Isolation Speaker Cabinet Design

Has anyone here built or designed an isolation cabinet for the studio for either bass or guitar? Invalid Link Removed?

It would seem to me that these would pose some interesting acoustic challenges to design properly, but would be great if one could get them to work right.

Thanks for any constructive input on this question!

billfitzmaurice said:

The usual reason for that is to crank a guitar rig for massive crunch and not have to put the speaker in a separate sound-proof room.

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That's exactly what I want it for, to plug the head into an isolation cab as I haven't the soundproof room or resources to get one. I do have neighbors and hyperacusis.

You could do the same with a bass, but more often than not direct to the board is done instead.

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Oh, I know that. Actually I'm doing this mostly for guitar. Bass goes into the board almost always, though this might also be useful for that as well -- who knows?

The design is actually quite simple.

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What? You mean all that "Our computer aided cabinet design has helped us capture a 'neutral' guitar and bass sound environment" is merely a load of marketing puffery???

No! Say it isn't so!

Seriously, I had assumed that something like this would be pretty hard to build right, with odd porting, splayed surfaces, etc., etc., etc. Yes? No?

I was hoping that you would comment on it. I haven't gotten a single bite on this question elsewhere.

Really, this is my only hope for recording live amps around here.

Thanks for any advice or links!

seamonkey said:

Sure you just don't want to look at some plugins or effects. They work really well these days.

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And better every week, but that's a different thread.

billfitzmaurice said:

Build a one cubic foot box, lined with acoustic foam, load it with the driver of your choice. Build another one cubic foot box to serve as the cover, also lined with foam. Put a mic inside the cover.

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I'm not sure if you're dismissively pulling my leg and effectively saying this entire concept is a lost cause from a technical standpoint or simply stating that the only important design issue is equal volumes on both sides of the cone.

If it's the second, and if the speaker half were ported (as I assume it should be for most guitar, at least) ought those port calculations be the same as if there were no cover?

OK, thanks for the tips! This looks to be an easier project than it seemed.