beam blockers? Anyone tried them?

John_P

Just curious - tempted to fit one to one speaker of my 2x12 thinking it'll give a better spread of high frequencies as I move around stage and make it a little less harsh for anyone stood directly in line with my cab.

Any experiences?

ToneControl

doughnuts are supposed to work better, and more predictably, I have heard that beam locker can harm the sound, since the effect is more random

John_P

ToneControl said:

doughnuts are supposed to work better, and more predictably, I have heard that beam locker can harm the sound, since the effect is more random

I've just been reading about using a doughnut - I can see the physics of encouraging great diffraction for shorter wavelengths by having a smaller apperture so I'm interested in both methods...  just curious to see if anyone here has tried something similar?

Cirrus

I tried a beam blocker for a few weeks, and came to the conclusion that I like being able to somewhat control the spread of sound. So I took it out. It works, treble is dispersed more evenly, I just didn't like that because I want to be able to use my cab as a side fill and turn a bit louder without annoying sound men.

The doughnut idea is a more elegant solution. Both methods however will impact on the sound a close mic hears.

John_P

Cirrus said:

I tried a beam blocker for a few weeks, and came to the conclusion that I like being able to somewhat control the spread of sound. So I took it out. It works, treble is dispersed more evenly, I just didn't like that because I want to be able to use my cab as a side fill and turn a bit louder without annoying sound men.

Thanks - most gigs I play these days there isn't a lot of space for the backline so the amp is force to be behind me - I try to angle it across so the other guys can hear it and they often want it turning up a tiny bit more than I would choose, when I go across stage I know what they mean and find my sound is getting lost so maybe the extra spread of treble will help.

Cirrus said:

The doughnut idea is a more elegant solution. Both methods however will impact on the sound a close mic hears.

I was thinking of trying it one just speaker so that I can mic the other as normal.

Kebabkid

Hi @John_P I'm selling a new, boxed and unused Weber 12" beam blocker on the classifieds, but I honestly couldn't tell you what they're like.

Moltisanti

i had a whole lovely thread about his on the old MR site before the bellends over there binned it without archiving anything...

I have used doughnuts and they do work, i have them in my Matamp 2x12 and they definitely seem to reduce the slap in the face factor (especially on V30s) when the cab is pointed right at your head.

These days i use a 4x12 so it's less of an issue

John_BlackWolf

Had 4 tayden diffusers in a 4x12, removed the top pair as sound techs generally hate anything more complicated than a 57 on a v30. so i stick the mics on the top pair without diffusers live.

rockmonster

I prefer to eat donuts! )

TimmyO

I did the donut thing to my combo - was very pleased with the result - a much more consistent sound on and off axis 

Handsome_Chris

@rockmonster, can I get donuts at the Saturday market?

ToneControl

I read that since beam blockers work by bouncing sound back onto the cone, the interference patterns and subsequent cancellations are pretty random.

I have a 15 inch driver in one amp, I think I need a doughnut in there, you have to sit on the axis to hear it properly

Fez

What we do to give us stage monitor for guitars is feed the emulated output from the guitar amps to a small mixer and into a Mackie thump. Backline points forwards and Vox monitor not clouded.

citizen68

Another +1 for the Mitchell donut which I read about over at the other place - amp sound seems more consistent regardless of your listening position. Tried a Tayden diffuser before that & couldn't notice any difference in sound. The donut does rob a little treble but easily compensated for at the amp..

hywelg

Another + for the Mitchell Donut. I have them in most of my cabs. You do have to experiment with the thickness and centre hole size. I have found 12mm foam to be not quite enough but 16mm to be too much.

I am also experimenting with a plexiglass screen like the Clearsonic ones but homemade. You can buy the clearsonic hinge material from StudioSpares so I did and got some 6mm perspex online. Still quite expensive but about a third the cost of a Clearsonic one, and you do have to do a bit of machining to create the locking groove for the hinge. It is portable though and can be used with any of your cabs if you do one the right size.

Handsome_Chris

Why not turn the 2x12 so that the speakers are vertically aligned, as opposed to horizontally? This way you won't get as troubled by horizontal beamforming.

ToneControl

seen this?

http://www.musicradar.com/reviews/guitars/hoovi-h1-deeflexx-sound-deflectors-572188

looks like a good idea until you see they want £200 each

 

Btw have you tried angling it to point up 30 degrees? should avoid killing the audience, whilst bouncing treble more widely from the ceiling

koss59

You can now buy the clear sonic ones from about £65 from Thomann, I think I'm going to go this route as it's about 40 quid for a sheet of perspex from B&Q so not much difference

hywelg

ToneControl said:

seen this?

http://www.musicradar.com/reviews/guitars/hoovi-h1-deeflexx-sound-deflectors-572188

looks like a good idea until you see they want £200 each

Read part the way down until I came to this bit

"This leads to a phenomenon called 'beaming', where you only hear the speaker's full frequency range if your ears are directly in line with the centre of the cone."

And realised he was talking bollocks.

I was interested to see that Thomann are now stocking the Clearsonic screens. They have forced the price down considerably, however once you get over the 610mm panel height the price shoots up. Under a £100 for a combo but over £250 for the Joe Bonamassa 4x12.

I made one using Clearsonic hinge and 6mm perspex and the materials came to over £100, but it is 750mm high, 4 panels 250mm wide. Routing the perspex for the hinge groove isn't that much of a problem if you have the right bit, but a router table does make the job a lot easier.

ToneControl

hywelg said:

ToneControl said:

seen this?

http://www.musicradar.com/reviews/guitars/hoovi-h1-deeflexx-sound-deflectors-572188

looks like a good idea until you see they want £200 each

Read part the way down until I came to this bit

"This leads to a phenomenon called 'beaming', where you only hear the speaker's full frequency range if your ears are directly in line with the centre of the cone."

And realised he was talking bollocks.

I was interested to see that Thomann are now stocking the Clearsonic screens. They have forced the price down considerably, however once you get over the 610mm panel height the price shoots up. Under a £100 for a combo but over £250 for the Joe Bonamassa 4x12.

I made one using Clearsonic hinge and 6mm perspex and the materials came to over £100, but it is 750mm high, 4 panels 250mm wide. Routing the perspex for the hinge groove isn't that much of a problem if you have the right bit, but a router table does make the job a lot easier.

I just worry about having bad dreams about "A tongue {that} extends underneath your cabinet"

hywelg

 A (cab) arse licker!