Musician Gear & Tech Discussion

I have an amp that I like a lot, but the cabinet is beyond bad.

I have another amp by the same manufacturer, the difference is that the first is an open back cab and the second a closed back cab.

I measured the chassis space et al and it's identical.

They both use the same size speaker and are both the same ohm impedance.

Can I switch the cabs and have something more sturdy, preferably better sounding? The speakers are a non-issue and I consider them to be identical.

Worse comes to worse, I'd switch the speakers as well if needed.

I am just worried that when I get this chassis into a closed back cab, I may get a sound that is undesirable or some other negative effect.

Anyone know anything/have experience with this>?

I assume the open-back is a combo amp? Is the closed-back just a cabinet? Both tube amps?
Closed back can give a tighter sound overall - no more low frequency bouncing out of the back. But it does bounce around inside, loosening up tubes, tube sockets, etc etc. Of course the advantage to an open back tube amp is that you can get to the tubes to change them and that the heat can dissipate a little.

Yes, both combos..and yes both tube amps.

The closed back cab is still easily accessible to change tubes etc.

What say ye now? lol

Am I pissing up a rope or what?

I'll sweeten the deal.
The closed back combo cab I want to switch to has wheels as well.

(ow my back)

My experience with cabs. open back tend to feedback when placed to close to a wall. You can fix that problem by placing the amp on an amp stand and tilt it back. I really have never liked open back they just sound weird to my ear. I play mostly rock music. A couple of years ago I bought a Mesa rectifier cabinet it has 2 vintage 30 12 inch speakers and is closed back. I can tell you now I will NEVER play with any other cabinet again. It does not matter what TUBE amp I connect to it they all sound punchy every note of every chord is articulated it just has that Marshall sound that I like. I even unplugged the speaker in my Crate Palamino V32 and plugged it to that cabinet. I did this because we were playing on the beach and I didn't want to expose the V3M or the Mesa head to all that sand. I'll tell you when I cranked that bad boy up. I was in TONAL BLISS its like the GODS wanted me to have the sound I always yearned for! Needless to say the band had a VERY GOOD NIGHT

All my combo amps are open back . . . so I really have no experience in comparison.

I would be concerned with heat dissipation issues taking a system from open to closed environment.

But then that's just an assumption.

I tend to play heavier rock and a closed back just gets the "thunk" that I like and goes with the territory.

My little combo is open backed, but I like to put it thru a 4x12.

When I was doing more clean sounding material, or bluesy material, I tend to prefer open back.

I have used both in Aint Yo Mama, and honestly I dont know if someone in the audience would really detect the difference, the open back is cool if you are unmiced in a lower volume situation, because the closed back cab tends to develop its sound further away. When standing by my 4x12 I dont really hear it that loudly, but move 20-30 feet in front of it, and it really comes to life, whereas the open back seems a lot louder up close, but loses its punch when you mover further in front of it.

Just my 2 cents, both have thier place as far as Im concerned.

I think you have to take in consideration what style of music is the dominant things you are going after, if its hard rock/metal then I think closed back is the way to go, if it is more open and clean sounding then I think the open back is probably better, just a matter of personal taste.

I use both. Open back is more of a stage filling sound with lots of bounce and reflections. The down side is a more unfocused (sometimes flappy) bottom. Closed back is very focused with a tight controlled bottom. The down side is it is focused like a laser beam so if you point it at your knees you will often play too loud for the band or the room.

I just always point one speaker at my guitar to get the most out of the interaction between speaker, strings, and tone woods. It also helps to keep my volume matched to the band.

If you don't listen to a stereo with open back speakers, it would make sense that open back amps would sound awkward.

If you don't listen to a stereo with open back speakers, it would make sense that open back amps would sound awkward.

I think it's more complicated than that PD. Most of us probably listen to "bass reflex" or ported stereo speakers. The size of the cab and the port tunes the bass response. An open back guitar cab is a "bass reflex" design with a large rear port. A closed back guitar cab is an "infinite baffle" design with no port. You can buy infinite baffle stereo cabs but good ones are usually really big.

In using both types, it really seems to me it is more about how tightly focused you want the sound. Fender Deluxe, Twin, and Super Reverb are all open back designs and sound great. Vox, Orange and Marshall are typically closed back and sound great. Thousands of amazing live performances have been done with each type and there is no "best". Only what works best for you.

Only what works best for you.

Very true.

I have a cab with some Celestion g12m-70's in it.
I was thinking of replacing them until I ran into an old friend that has a newer cab with vintage 30's in it. Those vintage 30's were what I waas going to replace the 70's with.

He asked me if I wanted to come over and give them a test drive.
I shrugged and did so.

Long story short, I didn't like em. People rave about greenbacks and vintage 30's. I just didn't like them at all, either of them.

But it did show me that I do prefer those G12m-70's, made in the UK.

They give me exactly what I want and expect, I just didn't know until I got to try out the others.

(Hint: Do not replace any speaker until you get to try out in real time the speaker(s) you are considering replacing. You might be surprised, I know I was.)

Build the amp into a head, you can use it with either, and even hook it to an A/B switch and see which one sounds better.

I have a Super Reverb that's an open back, and a Peavey MX head I run through a 1967 Kustom 2x12. I like both, but with the Super Reverb I do have to be careful or the bass becomes flabby. With the MX it's good, but I have a hard time getting enough bass to suit me, the amp just doesn't have a great bass response and I've never seen anything about a mod to swap out a capacitor and give it a bit more low end. As is, it never gets enough bass till I turn it up enough it's too much for most club gigs. Then it really punches out the bass, but it tends to be really loud...It will match a 100 watt Marshall tube stack with room to spare...but then at 130 watts, it should...

The Super Reverb was the opposite when I got it, the thing had way too much bass, boomy and uncontrollable. Put the Bass knob on 2 and it was out of control...lower and it didn't have much at all. Like farting in a cardboard box...(no I've never actually done that...) Once I looked up some modding info online I was able to tame that, now it sounds excellent.

I prefer the sound of a open back cab for the Grateful Dead stuff but like a closed back Marshall Cab for rock and original stuff.
This is my Dead rig ..... I like the 1 x 12 the most ....the Commonwealth speaker is great .....
Custom cabs are the way to go .... Birch .....

I've used both. Mostly 412 cabs which are always closed back but all of the combos I've owned through the years have been open back. I made a 212 cab little while ago that is open back because I have alnico speakers in it and they tend to sound better in open back cabs. I made it 14" deep too so it has a lot of thump to it, especially if it's 8 - 10 inches from a wall. I also put a center baffle in it so I can run it stereo for wet/dry/wet, straight up mono up or wet/dry. It pairs nicely with my Tweaker. I'm going to cover it to match the head.