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Creating a wider stereo image? anyone ever tried this?


BowerR65

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I picked up another cheap stereo amp (crate VTX200S) and it sounds great but i cant leave anything alone, i want to modify it just because i didnt spend alot on it and want to just play around with it.

 

What im thinking about is to try and seperate the sound a little more with just a little modification. My thought is to cut up the front panel that the speakers mount to so that i can mount half of the speaker in the back, and half in the front. This would sort of tilt the speaker a little in the stock cabinet sort of re-aiming the speakers at a slightly wider angle.

 

Its just a thought ive yet to see anyone try this searching around the net. I have seen angled front panels in cabinets that looks ok but will require alot more work.

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^ In theory, the left speaker directs sound to the right and the right speaker directs sound to the left. The output from the two crosses in front of the amp and splits again. Remember crossing the streams in Ghostbusters? Personally, I'd think it would work better if the speakers were angled outward.

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I would think that would have the opposite effect of a "Wider Stereo Image".

 

If you have two flashlights and cross the beams like those speakers it would be wider sound to the audience, but it will sound more to the player as he gets closer to the amp. You could easily tilt them outwards instead of cross eyed like that photo, but as you get closer to the amp you hear less in the center. An audience up close might not hear anything front stage if no speakers are pointing at them. At least with the X angle thay should hear something even if its off axis.

 

The only drawback I see is when you cut the cabinet size down you will loose bass response. If the amp has extra bass on its EQ knobs, then you should be OK with a smaller cab interior. I do suggest you save the original baffle in case you don't like the sound and want to revert back.

 

I have a Sunn 6X12 cab that crosses beams and it does fill the room pretty good. I don't run it in stereo however. Just mono.

 

 

 

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Get an A/B/Y pedal. Use two amps. I find about 4-5' works pretty well. Plus is you can also set them a bit different (or alot). Fun is to have some reverb on one and delay on the other. I put an eq with a little boost just ahead of the box as it tends to lose some punch in the splitting. I have an Ovation VXT which has stereo outputs. Pickups go to a Mustang and Fishman goes to acoustic amp. Delicious...

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No my thought was the other way, i want the left speaker in more inside the cabinet and the right speaker right edge inside. The speaker would not be crossing streams the would be firing more outward at a few degrees.

 

Right now i have some spacers between the speaker frame and the cabinet face. They are only out about 1/2" though not really enough to do much.

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^ Pretty much what I was thinking (see post #4). Possibly if you're handy you could have speakers mounted on adjacent sides of a single cab, pointing outward at a 90 degree angle. I'd think that would provide more than adequate separation short of using two separate cabs.

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1) bass response won't be affected since it's an open back cab. It is open back, isn't it?

2) Angled will give you wider coverage. It's not the same thing, but similar for PA speakers. I angle mine in, instead of pointing straight out. Since the guitar cab speakers are real close together, almost like a point source, my seat-of-the-pants engineer says it won't matter. But I remember reading something somewhere that said angled in was better than angled out. Help me, google...... Radar Love's pic has the added bonus of being angled up as well. Right on, baby.

 

I think the original poster's idea is solid and sound. Take out a hack saw and have at it.

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