Improving your bedroom amp & Cab set up? Hacks tips &

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Fri Feb 10, 2012 1:16 pm

Bit of a wooly remit this thread.... Essentially I'm looking for general and specific suggestion about tweaking my current bedroom set up. I have Willin's old Blackstar HT-5 and 1x12 inch Orange cab.

Played at lowish volumes the sound is very flat, possibly lacking in a rounded bottom (missus). If I bash a MBM Saltbooster in the mix I get instant 3d projection form the sound - like the preverbial wet cloth has been taken of the cab grill. Now of course that doesn't leave me with much of an actuall issue per se but I'm really interested in is what other things can help this along and optimise the sound as-is, with particular refernce to getting that '3d projection' or whatever you call that? 2x12? Speaker angle? Speaker isolation from the floor? Tweaking the amp with different valves?? (I hear Tung SOl are really rated in these amps). Amps are my blind spot as far as guitars go.

One thing I have done is open up the cab and have gone over every single screw and joint and made sure everything is super tight - especially the speaker which was rather loose in the mount. The second thing I'm considering is hotrodding the slightly underwhelming EQ on the amp by buying an MXR 10 band eq and sticking that in the loop. What other tricks, tips, hacks, science can you bring to this set up. Can be as sensible or far out mojo as you like: I want to tinker because I LOVE tinkering with the minutia of guitar set up.

Thom · Post by **Thom** » Fri Feb 10, 2012 2:10 pm

Dave wrote:I have Willin's old Blackstar HT-5 and 1x12 inch Orange cab.

Ah nice! They were mine originally.
Not sure whether it will achieve what you are looking for but have you thought about turning the cab into an open backed one?
I always find that things sound much better with an open backed cab at home volumes, with the additional sound dispersion.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Fri Feb 10, 2012 4:01 pm

Haha a fine pedigree then! thanks for the tip Thom, i shall give it a bash this weekend.

SGJarrod · Post by **SGJarrod** » Fri Feb 10, 2012 9:09 pm

Thom wrote: Not sure whether it will achieve what you are looking for but have you thought about turning the cab into an open backed one?
I always find that things sound much better with an open backed cab at home volumes, with the additional sound dispersion.

Wise words these are.....My Orange ppc212 open back is the best home cab ever

Haze · Post by **Haze** » Sat Feb 11, 2012 5:06 am

Open Orange 212 is spot on. A mate of mine has one, he's had a tiny terror, rocker 30 and a mesa dual rec. Every amp he or i had sounded amazing through that cab, my Bassman 50 could really grind through that thing, and if we wanted more bass we would put it in a corner.

Freddy V-C · Post by **Freddy V-C** » Sat Feb 11, 2012 11:15 am

Going against the grain here, but I've actually found that smaller speakers give more of an impression of '3D projection' at lower volumes. Until recently I hadn't had a practice amp for a few years, so I always just used my Tiny Terror at low volumes. It never seemed to shine to as much of an extent as it did (and still does) at gig and practice volumes, even on the 7 watt setting, and I've tried it through a 2x12, 1x12 and 1x15 cab. Now for home usage I have a Vox Pathfinder Bass 10, which has two 5 inch speakers and is open back, and it sounds super punchy even at low volumes. Small cabs = moar toans.

Haze · Post by **Haze** » Sat Feb 11, 2012 7:18 pm

I use a bit of reverb and a low mixed dynamic delay on all the time (well, not ALL the time)
luckily the Bassman and my closed/SUPER sturdy 212 already has that '3d' thing going on.
/trying not to use mojo words

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Sun Feb 12, 2012 11:39 pm

Good suggestions y'all, I'll try taking off the back at first see how that goes. I notice open backs usually aren't totally open so might DIY the back similar to the PPC212, but only after I've finished paying Willin for it

I am tempted by the 2x12 open back...mightily so., maybe buy another 1x12 and do an STACK

laterallateral · Post by **laterallateral** » Sun Feb 12, 2012 11:44 pm

Haze wrote:low mixed dynamic delay

the ticket ^^^

Thom · Post by **Thom** » Mon Feb 13, 2012 9:48 am

Dave wrote:Good suggestions y'all, I'll try taking off the back at first see how that goes. I notice open backs usually aren't totally open so might DIY the back similar to the PPC212, but only after I've finished paying Willin for it

I am tempted by the 2x12 open back...mightily so., maybe buy another 1x12 and do an STACK

If you do open it up, then would recommend you make a new back for it with a couple of bits of wood and just keep the existing one in case you want to sell it.
I had the 2x 1x12 stack at one point and it was pretty cool. Never got round to opening one of them up, am sure that that would have improved things a lot. Ended up getting the PPC2x12OB instead, which is perfect for me.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Mon Feb 13, 2012 2:32 pm

Thom would you say the 2x12 OB was significant improvement over the stack? Was the main differemce the opened up sound you've mentioned or any other factors?

Thom · Post by **Thom** » Mon Feb 13, 2012 2:41 pm

Dave wrote:Thom would you say the 2x12 OB was significant improvement over the stack? Was the main differemce the opened up sound you've mentioned or any other factors?

I like it better for sure. Though half of that could probably be down to the open sound. Imagine that if you open up one of the 1x12 then it would sound pretty great alongside a closed one. I think that the 2x12 just sounds better as it's a bigger cab so sounds less boxy and has better/more bass.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Mon Feb 13, 2012 2:57 pm

Thanks, given the concensus love for this cab i think I'll go that route but will need to save first (new ruelz: no credit cardz). Good idea on getting some wood cut for the amp back, I'll go down that route first.

Okay what about other aspects of Cab set up: Anyone played around with 'decoupling' (like you would with hi fi speakers) or otherwise raising or angling the cabs? The orange comes with wooden skis to deliberately couple it to the 'stage' for bass response but in context of home play that's not too kind for the neighbours. Currently mine is on a pseudo de-coupler for this reason...just a pad made by a folded duvet and a wooden shelf on which the amp sits. (teh flatness issue pre-exists this set up so it's not caused by my de coupling before anyone points this out)

Also positioning? I'm pretty much limited to a slightly out of the way corner of the room really...what are peoples preferred placement (if any)?

batsbrew · Post by **batsbrew** » Mon Feb 13, 2012 5:23 pm

the rig:

guitar goes to the pedalboard, with the requisite overdrive, compressor, noise gate, tuner, wah and vibe....

that goes into a 1981 Mesa Boogie Mark2B 60 watt short shell head....

out of that, directly into the Palmer PDI-09, which is how i capture the sound that goes on the recording, at line level.

out of the palmer thru a parallel out, into a Weber Mass Lite attenuator, so i can bring the cabinet volume down for monitoring or micing, at either whisper or screaming volume.

out of the Mass Lite, into a AVATAR vintage closed back cab, with a Celestion Heritage G12.

i can mic that cab using either a sm57, or a AT4033 or Shure KSM44, and blend it with the direct Palmer sound, or just use the Palmer signal.

A Yamaha DG stomp effects pedal, is in the effects loop of the boogie, which is great live, but i never use it for recording..

i always record bone dry, and add effects at mix down.

the way i record with it tho, the palmer pdi-09 comes directly off of the amp output, BEFORE the weber sees it, and that's what goes to the mixer.

the weber then attenuates, and i have the option of micing the cab at that point, so the direct sees full output, the cab sees the attenuated output.
i can control the 'monitoring' volume at any volume up to full output (60 watts is pretty freakin' loud)......

or i can crank down on the attenuator, and record the boogie at full output, but at whisper volume.
i'd prefer an isolation room with a wide open cabinet, but alas, the landlord does not like that sound.

LOL

Gabriel · Post by **Gabriel** » Mon Feb 13, 2012 5:48 pm

^

That is a cool set up.

At home I always sit my amps on an amp stand, precisely to stop the bass frequencies pissing off the family. But live I always sit them on the ground (for the bass response/dials on the top are a pain when the amp is up high). At home I always try to get the speaker aimed directly at my head/ears, at lower volume I've always found this more pleasing, plus I'm not trying to fill the room like I would be live.

SGJarrod · Post by **SGJarrod** » Mon Feb 13, 2012 6:07 pm

Dave wrote: Also positioning? I'm pretty much limited to a slightly out of the way corner of the room really...what are peoples preferred placement (if any)?

i always put mine about a foot from a wall in my basement.......... if u want more low freq, put the back against the wall.... I always leave mine coupled to the floor as well

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Wed Feb 15, 2012 2:45 pm

THOM! Just did an experiment and removed the back entirely. Instantly a more open sound without the saltbooster. I reckon I can do a bit more with it by angling it up so that sitting or standing its pointing at my ears, but just that one change alone has made low volumes much better. Really impressed.

I've been searching around for retail head/cab stands or diy plans and not found much. This one looks ideal:

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Thom · Post by **Thom** » Wed Feb 15, 2012 2:53 pm

Sweet!!! Glad it sounded good. That stand looks like it will do the job.

SGJarrod · Post by **SGJarrod** » Wed Feb 15, 2012 4:39 pm

Dave...if u find a place to buy a stand like that or even DIY plans please let me know....Really glad the OB its working for u...

I have always ran open back cabs for this reason...the only issue u may have is if u ever try to mic it up to record its a tiny bit trickier that a CB

Cagethelephant · Post by **Cagethelephant** » Wed Feb 15, 2012 8:16 pm

My fender twin pro has the legs that fold out and angle it towards your head/ears and I find it sounds much better that way. I usually put my combos on top of a roadcase to elevate them because if not the will shake the house! I prefer my bass to be through a straight 4x12 cab I like the way it sounds alot better than through a bass cab

Improving your bedroom amp & Cab set up? Hacks tips &

Improving your bedroom amp & Cab set up? Hacks tips &

Re: Getting more '3d projection' from bedroom amp set up?

Re: Getting more '3d projection' from bedroom amp set up?