Do road cases have an effect on tone?

  • Thread starter Thread starter War_in_D
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War_in_D

War_in_D

Well-known member
Serious question. I picked up this Cornford 1/2 stack and the head and cab are encased in these gargantuan road cases. First thought is that, while the head is pretty open front to back for ventilation, heat rises and could be getting trapped. Second, these cabs are supposedly made out of solid pine, but stuffing into a VERY form fitted road case surrounded by dense foam.. is it killing the resonance of this thing? I wanted to take it out, but the cab doesn't have casters and the way my set up is, I need my cabs to roll so I left it in the case. But, I ordered a set of Mesa Track-Loc mounting plates and casters today. I think it's about time to free this thing from the road cases.

Cornford MK50 II.jpg


Cornford MK50 II Road Case.jpg
 
If I played out anywhere, the cases may be a plus.. but I don't and these things are giant and basically hugging that cab. I gotta think it's muffling something and having this stuff in cases is just way overkill for what i need.
 
In my experience, yes.

This one has lived in the road case most of the time I've owned it. Occasionally I will remove it though. Inside the case it has a little less low end thump, and projects in a way that fills the room a bit more and isn't quite so directional. In a band setting, I actually prefer it. How much of that translates when you mic & run it to FOH, I can't say. I can't say it's a monumental difference, but it is noticeable.

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I'd bet it would be a bitch to remove :dunno:

Congrats on the amp/cab nonetheless.
 
I don't know about the case itself, but like someone else mentioned elevating it off the ground like that will likely affect things. In particular the bass response (less of it).
 
cobrahead1030 said:
In my experience, yes.

This one has lived in the road case most of the time I've owned it. Occasionally I will remove it though. Inside the case it has a little less low end thump, and projects in a way that fills the room a bit more and isn't quite so directional. In a band setting, I actually prefer it. How much of that translates when you mic & run it to FOH, I can't say. I can't say it's a monumental difference, but it is noticeable.

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Got any live footage. I’d love to hear that setup.
 
DanTravis62 said:
It does affect the tone "in the room" but it doesn't affect the miced tone.

If you're playing out? I'd leave it in the case. If it's just chillin at home? Probably worth it to take it out.
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Yeah, no playing out for me. Just a basement dwelling hack.
 
War_in_D said:
Yeah, no playing out for me. Just a basement dwelling hack.
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As long as you aren't too rough on it, no worries then! I'd take it out of the case.

IME it fills out the low end a tiny bit more and "fills the room" a tiny bit better - obviously if you're miced up at a gig every night that doesn't matter, but in your case you might as well unsheathe that thing
 
I’m not a physics major. How could the amp being in a case with the front and back open impact the sound at all?
 
stratjacket said:
I’m not a physics major. How could the amp being in a case with the front and back open impact the sound at all?
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Not so much the amp, but the cab. The only concern I have with the head is ventilation.
 
War_in_D said:
I'm figuring I'll lay it on it's back and lift the road case, hoping the cab stays put. lol
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I think I'd try laying it face down and let the weight of the speakers and the cab help you (and potentially another person) pull the case off :dunno:

You know...Lay It Down
Lay it Down
 
War_in_D said:
Not so much the amp, but the cab. The only concern I have with the head is ventilation.
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Ahhh my bad. I saw the head in the case but didn’t notice the cab was in a case also.
 
When my Dual first arrived it came in a case and I had to literally grab both transformers and violently SHAKE that goddamn case off :lol:
 
First of all - Congrats on a killer, killer amp score! I love the look of those anvil half-stack road cases. I will second what others here have already said - elevating the 4x12 off the ground will probably have a more noticeable effect / slightly less thump / than being in the padded anvil case. But I believe any difference is in the room only. The feed to front of house through a mic will be unchanged. And I would not worry at all about ventilation on the head. That might be a concern with Fender style heads where the chassis is the top of the head and the tubes hang down. All that heat rises up into the chassis and wiring. But with Marshall style construction, and heat radiates up and away from the chassis and wiring.

Again - what a cool, cool half stack!
 
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