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Impact of Amplifier enclosure material on tone


Andre S

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I have a good friend who built custom drums and speaker cabinets. He assures me the material they are made from effects the sound.

 

Some primers

 

http://www.classicalandflamencoguitars.com/Acoustic.htm

 

On Spruce, but still a soft wood (Intellectually advanced)

 

Some good info here, but ou have to look for it

 

 

Hope this helps.

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No, it won't. Keep it as is. It is not designed to be 'upgraded' in any way. So, once again, no...No pine, no spruce, no oak......

 

Hmm....I think I will try the pine, that is why the higher end amps have pine enclosures.

 

Nothing big....just unscrew the board and baffle, screw it in the pine and voila!

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Hmm....I think I will try the pine, that is why the higher end amps have pine enclosures.

 

Nothing big....just unscrew the board and baffle, screw it in the pine and voila!

Ah, you weren't specific on your project idea. I thought you were going to rip the whole thing apart and rebuild it some way. In that case, sure.

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Most brands made them out of plywood (those that spend the big bucks in the product so the costumer is happy) or particle board (those cheap a$$ bastards that don't even care if their amps turn into crap in humid climates), and people are happy with them.

 

Does wood affect tone in them?

 

Yes and no. [biggrin]

Yes, it does affect tone. No, you wouldn't notice.

 

 

I build cabs and have 2 lines: the cheap one for everyone, and the expensive one for those who want something more (real wood and different woods to chose from, different finishes, different wiring, different hardware). Speakers are the same for all cabs. I bet you can guess which one the production line is.

 

Anyway... plywood vs "real" wood.

 

Real wood makes it a lot more expensive.

 

Working with the same speakers and having built cabs of the same size and same everything with only plywood/wood difference, I can tell you there is a slight difference in sound. SLIGHT. [sneaky]

 

Worth the extra $? NOT AT ALL (and as unbelievable as it might sound, I do tell this to customers before they put their order for a cab made of amarillo, pine, or whatever wood they chose).

 

Is the customer way more satisfied: YES! But I think it's just because of what I call the SNOB SYNDROME. They feel better players 'cause they spent big bucks in something "most people won't be able to afford" (so it must be way better eh?)

 

 

 

 

 

OK rant over... now to the way amps are built today.

 

Amps are built and put in the market after an extensive research has been made to ensure they will be at least mediocre enough to sell and make a profit for the company.

 

Can most of us tell the difference between a mediocre amp and a 10K tone monster? NO

 

Ask all the guys who love Dime's tone in cowboys from hell and say that's pure tube distortion [tongue]

 

All those li'l amps you see around that have a brand and are mass produced are built in such a way that they will probably sound their best the way they are. Change 1 thing and you'll take from the amp.

 

Ok, make a new cab made of real wood, put in a new speaker, change the tubes to NOS tubes (or whatever's fancy on amp forums), and upgrade all caps and of course, the output tranny, that's where tone resides [thumbup]

 

Whit what that costs you could have just bought a better amp. :rolleyes:[thumbup]

 

With the time spent in such a task you could have tweaked your better amp's EQ to your likings. [thumbup]

 

BUT... if you did all of that, then congratulations, you've learnt how to build an amp. And of course, you paid fender/vox/marshall/anyone else amp price for a PCB you could use to assemble all your fancy stuff.

 

 

 

What to do before all of that: get a sm57, record yourself playing born to be wild or whatever song you fancy.

What to do after you've done all the mods: with the same sm57 placed the same way (from the speaker's point of view) and with the same EQ settings you used on your POS amp, record yourself playing the same song.

 

Now put it in 2 different CDs, mark the original amp as "kick *** amp" and the new design as "POS" and tell your GF or any friend to play them for you without saying which one they are playing.

 

They (who have read the label) will tell you the POS was a real POS.

You won't really know which one is which one, asuming you even notice a difference between the 2.

 

You'll now have the means to build your own amps and sell them at a really high price, 'cause it takes time and money when you are not a big time company, especially if you hope to have an ad on Guitar One or such magazines.

 

 

 

 

Ok... ok, if you read this far you deserve a +1 [thumbup]

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Ah, you weren't specific on your project idea. I thought you were going to rip the whole thing apart and rebuild it some way. In that case, sure.

 

Whaaat?

 

Naw thats crazy talk.

 

I have some spare pine so maybe sometime over the holidays I'll get around to it.

 

Maybe I'll build it a little bigger to accomodate an 8" speaker.

 

Unfortunately I only have 50" of pine and the box size now is 48.

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I have a good friend who built custom drums and speaker cabinets. He assures me the material they are made from effects the sound.

 

Some primers

 

http://www.classicalandflamencoguitars.com/Acoustic.htm

 

On Spruce, but still a soft wood (Intellectually advanced)

 

Some good info here, but ou have to look for it

 

 

Hope this helps.

 

Very cool links Chan, Thanks. [thumbup]

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