Do you take the piece of wood off of the back of practice amps or leave them on?

[WilliamSandoval]

I take them off. It gives a more acoustic sound

[1n3]

Do you mean you are converting a bass cabinet to open back?

[WilliamSandoval]

no, just cheap $100 practice amps that have a piece of wood screwed into the back.

[T-Bird]

Hi.

Welcome to TalkBass WilliamSandoval.

I'm unsure what You're saying/asking.
You're removing something from a cab, "a piece of wood" you say, but you aren't converting a closed or ported cab into an open back one???

Regards
Sam

[MuzikMan]

I don't understand what you are asking. Can you post pictures of what you are talking about?

[BruceBass3901]

I think he means just taking the back board off of a cheap practice amp. It is effectively making it open back.

I did the same to my old 15W practice amp, but not by choice... one of my ferrets got herself stuck in the hole in the back, so we had to remove the back board and cut her out

[MuzikMan]

If you mean making the back open then no, I would never do that. That is fine for guitars, but not for instruments that reproduce any kind of bass. Not only will you lose any low end that was possible, but you will eventually blow the speaker.

[allexcosta]

Originally Posted by WilliamSandoval

I take them off. It gives a more acoustic sound

Cool... Rock on...

[XephonXIII]

Originally Posted by WilliamSandoval

I take them off. It gives a more acoustic sound

You definitely can, sure. The original Fender Bassman had an open back, and that definitely contributed a lot to its tone. Sure, the Bassman is now mostly used by guitarists, but there are several bassists on these boards that are perfectly happy with theirs.

[billfitzmaurice]

Originally Posted by MuzikMan

Not only will you lose any low end that was possible, but you will eventually blow the speaker.

+1.

The original Fender Bassman had an open back

That's why it was a complete failure as a bass amp.

[WilliamSandoval]

Like this. The only reason I did it was to improve bass. It's like locking it in a closet during a show, and finally letting it out so you can actually hear it. Or having a muffler on a car. It's so much better now.

[1n3]

Originally Posted by MuzikMan

If you mean making the back open then no, I would never do that. That is fine for guitars, but not for instruments that reproduce any kind of bass. Not only will you lose any low end that was possible, but you will eventually blow the speaker.

Yeah, this. But I still can't tell if the OP is talking about a practice bass amp, or a practice guitar amp. Since most cheap bass amps are "front loading", I'll guess it's the latter. In that case, it's already poorly suited for bass, so you can't make it much worse by removing the back panel.

Edit: just saw the OP's photo. Looks like more of a guitar amp, but would expect there is some speaker protection gained from having the panel in place. If you find it to be louder without, you are probably hearing additional midrange. As long as you play quietly, it shouldn't matter.

[WilliamSandoval]

It's a Dean Markley K-20BX bass amp.

[Sundogue]

Originally Posted by WilliamSandoval

Like this. The only reason I did it was to improve bass. It's like locking it in a closet during a show, and finally letting it out so you can actually hear it. Or having a muffler on a car. It's so much better now.

That might improve bass depending on how close to a wall the open back sits.

And while it might sound like there is more low end, you are more than likely also losing mids out the back, only giving the illusion of more low end, when it isn't really there. Don't turn it up much because bass frequencies pushed through a speaker without any resistance (as there would be in a closed cabinet) will eventually blow...and sooner than you think.

And to the other poster about the Bassman. Yeah, some still use it, but not at much volume. It's an open back cab...nothing restraining the speaker at all...it's moving in free air. One minute it sounds fabulous...next thing you know it sounds like crap, or nothing at all.

Be careful with both the volume and dialing in the low end. I envision the speaker equivalent of bungee jumping...on too long a bungee cord.

[WilliamSandoval]

Originally Posted by Sundogue

That might improve bass depending on how close to a wall the open back sits.

And while it might sound like there is more low end, you are more than likely also losing mids out the back, only giving the illusion of more low end, when it isn't really there. Don't turn it up much because bass frequencies pushed through a speaker without any resistance (as there would be in a closed cabinet) will eventually blow...and sooner than you think.

And to the other poster about the Bassman. Yeah, some still use it, but not at much volume. It's an open back cab...nothing restraining the speaker at all...it's moving in free air. One minute it sounds fabulous...next thing you know it sounds like crap, or nothing at all.

Be careful with both the volume and dialing in the low end. I envision the speaker equivalent of bungee jumping...on too long a bungee cord.

This is how it sits in my room. I don't have it turned real loud. Just loud enough to not rear the bass itself. You know, the sound of strings hitting the frets? Plus, I'm right next to it. It thinks it's a grand piano or something.

[Sundogue]

Originally Posted by WilliamSandoval

This is how it sits in my room. I don't have it turned real loud. Just loud enough to not rear the bass itself. You know, the sound of strings hitting the frets? Plus, I'm right next to it. It thinks it's a grand piano or something.

Hey, if it's working for you, use it that way. Just be careful. Bass speakers were not designed to work in open air, much less low quality speakers (practice amp ones) that have extremely low xmax. Even in enclosed cabs like that it isn't hard to make the voice coil jump the gap. Much easier with the back open.

[billfitzmaurice]

Originally Posted by WilliamSandoval

Like this. The only reason I did it was to improve bass. It's like locking it in a closet during a show, and finally letting it out so you can actually hear it. Or having a muffler on a car. It's so much better now.

It isn't improving the bass, it's reducing it. What happens when you take that cover off is that the midbass output goes up, the low bass output goes down. Your ears hear midbass much easier than low bass, so you think it's better. If it sounds OK to you all well and good, but removing that cover also removes the restorative force that keeps the driver from destroying itself. Too much power and it's toast.

[JMac4strngr]

Originally Posted by WilliamSandoval

This is how it sits in my room. I don't have it turned real loud. Just loud enough to not rear the bass itself. You know, the sound of strings hitting the frets? Plus, I'm right next to it. It thinks it's a grand piano or something.

I'd try moving the "futon" to the other side of the room and see how it sounded from there. I'd lay wager that the "futon" is playing a huge roll in the awesome tone You're getting.

[Red Planet]

My Futon sounds better than yours.

[Bass_Pounder]

Originally Posted by Red Planet

My Futon sounds better than yours.

Did you take the back off of it