Anyone using a guitar "isolation" cabinet?

[BradG]

Randal Isolation 12C and the Demeter Silent Cab are the only two that I'm aware of.

I'm about to pull the trigger on the former but it's a big piece of gear and gonna be a bitch to get rid of if it doesn't sound good.

[space_ryerson]

I considered buying the Randall, but ended up building my own. (simply because I felt like DIY'ing) Mine is closer in design to the Randall. It certainly comes in handy in the city, for both keeping the volume down, and keeping yelling, sirens, babies crying, etc. off of your guitar tracks.
What really would make the difference between the Randall and Demeter is what the box sounds like on the inside. No matter how much insulation and soundproofing is done, there will still be some sound of the box itself. You can always change speakers mics, but you are stuck with the box. It took me a couple of passes of soundproofing methods to get the sound of mine to be less 'boxy'.

[BradG]

I strongly considered the DIY route, mainly to design one that better fit my specs (more sound-proof/removable port/rear mic). I just don't have the time. I have seen where people using the Randall replace the interior foam with Auralex for a reportedly much better sound.

[space_ryerson]

The Randall + Auralex sounds like a winning combo. I'm thinking of putting some of the drum riser Auralex foam inside the cab for the speaker box to rest on (it faces upward), since the only frequencies that heavily leak out are the extreme lows. Besides that, with amp at a decent volume, it's about as loud as a TV on in an apartment. Definitely not loud enough to attract any neighbor grief.

[nystrec]

You could build one out of plywood. Just build a box inside of a box and pack sand inbetween them. Heavy but cheap.

[Harry]

Whenever I try something to make a guitar scream but still be quiet I'm let down.
1/2 the sound comes from the amp/speakers being driven hard...The other 1/2 comes from the guitar feeding back in front of it.((SYNERGY BABY!))

wanna buy an attenuator?



Harry

[BradG]

The other 1/2 comes from the guitar feeding back in front of it.((SYNERGY BABY!))

For sure, the most glaring failure of something like a Pod. I've managed that "synergy" in front of a partially open iso-booth door (containing a Marshall stack) when working in big studios. I'm hoping that I might be able to find some kind of happy medium with a partially open Isolation cabinet, at least for recording during the day.

[oobedoob]

I use the Demeter from time to time. It's a dry sound, but roughly equivalent to a close mic-ed closed-back cabinet. I think mine has a Vintage30 so it's got that sound. I don't notice any funny sounds coming from the cabinet itself.

I usu. use it with a JTM45-ish marshall for tracking, and I still have to be careful about room mic bleed. Don't get me wrong it's quiet but not silent.

[vvv]

Just to note my weirdness: I have two identical Marshall combos (Silver Jubilees.)

And an Anvil case.

I drilled a hole in the case for a mic cable, and then used the cased combo as an extension speaker for the amp not cased (heat always being a concern with tube amps) with the powered amp's speaker disconnected.

If turned up really loud, I had to put a heavy quilt over it, but my kids could sleep down the hall.

It gave a pretty good, although obviously close-mic'd and compressed sound.

(In my new digs, I mic the amp in the hallway, the bathroom, the bedroom, etc., cranked, when the kids are visitating at their mother's; yet another benefit of divorcing that beeyatch. )

[BradG]

Hey vvv, I checked your site.

You're not an Iain Banks fan, by any chance, are yuh?

[vvv]

Iain Banks?

Afraid I haven't heard of him...

Pulled him up on allmusic.com; only a discography.

[Glory_Morris]

I use my vocal booth. Not exactly perfect, but it works

[BradG]

He's my favorite author. Wrote a book where the narrator was all written phoenetically. Excerpt:

"Woak up. Got dresd. Had brekfast. Spoke wif Ergates thi ant who sed itz juss been wurk wurk wurk 4 u lately master Bascule, Y dont u 1/2 a holiday?'' Don't let the weird orthography throw you."

BTW: lest I come off as a SciFi geek, I gotta note that he originally started as a literature writer, (the bulk of his stuff) which was the material that origninally drew me to him. His SciFi stuff is pretty good though. It's the only SF I've read since losing my virginity.

[BradG]

Okay, I just came across a third alternative here:
http://www.jlhproducts.com/axetrak/

So has anyone had any experience with this one? it's all self contained and has, like a 6" speaker in it. I've managed to find one or two users who prefered it to the Demeter.

At this size, I could rock two of 'em for my favorite big stereo, Marshal.L/Fender.R sound!

[Glory_Morris]

I use my vocal booth to isolate guitar. I put a big, rolled up elevator blanket around the corners near the floor to keep low reflections to a minimum and it works out pretty nicely.