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Author Topic: Who uses an Isolation Speaker Cabinet for home practicing/recording?  (Read 11377 times)

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El Chiguete

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The other day I was in the middle of a great home practice day playing along a Maiden concert DVD and I had "complaints" in my home from the volume of the amp and the sound system  :nono: :nono: :nono: So after a frustating couple of days it hit me: Should I make an Isolation Speaker Cabinet for practice/recording? The idea that since I allready have an Audio Interface (that I barelly use) I would just need to buy me a couple of mics (if I want it stereo) and mix the audio from the DVD concert, MP3 or Youtube and use headphones to be free to play around and forget about the complaints!  :banana-dance: :banana-dance: :banana-dance:

Of course this isnt a Nobel Price idea but untill now I just thought of thist to record myself and not for just home practicing.
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Version_6

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I personally hate the sound of ISO cabs. They cause the speaker to be effectively trapped due to internal pressure and mess with the movement of the cone. I use a Two Notes Torpedo VB101. It's a cabinet emulator that has a 100w dummy load in it so I can run almost any of my amps direct into it and then straight into Logic. Plus having 80 different cabs and 9 mic models makes a huge difference. It also has a power amp simulator specifically to allow pres to run straight into it. I have my MP1 living directly above it and when I want to get that ADA tone I run straight into the VB101 and run either the 6L6 push pull or EL34 push pull and select a cabinet. Better than any ISO cab could ever be.



There is on my desk. Just moved house so the mess is still being sorted.
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Peter H. Boer

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  • 2* MB-1 1*MP-1 + Jur's old Mod4Mk2
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I use an isolation cabinet in the studio always. (For guitar, bass is always 2 tracks direct from the MB-1 and a modified TL-Audio VP5051)
Only augmenting it with a 'free' cab for takes where direct feedback is needed.

Even live both my bands Illumion and S.O.T.E. use an isolation cabinet (and again Bass only direct from the MB-1) so the guitar is (drum)spill free and stage sound is vocals and drums only. as we all work with in-ears  O0
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El Chiguete

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I understand the advantages of cab simulators, products like the Two Notes (I have the DAW pluggin) and modelers in general BUT I've made a clear effort for the old school way to getting tone live by carefully sellecting the preamp, effects processor, poweramp and speakers... so I want to hear that.
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Before you see the light, you must die!!!

'87 Kramer Stagemaster Custom
'81 Kramer Pacer Standard
custom made Les Paul
ADA MP1
Rane MPE 28
Lexicon MPX-G2
Epiphone Valve Jr. moded!!!

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Version_6

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Well an iso cab is going to stifle that considerably in my experience. Unfortunately fluid dynamics make a huge impact in a small iso cab. When the speaker tries to move forward, the air pressure in front minimises the movement. Then the negative pressure behind the cone will also impact the movement of the cone. It's comparable to putting your finger on the cone. Every iso cab I've used/heard (both randall iso cabs, rivera silent sister and a few home made ones) have sounded awful. When I ran a studio the iso room we had for amps was large enough for 5 people to stand inside and gave enough air to let the cones move. That's why I went with the Two Notes stuff now that I don't have a studio, it offered great results versus an iso cab.

If you are going down the iso route, bigger is always better.
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Amps; In the rack- Triaxis, Simul 2:90, G System, Maxon OD808, Digitech Bad Monkey, Sennheiser EW100
Heads- Rev G Dual Rectifier, 5150II, miscellaneous junkers
Combos- Marshall JTM30 210, BWM Chimp MK2

Guitars; Many.

Peter H. Boer

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  • 2* MB-1 1*MP-1 + Jur's old Mod4Mk2
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Sounding awful is also a matter of perspective, and especially of acoustics.
Don't forget that when you record a normal cab, the mic (up close to the speaker) never hears the same sound that you are hearing 3-6 feet away slightly above the cabinet.

A friend of mine makes these http://www.theboxofdoom.com/ (after hearing/seeing my homemade iso-box in my studio) now commercially, and if you're going to see an Opeth or In Flames or Rammstein concert you will be hearing these iso-cabinets only.

Also the famous Wisseloort studios in The Netherlands http://www.wisseloord.nl/track-record/ is using his iso-boxes now  :thumb-up:                   

So it can't be that shabby sounding, can it C:-)

Peter
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Nothing beats MB-1s and MP-1s with MDRTs

http://www.thegrannyattic.com
http://www.Illumion.net
http://www.sote.nl

rnolan

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I suspect it's a matter of how well the iso's are designed, it seems to me that they have their place and can be a very useful tool. Are they better than "analogue" cab sims ? My experience with MP2 says why bother. the analogue cab sim outs are fantastic, as is the ADA GCS-3 in an MP1 loop for direct recording (or as MikeB uses his with MP1 direct into my studio setup, sounds great). Two notes I have no experience of, and I'm currently not a big fan of cloning, not saying it's bad but I still prefer the analogue difference (hence all the the MikeB tests with his MP1 and GSC-3 and TC GMaj etc.), we are both convinced that currently analogue is better and you can hear it, but do you care ?. Obviously El does  :thumb-up: , are isos' the way to go mmm I'm all for an iso kind of room, wavelengths need space to develop/propagate, but if your miking the cone close, then what's the difference ?  All the variables change things/sound in various ways. When your in the burbs you need to keep it down (this is why god invented electric drums LOL, you can turn them down...). In the end, there is nothing like a Huge Stack pumping, everything else is a compromise. I've done the ios thing as in it's (my live rig) all set up in the recording area, I'm connected through to it but in the control room. That works well.
Live, I've decided (without having tried them) I don't want isos' and in ear. The energy works better IMHO when you all are surrounded by good noise/sound. Though totally understand why other ways are "expeditious".
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rnolan

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Hey El, in support of your organic stance (which is also where I tend to come from), this maybe a bit existentialist/string theory, but sound comes before form (this comes from Indian Ayurveda BTW), so quarks are what lot of things (e.g. protons/neutrons/electrons/atoms etc.) are built from. Quarks turn into different things depending on the sound (mantras/chants/SONGS etc.). So I totally get why you'd want to IOS. But squeezing 32' wavelengths into a little box with padding... The MP1/GCS-3 is great for in the home !!, being practical, but sounds great.  To really chase it, you'd do lots of mikes and a reasonable room
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Systematic Chaos

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I understand the advantages of cab simulators, products like the Two Notes (I have the DAW pluggin) and modelers in general BUT I've made a clear effort for the old school way to getting tone live by carefully sellecting the preamp, effects processor, poweramp and speakers... so I want to hear that.

There is no middle ground without compromise....
If that's what you wanna hear go find out the sweet spots for mic placement. Once achieved don't leave it to any further chance and install AmpClamps.
A fire blanket draped over the cabinet can reduce the volume some (even quite noticeably), but if you wanna hear what you said > crank it! ;)
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