1x12" guitar speaker cabinet

[hornloaded]

I got a Jensen MOD12-35 8ohm speaker for christmas. I have a 24" x 24" x 5/8" MDF panel that I originally cut and planned on using for a different project that I plan on using.

My question though is, is this speaker designed for open back cabinets?

I used WinISD to model an enclosure, and with its extremely high QTS, it has a large peak around resonance in a sealed enclosure

Wouldn't an open backed design be even worse, as the back would be functioning somewhat like a port?

Are there any good resources on guitar cabinet building and theory? All of the enclosures I have built in the past have been for HIFI speakers, which is a bit of a different approach than a guitar speaker.

[MJL21193]

Originally Posted by hornloaded

I used WinISD to model an enclosure, and with its extremely high QTS, it has a large peak around resonance in a sealed enclosure

Wouldn't an open backed design be even worse, as the back would be functioning somewhat like a port?

That large peak will fill in the bottom end in an open back cab - so no, it would be well suited to this.

[nigelwright7557]

I have never been a fan of open backed speaker cabinets.
Thye feed out sound out the back in many phases against a rear wall and they mix with the sound from the front. This just makes the sound messy.

[hornloaded]

Would a 24" x 24" front, with 12" sides, and a completely open back work well as a cabinet then?

[Nigel Goodwin]

Originally Posted by hornloaded

Would a 24" x 24" front, with 12" sides, and a completely open back work well as a cabinet then?

Should be fine, as there's no low frequencies it's not really a problem.

You could always try it, and then try with differing parts of the back blanked off - see if you could find an optimum configuration that YOU prefer.

[Racket Scientist]

Most guitar cab designs ignore factors that are commonly considered in hi-fi. Remember that the point is not necessarily to accurately amplify - the amp/speaker is, at least these days, part of the sound of the instrument and the characteristic colorations/distortions that are introduced are desired. Thus you have open backed cabs, "floating" baffles, speakers with "peaky" responses, etc. Generally in guitar cabs, the open back designs have such a large opening that they function more as a dipole speaker than as a ported cab. Ported cabs are the norm for bass guitar, but for regular electric guitars there is usually little output below 80 Hz, and most everything below about 120 Hz is covered by the bass and drums, so its not as big a deal. Also, depending on the tuning, a ported cab in certain situations could stress the speaker unduly. For guitar, the usual concerns are for high output (sensitivity) in the mids and highs, and more importantly having it "sound right". "Gearhead" guitarists routinely change out perfectly good speakers with others without any concern for any changes to the cab in order to pursue the sound in their heads.

[dan stanton]

Look at Fender cabs, if you like them, For a 12" speaker, I'd make the front (baffle) 15" X 18", half open back, Try not to use 1 to1, 1 to 2 ratios. 24x24 is 1 to1, 12x24 is 1 to 2. 11 1/2" sides, then you can use off the shelf 3/4" 1x12's.

[PeteMcK]

No point in modelling a guitar speaker in Winisd, just decide whether you like Open back or closed & make the cab just big enough for the speaker; Don't use MDF, guitar cabs usually need to be portable & strong - ply is better