I was under the impression it depends somewhat on factors such as the size of the baffle, the depth of the cabinet, and if the back has any partial covers. IME, most open back guitar combos are not 100% open back.
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Do Bass Players ever use an open back cabinet?
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I was under the impression it depends somewhat on factors such as the size of the baffle, the depth of the cabinet, and if the back has any partial covers. IME, most open back guitar combos are not 100% open back.
We don't talk to guitar players.
Why aren’t you asking about P basses and flatwounds!?!?
Huh.
Guitar players.
Huh.
Guitar players.
- Feb 12, 2006
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- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
It's essentially free air, the opening is so big that the system resonance approaches free air resonance (on a baffle board).
One of my guitar playing friends suggested I use my Boogie Mark III 1x15 combo for bass. I think this was more a comment on my lack of talent as a guitarist than the efficacy of the Boogie as a bass amp.
May be good for the twangy tones of the bridge pickup on a bass vi, or for Rick-O-Sound bridge pickup shenanigans.
May be good for the twangy tones of the bridge pickup on a bass vi, or for Rick-O-Sound bridge pickup shenanigans.
Not if they can get almost any kind of speaker cabinet made for bass & open back cabs aren’t made for bass.
That being said, folks use butter knives for screwdrivers, adjustable wrenches for hammers, screwdrivers for chisels, and the list goes on. Sometimes, people use whatever is available for a task, even when the item is definitely not made for the task.
That’s not to say there is never a circumstance for an open back cab to be used with bass. For example; playing a bass with extreme distortion does a lot to eliminate low end and extreme speaker excursion, so an open back cab might actually sound good for bass in that scenario.
For clean low frequency notes at a moderate volume, a ported or sealed cab designed to reproduce clean, clear, low distortion & low frequency notes generated by a bass guitar is a much better choice.
So, don’t grab one of your Mama’s Cutco steak knives to pry open a can of paint for the barn…unless the barn REALLY needs to be painted…
Worked for Carole since she was in a studio. and the cab was miced and musos monitoring everything through headphones, If she played Woodstock she may have different view and I am not talking the LSD that she could have taken.
I wonder if her use of the Fender Super Reverb was a holdover from her guitar days as that is how she started out on the scene
These situations are relatively low volume studio controlled environments.
Look that that pic of Carol, the other instrumentalists are right by her, they wouldn't have her amp raging with anything loud.
My experience with using an open guitar amp is that, apart from power, bass, blown-up speakers etc., the sound of a guitar amp is much more natural and direct for a bass than most bass amps with closed speakers, especially in the mids. I use at home a (now already vintage tube) Fender Blues Deluxe amp, and yes, the bass part is not as from a Eden or whatever, but the mids are beautiful, for any bass I have. So worth experimenting!
This answer gets my vote ^
OP, it's a fair question to ask, but there's no relevant scenario where this is a good option. The physics are a totally different ballgame, just focus on joining our arguments about the best tonewood for your amplifier head or which tube to use in your tuner pedal
"Tight" sound is probably related to limited bass response. You can probably get similar results from a sealed bass cab and an amp that does not have a "scooped" voicing, or by turning down the bass knob.
Sometimes I wish we could use a nifty little open back combo like the guitar players often have.
The closest I've seen is my Bag End S-15D. I believe that's technically rear-ported. The port is unusually big, and you can totally see & reach the woofer with your hand if you want to.
Since I often roll the cab to position it in my truck and the inner surfaces are all covered with thick insulation, there's not much temptation to stow cables & accessories on the floor, the way I often see guitarists doing.
The closest I've seen is my Bag End S-15D. I believe that's technically rear-ported. The port is unusually big, and you can totally see & reach the woofer with your hand if you want to.
Since I often roll the cab to position it in my truck and the inner surfaces are all covered with thick insulation, there's not much temptation to stow cables & accessories on the floor, the way I often see guitarists doing.
- Feb 12, 2006
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- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
My experiences with guitar amps/cabinets for bass is MUCH less neutral.
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This is immediately what I thought. I love Carol Kaye and Jamerson’s musical ideas, but I just don’t care what kind of gear they used. Old bass amps are usually like old cars before seat belts. Nope.
Nice to see mention of Bourree by Jethro Tull, and the fine job on bass on that tune by the late Glen Cornick, one of my favorite players when I was just picking up the instrument. I've always thought Glen was playing softly, near the neck, on flat wounds, getting that sound. Could be wrong but that's how it sounds to me.
Oh and BTW, you sure can do the reverse, use a 700 watt bass amp and a couple MB 2x10 bass cabs for guitar, for example
.
Oh and BTW, you sure can do the reverse, use a 700 watt bass amp and a couple MB 2x10 bass cabs for guitar, for example
.
I've gotten great tones from a Roland JC-120 2x12 guitar amp backed up against a wall at very low volume.
I know Joni Mitchell said Jaco Pastorius "borrowed" hers when she first got it - he loved its "big, bushy sound" and mic'd it up.
But as others have said, due to physics you're not going to get a lot of volume, low end, or power handling.
Eden & SWR had some pretty successful rear-ported cabs, but I believe those were tuned to work with bass.
Same with Bag End's "semi-open back" cab on the small 15s.
I traded my big ported Bag End for one and regretted it deeply.
I know Joni Mitchell said Jaco Pastorius "borrowed" hers when she first got it - he loved its "big, bushy sound" and mic'd it up.
But as others have said, due to physics you're not going to get a lot of volume, low end, or power handling.
Eden & SWR had some pretty successful rear-ported cabs, but I believe those were tuned to work with bass.
Same with Bag End's "semi-open back" cab on the small 15s.
I traded my big ported Bag End for one and regretted it deeply.
- Feb 12, 2006
- 61,024
- 5
- 220,896
- Disclosures
- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
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