When can you go vertical?

thunderbolt · #1 07-17-2010, 11:15 AM

I've seen/heard a lot of hubbub about using cabs with two speakers set up to where they are lined up vertically instead of side by side. For instance, a 212 speaker cab that is designed to be set flat on the ground with the two speakers at floor level are turned on their side so that one 12 is on top of the other. I don't see much of an issue when doing that with a sealed cab, but will doing this have some sort of issue if the cab is ported? It seems a lot of ported cabs are designed to be set in a certain way, so would standing them up in a weird way make them sound bad?

M0ses · #2 07-17-2010, 11:17 AM

I don't believe that this is the case. I seem to remember Greenboy saying at some point that the position of ports don't matter, that's why when you stack a fEarful you turn the top one upside down, so the the midrange tweeters are close together, which DOES matter. I think it's pretty much guaranteed that speakers on top of each other are better than speakers next to each other.

fu22ba55 · #3 07-17-2010, 11:32 AM

My understanding is that the frequencies produced by the ports are omnidirectional so you don't need to worry about phase or cancellation issues.

I asked the same question about TL606s

Stacking TL606s: Staggered or Aligned?

billfitzmaurice · #4 07-17-2010, 11:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thunderbolt

It seems a lot of ported cabs are designed to be set in a certain way, so would standing them up in a weird way make them sound bad?

No.

JimmyM · #5 07-17-2010, 12:09 PM

port location is immaterial because low freqs are omnidirectional and will do what they do regardless of port location.

uglyrumor · #6 07-17-2010, 12:39 PM

Port location is immaterial. However stacking is important to sound. A single speaker is pretty omni-directional, and it makes little difference where it is placed. If there are two speakers, the distance horizontally between them makes a difference in volume (separation by more than a few feet results in a 3 db diminishment in volume); and stacking vertically results in a narrower band for the sound; in other words, you become more directional. The more speakers stacked, the more directional you become, to a point. So stacked is definitely the way to go to eliminate "mud" and achieve more clarity and more control over your sound, and to keep you from ovepowering the rest of the band.

JimmyM · #7 07-17-2010, 12:41 PM

stacking vertically actually results in a wider band for the sound. do a search on beaming to understand why.

billfitzmaurice · #8 07-17-2010, 12:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by uglyrumor

stacking vertically results in a narrower band for the sound; in other words, you become more directional. The more speakers stacked, the more directional you become, to a point.

Backwards you have it. Dispersion is made narrower as the source is made wider. Vertical stacking maintains wide dispersion. Horizontal placement narrows dispersion, as does using larger drivers.

Jerrold Tiers · #9 07-17-2010, 10:33 PM

Gosh... in the real world, you put the stuff that fits in the space the venue owner says you set up in...... and set it the way it fits.......

Youse guys must play fancier places than I ever was involved in.

rbonner · #10 07-17-2010, 10:55 PM

Yeah I read you Jerrold, lots of pot smoke from the girls can...

BOB

JimmyM · #11 07-17-2010, 11:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jerrold Tiers

Gosh... in the real world, you put the stuff that fits in the space the venue owner says you set up in...... and set it the way it fits.......

Youse guys must play fancier places than I ever was involved in.

never played a venue where you couldn't make a vertical stack out of your cabs except one. i've played everything from arenas to barfholes, and i've always been able to make it happen. except this one gig last year where i, the guitarist, and sax player had to play on the floor and the drummer and keyboardist went on the stage. i mistakenly brought my svt/810 and had to lay it on the floor, otherwise it would have blocked them from the audience line of sight. i hated life all night, too.

M0ses · #12 07-17-2010, 11:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jerrold Tiers

Gosh... in the real world, you put the stuff that fits in the space the venue owner says you set up in...... and set it the way it fits.......

Youse guys must play fancier places than I ever was involved in.

Wouldn't stacking vertically rather than side by side save a lot of stage space??

alexwittscheck · #13 07-17-2010, 11:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyM

never played a venue where you couldn't make a vertical stack out of your cabs except one. i've played everything from arenas to barfholes, and i've always been able to make it happen. except this one gig last year where i, the guitarist, and sax player had to play on the floor and the drummer and keyboardist went on the stage. i mistakenly brought my svt/810 and had to lay it on the floor, otherwise it would have blocked them from the audience line of sight. i hated life all night, too.

Ahh that sucks. Your knees can't hear. I have had to do that once as well. Played a gig where the backdrop needed to be seen.

M0ses · #14 07-17-2010, 11:18 PM

Not to mention the comb filtering and ultra-narrow dispersion.