My total pleasure.

Great video. Thanks

words of wisdom

great advise.....thanks for sharing!

Amazing vid!

Good suggestions

as a suggestion you can cut holes and use baffles (like ones on barbecue grills or smokers) they have metal and plastic baffles for air flow

Great info Scotty, thank you. Stay safe.

Great video!

Cool vid scott, i heard you can also tune or change the sound by putting insulation in your cab ect...

@AlemTalic Mic placement is crucial....you need it 2 inches in fro. The outer edge of the speaker.

Good info Scott for those that need a lot of bottom end. I have a Fender Deluxe, and of course play mostly country, and have never tried anything like that with my amp, but who knows I might do a little experimenting just for fun, and it cant hurt anything!!

Thank you. I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Scott

Wow, that saved m

Been playing for years w/ open back cabinets. It never occurred to me to try putting it against a wall. Great idea!

There you go. That's the whole point. Do what it takes to try it out before you put a permanent, or semi permanent addition on to your amp. But, yeah...makes for big balls to those open back amps for sure.

My pleasure! That video is posted now. Totally correct way to run your sub! As you know, low frequencies are omni-directional where as the highs and mids are unidirectional, so you can place the sub anywhere and it won't matter, but "corner loading" it is the way to go and will get you a lot more volume out of it. Thanks for posting that. It will help others to know that!

peace

its true!

@groovydjs Ive been doing that ever since i got my gigs. Works well.

I think I could rummage thru that gear and really make an afternoon of enjoying just piecing together amp & cabinets. Those White Marshall amp & cabinets look like they need to be awoken from their quiet state.

100% true. Some cabinets have ZERO insulation in them and others are totally packed with tons of it. I like them insulated and dead as hell. lol Other people like the open sound that the sound of the cabinet provides. Again, that would be like your Marshall cabinets. They are just rumble monsters. I personally like mine tighter and more focused. So, very true, the insulation is a great way to do some dampening, which is a whole different thing, but worth experimenting with.

My total pleasure my friend!

velcro idea is EPIC thanks so simple but no damage to amp

Years ago I learned another trick with speaker cabinet placement regarding it's facing direction, whether it's open or closed back cabinet. Skull Candy actually made the suggestion regarding one of their blue tooth speakers that I had bought at the time. Instead of pointing the speaker at an angle or even in a horizontal line you can set the speaker in the middle of the room & flat on it's back so the speaker faces straight up as vertical orientation. A closed back seems to fill the room like an open back and yet still retain a directional, punchy & tighter bass sound to it. An open back seems to fill the room better & more efficiently that way as ambient sound. Carpeted floors, with all that padding seems to muffle the sound even on a concrete slab, but a hardwood floor or tile, that might produce a sound one may prefer.

thank you

Very good explanation

Yes Scott, This is really important stuff. I use 2 cabs in my live rig. a vertical mesa 2x12 closed back on left and a vertical mesa 2x12 bottem closed and ported and top open on the right.. I have several cabs and use different setups in my studeo..but after years of trying different cab set ups I like this combo the best.

That's a great amp for the Eleven Rack! Very nice amps! That should be an amazing sounding combination. I'd love to hear it.

Thanks buddy. I have a lot of stuff stored up there. Just always putting a bit of it out at a time when people ask me questions. I'd rather answer with a video so that others can know what I know, or think I know. lol

You can totally close up the speaker cabinet section, but you must keep the part opened up by the tubes so that they won't overheat.

I never knew most of this, thanks

You betcha! I have the reverse osmosis going on here at the house. I even use it for filling all of my humidifiers. lol Good for my pores! lol

Thanks, Scott, for the useful info.

That is correct...listen to this man. Never dangle a mic over your amp. Just put it in front of the speaker, point it in towards the cone (yes, it will be at an angle) and about 2 inches in from the outer edge of the voice coil.

man what a great explanation

hey Scott,thanks for the info on closed & open back cabs, I have a crappy old Marshall valvestate 100w 112 combo that has a bunch of effects settings that I like to fiddle about with but I'm a fat old fart with a bad back and its literally a pain in the ass to bend over but when I put the amp up on something to make it easier to reach I lose tons of bass response, & as you know marshalls arn't known for their warmth, but it's what I have to work with right now, would you know any clever tricks?

That's when 3 things can be done. 1. Drummer behing the plexi-glass shield to shut him up. That's why they build them. 2. Electronic drums. They sound better and even better....a master volume knob. 3. Mic your amp and put it through the monitors.

lace helix bass

Thanks buddy. Yeah, just mess around with checking out the tones with the amp different distances from a solid wall. That will answer any possibilities of you wanting to mess with anything. That's a great amp and probably suits you to a T with no mods needed. That is one of the great amps that sounds great when it's doing the natural breakup thing. Plus, it just feels good in your bones when it's rattling like that!

Oh wow, thanks for going to the effort of making a vid on OHMs, Scott! I can't wait to check it out. I'll let you know, but I'm sure it will be great! Re. Bass: Yes, indeed. In one of your previous videos you mentioned bass is felt rather than heard. This is very true. There needs to be contact. It's a good tip for setting up any sound system. I even do it with my TV's surround sound; place the sub in a corner facing into the wall. Works flawlessly.

i like this.thanks.

The cheaper routes for such mixers that provide this much flexibility would be by Behringer, Peavey, Mackie. Better stuff would come from Allen Heath, Yamaha, Soundcraft.

i needed this lol cus im hopefully gonna get a new amp

Half open on the Johnson my friend. It works really nicely. I would like to check out the VYPYR too someday. I have to take a drive to the big city and see what all is new out there. lol

just the rigth information i was searching for, thanks Scott!

You're the man brother !

Thank you buddy. I'm uploading another one right now that goes hand in hand with it all. It's more on the OHMs thing and such. So, since you have the 101 vid. you will be way ahead of the class on the new video. Let me know what you think of it. You are also correct on the surface contact deal. That is why it's a HORRIBLE idea to put wheels on subs. They are SUPPOSED to be 100% in contact with the floor. Some folks wan to make them easier to roll. Get a dolly! lol Cheers! Scott

Very cool! It sounds like you've found YOUR sound and mixing and matching is so often needed. They all have their place for sure. Now if you could only take them to every gig and have a nice switching system to make it all happen. Then, you gotta have the guitar tech to set it all up and tear it down for you. Nobody wants to lug it. lol

I didn't think of your method to add bass with wood. I always found I lost too much bass when elevating amps up on a stand. What I did live was that I kept a heavy cardboard "V" shaped wedge that directed frequencies up only about a couple inches. This was just enough to have double benefit of a stage guitar monitor and guitar sounds for the audience standing between the main speakers. Just my thoughts. THX for all your good videos.

Thanks my friend! I feel pretty. lol What was the old saying? "Love ya dearly, not queerly". lol Actually, I think it knocked a good 10 years or so off of my looks too. I should probably keep this look at my age. No need to rush what is coming up soon enough huh?

ahhh very interesting.......I made a huge rigid very solid pine cabinet with boards I can add or remove on the back.... for different sounds.

Ive got a vox ad30 atm , on practices and jamms, I cant hear my own ass at fkin all, becouse of the drumms , it all just becomes noise... Ill try this, might help...

I have a tube amp,so will it be a bad thing if i completely close up the back of the amp?

Wow! Thank you for the insight! I'm totally going to put a sliding board mechanism on the back of my Vox AC30 so I can tune it to whatever by sliding and locking the board. I'm totally going to replace the back of my cab and port it and use the same slide board mechanism to close and open the ports (keep the old back for resale of course). Now I can get more low note definition when down-tuning! I always knew there was a difference in the sound but didn't truly know why. I ended up using two different amps for different tones: 2x12" combo for clean brightness and a head and closed back Marshall 1960A for heavy distortion. Later I became known for putting the combo on top of the cab and using both for an interesting hybrid, a kind of "washy thunder".

An external closed back cabinet is a good choice for most Fenders if money is tight. 2x12, 4x10, 4x12 cabinets are less expensive than a pile of amps. I love my Twin Reverb and Deluxe Reverb, but for balls, a 2x12 external cabinet serves me very well. Just make sure to match the impedance, especially for tube amps... Great video Scott.

Scott, does the Johnson Millennium have an open back or closed? I have a the Peavey VYPYR amps and they are half open.

Oh I should mention I finally found a perfect amp for my Eleven Rack. It's a Tech 21 Power Engine 60. Absolutely loooove it! Connected via XLR, too, which is a very beautiful thing! It has a 'flat' EQ (although you can adjust lows, mids, and highs like a PA speaker). It is actually an open back amp which I also love for the very reasons you describe in your vid. So much better for clarity. So yes in tone heaven now... from Ace to Zappa! LOL Best wishes, Michael

Just one thing to be aware of when closing the back of a combo. The amp will run hotter. Try it for a while and check that things aren't starting to get too melty inside.

I have a 412 front loaded cab with 4 celestion green backs in it. My amp is a Peavey Bravo 25 tube watts. The amp has a nice clean channel and the amp has a real reverb tank. The gain channel is good too. I want to be able to go from country to a van halen distortion. There is no access panel on the 412. I'm thinking about cutting an oval in the back, do you think it will ruin it?

Well, I didn't know that! You're a one-stop-shop for a multitude of educational events, Mr Grove! ;)

Great video bro

your a genius

Another awesome video, Scott. Also a nice follow up to your Sound Systems 101 vid. I know what you mean by having the 'right' bass frequency. A year ago I picked up one of those horrid roland micro cubes at a garage sale (I tossed it in the trash the next day LOL). Once home I sat it on the floor and noticed just how much bass came out of it. It sounded like crap but it made me realise the effect surface contact can have on an amp.

Easy enough. It will simply require a mixing board with several Auxillary sends. A couple will be used for Effects sends and the others (depending on how many separate monitor mixes you want) will tell you which mixer you'll need. If you have a 6 piece band and EVERYBODY wants their very own monitor mix, you'll need a mixer with 8 AUX. sends per channel. Each send will have to be patched as such, Cord from each aux. send > equalizer > 1 Power amp channel > monitor wedge. Repeat for each.

Hey Scott, do you have any videos on the difference between class A and class AB amps, and if you use tube amps, what the best combination of tubes is to use? Thanks for any info you can pass along.

Of course, that's why you leave that part open like it already is cut out. You are simply enclosing the speaker part of the amp, not the tube part. But, think for a second, you are causing that heat issue if you have that TUBE amp up against a wall. So, gotta use your brain when doing such things.

i am going to try a cardboard back x'D just an experiment i'll let you know that velcro (or how you spell ) tip is super nice!!

I hear you. Don't those Alumitone things suck!?! WOW!

the other day i was rehearsing in a smallish room with band and certain notes i played rattled the shit out of the drum kit. what is professor grove's solution?

been playing for 18 years now. I never thought to put wood behind my open back guitar amp for bottom end before this, coolness.

But... open back / closed back cabinets have different speakers. High compliance or Low Compliance. Ports are put in closed back cabinets to allow the speaker to move correctly with proper dampening. Ports also have to be the correct size for the cabinet/speaker combination or you are actually restricting the movement of the speaker. That is why you get a different sound if you close the back of a cabinet that was designed to be open. The open back high compliance speaker is designed to move in free air. If you close in the cabinet you restrict its movement and will kill your highs since the speaker is not able to move correctly. Partially closing it will give the effect of porting which allows the back pressure to escape and more speaker movement. Since port size is critical to proper dampening that will also change sound. What you are saying is correct in that it will effect the sound. Whether it is good for the speaker amp combination is another issue.

thanks scott this is very informative even though i already knew this i liked the way you explained it i have a fender g dec 15watt amp that wasnt screamy enough for my high pitched leads i play metal billy music i took the back off the amp and it sounded excellent much more responsive than before also i have a bass amp that wasnt thumpy enough it had a small rectangle opening on back so i duck taped it lol so now they sound great one question how do u feel about kustom heads and cabinets im looking to purchase a kustom 4x12 head and cab 120 watt to buy or not to buy that is the question thanks in advance and have a great day

Could you give me some tips on where to start looking for equipment to achieve individual mixes?

Very true. I hear you about those kind of drummers. All power, no technique. It's sad.

LOL, gotta have the balls!

I would be happy to. Is this a rehersal room for a full band or just yourself?

wow!! I have two amps but I always play my little marshal because I like the sound it puts out I also have a fender 4 v2 I don't use it all that much because I think it sounds tinny great clean sound , now I'm going to experiment with it and try to get it sounding like the marshal thanks Dr groovy hey mate if this works I'll be falling in love with you so look out Ms Dr groovy hee hee great stuff 😁

Yeah, I'm doing all kinds of meditating too and just trying whatever self induced mind games I'm instructed to try. What could it hurt huh?

My pleasure my friend. You Tube is full of enough garbage. I try to do my little part to put some truthful an useful things on here. I'm really glad you enjoy my stuff! Scott

You must have some really shitty monitors then because this is how the big boys do it all over the world. So, I'd be looking into a better sound system.

Hey Scott, thanks for the video. I have two almost identical amps in head + 4x12 and 2x12 combo configurations and I noticed what you said, although there are differences in tubes, etc... the bass response is different, so I think you have part or most of the explanation for that. I'll try your suggestions. Doesn't seem like anyone sells custom fit pieces of wood wrapped in matching tolex, but I'm gonna get in touch with an amp builder to make one for me. How much displacement does the fitted back needs to have, roughly? Just a few inches? Based on what you said, the picture I get is kind of like installing a drawer. LOL. :)

Sure enough my friend. You can check out my different rigs here: watch?v=AshF8_WSag8

Yeah, drummers suck. It's so very true. People will ask how many MUSICIANS are in my band and I'll tell them 4, plus a drummer. lol If they can't tastefully keep it down, they need to go. Make them buy the shield, if they won't, then again, time for them to go. They have to be a team player or back to their mom's basement with them. lol

hate when that happens with dodgy power connections

Great video Scott. I really like bass in a blues guitar sound. What you said about the cab doing as much work as the speaker makes sense. I just built a fairly deep 112 closed back cab with a Celestion Blue. I would have never bought a Celestion Blue, but found it at a really good price. It is a great speaker for a low watt amp (really efficient, adds volume and some highs). The cab was really tight and glued everywhere. It sounded fantastic. Then I covered it with tolex, and it seemed to take so much away from my sound. Most would probably want a more dampened sound anyway. I'm planning on putting a hinge on the back and a lid restraint like you see on an old cedar chest to be able to make it as open or closed as I want. I'll let you know if it works. It is a design I saw on a really old amp some years ago, I think it may have been a Univox? I'm typing as I listen to you , and you just mentioned this very thing. Anyway, experimenting. Thanks for posting. Hope you are doing well man.

should i leave the bacon my orange 1x12 cab? i typically like open back sound. by the way i just found out that it has a china made vintage 30. is that bad?

Wow that saved me allot of frustration, thanks Scott! Ps how do you memorize scales?

I'm guitarded

Thanks for the info. I'm looking into a new amp; I've got a couple nailed down but I had no Idea why I liked them. I'm going to look into the Open back/Closed back construction, I didn't even think that would be an issue. Are there any gems from another decade that you can recommend that can blow away newer models for a better price?

LMAO. I hear you my friend. I wish I could shove my belly down to my bottom. I'm tired of my butt hurting when I sit down on the concrete steps and tired of my guitar sticking out 8" farther away from me than it did a few years ago. lol

what do you think about the new Mustang III (V.2) amp

Scott In 2017 what in your opinion is the best affordable budget /Gigging amp right now ?

Yeah, Beethoven with his 120db piano shut his hearing down. lol There are posted SAFE levels of volume all over the Internet, people check those, check your stage volume via a db meter and adjust accordingly. It's that simple. Let your sound system do the heavy duty work, not your stage rigs.

Hi scott. Do you have any opinion on the fender mustang amps? I have a mustang 3 and I like it, but I'm no expert to judge. Thanks.

did the 3 # didnt help a lot, thx tho

Since your're talking amps here, what is your opinion on a 200w Peavey TNT 115 bass combo? I ask because my drummer, knowing I only have a small amp, bought one for me to use at his place, but I have not had a chance to see or hear it yet.

Hii scott, I've got a vox vt40+ (valvetronix) and i find it sounding a little too 'muddy' sometimes. but also i don't want to loze my bottom end since i like playing hardrock and tune to drop c a lot. Do you have any suggestions for me? Is it for example a good idea to change the speaker cover in the front into a metal one or something? (And any suggestions what kind of metal/profile(large/big holes)) I have also borrowed a eq pedal from a friend, but it doesn't really solve it. Thanks a lot and have a groovy day! Patrick

why does acoustic amp uses closed back?

Thanks for the info, Scott! Darn, that looks like a gorgeous Iceman back there :o Have you demoed that one?