We all know how much of an impact the electric guitar you choose to play has on your sound – and even on the way you play. And who could deny how much the overdrive, distortion, and effects pedals you use (or don’t use) define your tone? Though it’s near the end of the chain, your amplifier also contributes a major percentage of your overall tone. At the very end of the chain are the speakers your amp drives – the physical elements that actually convert your guitar’s amplified electrical signal into sound waves for your ears to enjoy. Which speaker you use – be it Celestion, Jensen, ElectroVoice, or one of the many others that are on the market – contributes a great deal to the sound you create and to the way your ax “feels” when you play it.
But let’s explore another factor in your sound: the cabinet or cabinets that house the speaker drivers. The type, construction, configuration, and number of cabinets all make a difference in your tone. And this applies whether you’re using a separate head and cabinets or a combo – or, my new favorite, a combination of an open-back combo and a closed-back cabinet. First off, let’s get a few quick definitions out of the way:
- Head – a unit containing the preamp and power amp electronics for a guitar amplifier, but with no integrated speakers. A head must be connected to an extension cabinet in order to make sound.
- Combo – a guitar amplifier that combines the preamp and power amp electronics with speakers, built into one unit. No extension cabinet is required.
- Cabinet or Extension Cabinet – an enclosure containing speakers, but no amplifier electronics.
- Open back – a type of cabinet where the speakers are not sealed into the enclosure. The sound from the speakers can emerge from both the front and the unsealed or open back of the cabinet.
- Closed back – a type of cabinet where the speakers are sealed into the enclosure. Because the back of the cabinet is sealed, sound is only free to emerge from the front of the cabinet.
- Port – an opening in the front of a cabinet that allows some sound that would normally escape from the back of the cabinet to be routed out the front, where it combines with the sound coming from the front.
- 1×10″, 1×12″, 2×10″, 2×12″, 3×10″, 4×10″, 4×12″ – examples of cabinet speaker configurations, listing the number and the size of the speaker drivers the cabinet contains.
WHY ADD A CABINET?
There are many reasons why you might want to add an extension cabinet to your amp rig. Clearly, you’re not going to get very far with an amp head and no speaker cabinet – you’ve got to have a speaker cabinet in that situation. But adding an extension cabinet to a combo amp can also make a big difference. A cabinet can be used to fine tune your tone (for example, add a bassier cabinet for more low end), to help you spread or disperse the sound around (put a cabinet on each side of the drum riser for more coverage, rather than placing both on the same side of the riser), to add volume (more on this below), to compensate for shortcomings in your existing rig (add a closed-back cabinet to your open-back combo for tighter low end), and to give you more flexibility (choose among several different cabinet types to match your rig to your needs or your current gig, without changing your amplifier).
CHOOSING THE RIGHT CABINET
Which cabinet you choose can have a great deal of effect on the sound; let’s look at some of the factors that go into determining the sound of a speaker cabinet:
Type – whether it has an open back or a closed back, the cabinet type will make a big difference in its tone. A closed-back cabinet will have tighter low end and more thump. But an open-back cabinet will often have a more open, chimey sound. Beyond just tonal differences, an open-back cabinet puts out sound in pretty much all directions, whereas a closed-back model pushes almost all of its sound out the front. This can make a difference, depending on your situation. For example, you can use walls to your advantage with an open-back cabinet – place it close to the wall for a bass boost. On the other hand, a closed-back model may be much more practical outdoors, where there are no walls to bounce sound back to the audience.
Musical Style – the style of music you play will be a big factor in your decision. Country music, for example, often relies on open-back combo amps. If you’re trying to spread your sound out with extension speakers, it might make sense to choose open-back designs. For heavy metal, closed-back cabs are pretty much the rule.
Configuration – the number of speakers plays a big part in defining the sound of your cabinet. Multiple speakers tend to “couple” and reinforce bass frequencies. More speakers will also add more volume, though not as much as you might think; for example, adding a second speaker to a single-speaker rig will result in a 3dB boost (if everything else remains constant). As a loose rule, a 1×12″ configuration will give you a focused sound, while a 2×12″ will add size and depth to the tone. A 4×10″ will add even more size and depth, while opening up the top end a bit. For maximum girth and bottom end, it’s hard to beat a 4×12″ (or two 4×12″ cabs in a stack).
Speakers – the drivers, or speakers, in your cabinet play a big role in creating your tone. The size of the speakers (10″, 12″, etc.) matters a lot, as does the power handling and the construction of the speakers. In fact, some manufacturers offer cabinets loaded with mismatched speakers (two different sizes and/or types), to achieve a particular sound. Fortunately, it’s not hard to swap out the speakers in most combos and cabinets, so you can experiment with different types, as you please. In general, the larger the speaker, the fatter the sound and the more bottom end you will have available.
Size – just as the size of the speakers you play through has an effect on your sound, so too does the size of the cabinet holding those speakers. There’s no way around physics; a bigger cabinet (with more internal volume or air space) will produce a bigger sound if all other things are equal. While today’s small cabs can crank out surprisingly big noise, in most cases, you still need cabinet volume to get massive tones. But size (and weight) also determines portability and practicality. If you’re traveling to a low-volume gig on a postage-stamp-sized stage, and you’re using a subcompact car to get around, then you might want to pass on a massive 8×12″ cabinet! And for the studio, smaller cabinets can sometimes sound substantially bigger than you’d think when they are properly miked up and recorded.
POWERFUL QUESTIONS
But what about power? Does the output of the amp have to match the cabinet? Should the cabinet be rated for higher power than the amp? Do you need a certain amount of power from the amp to drive a speaker?
The amount of power a speaker cabinet can handle is determined by the combined power-handling ability of the speakers it contains. So, if you have a 4×12″ cabinet, where each speaker can handle 25 watts, then the overall power handling for the cabinet will be 100 watts. Some players like the sound of speakers being pushed hard by their amp; in this case, you might want lower-power speakers – and you may need to re-cone or replace the speakers occasionally. But the speakers will sound the clearest and last the longest if they’re rated to handle at least the power that the amp can put out.
As far as the amount of power needed to drive a cabinet, you might be surprised: I’ve used little battery-powered microamps (like the one Marshall makes – I use two in stereo) to drive 4×12” Marshall cabinets, with no problem at all. In fact, literally any guitar amp should be able to drive any cabinet, given that the impedances match – though, of course, a low-wattage amp isn’t going to push the cabinet to high volume levels the way a high-wattage amp will.
MATCH GAME
The main thing you need to be aware of when adding a speaker cabinet to your rig is the impedance that your amplifier sees when it is driving all the speakers. Just be sure that the impedance for all the speakers you have connected is matched to your amp, and you’ll be okay.
TONE
In the end, the speakers and the speaker cabinet you choose are about getting the tone you want, with the volume and dispersion you need for performances and recordings. In fact, many players have a selection of different cabinets – maybe a 1×12” open-back cabinet for small, intimate gigs; a 2×12” closed-back model with more punch and bottom end for recording and for bigger gigs; and maybe a 4×10” open-back or a 4×12″ closed-back cabinet for large gigs or when volume in the studio isn’t an issue, but a big sound is desired.
Take some time to evaluate your tone and other needs, then compare these requirements to what you’re currently playing through and to the many options for speaker cabinets that are out there. The right cabinet will make all the difference, and it can change your rig from a thin and anemic-sounding setup to a dynamic, musical, tuneful dream to express yourself through.