I've noticed I prefer to stand to the side of my 2x12 when I'm playing, it sounds better to me than standing directly in front of it.
I don't mean directly to the side, I mean almost, like about 80 degrees rather than 90.
The sound is just better, clearer, more detailed. Standing right in front the sound is if anything "muffled" in comparison.
What's going on here? Why would sound coming out of speakers sound better off at an axis and not straight on?
I should say this is playing with some volume at home, standing close to the cab.
Comments
When you say standing to the side, is the cab on the floor so the speakers are level with your shins, or is it raised up or tilted back so they’re pointing more towards your ears?
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
I'll check into phase, I doubt it but I suppose I could have hooked up something wrong last time I was in there.
But yes, definitely sounds better at an angle. I was wondering (not ever experienced it) how the hell this would work onstage standing maybe 10 feet or more in front of a cab, must drive gigging guys nuts.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Why does it happen, you'd sort of expect speakers to sound best straight-on?
The OP's cab sounds like it has a problem to me, they're not typical on/off axis symptoms IME.
EDIT; The gaffer tape 'X' wasn't actually my idea, it's an SRV trick, and is surprisingly effective in making your cab sound the same wherever you stand.
The best for me is to have the amp with the speakers at about waist height, not tilted back, and standing straight in front or maybe very slightly off-centre. That gives a very good correlation between how I hear it and how it sounds out in the room or via the PA. I also try not to have it pointing straight out into the crowd, so it usually ends up facing across the stage at an angle, aimed roughly at the opposite front corner of the stage, if that makes sense.
The gaffer tape cross does work because it breaks up the 'beaming' effect to an extent, but best of all is something called a 'Mitchell Donut' (American spelling ) which - in theory at least - should completely remove it and make the sound almost uniform anywhere in front of the cab. I haven't tried it personally, but it gets good reports and the physics is correct.
I agree, it doesn't actually sound like either the typical 'beam' effect or a phase issue, so I don't know what it is! Although raising it up may help, it could be something to do with reflections off the floor or something...
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
I'll deffo check out the phasing, and maybe move the rig to see if it happens in a different room, I'll report back.
Thanks all for your thoughts and experiences, every day's an education round here
This might have an effect on projection. Have you stood the can on end and seen where the best sound is? It could be enlightening with the effect of an array.
No I haven't tried moving it about but good idea to look into. I'm also intrigued by the Boss lying his cabs on their back, if what I'm hearing is typical I can see why that might be a good idea as well Just need the missus to go out for a few hours
The 'Donut' fixes this by diffusing the high frequencies from everywhere on the cone, so there's no longer a 'lining up' effect on-axis, and the result is that the sound should be the same as the off-axis sound everywhere.
p90fool's gaffer tape will do something of the same, just by disrupting the equal transmission from all areas of the cone. It probably doesn't even have to be a cross - different patterns might work equally well.
I even wonder whether some of the idea that very heavy grille cloth like the old Marshall basketweave makes cabs sound better is due to this, rather than simply blocking high frequencies.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein