Speaker box size chart driver#

Electric guitar speakers do not reproduce вЂlowвЂ™ frequencies (the low E string of a lead guitar has aВ fundamental of 82Hz) and so the frequencies at which Thiele Small parameters have significance tend to be below the operating range.

However they are of limited useВ when designing a guitar speaker cabinet. Thiele Small parameters are useful for controlling the low frequency response of sealed or ported cabinetВ systems by changing the cabinet internal volume, and port dimensions. This can lead to uneven powerВ sharing between speakers, causing one speaker to be overdriven and damaged, while the other is underdriven.

Speaker box size chart driver#

We do not advise mixing different impedances of driver within the same cabinet. Avoid air leaks if using sealed box construction.Ensure the speaker is adequately mounted and protected.Strong, rigid construction means no buzzes or rattles.Plywood or real wood construction is preferable.The speaker can beВ front or rear mounted. Ensure the speaker is protected from the front, as the cone is easily damaged. Do not overtighten so the housingВ rim bends. Mount the speaker securely using bolts into T-nuts, not self tapping screws. Do not use internal acoustic wadding, it is inappropriate for guitar cabs, reducingВ sparkle and life. The baffle size isВ more important in open back boxes (larger = more low/mid presence), and for closed back boxes larger volumeВ means deeper but looser bass. Vented / tuned / ported boxes are notВ recommended for lead guitar, as they can damage guitar speakers. Sealed boxes give tight,В deeper low end but are more directional, giving less spread of sound. Open back gives a looser low end with less depth, and вЂfigure 8вЂ™В directivity (sound field looks like an 8 when looked down on from above the cab). Open back or sealed boxes should be used. Real woods finished with a stain can be veryВ exclusive and expensive looking! CabinetsВ can be painted or stained, or covered with a vinyl or carpet finish. When considering price, you should also consider cabinet finish. Most woods or wood composites willВ be strong enough at this thickness. Lively resonantВ materials, such as plywood or real woods, vibrate in sympathy with the speaker and enhance the sound, butВ should be at least 13mm / 0.5вЂі thick, or they will unduly colour the sound. The important characteristics of the cabinet material are strength, sound and ease of use. Many budget cabs are made of chipboardВ (cheap, but poor in terms of strength, ruggedness and sound) or MDF (easy to machine, but heavy and dead).В Maple, mahogany and walnut are often used for high quality cabinets. Most quality cabs use 15-18mm plywood for the main cabinet, with MDF for the baffle (the part where theВ speaker(s) are mounted), but they can be constructed of any material. Internal bracing is generally not required, but battens inside the joints are good if your woodwork skills do not extend to complex corner joints, and a central bracing post can be advantageous in a 4Г—12. Remember that guitar speakers are quite heavy and amplifiers that sit on top of Guitar cabinets consist of two elements a driver and a box.В The box design is acoustically less critical than that for hi-fi or PA systems, but proper construction is essential.В The cabinets should be solidly built to ensure no joint vibration (unpleasant buzzing), and be of adequateВ strength to withstand hard use. Distortion-free sound would be aВ disaster. High frequency reproduction is a positiveВ disadvantage, allowing unpleasant harmonics and electronic noise to be heard. Deep, thunderous bass isВ not required (the low E of a standard-tuned lead guitar is 82Hz). All three partsВ are vitally important to a good sound.ДЄs guitar speakers are different, so their cabinets are different to hi-fi or PA cabinets. Lead guitar speakers are a unique area of loudspeaker design.В A loudspeaker is usually a transducer, designed to faithfully reproduce the acoustics of the signal presented to it.В An electric guitar speaker, however, is a creative part of the music, contributing its own character and tonality.В TheВ вЂinstrumentвЂ™ an electric guitar player uses is really a combination of guitar, amplifier and speaker. These, not Thiele Small parameters are the critical factors in the design and ultimately the sound of a guitar speaker cabinet. Important factors include the material you make the cabinet from, the panel sizes and shapes, how they are joined, how the cabinet is finished, the mounting of the speaker, etc. Guitar speaker cabinet design using Thiele Small parameters ignores these most fundamental aspects. When designing a cabinet for guitar speakers, the cabinetвЂ™s size,shape and construction are of far higher significance than the internal volume.