So... tell me about ISO cabs? (Jet City experiences welcome)

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Spaceboy

Spaceboy

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I dig the idea of an isolation cabinet, but worried about them sounding "stuffy", especially for high-gain. I've got a buddy who's recently become a Jet City dealer and might check out their cabinet. It has some Eminence speaker that I'll replace (maybe K100), XLR out, and even has an onboard D/A converter and USB out to go directly into a computer. I've got another interface, but that's still a cool feature. There's also the Randall ISO cab for roughly the same price, with a Vintage 30 and only XLR out, no local Randall dealers though.

Anyways... who uses an isolation cabinet here, especially for metal? I'm certain getting the ambience of a room is going to sound much better, but for those late night demos, an isolation cabinet and low wattage amplifier seems like a great combination. I found some older related topics here, but most seem before the Jet City box came out, so hopefully there's more opinions on here now...
 
I've used them. Built my own several years ago. But that was before IR software was readily available. Nowadays I think you'd get just as good (if not better) results with a load box and cab IRs and you completely eliminate any volume issues, space issues, etc.
 
I have a Rivera Silent Sister Iso cab, which is probably the best iso cab on the market because of its design. It does not have any of the boxy sounds because of the contructions and sounds release.

I actually am going to sell mine if you are interested.
 
ratter":32kel358 said:
I've used them. Built my own several years ago. But that was before IR software was readily available. Nowadays I think you'd get just as good (if not better) results with a load box and cab IRs and you completely eliminate any volume issues, space issues, etc.
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I'm trying to decide whether going through IRs would be better. I've done a lot with them paired with preamps, and lately have been using the Two Notes WoS plugin which includes power amp simulation. But, I honestly have much more fun and feel more comfortable with the outcomes of miking cabinets, rather than using digital simulation. I have around 2000 IR .wavs on my computer, and it's too easy to second guess and waste time flipping through files, searching for the right sound. I'm one of those players who prefers to have less options, rather than tweaking too much.

jwnc":32kel358 said:
I have a Rivera Silent Sister Iso cab, which is probably the best iso cab on the market because of its design. It does not have any of the boxy sounds because of the contructions and sounds release.

I actually am going to sell mine if you are interested.
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I've been looking at that isolation cabinet too and it looks much better with two snakeheads and the bottom ports, but it's so expensive. I couldn't reasonably spend that much on an iso cabinet when I'm not certain if it's going to stick around, even used prices are likely higher than the $350 the Jet City costs. Some details on the Silent Sister you're selling would be appreciated though, if it's a good price I might be able to scourge together some extra. The Jet City is cheap but would also need a speaker upgrade to be usable. I'm not a huge fan of most Eminence speakers.
 
You dont want a iso cab that is too cheap, because you wont like the sound. I have 2 mics in the my Rivera and it sounds great. The key to the rivera is the design, the sound is chambered and lets the air flow, check out the video about this from Paul Rivera it makes total sense. Before I would buy a cheap iso cab is just use a modeler with IR.
 
Another Rivera fan here - I have a k100 in mine and love it.
 
mjtripper":1h2t2v29 said:
Another Rivera fan here - I have a k100 in mine and love it.
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Have you tried the stock Vintage 30 before switching to the K100? If so, how do they compare? I love K100s in regular cabinets, and thought they might actually help reduce the boxiness associated with iso cabinets with Vintage 30s, since there's a less honking midrange with K100s. It can also handle a much higher wattage if I need to use the cab with other amplifiers down the road.
 
Trace (Voodoo) is working on an iso design as well. It looks interesting-the speaker points upward at an angle toward the corner of the cab. I'm wondering if this is to reduce reflection off of flat surfaces? I've been interested in an iso cab for ages but every time I have the cash something else takes precedence.
 
Spaceboy":jskpyxjq said:
mjtripper":jskpyxjq said:
Another Rivera fan here - I have a k100 in mine and love it.
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Have you tried the stock Vintage 30 before switching to the K100? If so, how do they compare? I love K100s in regular cabinets, and thought they might actually help reduce the boxiness associated with iso cabinets with Vintage 30s, since there's a less honking midrange with K100s. It can also handle a much higher wattage if I need to use the cab with other amplifiers down the road.
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I've only had the k100 in the iso cab and ordered it that way. I waited to order the iso cab until I had found the speaker I like in my main amp and then just ordered it with that speaker. I'm not a huge v30 fan and now have k100s in everything. The rivera iso cab really doesn't sound boxy and the ones that do I think is more the cab then the speaker. The reason I like the silent sister iso cab is it sounds like my normal cabs.
 
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