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Stacking cabs sideways? (Dr.Bass particularly)

Y

Yossarian

Jun 24, 2004
282
2
39
Virginia
#1
Would this have any noticeable effect on the sound?

I did a search on this, I swear. It seemed like every thread ended with somebody saying "it wouldn't make any difference... unless the cab's not the same measurements all around," and the DRB212 and DRB310 I'm looking at are both 24"H x 20.75"W X 15"D. How would it change the sound to stack them sideways, then? Anybody do that with Dr. Bass?

I don't have them yet, so I can't try it out. I'm just nervous about the thought of a stack 48" high and 20" wide with a head that's 24" wide (Peavey Max 700) sitting on top at a punk show with no stage. I have a nightmare vision of that one drunk guy who stumbles a bit too far... stacks tipping over... people crying... it's bad.
 
#3
Not sure about the cabs you have listed specifically, but I generally lay my 18" cab down horizontally and stack my 4x10 on it with its normal vertical orientation to keep the whole thing a little shorter and a bit more stable. I can't really hear much of a difference, if any. YMMV. Try it out and see!
 
#4
Hi, Yossarian.

Yossarian said:
Would this have any noticeable effect on the sound?
Click to expand...

For punk, probably not that much ;).

Seriously though, in a similarish situation I either secure the cab(s) and the amp with a ratchet tie-down to a dolly or have the amp on the floor.

Too bad our drummer can't protect his gear that way as occasionally a drunk enough "dancer" will find his way past me and the guitarist and land on top of the drums.
No-one to this date have gotten near enough to my rig to do any damage, 100+ kg and a Thunderbird headstock have prevented that :bassist:.

Sam
 
#5
Bill,

I often use a pair of Eden 210XLTs. If I stack them normally, I have a 2x2 configuration of drivers, similar to a 410 cab.

I have heard several recommendations to stack these cabs sideways (i.e., a 1x4 configuration). The argument is that having the four drivers in-line increases the horizontal dispersion and reduces the vertical dispersion of the sound. I tried this a couple of times and it seemed to be the case, but I usually don't stack this way because "normal" seems to be more stable. Besides, nothing wrong with a classic 410 configuration.

Also, I would think that having the drivers arranged vertically would eliminate any comb filtering, at least horizontally.
 
#6
Franco Bollo said:
Bill,

I often use a pair of Eden 210XLTs. If I stack them normally, I have a 2x2 configuration of drivers, similar to a 410 cab.

I have heard several recommendations to stack these cabs sideways (i.e., a 1x4 configuration). The argument is that having the four drivers in-line increases the horizontal dispersion and reduces the vertical dispersion of the sound. I tried this a couple of times and it seemed to be the case
Click to expand...
It is.
but I usually don't stack this way because "normal" seems to be more stable.
Click to expand...
The unfortunate result when cabs are designed with aesthetics having priority over function.
Besides, nothing wrong with a classic 410 configuration.
Click to expand...
It's a poster child for how not to build a speaker in engineering school. Blame Leo Fender for setting a standard with the '59 Bassman that should never have been built, let alone copied.

Also, I would think that having the drivers arranged vertically would eliminate any comb filtering, at least horizontally.
Click to expand...
True.
 
#7
Hmmm... I have no idea what a lot of that means. So, I take it that it would be a bad choice to stack these horizontally.

I mean... are we saying that it might not sound as good? Would it actually be BAD to do (cause problems/break things/produce god-awful sound) or is it just not the preferred way to stack?
 
#8
Having drivers oriented horizontally will cause loud and soft spots as you move across the floor in the room. At certain spots, some frequencies will cancel out completely, others will be enhanced. It's just a bad idea. You're not going to damage anything (unless, say, you happen to be in a bad spot and you're trying to adjust the sound and end up over-boosting something or turning up too loudly), but it's not a good way to go.

Orienting the drivers vertically obviously causes the same problem in the vertical direction. The nice thing, though, is that at most venues, this doesn't matter because the audience isn't listening to the show on ladders.

Asad
 
#10
bassrockstar said:
yea , the only time it will make any sig difference is if it is a good bit taller the it is wide .(8x10 , 6x10 , 2x15 , 8x8 ect.) then when you lay the cab on its side , its stage footprint will be larger . this will give you a larger boomier sound .....
Click to expand...

No, it won't. You just think it does because less high frequency content reaches your ear.

Out in the audience, it will sound the same, except for the even-worse comb-filtering effects mentioned above.

Asad
 
#11
I have an Eden 2x10 xlt that I regularly use on its side. Is this a bad thing? I find I get a little more sound up above my ankles that way. If I use two cabs I put one on top of the other in their normal horizontal configuaration. Is this good or bad? Would you prefer to have them on their sides, one on top of the other? Like I said, I'm confused.

I have a Bergantino hs210 that I always place horizontally because it feels more stable that way and one speaker is a bit higher than the other...
 
#12
Does "horizontal orientation" mean setting the cab so that there is more width than height?

If I'm stacking the two cabs horizontally, the stack would be a total of 42" or so tall and about 24" wide. Would the stack be vertically oriented, then? Or would it just be a horizontally oriented cab sitting on another one?

Bear with me, I don't get it yet.
 
#13
woolysock said:
I have an Eden 2x10 xlt that I regularly use on its side. Is this a bad thing? I find I get a little more sound up above my ankles that way. If I use two cabs I put one on top of the other in their normal horizontal configuaration. Is this good or bad? Would you prefer to have them on their sides, one on top of the other? Like I said, I'm confused.
Click to expand...

It is best to have all 4 drivers in a vertical row, one above another.

When using a single 210, it is similarly better to place it on its "side" from the "normal" configuration, again with one driver above the other. You'll note that Acme actually shows them this way on their website:
b2feathered.jpg


Asad
 
#14
Could someone explain what comb filtering is and why it's bad?

I started laying my 1x15 and 4x10 on their sides because otherwise I can't stack them and keep the 1x15 on the bottom (the 4x10 is on casters). Also stacking a 1x15 and 4x10 the traditional way puts everything on casters and about 6 feet in the air. I'm much more comfortable with them off of the casters and sitting a bit shorter than that. I haven't noticed any difference in sound...but then again I'm not in the audience.
 
#16
So how about near field monitoring whe you have to stand close to the speakers, and you don't care if anyone else hears your rig. Would it be better to have both tens horiz. on the floor, each the same distance from your ears?
 
#17
Near field monitoring is a whole different ball of wax altogether. Since you're not trying to project to the audience, you can stack it any way you want. The objective there is to hear it when you're playing, so placement isn't as critical as long as you can hear it.
 
#18
I was at a church conference at Ford Field in Detroit and the Bass player for Hillsong had his SVT810e horizontal with casters on the bottom, so it was like two 4x10s Next to each other. He had a nice 300-watt SVT-CL on top, but the closest you could get to the stage was 30 feet away, and he wasn't going crazy on-stage so I don't now why he had it like that. That's all I know!
 
#19
He probably had it that way because Darlene Zschech told him to so he doesn't blow her out. That's the only reason I can think of stacking an SVT cab the absolute worst way possible.
 

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