Do you think there is a market for this product

[H-evolve]

Hi,

I'm working on an isolation cabinet to be used with your already owned cabs. Actually I should call it "Cabinet Iso-Box" or something. It's pretty much an isolated empty box into which you roll-in your own cab. It will have a quick access front panel, easily removed and put back, to obviously push your cab in, but also to play with you mic position. At the back, there would be openings for the cables, obviously. And the mic positioning would be achieved with a system similar to the cab clips that already exist.

First, I have not heard or seen an equivalent product. Have you?

Second, the idea came from the fact that we all love our cabs, we bought them for a reason right. Isolation cabs, while being nice, are not the same as your cab. I assume they have their own tones (I've never used one), meaning that if you like the Bogner 4x12 tone, you won't recreate it with the iso-cabs.

At the moment, I'm only working on my 3D model. At some point I might be able to share screenshots. I don't have a price yet, but I assume it would be much cheaper than what iso-cabs cost, since there is not need for any electronics in there.

What do you think? Interesting product?

 

[Christian WUFU]

Wouldn't this introduce a ton of resonance issues? (The main reason people don't like iso cabs in the first place)

Also, though I understand your direction in developing said product, I feel like most people would rather DIY this sort of thing rather than paying someone else for it.

 

[AntonioPetrole]

I've looked into the DIY a route a bunch and honestly it didn't seem worth attemping. Guys who are way smarter than I am with acoustics have done the math and it's really challenging, basically your iso box needs to be absolutely huge. And the guys who have build DIY boxes and posted clips usually sounds like balls.

Not trying to discourage you, by all means if you can get good results then kill it. This was just what I found from my research.

I do however faintly remember a video of Will Putney with 4 iso cabs not much larger than the cabs themselves for a studio diary of some band who went through the machine shop (or technically Graphic Nature Audio now). I'd build a prototype and post clips/results. If it sounds good, I'm sure people will buy it

 

[Jormyn]

I think the biggest problem with this idea is how insanely huge it would have to be. Space inside for a Mesa OS 412 with casters, plus an extra 12+" to fit an SM57, the cable out the back, and a couple of inches to position it. And that's assuming there aren't any larger mics, but I don't know mics very well.

An OS 412 is roughly 36"h x 30"w x 14"d with casters. Add our minimum of 12" and that pushes your depth up to 26". So the *inside* dimensions of the cab need to be 36" x 30" x 26". I haven't done much woodworking, but your box needs to be both sturdy and ridiculously soundproof - lets say an extra 2" on all sides for shits and giggles. That puts us at 38" x 32" x 28" with basically no room to maneuver inside.

Certainly worth prototyping just to see if you like it, but I'm skeptical. You're also competing with the newer Randall iso cab that's the same size as a 412 but with a single speaker inside, so there's more room to not sound boxy: http://www2.randallamplifiers.com/images/stories/products/cabinets/detail/big_iso412_back.jpg

 

[MrBongo]

i´d think this already exists. At least I´m halfway sure that I´ve seen such a box already, just don´t know where


btt: don´t forget the "room" treatment inside the iso-box ! That would need at least 4" on every wall in front of the cab, and in case you want to put in a smaller-than-maximum cab, all over the iso-box. Thicker insulation = better (lower frequencies absorbed).
The main reason why a lot of commercial iso-boxes don´t sound all that great is the lack of treatment. Looking at the pic of that Randall box, there´s definitely not enough material to really take care of the resonant freqs

 

[H-evolve]

Just to let everybody know that I am well aware it needs to be huge. Actually, I'm building a 3D model so I can run finite elements simulations on it and get its frequency response when injecting a signal. That's actually what I do for a living, computer simulations (more structural stuff, but sometimes frequency response), so I thought I'd try! This way I will have an idea of how sturdy I need to build it and perhaps I'll cancel the project before even spending a dollar on wood and materials.

I'll keep you posted, thanks for the comments.

 

[Delitzsch]

 

[tgs]

I'll save you the trouble.

I also had this idea years ago. Built a box, guess it was around 1,2x1,2m or something. Lots of treatment inside, rigid fiberglass. Experimented with alterations and wasted a lot of time. No matter what I did, the box always introduced a bunch of unwanted crap. In the end I guess I'd call it...usable. No matter what you do, it will always sound like what it is: a cab in a box.

 

[H-evolve]

I'll save you the trouble.

I also had this idea years ago. Built a box, guess it was around 1,2x1,2m or something. Lots of treatment inside, rigid fiberglass. Experimented with alterations and wasted a lot of time. No matter what I did, the box always introduced a bunch of unwanted crap. In the end I guess I'd call it...usable. No matter what you do, it will always sound like what it is: a cab in a box.

Well thanks for mentioning it. So far my simulations are showing that it is indeed not that simple.

However, I am surprised you chose fibreglass? The reasonance of a structure is basically a function of its thickness, and I've never heard of anyone piling layers of fibreglass so that it gets a 1.5 to 2 in. thick.

Anyhow, thanks for sharing your experience. Though I wasn't going to go in the exact same direction, there seems to be similar results coming from your iterations and my perhaps botched simulations.