Boxy Sound

[lapideusvir]

Hi folks,

certainly everyone knows what it means when a cab sounds "boxy". It´s as if the sound stays inside the cab and doesnt disperse in the room, or at least not enough. I wonder if this is alway due to the construction of the specific cab or if also the speaker is responsible for that. What do you think?
l.

[Cunamara]

FWIW I think of "boxy" as sounding like an empty cardboard box being thumped on the side. Something about the timbre of the sound. I've never been sure if it is a prominent resonant frequency, a phase cancellation, or what that results in this quality. To my ears it's more likely to occur with 8" speakers than with 12".

I think boxiness can be the combination of the cabinet and the amp.

For example, I have a Redstone 8" cabinet (closed back, no port) which sounds noticeably boxy when using my AI Clarus 2r with it, but it does not sound boxy using my Mark EG250. I have a Raezer's Edge Stealth 12" which sounds pretty good with the AI but is a bit woofy and indistinct with the EG250. I was very surprised it didn't sound great with the EG250, in fact. And then I have a Toob Metro+ BG (6.5") which sounds fantastic with the EG250 and very good with the AI, the latter especially for acoustic rather than instruments with a magnetic pickup.

[lapideusvir]

Yes, perhaps it is the combination of amp and cab. I have a Mambo Combo 10" in which I replaced the speaker with an EV10 and it doesnt sound boxy at all. I also run the amp into a RE 2x8 and it sounds kind of boxy. I have not experimented with other speakers in the 2x8 cab (Eminence Alpha in it). Perhaps I will try it to find out if I can improve things...

[Jimmy blue note]

I too am plagued by a boxy sound. I just learn to make it my own.

[Spook410]

Looking at it from a dispersion standpoint vs. frequency response: When you go from an open back speaker to a closed speaker you will hear the difference. Open back will fill a space while the closed back is directional.

You might try positioning the speaker to get more room reflection. You might try aiming it in a way where you're at the edge of the sound cone and not in the middle of it. Also getting it off the floor helps.

My ultimate solution is to use two separate enclosures aimed in different directions to fill the space. But that's not always convenient.

[JCat]

From an audio engineering perspective, "Boxy" is characterized by dominant frequencies around 500Hz.

From the perspective of the electric guitar player, 500 Hz is the mid range that we depend on.

Lower Mids: 200-500 Hz
Upper Mids: 500 - 1000 Hz

500 Hz is no problem. An unbalanced sound is a problem. Guitar players don't like Muddy, nor do we like harsh "treble" spikes. The absence of 500 Hz makes a mid scooped sound, where essential guitar frequencies have been removed from the mix. That's a problem.

Note that the Middle knob on a guitar amp may affect upper mids that the user may perceive as harsh treble.

If you want a more open sound, try to reduce bass, 200 Hz and below. You could also try to dial in some treble beyond 3000 Hz. (a regular TMB tonestack is not that precise. Everything is effecting everything, i.e 500 Hz is affected regardless of what knob you turn, still the EQ balance will change...somehow...)

From a practical perspective of live performance, boxiness is typically a projection problem, meaning that the listener is off-axis of the speaker beam (like if you are playing standing next to a small closed cab). Open cabs are radiating in more than one direction and are therefore more open sounding.

The notion that some amps would be notoriously "boxy" sounding is user error, or possibly that the amp for some reason is considered difficult to operate, maybe because it doesn't respond in a way you are used to? (You've got to tilt back the cab or put it on a stand and turn those knobs...). But it's a fact that some speakers/drivers are more mid focused (boxy?) than others. If you don't like it, try a different speaker.

Clean solo guitar (jazz?) is different from distorted guitar in a band mix (rock?). One man's "Boxy" is another man's holy grail.