willing to share some of the details, it would be much appreciated.

[jg707]

Have you ever tried a speaker emulator? I've had really good success with the Mesa Cab Clone and you don't have to have a load to use it. It's not overly expensive either, about $300 on average. Just a thought....

[amagras]

Scott Henderson answers the same type of questions on his forum and give some good ideas.

[albee1952]

+1 for the Palmer ADIG-LB. Randall also builds a decent iso box if you're not handy with power tools.If you still want an ISO box, forget about cardboard and bass drum cases. You need 3 things; mass, isolation and damping. You get mass by building a box out of quality 3/4" plywood(MDF would work, but it won't last as screws will strip out, and there will be screws). Isolation comes in 2 ways; you need to isolate the speaker cab from the floor by floating it one something like the Auralex Gramma, or include a bottom, with a layer of insulation and a floating panel of plywood for the internal speaker cabinet to sit on. Then you need to isolate and damp from the sides of the box and Roxul insulation is a good option(most Lowes and Home Depot's now sell this) and the last bit of isolation comes from making the whole thing a sealed package. So the lid should have a foam gasket(door weatherstripping) and the wires should not make a straight run out. Run them to one corner of the box, then go behind the insulation to the opposite corner. I would run a 12 gauge speaker wire and 2 mic cables. You could use a panel, or you could drill small holes that just fit the cables and have tails hanging out.

Now how loud will it be inside this box? If its really loud, making a box inside a box will give even more isolation Of course, the size may be an issue(I need to build one for at least a 2x12 cab for clients, but I have a storage space that could handle a big enough box for a 4x12).

[mjslakeridge]

Thanks for the replies, guys. I have used software guitar amp and speaker emulators within Pro Tools (Amplitube is the one that comes to mind). We have used it to beef-up guitar work that may not have been recorded properly. I have had better luck using software emulators on bass guitar parts, that just needed a little grit added. The thing about this one guitarist is he insistent on using his own amp head, pedal board and speaker cabinet and wants to crank it up to get "his sound".

I will check out the Scott Henderson forum. Thanks for the tip.

I didn't think the cardboard and hvac ductwork thing would work very well. I just happened to have a large sturdy box that a computer printer came in, along with some leftover ductwork panel from when some of my ductwork in the attic was re-built.

I was thinking about 3/4 mdf, glued and screwed, maybe some L-brackets added. I will look into the Roxul insulation. I knew about the weatherstripping on the lid (Youtube video). I also looked into some foam insulating products and came across this:

http://www.foambymail.com/NE/neoprene-foam-sheets.html

Is neoprene similar to/better than/worse than Roxul?

I can handle a soldering iron pretty well, so I will install the XLR jacks and 1/4" jack for the speaker cable.

I was thinking a box inside of a box, with the neoprene or similar sandwiched in between the 3/4 inch wood panels, and some additional damping material lining the inside of the entire box.

Here is a link to the Drum road case video-kind of funny (another Euro guy):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TX0tXhtc7mg

So no-one is supporting a ported system? The guy in this video does a comparison and the ported system sounds better to me, but no blueprints seem to be available. (Why would they when they are selling them for $1,000).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ko-vB87ZEc

One guy made a ported system by trial and error, using what looks like 3" pvc pipe with a bunch of elbows and short sections, but it looks kind of bushleague.

As far as isolating it from the floor, last weekend we ran a 50' XLR cable and 50' speaker cable to a downstairs closet and installed my homemade cardboard cabinet in there. The downstairs area has marble tile over the concrete slab, so I don't think there were any vibration or sound transfer issues there. But I suspect the db reduction was more due to the closet and stuffing some fabric under the door had more to do with it than my box. We used my Sovtec Tube Midget (50 Watt) cranked up pretty good, feeding a Vintage 30 speaker. The total distance between the closet and my control room is probably about 75 feet or more, with 3 closed doors between the two, but ideally I want to build a permanent box in the back of my vocal booth, which is pretty large, so the weight of the box won't matter much. I can even cut the parts in the garage and assemble it all in place on the second floor so I don't have to carry the whole thing up the stairs. (Lots of running up and downstairs to measure, etc. Hey I cut this board 3 times and it's still too short!)

[john1192]

a friend built one .. it always sounds like a speaker in a box .. and he did a really good job.. just not my cup to tea .. i think a guitar amp needs the room to sound correct .. just my .02

[mjslakeridge]

That's why I was thinking about a ported box, so the speaker can move some air back and forth without directly moving the diaphram of the mic. I don't need it to be totally silent, just some good db reduction so a conversation can still take place.

I will probably have to dig around deeper for ideas on a ported system. Ideally I will run across a set of plans someone has released. (I haven't visited the Henderson forum mentioned above yet, but will soon).

[JuanPC]

Move to another Neighborhood...
Or build a ROOM.
Think BIG.

Rooms are awesome.

Foams must have wedges.

[mjslakeridge]

While I would like to build a nice big soundproofed tracking room, it is not practical for me to do so.

The more I dig around, it seems like people are saying a completely sealed iso cabinet is bad for the speaker itself. The inability of the speaker to move the air in a small box causes the voice coil to overheat and eventually fail. (Don't know if this is true, I don't believe everything I read on the internet or hear on YouTube).

So now if it comes down to building a ported box, how big would the port have to be to let the air move, but not let too much sound escape? I see how the PVC pipe guy built a separate chamber in his box with a bunch of baffles, leading to the ports. That seems like a possible solution.

[jg707]

Just for the helluvit, I'll throw it out again...You really might want to try the emulator idea. This isn't a software emulation but a hardware device that would allow your guitarist to use his rig, minus the speaker(s), and be completely quiet.

I say this both as an engineer and a studio guitarist, because short of playing a loud amp in a big room (the ideal!), the Cab Clone has managed to come a close second. I'm not affiliated in any way with Mesa, just someone who's had this same dilemma many times over...

Ok..I'll shut up now..carry on!