Should I try a tower style 412 cab?

[Bearitone]

I’m very limited on floor space but I really miss my old 412 cab. I’m thinking of either hunting down a vintage Sunn tower style 412 or having one built custom.

My question is, does having a “long” 412 change how it sounds in a negative way? Or does it not matter as long as the internal volume is the same as a regular 412?

This is what I’m talking about as far as a tower goes:

https://reverb.com/item/68868485-sunn-412sr-1969-tower-cabs

 

[budda]

Go to the store, stack two 212s vertically, see what you think.

 

[sleewell]

Go to the store, stack two 212s vertically, see what you think.

i think he's talking about only using one





i also think more companies would make these if they were any good.

 

[budda]

i think he's talking about only using one





i also think more companies would make these if they were any good.

You dont want a vintage marshall for $1609usd?

 

[SalsaWood]

So a 1x4-12? It will sound fine, if anything a little tighter than a 4x12 due to less resonant volume. I've seen a ton of oblong bass cabs, I always assumed for this reason.

 

[Crungy]

If it was just for home use I'd think it's fine but idk about gigging.... Maybe it would fine?

 

[wheresthefbomb]

You'll very likely need to replace the speakers as those were designed for PAs. If you've already accounted for that, then the answer is yes, but only if you plan to get two and build Tone Henge.

 

[TedEH]

I'd vote stacking some 1x12 or 2x12s. A PA speaker is not a guitar cab. I used to use one like that, and it sounded awful. Probably, as mentioned, because of the speakers, but by the time you buy the tower cabs and swap out all the speakers, you could just get proper guitar cabs.

Maaaaaaaaybe if you really want to try it, use an IR?

 

[odibrom]

the solution: DIY BUILD... you'll be amazed at the amount of fairy dust brands put into marketing... yes there are tricks on how to enhance or kill a range of frequencies, but those ain't the holly grail of guitar sound.

 

[Bearitone]

the solution: DIY BUILD... you'll be amazed at the amount of fairy dust brands put into marketing... yes there are tricks on how to enhance or kill a range of frequencies, but those ain't the holly grail of guitar sound.

Hmmm… I do have an AutoCAD license. I could draw up plans, cut sheet, and maybe have a local cabinet maker just run the pieces on a router.

 

[TedEH]

I'm sure there's online calculators out there to figure out the properties / dimensions of whatever cab you'd want, so that you're not guessing.

 

[GAMMOTH]

"does having a “long” 412 change how it sounds in a negative way?"
It depends on how is your perception of negative. Towers are taller, the speakers would punch the sound directly to your ears. On shorter cabinets you hear the sound source coming from height lower than your waist, and thus you hear more of the frequencies that bounces around every close surface, reverberation, etc.

"does it not matter as long as the internal volume is the same as a regular 412?"
It should definitely not. You may find everything related to speaker cabinet acoustics in the internet. The volume directly affects the speakers operation on Closed Back and Ported cabinets, having almost no influence on Open Backs.

Now there goes some paradigm breaking facts that traditionalists usually hate. The 4x12" construction was designed on the 60's when there was no P.A.s and guitarrists needed their cabinets to work both as monitor and as a source to make their sound reach people further away in the audience. Nowadays, you can mic a 1x12" or even plug to the sound systems through an IR and the PAs would do the work.

I was able to calculate and order a custom made 2x12" ported cabinet, "tower" mounted. Works perfecly for small gigs, 200 ~300 people, not even requiring to mic it.
The reason for "tower" mounted: an upper speaker closer to my ears, better than have a horizontal cab having my feet as an audience.
The reason for 2x12 instead of 1x12: allow higher power (Watts) from amps, thus higher SPL. And it also slightly increases the area of the source of the sound making it more audible for people closer to the stage.

I already had 4x12"s. Unnecessarily heavy, clumsy and large.