Mr.T Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 At our last gig, I really struggled with my sound.... The pub had recently fitted a nice looking floating wooden floor! I could hardly hear a note I played all night, with any amount of EQ'ing, which is not usually the case. Anyway... Someone mentioned that squash balls, cut in half, work well as cabinet feet to help reduce mechanical coupling (which I am assuming was the problem). Any thoughts or suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Heeley Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 What a great idea, sounds plausible, not sure how you could fix them without nails/screws into your cab base, i reckon glues would not hold them but it should keep the cab from bouncing about. They charge a lot of money to audiophiles for acoustic dampening feet to put under your amp, cd player, speakers. They are said to improve the acoustic resopnse 'significantly'. I use an old mouse mat and cut coin-size circles out of it. It solved the problem with my friends expensive cd jumping whenever the kids charged into the living room. Very happy with the sound of my hi fi but I've never tried the squash balls on my bass cab yet. I'm going to hunt for a couple of old balls tonight to try out at the wedding gig this weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hot Tub Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 [quote name='Mr.T' post='547662' date='Jul 22 2009, 03:01 PM']At our last gig, I really struggled with my sound.... I could hardly hear a note I played all night, with any amount of EQ'ing, which is not usually the case. Any thoughts or suggestions?[/quote] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Auralex Gramma from Bass Direct would do it better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lateralus462 Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 [quote name='chris_b' post='547858' date='Jul 22 2009, 05:22 PM']Auralex Gramma from Bass Direct would do it better.[/quote] but also cost a lot more........................ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lfalex v1.1 Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 With the squash ball fix, if you don't want to do it permanently, just put them on the floor "upside down" (dome upwards) under your cab's existing feet... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironside1966 Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 A cheap rubber mat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.T Posted July 22, 2009 Author Share Posted July 22, 2009 [quote name='Al Heeley' post='547770' date='Jul 22 2009, 04:16 PM']What a great idea, sounds plausible, not sure how you could fix them without nails/screws into your cab base, i reckon glues would not hold them but it should keep the cab from bouncing about. They charge a lot of money to audiophiles for acoustic dampening feet to put under your amp, cd player, speakers. They are said to improve the acoustic resopnse 'significantly'. I use an old mouse mat and cut coin-size circles out of it. It solved the problem with my friends expensive cd jumping whenever the kids charged into the living room. Very happy with the sound of my hi fi but I've never tried the squash balls on my bass cab yet. I'm going to hunt for a couple of old balls tonight to try out at the wedding gig this weekend.[/quote] Hey Al, It's worth a try! Let us know how it works.... I haven't got a gig this weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrcrow Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 [quote name='Mr.T' post='547662' date='Jul 22 2009, 03:01 PM']At our last gig, I really struggled with my sound.... The pub had recently fitted a nice looking floating wooden floor! I could hardly hear a note I played all night, with any amount of EQ'ing, which is not usually the case. Anyway... Someone mentioned that squash balls, cut in half, work well as cabinet feet to help reduce mechanical coupling (which I am assuming was the problem). Any thoughts or suggestions?[/quote] [url="http://www.juno.co.uk/products/283809-01.htm?utm_source=google_uk&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=Google%2BShopping"]http://www.juno.co.uk/products/283809-01.h...ogle%2BShopping[/url] anti vibration pads or as my friend did with his bbc monitors..hung them from the ceiling with piano wire...a bit permanent though...but not a chance of vibes escaping also a concrete block may do the necessary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mottlefeeder Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 I've had halved squash balls under my record deck for several years, and yes they work, within the constraints of that amount of mass and that amount of springiness. Putting a heavy cab on them would change the system resonance, like changing to heavier gauge strings, so there are no guarantees, but it would be cheap to try out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.T Posted July 22, 2009 Author Share Posted July 22, 2009 [quote name='mrcrow' post='548134' date='Jul 22 2009, 08:29 PM']also a concrete block may do the necessary[/quote] ...... And just after I have spent all that money on lightweight cabs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Heeley Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 [quote name='mrcrow' post='548134' date='Jul 22 2009, 08:29 PM'][url="http://www.juno.co.uk/products/283809-01.htm?utm_source=google_uk&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=Google%2BShopping"]http://www.juno.co.uk/products/283809-01.h...ogle%2BShopping[/url] anti vibration pads or as my friend did with his bbc monitors..hung them from the ceiling with piano wire...a bit permanent though...but not a chance of vibes escaping also a concrete block may do the necessary[/quote] Heh- those blue sponge squares are an attractive addition to any audiophile's listening room. concrete blocks - great idea but you are obviously entirely mad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Did you try a beer crate? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
51m0n Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 No I used to construct speaker stands out of two concrete blocks bolted together. Then bluetack the speaker bass entirely onto the stand. Total price per side <£5 works as well as anything we found to compare it with, and looked really cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Heeley Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 (edited) Do you have a large pickup truck? Last thing I'd want is to have to augment the lugging around of the bass amp and cabs by adding a couple of big concrete blocks to the itinerary. For a gigging musician i see the half squash balls as a more practical approach Edited July 23, 2009 by Al Heeley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrcrow Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 [quote name='Al Heeley' post='548412' date='Jul 22 2009, 11:22 PM']Heh- those blue sponge squares are an attractive addition to any audiophile's listening room. concrete blocks - great idea but you are obviously entirely mad.[/quote] you cannot be serious the block goes under the speaker...not in it... if you frequent a venue...leave it behind the bar or in the piano Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclaber Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 I was going to do the squash balls between slabs trick for my hi-fi when I was at uni. Never got round to getting the squash balls so it just ended up a hi-fi sitting on two paving slabs... I think it could work ok for lightweight bass cabs. Or some PlatFoam - more on that later... Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrcrow Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 [quote name='alexclaber' post='549081' date='Jul 23 2009, 04:05 PM']I was going to do the squash balls between slabs trick for my hi-fi when I was at uni. Never got round to getting the squash balls so it just ended up a hi-fi sitting on two paving slabs... I think it could work ok for lightweight bass cabs. Or some PlatFoam - more on that later... Alex[/quote] a light in the tunnel... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MB1 Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 [quote name='Mr.T' post='548408' date='Jul 22 2009, 11:18 PM']...... And just after I have spent all that money on lightweight cabs! [/quote] MB1. Trace Elliot 1 . Mr T 0 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.T Posted July 24, 2009 Author Share Posted July 24, 2009 [quote name='MB1' post='549111' date='Jul 23 2009, 04:20 PM']MB1. Trace Elliot 1 . Mr T 0 . [/quote] Surely you are not suggesting that lighter cabs suffer from mechanical coupling more than heavier cabs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrenochrome Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 [quote name='ironside1966' post='548059' date='Jul 22 2009, 07:53 PM']A cheap rubber mat[/quote] Rubber car mats can work well IME. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.T Posted July 28, 2009 Author Share Posted July 28, 2009 Anyone tried the squash balls trick yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPJ Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 (edited) [url="http://www.studiospares.com/Sound-Insulation/Auralex-Platfoam-X1-Piece/invt/461330"]You can buy these[/url] now so you can make your own isolation platform for less than £20. The Auralex platforms use this as the base with just a carpet covered MDF or chip board covering. Worth the cost of trying but probably still more expensive than the squash/tennis ball solution. Edited July 30, 2009 by TPJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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