Open Back VS Closed Back Guitar Cabs | Guitar Check | Thomann
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- Опубліковано 22 лип 2024
- Does it really matter if a cab is open or closed? Is it a different experience in the room compared to the close mic'd sound? Let's find it out together. :)
Gear used: tho.mn/rfz2e
Recorded in Presonus Studio One: bit.ly/S1Pro6
Recorded and mixed with Universal Audio: tho.mn/uadx1
Monitors optimised through Sonarworks: tho.mn/sonar
Interesting bits and pieces:
0:00 Introduction
1:40 Comparison | Close mic | Closed VS open back
3:00 OH MY GOSH
4:05 Comparison | Room mic | Closed VS open back
4:59 Our thoughts
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I preferred the Open back in all instances. The notes seemed more open and less muffled, to my ears at least.
Agreed however if you doing hard rock the closed back has more balls.
A cool trick with open back is you can also mic from behind. Make sure to flip the phase though. ☝️🤓
You should mic it from the back if you are recording, it can completely make the sound.
It saved a metal band i recorded who only had a small Marshall DSL40 combo which was open back, logically i miced it front and back, flipped the phase and it sounded unreal for only being a 1x12.
You dont hear that much difference because the amp is close to the wall, if you put it far from a wall there is a loooot of difference between closed and open
Happy Birthday Kris! I love the sound of the closed back - sounds more focused
Thanks a lot man! ☺️ Yeah closed backs tend to be really tight, no wonder rockers stick to it for such a long time. 🙌 Cheers //Kris
I'll be the first to say I preferred the closed back. It was darker and heavier to my ears.
I'm contemplating screwing a chunk of plywood to the back of my combo to see it it makes it loud enough to play with a drummer.
I have the revv 1x12 cab. I will try open cab soon. Btw Kris. I got a t syle guitar now. A strandberg 😅. I like it alot. And of. Happy bday
Yes, of course it matters, and yes of course they sound different. For direct listening, I generally prefer open back, because the phase cancellations add dimension to the sound, but sometimes, the more coherent and dry sound of a closed back cabinet is what you might want. And there's nothing that says you can't mix the two types.
Exactly! A nice mix of both gives you the best of both worlds. Cheers //Kris
Gemma, I'm with you and Burnt Gerbil on this regarding putting a mic on the back of the speaker with an open-back cab. The opposite phase sound waves radiating off the back of your speaker can be used for interesting 'doubled' guitar sounds in your live mix or recorded tracks. Assuming you have sufficient extra channels available on the board.
our bass player and I went through this several years ago. Running 100 wat tube amps. We built three pairs of cabs . Each with four 10 inch eminence speakers and three with a 15 inch cabs. One open set one closed set and one closed set where we obsessed with behind the speaker cubic inch space according to speaker manufacturers direction with padding to reduce sound pollution between each speaker. Our conclusion was in small venues it depended on what type of music we played. In larger spaces it was irrelevant as inhouse amps or event equipment ruled. We play blues and at home or small space we like 10 inch folded cabs with both 3 tube and solid state preamps on the peddle board. For guitar I run closed back 60s Trainer amp and cab. It what I started with and there's nothing else. I had to replace the speakers and went Celestion.
Open back crates allow the sound to be free and sustain out if you will, the closed ones are direct and personal and sustain inward. Both linger and sustain sound in different ways. The mid back crates .. you get the idea. I personally prefer the open ones.
Could you make a comparison with a closed back 212 cabinet, but only with one speaker in it? I have read about this in a forum and such a ported cab is said to be louder as a filled 212. Curios how the sound would be.
Personally, for my rig, I prefer open back. Thanks for the upload guys. You both rock.
Thanks a lot buddy! Yeah, the player's experience is very different when using open or closed cabs. Even though a lot doesn't come through a close mic it's still very different in the room. Cheers //Kris
apart from a practice amp my other 3 amps are open back, the only amps I have heard in person that are closed back are non valve and they dont interest me much apart from the modelling amps
A closed back cabinet can become an open back easily, an open back is more difficult to close if needed because of the measures, is not intended to be closed so it's not guaranteed that the volume of the enclosure produce proper results. So the optimal solution is get a closed back and open or close it depending con the context ;)
I literally closed my eyes during the audio runs, and even though it is very subtle (and even less noticeable in a full mix) I think the closed-back cab would work best for a recording situation
Isn’t the open back more of a wider room reverb type sound? To my ear it’s a space and reverb difference
I didnt watched yet the clip but i can say: it matters. I dont know if it does something with recording, live situations ore things like thag but for me as a bedroom guitarist it does a lot with the overall sound in my bedroom 🙂✌️ i tried it with two identical practice amps..one with the back plate on and on the other inscrewd the plate off. Without the backplate the sound was more open in the room. But i am not a music tech ..so what do i know? 😅
Which amp were you using?
There is a drastic difference, even close miced it's noticeable! And personaly i like the open cabs for the last 50 years 😄 it's more "open" "airy" if you know what i mean... 🖖
I play a tele, and thought the strat sounded better with the open back. The Les sounded a little cleaner on the open, but way thinner? So, I will go with the close back on the Les.
Open back is even more noticeably different when you have a cabinet that is tuned to be open back. But good experiment all the same. Personally, I prefer open back on combo amps
Francis sounds great!
If I have an open back i usually add a panel to make it closed. It seems more responsive. The speaker is important factor for determining closed/open.🤘
I use a 2 x12 closed, and a 2 x10 open cab together
I agree :) half open - primo❤
With open back, the sound in the room also depends quite a bit to the distance at the back between the cab and walls (and also of the angle of the cab wrt the wall... You will get a very different sound with an open back in a corner of a room vs in the middle).
Very good point! The room plays a much bigger role in the experience when playing an open cab. You definitely need room mics though, if you want to capture any of that. 👍 Cheers //Kris
Sealed for bass!!! I prefer running a sealed 412 and an open back 212 to get a good blend of both worlds.
I’m really interested in the bareface custom vented cabs.
Best of both worlds. YES! 100% agree Poo! //Kris
thats what i do!!
Back in my day ... the 'late 60's' (small gigs, pre-stack), we played with 'open back' combos. Selmer / Vox. As the gigs got bigger and 'stacks' became available, the Drummers (yep - those guys), insisted we play 'closed back' as they often complained they couldn't hear the vocal if there were 'open back' cabs in the line. That is (perhaps?), why they got the reputation of playing too loud? P.A. systems were an afterthought at that time, and didn't really show up until the '70's. The moral to this story? Never ask a Drummer.
Haha, don't trust the drummer! 😆 Love the morals here. But actually that's a good point. Sometimes you want the projection purely to the front and sometimes you want to fill that room. Important thought indeed. 👍 Cheers //Kris
I can't decide and run a Greenback in a closed 1x12 combined with an open back loaded with a Red Coat Private Jack...best of both worlds 🤭
Hey Kris,
Ich wünsche dir viel glück, gesundheit und erfolg im neuen lebensjahr 🎉😂
You Rock 👍
Aww 1000 Dank! 🙌 Es ist immer schön dich hier zu sehen. Ciao //Kris
open back sounds a bit more diffused and phasy slightly. I like Closed back for more punch and tigher bass
Definitely a difference.
Interesting
Closed Back sounds best for sure closed miking - much tighter and fuller.
Open Back sounds better in the room - Louder, looser bottom, more opened and less directional.
You could argue that:
- Heavier sounds would benefit from the tight, fuller and direct response of closed cabs (especially live to minimize the bleed)
- Cleaner sounds would benefit from the openess and airyness of open back cabs.
Both are geat for different uses I guess
Open back sounds more organic and dynamic
It sounds sharper, more definied to my ears
Hört mal jungs ihr müßt mal mit dem herrn Francis reden, man hört überall einen glasklaren unterschied zwischen open und closed back außer in der zweiten runde von 4.07 bis 4.30 . Ist da was schief gelaufen oder wie ? Plötzlich ist alles verdreht, bei closed back hört man mehr highend und bei open back mehr lowend, Ich hab extra nochmal geschaut ob er da vielleicht seinen fiffi auf hatte aber nixda 🤷♂️
The open back with the single coils sounded brighter and more articulate whereas on the open back using humbuckers sounded thinner and not as clear or cleaner sounding. Overall, I preferred the Strat tones on both closed and open over the Gibson. Kris, have a great day and enjoy your birthday.
Chris
Best comment!
I feel like the open cabs have slightly more note definition.
As a bass player I prefer the more controlled sound on the close, more focused and surgical, specially if you have a guit player heavy handed on the volume (as most actually are 🙄).
For myself I use a ‘68 Orange Matamp with 2 huge cabs 2X15 spider greenback, CLOSED!
I fully agree Alex! On both things. Closed cab for bass, yes. Guitarists are (too) loud, also yes. 😅
//Kris
@@ThomannsGuitarsBassesThanks Kris, BTW I bought a DB meter as yours and (stage apart) I point him to it avoiding discussions 😂
Anyways if he pisses me off the last resource is usually a retaliation with the infinite headroom of my nasty Orange 🙂
Open back for me 😃
When playing at home you get more from open back. When in a band situation? The low end needs to disappear! Projection
I agree with you Mike, an open back sounds wider in a room which gives you a pleasing tone. On stage it's a different story. That depends on the band and style. Cheers //Kris
@@ThomannsGuitarsBasses , good to hear from you Kris. Bill never answers. And a good morning to you too pal 😂
Humbuckers with gain = closed back. Single coils cleaner sounds = open back.
I prefer open backs, as it is lighter.
Haha, fair point! :) I can only agree. //Kris
Les Paul sounded amazing, but he should have stepped on it a bit and got some air moving instead of stroking it like a baby bird lol.
Open back was more full range sounding, but only by a very little. With a band or with other instruments, it probably makes no difference.
Bose headset says, open back low end is fuller
I thought the difference in tone was rather small actually. So I think it's not a matter of one being better then the other but rather just personal preference.
honestly, I did Not hear any difference between the open and closed back cab. I think this is because the cab is closed to the wall. They should have done this video with the cab far from the walls.
"Is there even a difference?" That part is obvious hope...
Here are my findings that I learned not from the video but from actual live playing and studio recording:
Closed back = better bass response, better frequency projection, more focused mids.
Open back = more air, "roomy" sounding, less bass, a bit softer on the high end.
Applications:
Closed back = ballsier, for heavier genres of music OR if you play funk guitar, which needs tight response, holds better in the mix, better suited for studio recordings
Open back = creamier, for blues, alternative, R&b, also better suited for practice sessions of if you want to record a more unique-sounding guitar solo that might benefit from spatial effects (delay, reverb, panning etc. - a la David Gilmour for example)
So no, I don't think it's about personal preference, but about the type of tool best suited for the job.
Closed back definitely sounds better for the gain. Clean I like the open back…. But who the hell plays clean 🤷🏽♂️🥸😄
Not much of a difference either way. Impressive. That being said, I prefer an open back for practice and recording
Open back for guitar. Closed back for bass
I will probably go to hell for this, but I prefer the ML mesa 412 OS IRs running on my Quad Cortex. 😇🤓🤐😬 The difference was… … let’s just say two consecutive farts sound more different.
Doesn't Matter
-Jim Lee
I’ve seen so many people demo the difference between open and closed back cabs who only use a close mic for the demo and I always shake my head. Yeah, sure there will be some difference that way, but the whole reason to choose open or closed is how it sounds *in the room*.
Closed back was definitely more dynamic and lively
"No Difference"
there is a huge difference in the room when you are playing with the amp. In recording its slightly less important but I still hear a difference in bass tightness etc.
Close back sounded a hell of a lot better, especially on the les paul