isolation cabinets?
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Posted on Sep 28, 2009 10:29 pm
onslaught666
Member Since: Sep 11, 2009
does anyone have an opinion on isolation cabinets? are they worth trying? my band got an endorsement deal with madison amps and can one of these real cheap, but i heard a bad review on these, but the guy who posted it didnt seam to understand the point of them, kept on complaining about how much sound was leaking out, my impression was that they are about keeping sound out not in.
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Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
Sep 28, 2009 10:39 pm Definitely worth trying. I know dB used one some time ago that he reviewed from another company. I've used them many times over the years and not had any issues that I can think of. Mic choice and the way you record the signal and set the amp is very important when using one. Too much distortion is not good when using and ISO cab like that. But for the most part, it is well worth trying if it is something you will use more then once.
Sep 28, 2009 10:51 pm "Too much distortion is not good when using and ISO cab like that."
distortion or gain? because we mostly record death metal we will be using pretty high gain.
cruxTypo SzarMember
Since: Jul 04, 2002
Sep 29, 2009 09:36 am R u gonna be using it for live or recording? there r uses both ways. i dont have one, but i mean, whenver we record guitars i still end up building a little fort for the cab, which is kind of the same idea. its not just about keeping sound out, its also about controlling the sound inside the cabinet. i think it has tons of uses and its all about how well u konw how to use them
TadpuiI am not a crook's headMember
Since: Mar 14, 2003
Sep 29, 2009 10:09 am They're definitely for keeping sound in. The isolation cabinet is for home recordists that want to be able to crank their amps yet not have the resulting SPL in their home studio wake every neighbor in a 1/2 mile radius.
If you're using tube amps, then you want them running at high master volume settings so that you're getting your distortion from the proper place in your signal chain (your amp's power section). This allows you to turn down your preamp gain and still retain a brutal tone.
If you're using solid state amps, just turn them down and forget the iso cabs. There's no benefit to cranking a solid state amp other than to give the speakers enough extension that they become part of the overall breakup of your tone. Depending on the wattage of the amp and the effeciency of the speaker, this can happen at much lower volumes than a tube amp running wide open.
And Noize is talking about too much distortion. Death metal or not, too much preamp gain creates a recorded guitar tone that is difficult to distinguish in the mix and overall makes for a thin recorded guitar tone. Less distortion can actually make your guitars sound bigger, badder, and heavier. Just double all of your rhythm parts with less distortion, pan them relatively wide in the stereo field and voila! It's seriously as simple as that.
Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
Sep 29, 2009 08:23 pm Yep, you still want to keep a good crunch, but not as much as you would playing live. And as Tadpui already stated. Most will double the tracks, sometimes even more then two. But multiple layers of guitar tracks are an absolute common practice for this kind of sound.
TadpuiI am not a crook's headMember
Since: Mar 14, 2003
Sep 29, 2009 11:10 pm I kind of sounded like a moron in that last paragraph didn't I? "It's just that easy!". Well, for a home recordist, its just that easy. For a major label artist, its more complicated. But for your purposes, its just that easy. Double, triple, quadruple your rhythm tracks. Pan them around the stereo field. It's just that easy! (R) I have now registered that trademark. Every time anybody here says it, they owe me a nickel. It's just that easy! (R*).
* with me, I dont' owe myself anything
Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
Sep 29, 2009 11:22 pm No moron sounding at all Tadpui. I got the point instantly.
And I'll have to remember not to use that phrase. I don't wanna go broke.
