![effects of cabin volume on speaker enclosure design effects of cabin volume on speaker enclosure design](https://www.diyaudioandvideo.com/Tutorial/DesignBuildSpeakerBox/WooferSpeakerBoxDesign.gif)
Unlike plywood used for less demanding tasks, Baltic birch plywood is made to be voidless, and this prevents the cabinet walls from rattling when you play. To be a useful cabinet material, plywood needs to be voidless-meaning there is no trapped air between the plies. The industry standard is 18 mm Baltic birch plywood, which differs from the sheets of plywood sold at the hardware store. Most closed-back, or sealed, cabinets are constructed from plywood, as are some combos. Whether a cab has an open or closed back has a huge bearing on what a builder chooses to construct it with. Closed-back cabinets are more focused and directional, so it’s rare to find one made of solid pine, due to the aforementioned flexing and the sonic chaos it can bring. This explains why solid pine is ideal for open-back combos. Because open-back combos don’t trap soundwaves, but rather allow them to escape, you don’t end up with resonant frequencies being accentuated by the cabinet walls. But pine flexes, and this can emphasize certain frequencies. Solid pine is lighter than other cabinet woods and, as anyone who has lifted a combo amp knows, weight savings can be crucial-especially if you haul your gear to lots of rehearsals and gigs. Solid pine cabs typically have an open back, meaning the speaker is exposed to the air and thus delivers a more diffused and less directional sound. And since vintage gear is the gauge by which most new gear is measured, replica pine cabinets have grown in popularity over the years. Many combo enclosures are made from solid wood-particularly vintage Fenders, which were built with solid pine.
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Each type of wood has its pros and cons, and whether a cab has an open or closed back has a huge bearing on what a builder chooses to construct it with. There are many different types of wood, and what a builder chooses will affect how the cabinet performs. If you ask guitarists what their cabs are made of, most will say “wood.” That’s the short answer, but it’s also very broad and incomplete. And while we’re at it, perhaps we’ll dispel a few myths.Ĭabinet material. We’ll cover key points that will better acquaint you with what you already own and help you make an informed decision the next time you purchase a combo amp or extension cab. No guitarist is going to wow the crowd dangling a raw 12" speaker from a pole, right? The truth is, your cab plays as important a role as any other device in your rig, so it’s worth taking the time to explore it in its various forms. Which ain’t right, if you think about it. While we drill down on the merits and specs of various speakers, the box that houses them typically takes a backseat to everything else in our signal chain. In our mad pursuit of boutique gear, it’s easy to overlook the humble speaker cabinet.