At first glance, a guitar speaker cabinet can seem like it's just a wooden box with holes cut out for speakers. In actuality, there's a lot more science going on behind the design of the speaker cabinet. Below are descriptions of a few important design factors that can and will ultimately affect the tone of a custom guitar speaker cabinet. BACK PANEL:
Open Back: Open back cabinets are characterized by two things, earlier roll off of low end frequencies and greater interaction with roomacoustics. Allowing sound to leak out of the back of the cabinet can give an amp a fuller sound in a small room. The low frequencies that come out of the back are 180 degrees out of phase with the low end emanating from the front. This causes bass frequency cancellations resulting in a slightly rolled off low end sound. Closed Back: Closed back cabinets accomplish two things, a controllable low end response and the focusing of sound energy out of the
front of the cabinet. With a closed back you can control the amount of low end response (more or less) that a cabinet produces. You can also tune the volume of a closed back cabinet to assure the speakers are working in their ideal environment. In an ideal environment, a speaker will have the quickest response to dynamics input changes. This quick response is sometimes what is referred to as a "tight" playing cabinet. PORTING:
Tuned Port: Tuned ports in cabinets are used to increase the low end response of a speaker. Generally guitar speakers do not have
characteristics that will benefit from a tuned port but porting is almost always seen in bass guitar cabinets. Port size and length determines how much low end extension the cabinet will have. Detuned Port: Detuned ports are generally oversized ports that are made in the baffle of cabinet. This allows the sound that emanates from
the back of the speakers to be projected out of the front of the cabinet. Unlike in an open back cabinet, if placed correctly a detuned port can realign the out of phase frequencies and increase the frequency response of the cabinet. Detuned port cabinets are not affected as much by room acoustics as open backs are but are often described as having airy and full
sounding characteristics. SPEAKER:Of course, we cannot stress enough how much speaker selection has an affect on tone. There is no wrong sounding
Of course, we cannot stress enough how much speaker selection has an affect on tone. There is no wrong sounding speaker, but great care must be taken when selecting the right speaker for your tone. At Miyako Designs we have experience with many speakers available and can help you choose the right one for your custom cabinet. Check out this link 
