Isolating rear sound of an open back cab???

[Bluefinger]

Hi,

Is there an efficient way to stop an open cab combo (2x10 Tweed Super in my case) to project to the back, without making it sound like a closed cab? On small stages, I like to put it in front of the hi hat, tilted back but the drummer gets too much of my signal this way ... any ideas? I tried covering the back with rubber foam but it sounded like c?$p ...

thx!

[pdf64]

How about a piece of dense board on a stand, like an office divider, say 3' high x 4' wide, or at least big as the height / width of the amp? About 6" - 1' back from the cab, try it plain and with a fabric /carpet covering, one / both sides.
Unfortunately most solutions will take up room in this cramped area.

[Bluefinger]

Yeah, I thought about doing something like that. The problem is, that I usually, as you already mentioned, put the tilt back legs between the Hi Hat and crash cymbal stand to save space. I guess you can't have it all

[R.G.]

You have very limited choices with the sound coming from the back of the speaker. You can funnel it away to never-never land by venting it into a large space separated from the front sound, like perhaps sealing the cab into an opening in a wall. You can absorb the sound with dampening materials. Pretty much everything else forms a more-or-less resonant enclosure which changes the sound of the open back cabinet.

All of these have problems when you actually go to implement them, and especially so if you want to implement them on a small stage. There are lots of ways to attenuate higher frequencies with damping materials, but it gets harder to do this effectively as frequency goes down. The human ear is more sensitive in the midrange, so you have to do a lot more damping. And at bass, the components to dampen or divert get big. Sometimes really big.

It's a tough problem.

[Bluefinger]

It's a tough problem.

indeed ...

[Bill Moore]

I used to take one of the covers from the PA rack, and set it behind the cab at a slight angle. This kept the sound directed forward, and I think thickened it up a bit. Experiment with cardboard, to see what deflecting the sound left or right does for your overall sound.