Hello EA Forum,

Would anyone like to share their experience recording bass/guitar with the above style of cabinet? I’ve noticed that the Emperor bass cabs seem to get used on some of my favourite EA recordings. A common criticism on other forums is that cabinets of that type, like those made by Emperor and similar builders, aren’t “tuned” or “designed” with phase cancellation and other similar acoustic aspects tested. To me, that sounds like an assumption, but who knows; let’s see what the experts say.

So, does anyone have any experiences they’d like to share recording these cabinets? Even, “They’re great!” Is detailed enough, as a consensus would be helpful.

I am asking because I am considering purchasing a cabinet like this, as they sound, to me, resonant and more like an instrument than a plain ol’ speaker cabinet, but I could be wrong. I’ve never recorded one before.

I had a pair of Emperor 2x12 guitar cabs and recorded them several times, but 1. the guitar wasn't usually cranked for recordings and 2. I mostly used close mic techniques and most often either cardioid (SM-7s, Beyer m88s) or at most figure 8 ribbons. Emperors have a lot of woofy low end compared to other close back cabs and I could foresee muddiness being an issue if it were really pushed on a recording.

If going for an 'amp in a room' sound, I'd rather reach for something semi or fully open back and experiment with putting a mic behind the speaker (phase reversed) and some room mics of course. But for the way guitars are recorded most of the time the Emperors will record about as well as anything else.

Thank you! That's helpful.

I never found my 1x15 Emperor very good for recording. Even with the ports, the cabinet itself made too much rumbling sounds that would get picked up by the mics. I would always record with smaller Deitz cabs, which I never liked for live shows. That's where the Emperor shined.