Building amplifier enclosure box

[Dushan S]

I have tried some search on the forum about similar topic but had no results, so if this was already discussed, sorry. I was always more about what I play then about technical side of things so have that in mind if some of the questions are stupid

I am thinking about building some kind of (almost) soundproof box I could use to mic an amp. I have already tried going simulation route but it is still not there, at least for me. I live in an apartment in the building so just using some "Amp in the closet and some blankets" isolation would not work. As last possibility I could go to my friends studio to track guitars, but as of very nature of music material it would take ages, and I want to avoid giving him headache to spend his precious studio time (it is commercial studio) on me.

I am on a low budget as any new investments go, what I will have here to use is an older boogie, (similar to my caliber 50 I have sold recently, 1x12 combo can't remember exact name of the model right now), Marshall Valvestate 100 2x12 (I can try to use his box I guess, dist channel don't really works for me tone wise, but who knows), and Peavey JSX head.
So I was thinking to build enclosure box, at least for the small boogie, or even for the 2x12 box, and record guitars here. Googling for an hour has gave some general results and informations, but not something like "built it yourself" site.
So has anyone of you guys built something similar or has any informations or links about what materials to use, how to built it etc? (It would be also nice to make it to assemble and disassemble relatively easy, my apartment is not that big)
Also, I am an idiot as far as electricity stuff goes, so, for instance if resistance of the small boogie cabinet matches the JSX head, could I use them together on modest levels without damaging box or head? Or if I need something to suck the power out of the amp before connecting to small 1x12 box?
If that would work I would be able to just build small enclosure, more practical than big one for the 2x12 or 4x12 box.

Any thoughts on subject?

 

[sah5150]

Hey man,

I have one of these. In fact, that is my writeup on the page word for word from an email I sent them:

Amp Iso Enclosure

So, I paid for mine ($800 shipped) and didn't build it, but I have some info on how to do it if you have the time and ability. What you'll need is particle board, velcro strips, metal hinges, a metal handle to open the top, some long metal pieces to screw into the particle board to form the "skeleton" of the enclosure, foam soundproofing material, gray carpet material, you'll need to cut a whole to run cables from your head to your speaker cab (don't put the head in the cab), and some foam material to fill the hole around the cables. Most of this should seem obvious as to what it is needed for, but one thing you asked about was miking it portable. The velcro does just that. With the metal "skeleton", my box uses only velcro for assembly and I can take it apart to move it in just seconds. You couldn't move it otherwise, it will be WAY too heavy. Mine is large too - 36"x36"x36". I put a 4x12 and two SM57s in it no problem. I have many clips of the recorded results and you'd never know you were close micing a cab in a box. You can add "room" sound with plugins. Read my description and if this appeals to you, I could take some more pics of my box so you could see how it is constructed... They really do work great...

Steve

 

[Kazrog]

Wow, that's cool! I have some iso foam around my cabinet but I have to stop by 10:00pm or I will get noise complaints. I may look into this as a future solution, or I'll just get rich and buy a house in the mountains instead!

 

[sah5150]

Wow, that's cool! I have some iso foam around my cabinet but I have to stop by 10:00pm or I will get noise complaints. I may look into this as a future solution, or I'll just get rich and buy a house in the mountains instead!

My problem is something called a "wife".

Nowadays I mostly record late at night using my PODXT Pro. I monitor using the models and record a guitar output only track through the digital outs. I then REAMP the dry track(s) through my amp and cab during the day... Works beautiful unless you need natural feedback...

Steve

 

[Kazrog]

My problem is something called a "wife".

Nowadays I mostly record late at night using my PODXT Pro. I monitor using the models and record a guitar output only track through the digital outs. I then REAMP the dry track(s) through my amp and cab during the day... Works beautiful unless you need natural feedback...

Steve

Not married, but I do the exact same thing!

 

[marcust]

hi,
why not use a randall isolation box i have one you can send any amp (assuming they have ext. outs) to it
it works fine for me although the one mentioned above should work the same
and maybe better for combo's

 

[Kazrog]

hi,
why not use a randall isolation box i have one you can send any amp (assuming they have ext. outs) to it
it works fine for me although the one mentioned above should work the same
and maybe better for combo's

I was wondering about those, I'm thinking about getting one possibly. Anyone have any Randall Isolation Cab clips?

 

[sah5150]

hi,
why not use a randall isolation box i have one you can send any amp (assuming they have ext. outs) to it
it works fine for me although the one mentioned above should work the same
and maybe better for combo's

For me these would never work for a lot of things I record. My amp is a non-master volume 100 watt amp that only gets the sound I want completely cranked. There is no way I could use one speaker. Additionally, I used to have the Demeter cab (pretty much the same thing as the Randall) and I could never get it to sound good with my SLO 100. To me nothing sounds like a real cab... If I want the tone of a 4x12, I'd rather stick a real 4x12 in my iso cab and go from there...

Steve

 

[Genius Gone Insane]

How crucial is it to have 4 cones blazing? How big of a difference is it if you only have 1 1x12?

 

[tgs]

I'm building an iso cab as we speak. It will house a 4x12 so it's pretty big. And basically, it's more or less turned into an iso booth even... It's a box approximately 1x1 meters and it's kind of like a studio room in miniature.

The inner walls will be covered with 50mm insulation, in turn covered with heavy cloth and I'll try to work out a helmholtz solution to work out some frequencies around 250-300Hz (the distance to the wall is way too short, of course, but I will try nevertheless).

The outer wall will be covered in 100mm insulation, followed by an air space of about 100mm, insulation again and then gypsum (this outer shell will not be connected to the box at all, it's completely separate).

The box will rest on neoprene pads. It's almost finished and will be tested next week or so. I can keep you informed about the results if you wish!

 

[fabz]

http://www.amptone.com/index.html#iboxprods

Maybe this helps...

ISO-CAB Do It Yourself ....

 

[sah5150]

How crucial is it to have 4 cones blazing? How big of a difference is it if you only have 1 1x12?

Well.... in my case, I have a non-master 100W amp that is putting out closer to 120W. I use G12H30 speakers and my amp has to be cranked to sound like I want it to. 120W into a single 30W speaker = BAD! I don't like attenuators when I record either...

Also, my experience is that if you want to get the sound of a 4x12 cab, you need to record a 4x12 cab regardless of whether you are micing only one speaker. I could never get the Demeter Iso box to sound like a real 4x12 when I owned it...

Steve

 

[Bob Savage]

This thread reminds me that I told my wife I'd build me an ISO cab. I'm actually thinking I'll run speaker wire from the "control room" to the garage, via the attic, and build a massive, ridiculously heavy, fully framed and insulated behemoth of an ISO cab.

 

[Dushan S]

Hey man,

I have one of these. In fact, that is my writeup on the page word for word from an email I sent them:

Amp Iso Enclosure

So, I paid for mine ($800 shipped) and didn't build it, but I have some info on how to do it if you have the time and ability. What you'll need is particle board, velcro strips, metal hinges, a metal handle to open the top, some long metal pieces to screw into the particle board to form the "skeleton" of the enclosure, foam soundproofing material, gray carpet material, you'll need to cut a whole to run cables from your head to your speaker cab (don't put the head in the cab), and some foam material to fill the hole around the cables. Most of this should seem obvious as to what it is needed for, but one thing you asked about was miking it portable. The velcro does just that. With the metal "skeleton", my box uses only velcro for assembly and I can take it apart to move it in just seconds. You couldn't move it otherwise, it will be WAY too heavy. Mine is large too - 36"x36"x36". I put a 4x12 and two SM57s in it no problem. I have many clips of the recorded results and you'd never know you were close micing a cab in a box. You can add "room" sound with plugins. Read my description and if this appeals to you, I could take some more pics of my box so you could see how it is constructed... They really do work great...

Steve

Thanks Steve. I think that buying Velcro and shipping it over here would be too much for me at this moment And building something similar would be at least half the price here.
I have seen that page, just right before posting here, so maybe you can clear some things for me... Box does not looks isolated well below the amp, so how noticable bass freq. are? I mean, it looks like I would be right in the same room of the apartment with this, but my neighbor will come very soon with murder on his mind, as bass will be all over the place. And what is material of the sides of box exactly? Just wood, is there any other isolation except foam? It would be nice to see few close photos so I can see how it is assembled, if you have some spare time.
Anyway, what interests me most is the contact of amp to the box and then to the floor, is there bass leaking.

Except sah5150, if some of you can say something more about my second question, connecting head to 1x12 box with or without speaker attentuation, would this work, somebody tried? Building enclosure for 4x12 box would simply not work for me, as I do not have enough space here for that here. So if it is not possible to get ok-ish results with miced 1x12 cab in isolation box I guess then only alternative for me is recording guitars in my friends studio.

 

[Bob Savage]

Except sah5150, if some of you can say so,ething more about my second question, connecting head to 1x12 box with or without speaker attentuation, would this work? Building enclosure for 4x12 box would simply not work for me, as I do not have enough space here for that. So if it is not possible to get ok-ish results with miced 1x12 cab in isolatin box I guess then only alternative for me is recording guitars in my friends studio.

Sure, you can hookup a 1x12 to the amp, but you have to make sure you're not exceeding the rating of the speaker with the amp. In other words, you could use a Vintage 30 with a 100 watt amp, but you cannot crank the sucker because you're going to put a beating on the speaker. On the other hand, if you were using something like a G12H30 and a 100 watt amp, you're going to kill the speaker very early on because the power rating of that speaker is only 30 watts (as opposed to the 60 or so of the V30).