Low and fat or tall and skinny ?

[JohnFitzgerald]

I've yet to wheel out the newly acquired trace cabs (1153 and 2102) and have it in mind that I'll be going for vertical orientation. Primarily so the top 10" speaker on the 2102 is at lughole height, or as close as is practical given the actual size of the cabs.
It seems to be the preferred way for the likes of TC Electronics and their cabs.

So, what's it to be ?


[attachment=124791:post-16213-1304256474.jpg]

[size=6]Or.[/size]

[attachment=124792:Trace Elliot Cabs and Head (2).JPG]

There will be those of you with an ability to give a scientific reason why one or the other would be better.


Last questions. Were I to be stupid enough to liberate a bit of funds and pick up the other two matching cabs currently for sale on here, would it cause issues to have them side by side, i.e a pair of matching stacks.

I'm here for a good time, not a long time. Shove yer wee light cabs up yer a**e.

[stingrayPete1977]

Verticle for the win

[JTUK]

Don't see the point of unbalancing the cabs by stacking vertical.
You will get the usual guff as to why you should, but the TC thing is taking it to a limit...
I can just see that lot crashing down quite easily... and tbh, I'd say you'd deserve it..

If you really can't hear your rig..then I'd look at the reasons why from an EQ/sound POV.
I don't swallow the off axis issue for lower frequencies either, but to deal with the whole thing from my standpoint,
I don't need to do it..plus it looks as silly as f***

[JohnFitzgerald]

The cabs are designed to be used either way and have rubber feet on the long and short sides. My matching Trace head is exactly the same width as the short side too, so vertical stacking is not using the cabs in a way the designer hadn't intended.

I take all of your points on board though.

[xgsjx]

If your bass isn't also going through the PA, then I'm with Pete.
Putting your cabs vertically gives a better sound dispersion over the audience (there's a few threads already about this) & also it puts the sound closer to you & your audiences ears.

I prefer the vertical look too.

[LawrenceH]

Takes up less floor space but still the cabs are squat enough to be stable, gets the speakers closer to your ears, you get a little benefit in terms of mid-range dispersion, AND the TE badges are the right way up! What's not to like about the vertical stack?

If you got a second set of cabs, then 1. It wouldn't be technically ideal to have them side-by-side but 2. It's hard to see how to do it otherwise and 3. You probably wouldn't notice or care about the sonic difference

Edited December 11, 2012 by LawrenceH

[JohnFitzgerald]

To be 100% honest, I was already minded to have it vertically stacked, purely for audibility. Not a fan of ankleblaster cabinets.
having said that, there's every chance it'll go through the PA too.
It's not likely that I'll have it blasting*, just enough to hear it.


* I can't make any promises though.

[JohnFitzgerald]

[quote name='LawrenceH' timestamp='1355256512' post='1896092']
Takes up less floor space but still the cabs are squat enough to be stable, gets the speakers closer to your ears, you get a little benefit in terms of mid-range dispersion, AND the TE badges are the right way up! What's not to like about the vertical stack?

If you got a second set of cabs, then 1. It wouldn't be technically ideal to have them side-by-side but 2. It's hard to see how to do it otherwise and 3. You probably wouldn't notice or care about the sonic difference
[/quote]

I could have a stack either side of the drummer.
He'd love that....

Not.

And yes, you're right, I wouldn't notice or care about the sonic difference.
It's all just furniture after a certain point.

Edited December 11, 2012 by JohnFitzgerald

[stingrayPete1977]

They look sh*t on the side and that is the most important bit imo the badges are the right way up and the cabs are the same width as the head too, why would it come crashing down people have been stacking two 4x10's for years!

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

Horizontal dispersion is inversely proportional to the width of the source, so having the two tens vertical will double the dispersion angle compared to having them horizontal.

[shizznit]

You have a similar rig that I had 16yrs ago (albeit with a AH500X head). It was a belting rig and my first proper pro backline. I always mounted the cabs vertically so that I could hear the 210 a bit more clearly. LOL...I will always remember the guitar player (whom I lived to annoy at any given chance because he was an utter t*t) in the band I was playing for at the time freaking out when I did that because it made his crappy, puny little 40w Marshall Valvestate combo look like a lunch box! Ahhhh...happy times!

[Conan]

Stack 'em vertically - then the badges look right! And when you get the other two, stack 'em on top. Use stepladders to adjust your amp.

[stingrayPete1977]

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1355301854' post='1896459']
Stack 'em vertically - then the badges look right! And when you get the other two, stack 'em on top. Use stepladders to adjust your amp.
[/quote]
Correct, ratchet strap round the lot

[chris_b]

There are different reasons for doing one or the other.

Try each and stick with which ever one works for you.

[JohnFitzgerald]

[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' timestamp='1355272453' post='1896350']
Horizontal dispersion is inversely proportional to the width of the source, so having the two tens vertical will double the dispersion angle compared to having them horizontal.
[/quote]

Bill
Might this explain the logic behind the slot opening in the old Trace BLX combos ?

P.S. Thanks for your's and others' input. I was always going for vertical stacking, just didn't want to miss out on something else obvious.

Edited December 12, 2012 by JohnFitzgerald

[LawrenceH]

[quote name='JohnFitzgerald' timestamp='1355317933' post='1896808']
Might this explain the logic behind the slot opening in the old Trace BKLX combos ?
[/quote]

The old BLX80? It certainly had that effect, they were a 4th or 6th order bandpass design I think? The slot acted as a port that also allowed a proportion of direct radiated sound out to improve the bandwidth. Still a very scooped sound though! Real oddball design, but it worked surprisingly well in some contexts.

[EBS_freak]

2nd arrangement.

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

[quote name='JohnFitzgerald' timestamp='1355317933' post='1896808']
Bill
Might this explain the logic behind the slot opening in the old Trace BKLX combos ?
[/quote]Slot loading makes the cab a bandpass, so that kills highs and mids anyway. But to the extent that they still are there a vertical slot will give wider dispersion than a horizontal slot. Diffraction is the mechanics in this particular instance, how it works is shown here:
http://www.acoustics.salford.ac.uk/feschools/waves/flash/diffractionslider.swf

While the diffraction model doesn't precisely explain the benefits of vertical placement, or for that matter the wider dispersion of a smaller driver, it's close enough.

[iconic]

Vertical everytime.....lovely looking rig by the way!