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Sealed Cabs

7

70sJazz

Supporting Member
Nov 8, 2009
264
151
Washington, DC
#1
I'd like to try out sealed cabs. What is the difference in sound compared to the same cab ported? I would assume maybe it's a tighter sound but not quite as loud.

After all these years playing bass it's the only kind of cab I've never tried (or took note of if I did). Problem is you barely see any being made anymore!

Also I like a tweeter & something compact, definitely smaller than a 4X10. And the few sealed designs I see seem to cater towards vintage tones in a large cab, like Bergantino NV series. This makes it even more difficult to find one. Is there anything out there on the market I could try?

What about plugging the ports of my existing cabs with a tshirt or something like that to see what it sounds like. Or would this not be advisable nor achieve the same effect?
 
#2
It is so very much a case by case basis that there's no good way to answer it. You can try plugging ports to see if you'd like it, but they have to be solidly plugged with no air leaks.

Generally, sealed cabs tend to be lighter in the very lows than ported cabinets. Some who like sealed cabs dig that low end rolloff because it works very well in a mix. Others like the ports to add an octave or so of lows they wouldn't get otherwise.

As for their articulation, I personally don't believe porting makes a difference in tightness or looseness, and most audio experts agree, but my Talkbass pal Johnny A from Staind disagrees very much and refuses to use ported cabs. Let your own ears tell you the answer to that one.

There are a lot of sealed cabs you can try, though...Ampeg has several, including two new ones, Hartke HyDrives with 10"s are mostly sealed...I'm sure there are a few others, but those are the most common at music stores.
 
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#3
Good observations there.

In general a sealed cab will start to fall off in the lows a bit higher up in frequency but have a more gradual rolloff. The ported will play loud deeper in frequency then fall off more sharply. That's a very general description. Above about 200hz the 2 will act and sound the same.

That being said the speakers used are spec'd for use in either a ported or sealed box. A few in the middle ground may sound "ok" either way but just plugging the ports in a ported cab likely won't sound as good as something that uses speakers designed for use in a sealed box.
 
#4
Ok thanks. Yeah Ampeg of course, the SVT 210 AV is the only one that looks small enough but it doesn't have a tweeter. Might be worth trying it though. Perhaps I'd be open to a more vintage non-tweeter cabinet to contrast what I have now.

I'd like to have a cab that has some bark to it to use in certain situations, since my NY604 can tend to be shy in the low mids.

I tried that Hartke 1X12 last month in a store. I wasn't aware it was sealed at the time but I found the tone kind of dull, muffled & generic, not much character. That probably wasn't just due to it being sealed though.

If you think of any other sealed 1X12 cabs worth trying, let me know.
 
#5
You can't just seal a ported cab and expect it be representative of anything - the drivers and cab and port are designed to work together. Sealing a ported cab will totally stifle the sound.

Sealed cabs have a smoother and deeper response at the cost of efficiency. Ported cabs are much more efficient because you have the front AND the back wave, but the sound can be peaky and fall off faster due to the tuning required.
 
#6
Gio S said:
Sealed cabs have a smoother and deeper response at the cost of efficiency.
Click to expand...
That's the common wisdom, but as is often the case with common wisdom it's not true. One can make a vented cab with the exact same response as sealed, but with the sensitivity of vented. It's all in the skill level of the designer, and the intent of the manufacturer.

the sound can be peaky and fall off faster due to the tuning required.
Click to expand...
Operative word: can. It doesn't have to be that way. When it is it's because the manufacturer tuned the cab too high. That causes a midbass response hump, which makes the cab subjectively seem louder, and that pushes sales, because in testing at your local G-C you're more likely to buy the loudest cab that you try. Then you get your new cab into a boomy room and that midbass hump bites you on the butt.:rollno:
 
#8
i used to plug my bass cabs and stereo speakers ports with bunched up t shirts. . even though it became misaligned, it still sounded better and more solid. try it and see if you notice a difference.
 
#9
I use 2 of the Gallien Krueger SBX+ 410 cabs and they are incredible, I get tremendous lows from these cabs, the biggest difference is that they are so tight and focused in the midrange that above all other cabs on stage and in practice I can actually hear myself so much better. They do not make them anymore as of a couple years ago, but they are found used pretty cheap 300-350$.
 

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