Open or Closed Back speaker cab? Which is the right choice for you? 

Hey everyone, Joe here. Just wanted to leave a quick note as a couple of people have mentioned the sound from the room mics. I think I may have mixed them a little bit too high here, which gives a bit of a slap-back delay effect. I've since noticed on laptop speakers it sounds a bit more pronounced compared to the headphones I was mixing in. I wanted to show the differences in the room sound between the closed and open back for this video. The mic positions and levels were kept the same for closed and open back. When we do the full-length video, I'll pay extra care to the levels. Thanks for all your comments. We really appreciate your feedback and conversation.

For ease of comparison - 6:09 closed 7:08 open 7:36 closed 8:24 open 9:03 closed 9:36 open

For my own reference Distorted- 9:04 Closed 9:36 Open 9:19 Closed 9:48 Open Thanks for the demo.

Thanks a lot for this vid, guys. Really useful to hear the same cab first closed back and then open for an apples to apples comparison. Closed back for rhythm playing and open back for clean or some leads would be probably the best option for me.

Per usual when choosing between two gear options the ultimate answer is "yes." Great video.

I like the hybrid cabs, where they are closed back, but have a removable panel for when you want an open back. So you get both in one.

Thanks a lot for the video(s) guys! The open back recording sounds a lot more ambient. Actually I think there are some phase problems and significant delay between the microphones in all of the open back recordings.

Excellent demo. Now I need every cab in both open and closed configurations. 🤔

I like both, they sound good in different ways. Open back for blues or jazz, closed back for hard rock or metal.

I had a pretty large 4X12 cabinet about 15 years ago, and it was like a carpet covered plywood, and it sounded seriously boxy no matter what I did to it. EQ barely helped it, and one day I took a saw and cut the back off of little over half of it. That cabinet brightened up perfectly and never had problems again. I did end up selling it when I hit the road because it was too large to carry around. But sometimes it just makes better sense for open back and sometime closed back is the way, depending on the cabinet and speakers in it. One thing I have learned in 38 years is that there is no one way being the only way.

Most of my cabs are closed which generally I prefer, but on a stage with mediocre monitoring the band can hear a lot more guitar with an open back - this may or may not be a good thing depending on how much practice I've been doing.

It's also a matter of how deep a cab is. I have a Laney 2x12 cab loaded with V30s, closed back. It's about 38cm deep, and it really helps keeping the spikey mids of V30s down. But it's a friggin laser, and imho makes the speaker sound quieter than it really is. The same speaker in thinner closed back cabs sounds way brighter and airy for example.

Great demonstration of the difference between the two. I’ve built a few bloated back guitar cabs and a ported 2x10 bass can recently, really getting deep into speaker cab making and my next project I was thinking of doing was an open-back 1x12. This sealed the deal for me, can’t wait to build it! *update* I built an open back 1x12 and it has that different bottom end profile and room-filling character, very useful to be able to essentially EQ and direct the guitar signal post-amp the way I want it. I also have built a 2x12 mini-Marshall style cab and it’s my new favorite.

Open Back all the way! The cleans shimmer and sound alive while the high gain crunches more. Not as tight or thunderous in the low-end, but the bark & bite just seem more apparent. That said, I keep multiple cabs around depending on the situation. If you do a video on ported/non-ported, please include rear ports as well as front ones. I know some Hiwatt cabs do the small slit on the bottom of the rear panel, which seems to add lows but different than the front circle ports.

The open back set up adds a bit of high-end brilliance.

Played a 65 twin for 15 years, but when I got my 8 string EBMM, I sold it to get a high gain amp(JP-2C), with a closed back 4x12. Hard to say bye to a classic, but had to do it.

Took a quick scanning listen and I liked closed on distortion, and open on clean

I've always had problems with closed back cabs. I think it depends on how you tend to set your amp as to which is better or not. I have always dialled out a quite a lot of bass from my sound, so I think that's why I've not heard any improvement in low end response because there isn't much bass to tighten up in the first place. The result I always get when trying out a closed back cab compared to open is that is just sounds brighter and drier. Personally my favourite format is open-back 4x10.

Definitely preferred the closed back!!

A Fender Twin is an open back. The sound is historical. A Marshall stack is closed back, historical as well. But artists of varying styles have used them all. Its all in how you set up your gear. Imo

Thanks for making this video guys it really helps me to choose what best for me

Thanks for putting up this video! It is basically something that can make or break your sound... 😉 I've only watched this on my mobile, which is highly unfair as it won't do your work any justice, but I will definitely listen to it again on a really good set of headphones! I built an oversized 2x12" cab myself ages ago, and included a removable panel in the back. It also has 2 different type Celestions, each with its own input, so essentially I can pick and mix suited to whatever I'm going to record. One is a Vintage30 (25th Anniversary series), which is well broken in, and sounds best with a closed back. The other is a truly lovely old Rola-Celestion Greenback (70s), and that one sounds great in either situation, but will sound different obviously: in a closed cab it seems to have a better definition in lows and highs, and when open it brings out a beautiful mid-high range... My amp of choice on that speaker is a Marshall JTM (1W Anniversary series head, phenomenal bit of gear!), and it can do so much more than I ever thought... 😉👍

I would be interested to see (hear) your take on a cab dedicated to home/low volume playing. That would probably mean low sensitivity, small speaker.....

Very informative video! The open back sounded almost as if you had a doubling effect on the signal. Could this have been the reflections from the wall at the back? If you do the longer video, I would be interested in the (dis)advantages of an internal separation between speakers as in the old Fender Bassman 2x12s or the Mesa Roadking cabs. Also, if you could comment on the oval shape opening that some manufacturers use, that would be great, cheers!

I need a pedal controlled cab-back-port robot!

Always loved the closed back ❤️

I use the open back configuration for everything blues and rock but not metal.

In high school I ran a 410 open back and 212 closed cab. Bitch to lug around but sounded glorious.

Moltes gràcies per l'exemple!!

Thank you for the video, this is a great demonstration of the 2 sounds. It left me with 2 questions though. First what speaker is in there? Is there a hybrid 2x12 (or 4x12) that has half the speakers closed back and half open?

Everyone says closed back increases bsss frequencies. Maybe it does for some of them, but my perception is that open back brings more bass but spread out more than closed back

This is a great comparison, and very useful. What speaker did you use in the video? I may have missed if you mentioned that, but it would be helpful to know. Thanks for all of your work in putting together these videos.

Interesting topic, I’m trying this out in my studio at the moment by making a set of different ply backs to compare sounds. Does open back work better the further from the wall the cab is? Mine are only about 3“ from the rear wall which has acoustic panels on, so suspect it might be a different comparison further from the wall. I do like the frequency plots, would it be possible to super impose them at the end, so you can see where the frequency differences are?

Moltes gràcies!!!

Closed back for me. Great vid, thx.

Move more air with a closed back. It's what my Hiwatt DR 504 OL loves. JUSTSAYIN'.

Closed back for me. Thought the sound was better balanced. The open back had a more open sound, especially with the highs, but I can imagine if you had a bright guitar or amp, that could then sound a bit harsh?

Nice video, guys! This channel rocks!

I found myself preferring closed back when I expected to prefer open back. Who knew?

You know, it's a bit like that bleeding effect of sound when you have a 4x12 cab micing only one speaker - so, people say closed are tighter.

closed sound more composed better for riff playing, open better for long sounding notes, arpegios, cords playing

Did you ever make the longer, more in-depth video you kept talking about?

what about using 2 out of the 4 speakers in a 412 essentially making it front ported? same effect as an open back?

Camae for the topic, stayed for the licks.

what about semi open? Im thinking of cutting my marshall 412 back panel into 2 or 3 pieces. should the port be facing the back of speakers? should they not be?

Damn, open back sounds more in your face 🔥

Thanks for your video. Very interested in this as I am building my own cab. What I was hoping to see was the back of the cab! You only showed the front. I was also hoping for an explanation of why you go with three panels, with one third open. Is there a reason for a one third open, not 1/4 or half, or full open? There is not much info on this subject on the web.

Not sure if you get this message but I have a question do you ever put foam insulation in a closed back and what would it do would it hurt the tone or make it tighter

As long as it's good tone it doesn't matter if it's open or closed

Every cabinet should be both. How hard can it be to construct a cab in such a way that you have a little door at the backside that you can open en close?

Seemed the open back was brighter

So my question is, if using a 1/12, extension cab with an open back combo, which adds the best over all tone to that set up?

Hello gents. What speaker was loaded in the cab? Cheers!

Well I do not recall hearing you say what kind of speaker you used? It doe snot have much chime or jangle that I can hear. So what make and model speaker is in this?

Speaker choice can negate alot of the low end difference between the 2 . H speakers are the ticket for open back although I use a ceamback M in an open back combo . It's the only M speaker I have ever liked in an open back amp, my most used setup is an open back paired with a closed back . Open back combo and closed back xab

Sound very killer

If you use an Isolation booth for your cabs,… id imagine open back or closed back at that stage is largely redundant, am i correct?

The fact that the recording mic is pointing at the speaker, limites the demo? I mean, shouldn’t the difference can be heard more in the room rather than directly to the speaker? I’m just wandering…

The open back breathes the sound around and right in front of you and the close back is very focused or sonically directional as a lack of words. Open back is like opening a treasure chest full of gold and silver coins while the close back the golds are being thrown to your face.

Great video as usual. I do A/B comparaison with my 10/12 cab, there is a difference but as much as i can hear in this video, room... mic'...my ears and stuff... there are so much things involve. As soon es I can I will order one of your cab for my 10" GB, I am sick of building 15mm MDF things that probably sucks. The tolex is beautiful on the one in this video. I know it is a stupid question, but what is the thickness of the pick you use, friendly bearded face dude? :) Again, sorrry. I love your British accent (I was married to a US female)

Great video! Is a cab with a three piece back in the closed position expected to sound the same as an identical cab with a regular closed back? And can any of your 1x12 closed back cabs be ordered with a three piece back? Thx!

so when you say Closed back .... do you mean No holes or openings at all? or is it ported?

Yep, I still hate open back. Thanks.

In a small practice 1x8 cab do you reckon an open back would add a bit more low end or should it be closed and possibly ported?

Is this a fully open back or half open back. Thanks.

Does it matter what materials make up the cabinet if it’s an open back cab? Like does 13 ply birch matter if it’s open back as opposed to particle board?

would've been nice to compare the rhythm parts without the leads in between

Okay im gonna try closing my 4×10 i use an eq anyhow but yeah

What speaker did you use?

The closed back sounds a bit boxier and more restrained.

Which speaker is in the cab?

Metal chugging sounds way better closed cab, the others are good in both setups

I can’t tell the difference. The audience will never tell the difference.

Shoulda made the Zella logo slightly smaller (it’s a metaphor)

Closed back all the way and adjust the tone you want by placing near a wall

you want a close back ??? go and get a trash wood in the street 6 screws and you got your custom close back just choose massive wood

...OPEN BACK=MORE REVERB

get on with it

This is how your voices sound in that room, "wah-wah woh-wuh-weh woo-woh oh-wah-uh whuh" Lapel mics would have been more useful and intelligible

Cut out the roommics!

Open back against the wall. There! I saved you money. Bye.

Open, has less bass

too much talking...

terrible music taste

PLEASE DONT TALK JUST PLAY!!!

open back not tight