andrewrx7 Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 Just wandering why some cabs have ports on the rear and some on the front? Any advantage/disadvantage for which design? (My Trace cabs are front ported while my TC one is rear). Ta! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Foxen Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 Wherever is convenient to put it in the box shape, it makes no odds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bremen Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 It shouldn't make any difference to the sound as cabinets are omnidirectional at the frequencies that the port emits. Might make a slight difference if the cabinet is right up against a rigid wall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrewrx7 Posted December 1, 2011 Author Share Posted December 1, 2011 OK, thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost_Bass Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 I trust the opinions given above but i had rear and front ported cabs and i feel more bass if i'm using a front ported cab. The front port also helps the drum mics not to capture much of the bass... this is from my experience. If you place a rear ported cab next to a wall you'll get a bit more of the bass reflex but that just made my drummer complaint that he coudn't hear a defined bass sound, just boom... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 [size=4][color=#222222][font=Arial]You'll get a lot of difference if you put a rear ported cab against a wall. The effect will be like having no port![/font][/color][/size][color=#222222][font=Arial][size=1][/size][/font][/color] [size=4][color=#222222][font=Arial] [/font][/color][/size][color=#222222][font=Arial][size=1][/size][/font][/color] [size=4][color=#222222][font=Arial]We are always told there is no difference but I still miss the trouser flapping of a good low D from a front ported cab.[/font][/color][/size][color=#222222][font=Arial][size=1][/size][/font][/color] [size=4][font=Arial] [/font][/size][font=Arial][size=2][/size][/font] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 I prefer rear ported myself..... not entirely sure why, just all my fave cabs have been rear ported. I currently run two rigs..front ported for small places..and that invaribaly means cab up against a wall as well and rear for bigger stages. The rear ported rig slays the front ported in every respect but I don't put that down to the porting issue, as such. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_5 Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 [quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1322832425' post='1456387'] I prefer rear ported myself..... [/quote] Snirk snirk. Sorry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 [quote name='paul_5' timestamp='1322832587' post='1456392'] Snirk snirk. Sorry. [/quote] I knew that was coming ha ha .. but it is a bit slow here today so need a few things to be spiced up. Its a bit anal around here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Fitzmaurice Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 [quote name='Ghost_Bass' timestamp='1322830564' post='1456364'] I trust the opinions given above but i had rear and front ported cabs and i feel more bass if i'm using a front ported cab. The front port also helps the drum mics not to capture much of the bass... this is from my experience. If you place a rear ported cab next to a wall you'll get a bit more of the bass reflex but that just made my drummer complaint that he coudn't hear a defined bass sound, just boom... [/quote]You'll feel air flow more with the front port location, but that's not the same as hearing more bass. As noted port radiation is omni-directional, the actual dB level is identical no matter where it's placed. You can get some interactions with a rear port and a rear wall, but those tend to be easy to fix, just pull the cab out another inch or two. If anything putting the cab a bit too close to the wall will reduce boom, not increase it, as it lowers the cab tuning frequency. Putting it tight to the wall can upset things, but again it's an easy fix, don't put it tight to the wall. As to why they're sometimes placed on the rear, usually because the cab size is too small to fit them on the front. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost_Bass Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 [quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' timestamp='1322839932' post='1456534'] You'll feel air flow more with the front port location, but that's not the same as hearing more bass. As noted port radiation is omni-directional, the actual dB level is identical no matter where it's placed. You can get some interactions with a rear port and a rear wall, but those tend to be easy to fix, just pull the cab out another inch or two. If anything putting the cab a bit too close to the wall will reduce boom, not increase it, as it lowers the cab tuning frequency. Putting it tight to the wall can upset things, but again it's an easy fix, don't put it tight to the wall. As to why they're sometimes placed on the rear, usually because the cab size is too small to fit them on the front. [/quote] Thanks Bill, like i said, i trurst those opinions to be true. I just stated my findings. I had a Genz Benz SLT12T (3012HO loaded) with a rear port and now i have a couple of Fender Rumble 112 (deltalite 2512 loaded) with a front port. The Genz sounded very thin when standing on front of it but behind (in front of the ports) you could hear all the bass comming out, that upsetted my drummer and the bass was getting into the drum mics. with the Fender i lost output power (less sensitive drivers) but gained a bit of bass in my sound when playing in front of the cab. The "against the wall" thing can't be a constant for me due to the different stages we play in. Sometimes i can't leave the cabinet near a wall to benifit from the reflex, in some places i had to play with my rig on my side, facing me (and before you ask we use PA and my rig is only for monitoring me and my drummer)... You're right about me feeling the air flow, that's what i like to feel from my bass rig (probably influenced by my previous TE 210+115 front-ported rig - great amounts of trouser and shirt flapping but heavy as hell! ) so for me it's front-ported all the way! Thanks for clearing the tech part of this question, cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Fitzmaurice Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 (edited) [quote name='Ghost_Bass' timestamp='1322840846' post='1456558'] The Genz sounded very thin when standing on front of it but behind (in front of the ports) you could hear all the bass comming out, [/quote]Of course, because the mids and highs coming off the cones are directional. You didn't hear more bass standing behind the cab, you heard less mids and highs, which subjectively is the same thing. The difference in comparison with the Fender cabs has to do with a number of factors, port location isn't one of them. [quote]Sometimes i can't leave the cabinet near a wall to benifit from the reflex, in some places i had to play with my rig on my side, facing me [/quote]The cab doesn't need to be near a wall to benefit from reflex, again the port works in exactly the same fashion unless the cab is so tight to a wall as to upset the cab tuning. The cab does have to be close to a wall to gain boundary reinforcement, but that applies to all frequencies below the baffle step frequency of the cab, not just port radiation. The baffle step frequency of the average cab is 300Hz. Port radiation tends to be centered around 45-55Hz. Edited December 2, 2011 by Bill Fitzmaurice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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