Cab size/room size

[G Aichele]

Can a cab be too much for a room? My practice space is a former bedroom, roughly 12 feet by 15 feet. My current practice cab is a Barefaced Super Compact 1x12, 600 w. I'm using a Quilter Interbass to drive it, 33 w. at 8 ohm, and it's plenty loud enough for me. But the acoustic results are not good. I've experimented with a couple of bass traps, and they help some, but I'm starting to wonder if a smaller cab would be better.

Any suggestions?

 

[Marko 1]

The sound at a higher volume might be affected by the room size/shape,

but it probably wouldn't matter what cab you use... imo.

Just EQ as best as you can.

And yeah, big bass traps in the corners would help some.

 

[ctmullins]

Room modes are a function of the room, not the cab. A different cab in the same position will behave the same way.

Experiment with where in the room your cab is.

 

[J Wilson]

Room modes are a function of the room, not the cab. A different cab in the same position will behave the same way.

Experiment with where in the room your cab is.

THIS. Take that same setup to different rooms, you might never hear that. Try different spots and elevations around your space. More often than not, bass bins may couple to the floor for a noticeable increase in the muddy end.

Welcome to the Bass vs. Room Fight. This is why touring sound engineers get PAID.

 

[G Aichele]

I should have mentioned that I use an acoustic decoupler.

 

[J Wilson]

That eliminates the boom from floor coupling, but does nothing for standing waves and the other sonic gremlins.

You might try a trick some of us used to use on small stages in boomy-roomed little taverns: Turn it around facing the wall behind it and play with the wall-to-cab gap.

 

[Killing Floor]

Try stacking it on top of 3 more 12” and see if it smooths out.

 

[JimChjones]

but I'm starting to wonder if a smaller cab would be better.

I think we can safely say that the proportional difference between different sized speakers compared to room size will be minimal. So in that respect one wouldn't expect a smaller cab to be intrinsically better. A different cab, larger, smaller or even the same size might be an improvement, or it might be worse. I think it would be very hard to predict whether any given cab would be better or worse.

 

[Tim Skaggs]

Can a cab be too much for a room? My practice space is a former bedroom, roughly 12 feet by 15 feet. My current practice cab is a Barefaced Super Compact 1x12, 600 w. I'm using a Quilter Interbass to drive it, 33 w. at 8 ohm, and it's plenty loud enough for me. But the acoustic results are not good. I've experimented with a couple of bass traps, and they help some, but I'm starting to wonder if a smaller cab would be better.

Any suggestions?

If a 1x12 is too much for a room, you should look for a bigger room…

 

[darwin-bass]

If your cab is an 810 fridge and your room is a phone booth, yea, the cab is probably too much.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Can a cab be too much for a room? My practice space is a former bedroom, roughly 12 feet by 15 feet. My current practice cab is a Barefaced Super Compact 1x12, 600 w. I'm using a Quilter Interbass to drive it, 33 w. at 8 ohm, and it's plenty loud enough for me. But the acoustic results are not good. I've experimented with a couple of bass traps, and they help some, but I'm starting to wonder if a smaller cab would be better.

Any suggestions?

I'm not sure about the interior decorating aspects of your 112 cab, but by lowering your amp and or bass volume, and a different EQ setting would work wonders.

 

[2thAche]

Put it on a crate or stand and you won't have to struggle to EQ out the boom any more. Huge difference.

 

[Stylee Mousse]

Definitely manage your low end -as little as you can get away with. Is this a band scenario or just you?

for what its worth, I have rehearsed with plenty of bands in spaces about that size and never had significant problems, I just matched the kit (particularly kick drum) and didn’t look for more that being able to hear myself.

 

[fdeck]

Your room can handle any size cab, so long as there's still enough space for you, and for all of the bicycles that you need.

 

[rodl2005]

And point yr cab right at yr ears, otherwise ur hearing a lot of reflections, possibly more than yr direct sound.
As others stated, raise it up, and point it at yr head.
I wouldn't worry about getting a different cab.

 

[chadds]

If your cab is an 810 fridge and your room is a phone booth, yea, the cab is probably too much.

The solution is to add another 810.

 

[jthisdell]

An hpf may help (an hpf always helps)

 

[Redbrangus]

Actual room nodes are unaffected by the placement of the source in the room. And decoupling mats don't really change much of anything. But no, a smaller cab would do nothing to resolve actual acoustic phenomena.

 

[N. Kentucky Bass]

Can a cab be too much for a room? My practice space is a former bedroom, roughly 12 feet by 15 feet. My current practice cab is a Barefaced Super Compact 1x12, 600 w. I'm using a Quilter Interbass to drive it, 33 w. at 8 ohm, and it's plenty loud enough for me. But the acoustic results are not good. I've experimented with a couple of bass traps, and they help some, but I'm starting to wonder if a smaller cab would be better.

Any suggestions?

Your cab is fine. I have a Barefaced Super Twin, which is twice you're cab's output, and my home studio is about the same size. Zero issues on sound, albeit can't be turned up super loud because it buzzes the wall joists! If the cab sounds too loud, just turn down the volume to taste.

However -- I have sound treated my studio with nine 2x4' wall sound panels, three more of same floating above the playing area and suspended from the ceiling, and four towers of floor-to-ceiling bass traps (2 are in permanent position, 2 others are used as needed). The Super Twin also sits atop an Auralex Gramma Pad to avoid buzzing the floating wood laminate floor.

Good sound is really about the room first and how well you have addressed sound reflections etc., placement of the instrument's cab, how the instrument is played, and then the instrument setup and amplification system. Gear quality also has a role, but I believe it's way down on the list if you haven't addressed the first issues. Good luck!

 

[Boundary Effect]

Most likely it is room modes that are the problem. Fuzzies on the walls won't help, and as you noted, trapping only helps some. If things are boomy and/or muddy, you can always use a HPF to lessen the low end. And acoustically speaking, rooms (modes) are like bells, the harder you hit them, the louder they ring. If your room is rectangular, plug the dimensions in to this: amroc - THE Room Mode Calculator