Markbass setup

[Freelancer]

I was thinking about picking up a Little Mark III head and one of the 102 cabs. I just can't really figure out the real big difference in sound characteristics between front and rear ported cabs. Anyone able to enlighten me about this one? Is there any real difference based on size?

[Colty]

Originally Posted by Freelancer

I was thinking about picking up a Little Mark III head and one of the 102 cabs. I just can't really figure out the real big difference in sound characteristics between front and rear ported cabs. Anyone able to enlighten me about this one? Is there any real difference based on size?

I read up into this a bit because i was actually in the same situation for a potential new bass rig. To summarize what I've read.....

Front ported:
Generaly are larger which will give you more volume/sound
Supposedly "throw" the low end towards the crowd (ive read this is debatable because the low frequencies they throw are omnidirectional)
Can be placed anywhere because the air movement come from the front of the amp

Rear ported:
Are usually smaller/lighter
Can run into issues from being too close to a wall or being in a corner

I tried the 102 traveler and the 102 combo and i personaly liked the slightly smaller size of the traveler but along with the smaller size came a slightly thinner sounding tone imo/ime/in others experiences i read about haha

I concluded that if i was to choose between front and rear porting i would choose rear and just be sure to give it some breathing space in the back.

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by Colty

I read up into this a bit because i was actually in the same situation for a potential new bass rig. To summarize what I've read.....

Front ported:
Generaly are larger which will give you more volume/sound
Supposedly "throw" the low end towards the crowd (ive read this is debatable because the low frequencies they throw are omnidirectional)

not debatable at all. port location is 100% irrelevant because the lows they throw are omnidirectional. if a front ported cab sounds bigger on the low end than a rear ported cab, it's not because of port location but the size of the cab. also, front ported cabs being bigger is very much a choice of the cab maker and not a hard and fast rule.

Can be placed anywhere because the air movement come from the front of the amp

Rear ported:
Are usually smaller/lighter
Can run into issues from being too close to a wall or being in a corner

all you need is about 5-6 inches clearance, and rear and front ported cabs will behave exactly the same in a corner or near a wall.

[Colty]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

not debatable at all. port location is 100% irrelevant because the lows they throw are omnidirectional. if a front ported cab sounds bigger on the low end than a rear ported cab, it's not because of port location but the size of the cab. also, front ported cabs being bigger is very much a choice of the cab maker and not a hard and fast rule.


all you need is about 5-6 inches clearance, and rear and front ported cabs will behave exactly the same in a corner or near a wall.

Ah i see.... the omnidirectionall part always confuses me because it seems like the sound doesnt just diffuse through the wood or does it?... this may sound like a weird question but does all of the sound go through your speakers then or does some go through the ports? do the ports just put out air or is that all that amps do all together with speakers? I read through at least 75% of the amp faqs (soooo much material) and always had some confusion there.

good to know because ive heard some places say a few inches and some say a few feet which seemed a bit rediculous to me...

[magic papa]

Once I compared two Markbass 104 cabs; rear ported (HR) and front ported (HF) using the same amp.

My conclusion was that front-ported was more boomy, while rear ported had tighter lows. Not sure what the theory says about it, but that was the impression.

Ended up getting the rear ported one becasue it's actually easy to get more boom from a tighter cab, but not necesarily the other way around.

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by Colty

Ah i see.... the omnidirectionall part always confuses me because it seems like the sound doesnt just diffuse through the wood or does it?... this may sound like a weird question but does all of the sound go through your speakers then or does some go through the ports? do the ports just put out air or is that all that amps do all together with speakers? I read through at least 75% of the amp faqs (soooo much material) and always had some confusion there.

good to know because ive heard some places say a few inches and some say a few feet which seemed a bit rediculous to me...

in a well designed cab, the only thing that should be going through the ports is the low lows. if you put your ear to the ports you can hear it.

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by magic papa

Once I compared two Markbass 104 cabs; rear ported (HR) and front ported (HF) using the same amp.

My conclusion was that front-ported was more boomy, while rear ported had tighter lows. Not sure what the theory says about it, but that was the impression.

Ended up getting the rear ported one becasue it's actually easy to get more boom from a tighter cab, but not necesarily the other way around.

well it's not theory but fact but the reason the front ported cab was boomier is because it's bigger.

[Arlekiin]

I compared them too and got the front ported one (felt it had slightly softer sound) and that the back ported one was too 1 dimensional but reading the posts above it seems to me that I must have gotten it wrong but I swear they did seem different in sound maybe if I was blindfolded I would have thought differently....

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by Arlekiin

I compared them too and got the front ported one (felt it had slightly softer sound) and that the back ported one was too 1 dimensional but reading the posts above it seems to me that I must have gotten it wrong but I swear they did seem different in sound maybe if I was blindfolded I would have thought differently....

we do listen with our eyes sometimes, but hey, if you liked the front ported cab better, you liked it better and that's all there is to it.

[GrowlerBox]

Originally Posted by Arlekiin

I compared them too and got the front ported one (felt it had slightly softer sound) and that the back ported one was too 1 dimensional but reading the posts above it seems to me that I must have gotten it wrong but I swear they did seem different in sound maybe if I was blindfolded I would have thought differently....

You may well have heard a difference between the two cabs and described it correctly; it's only your assessment of the reason for the difference that's in error -- it will be due to differences in cabinet design, port dimensions, etc, not which side of the cabinet the ports are placed.