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Port help

Hullo,

I'm trying to spruce up and old TE 1518t cab I got cheap. One of the ports in it is missing the TE top cap thing (not the tuning stopper but the round cap that goes on after the grill, that says TE running around it) and the other is badly snapped. So I bought some one piece, flared 4 inch ports to swap them out. They are the same diameter but are about 3 inches shorter. I have tried reading up on porting but I really, really don't get it sorry. Will this change make a massive difference? Changing port size will make a difference in the frequencies that the cab puts out, is that right? Am I better just leaving it as is and putting up with the tatty ports?
Also as I was opening it up I noticed there was no dampening material in there, so I got a cheap arse, thin duvet to staple inside. This should be fine shouldn't it? Reading up some people are saying not to dampen directly behind the ports, is this right. I'm planning on lining the top, sides and back but stopping a couple of inches before where the ports are directed.

Thanks for any help,

Chris
 
Shorter ports will raise the tuning frequency. That much difference should make a rather large change. Might work, might not. No way to know without trying it(unless you want to try your hand at computer modeling).
Your lining job should help quite a bit, to calm down spikes and dips in the mids.
 
Cheers mate. I'll just try it with both types of ports and see which sounds better. I've tried looking for some of those little TE end pieces online but nothing anywhere. Ideally I'd like to leave them and just replace the caps, wouldn't want to try and second guess the designers who know what they are doing but they just look so crappy without them. Like drain pipe sticking out the front.
 
The 3" shorter pipes most definitely make a difference in tone. More "boom" in the bass and (depending on what tuning frequency that ends up at), more prone to "farting" on low notes.


Tract Elliot has a soft place in my heart due to the "pull pipes" where you could adjust the port tuning to your taste. Made me wonder "what are these pipes doing?", and thus, setting off a quest of knowledge to figure out just what in the hell those pipes were doing.
 
I had a little look on there they have them for ten dollars a pop, but being this side of pond its $25 postage. That only works out at 26 quid, so not to bad even if it dis hurt me to pay more in postage than for the item. Ha, the pools still going good. Happy place to be. As for football I think both clubs are over achieving. Which is nice because no one gets their noses pushed out. How long since you left?
I have tried looking for some generic ones but no luck. I'll have a fiddle with the new ports tomorrow and see how they sound. I only ever use standard tuning so may get away with it. I'll just see which ones sound best. I'll probably end up having to bite the bullet and order new trace ones. So they are meant to be adjustable that way, as in pull out/push in? That's interesting. I read they had a screw in cap or something? Obv for the 50 quid I paid this was missing.
 

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