Many players out there believe that an amplifier provides you with your core tone. While that is true for the most part, some guitarists undervalue the significance of a guitar cabinet and the influence that one can have on your sound.
In this article, we’re going to try and identify which is the best guitar cabinet out there. Not quite literally, because taste is subjective! But we’re going to help you to identify which amp cabinet will suits your needs the best.
In its most basic definition, a guitar cab is a set of speakers fitted within a wooden enclosure. Its purpose is to project the audio signal created by an amplifier head or a speaker out-enabled combo. With some small amp cabinets housing just a single speaker and larger cabs featuring up to four, the guitar cabinet market is surprisingly diverse - especially when you consider the simplicity of a cabinet’s design.
With different sizes, designs and styles available, it’s fair to say that trying to find a guitar cabinet that perfectly meets your demands can be difficult. That’s because different types of amp cabs have their own qualities, with their particular constructions and speakers affecting your amplifier's output and tonal idiosyncrasies.
So in this article, we’re going to break down the characteristics of the main guitar speaker cabinets that you’re likely to come across. This is so that you can feel confident when distinguishing which type of cabinet can be best paired with your amplifier. But first, let’s provide you with some context…
Arguably one of the most photographed pieces of gear in rock history, the legendary Marshall 4×12” guitar cab is an icon amongst guitar players. As one of the first mass-produced cabinets available, the classic Marshall stack powered the rock sound of the ‘60s and ‘70s, with Pete Townsend, Ritchie Blackmore and Jimi Hendrix using them to help establish the foundations of the genre.
As stadium rock started to take over, countless bands needed walls of speakers to fill these vast spaces with sound. And well into the 21st Century, the Marshall 4×12” guitar cab remains the industry standard. With many other guitar amp companies designing their own versions in following years, as a whole, the 4×12” is still considered the biggest and most powerful type of amp cabinet available.
However, as we alluded to, you can get cabinets in smaller sizes that can deliver completely different sounds. In the next section, we’re going to take you through the most common sizes and specs you’ll find - describing what they sound like and more.
Other than the 4×12”, the second most common contender you’ll discover is the 2×12”. Generally half the size of a 4×12” as you’d expect, the 2×12” isn’t the smallest tone-pusher available; there are 1×12” cabs too!
You may already notice a commonality between these cabs; they all feature 12” speakers. Whereas bass amp cabinets can feature 8” or 10” speakers, guitar cabs tend to feature larger 12” versions as they project a more open sound. This ensures that an amplifier emits the full frequency range that electric guitars typically occupy on a frequency spectrum.
Generally the smallest cabinets available, 1×12” cabs don't project as much volume as their larger counterparts - but can still be plenty-potent! Ideal for smaller venues where the amount of dB you’re distributing isn’t such an issue, a 1×12” will generally have punchy mids with extended highs.
Lacking the low-end of of a 4×12”, a 1×12” amp cabinet is suited to players that prefer a more articulate upper mid-range. If you’ve used combo amps before, it’s likely that they would have come installed with single 12” speakers. So if you can recall the sound of them fairly well, it’s pretty comparable.
A 1×12” guitar cab works well in conjunction with lower-wattage amps, making that natural amp break-up easier to attain. With a low-headroom amp cranked, more strain will be put on the speaker and it will thus provide a raunchier tone; allowing your sound to penetrate a mix far more easily.
A step up from 1×12” speaker cabinet, 2×12” cabs perfectly bridge the gap between portable and powerful. With their speakers placed side-by-side in most instances, 2×12” amp cabs are tonally similar to 1×12” cabinets, but emit richer and more three-dimensional tones thanks to their additional speakers.
Providing you with some extra volume, a 2×12” guitar cab can sound slightly more focused than a 4×12” because of its more compact enclosure. Suitable for medium-sized gigs where loud onstage monitoring can be vital, a small 2×12” is obviously far easier to transport than a 4×12”. This makes it a viable option even for mainstream touring artists that are trying to save money on shipping costs.
One advantage that a 2×12” amp cabinet presents over a 1×12” is that it gives you the ability to mismatch speakers. Although most 2×12” cabs come installed with the same-spec speakers, having two different types can give you a more varied sound. A 2×12” cab therefore allows you to experiment with new combinations for more interesting sonic textures.
In terms of which amps they work well with, 2×12” cabs can be partnered with medium to high-wattage amplifiers; capable of projecting the large amounts of headroom that even 100W heads can generate. We’d therefore recommend pairing an amplifier rated at between 30W-100W with a 2×12”.
When volume is king, then nothing beats trusted 4×12” cabs. With a huge engulfing sound, the unparalleled 4×12” is suited for large-scale performances only. That’s not necessarily a strict rule, as you can of course use a 4×12” at smaller venues. But if you do, at least be courteous enough to provide your audience with some earplugs!
If you’ve already done a bit of searching, you’ll notice that 4×12” cabs are available in two configurations – ‘straight’ and ‘angled’. A straight cab is quite self-explanatory, where all of its speakers are front-facing and project sound in the same direction. An angled cabinet is slightly different however, with its top two speakers facing up at about a 10-20 degree angle.
Regarding player preferences, most will favour angled 4×12” cabs as they are able to project sound straight ahead and towards the ceiling. This gives a slightly wider spread, as the sound that is emitted is firing in different directions. An angled cab is therefore more effective at filling a space as it is being reflected in more areas, thus giving your guitar sound the best chance to reach the audience’s ears - as well as your own onstage.
From a tonal perspective, the differences between angled and straight are fairly minor. Some argue that a straight cabinet has a more powerful sound with boomier lows, while others say that an angled cab delivers improved highs because of the speaker separation.
Apart from their sizes and speaker configurations, cabinets can also be distinguished by another design trait. More significantly affecting their sound, ‘closed back’ and ‘open back’ refers to a cabinet’s type of construction.
‘Closed back’ is perhaps the most common type you’ll come across, which defines a cab with its speakers fully enclosed. This design concept gives a cabinet a more punchy quality, as its sound is only being pushed forward with almost no spill emitting from the rear. This produces an accentuated low-end thump and a bolder mid-range, with a very focused character as a whole.
An ‘open back’ cabinet is different as it has an area of its housing removed at the back, which ensures that sound can escape. Its name not only refers to its appearance though, as this cab design produces a more open and airy sound compared to its closed back counterparts. They are therefore renowned for boasting a brighter sound, with increased presence and top-end cut.
In terms of which is better, like we said at the beginning - it’s all subjective! Most rock and metal players prefer closed back cabinets as they deliver a tighter sound, with more natural compression. But if you rely on your cabinet for onstage monitoring, it can sometimes be difficult to hear yourself with a closed-back cabinet as they are very directional.
An open back offers a more vibrant tone with looser lows, as its sound spreads more easily around a room. In a studio environment this will have its advantages, as a sound engineer can play around more freely with microphone placement. Funk and blues players may prefer the sonics provided by an open back too, as its abundance of treble will lend itself more to articulate playing styles.
Garnering a lot of interest and praise in recent years, FRFR cabs are ultra-modern alternatives to traditional amp cabinets. Standing for ‘full range, flat-response’, an FRFR cab is designed to work in conjunction with modelling amplifiers, such as those offered by Line 6, Kemper and Headrush.
Essentially, FRFR cabinets are akin to active PA speakers. Giving you a completely transparent sound with little to no colouration, an FRFR cabinet can process and project any frequency that an amp signal feeds it. In other words, it’s a blank canvas that allows you to fully take advantage of the versatile range of sounds offered by modelling amps.
Also available in straight and angled configurations, these cabinets are usually high-wattage to ensure massive headroom - remaining clean even at high volumes. If you want to learn even more about FRFR cabinets, take a look at our ‘What is an FRFR Speaker Cabinet‘ article. Also, check out this great video on Andertons TV - comparing some fantastic FRFR speaker cab contenders:
As we mentioned at the beginning, there is no definitive “best” guitar cab; only the most appropriate for your demands. From the main types of cabinets that we identified and described, it’s clear that there is a lot of tonal diversity between them.
If you’re a bedroom player that rehearses with a band and plays small gigs from time-to-time, then a 1×12″ will be more than adequate. But if you need to really push some air, a more powerful 2×12″ or 4×12″ cab will fair better at medium to large-scale venues.
One important thing to remember, however, is that in a live situation you will often have your cabinet mic’d up and projected through a PA system. So even if you use a 1×12″ at a large gig, your sound would still be heard by the audience out front. You just might struggle to hear yourself onstage unless you had wedge monitors feeding that mic’d signal up to you.
Therefore, onstage monitoring is one of the most vital things to consider when looking for a cab. But you must also think about the overall portability of your rig, as well as the type of tone that you’re wishing to attain. Whatever you end up choosing, just know that there’s no right or wrong. Having said that, we hope that this article made things clearer!
For more information about other topics mentioned in this guide, check out our related articles:
