In Reply to: Instrument cabinet questions posted by themilford on June 27, 2002 at 12:00:34:
Generally, I think your approach has merit but you'll find that the Alpha 12 won't deliver very much bass in this size box. Then again, it's all about preference here, so if you like the sound it makes, go for it. We're talking about a cabinet that will be used to generate sound - as opposed to reproducing previously recorded material. That's an important distinction. This means that you are "allowed" to generate your own sound and that things like response characteristics and distortion take entirely different meanings.When making a musical instrument that produces new sound, most always the designer will purpose-create resonances and other artifacts that make the sound interesting. Bob Moog patented a device that essentially made mutiple sharp peaks in the response curve, similar to pushing all the controls of a graphic EQ up to full-scale. Acoustic instrument designers always use resonant woods and resonating chambers to make a distinct sound. So all these kinds of things are "OK" - in fact, desirable - when producing sound from a musical instrument and help to make your "sound" unique.
Basically, what I'm telling you is that you should probably check the driver to make sure it will play the range you want, i.e. don't put it in a drastically oversized or undersized box. But you should not be as concerned about comb filtering or having a slightly overdamped or underdamped response curve as the builders of a loudspeaker made to reproduce music.
Reproduction loudspeakers should be as accurate as possible; This is not the case for guitar cabinets. So check to make sure the system parameters aren't "out of the ballpark" and then put it together and see if it's "making your sound." If you like the sound you're makin', then you've hit it.
Follow Ups: