While most guitarists give careful thought to their selection of instrument and amplifier it's unfortunate how often the significant contribution made by the driver and cabinet is overlooked. Inspired by the resonant cabinet designs of Kevin O'Connor, Synaptic Amps is pursuing a new approach in speaker cabinet construction centered on the notion that the cabinet itself is an acoustic instrument with an important role to play in shaping and projecting sounds.
By analogy, the baffle of a speaker cabinet is like the soundboard of a grand piano not only providing a place to mount the driver but resonating with it and transmitting the sound to the body of the cabinet. The back panel, like the back of a cello, reflects the rear wave of the driver forward so it may add to the front going wave through the front port. Not only does this front ported arrangement improve efficiency by allowing the driver to move more freely than it does in a closed cabinet, it also yields a dramatic improvement in bass response and introduces a whole new set of posibilities in cabinet mic positionings. In contrast to standard commercial cabinets where the sound emininates off the front of the drivers in a narrow focussed beam, a properly designed resonant cabinet should disperse a spacious sound with diffuse 3D highs while imparting a distinct "acoustic" characteristic to the tone.
We're continually working on refining our resonant cabinet designs in search of the optimal combination of materials and methods to produce the finest musical instrument speaker cabinets possible. Ultimately we anticipate this to be a life long pursuit continually progressing towards an ever changing goal. From the selection of wood species, wood thickness and methods of joinery to the cabinet dimensions and internal bracing structures our goal is to learn how to control each variable to maximize the acoustic performance of the final cabinet. In our pursuit of this goal it is essential to leave no stone unturned, even such nuanced details as the types of finishes and adhesives used must be carefully considered for their contribution to the cabinet sound. While most modern manufacturers use "carpenters" glues and other modern adhesives to speed up their production lines these glues dry leaving microscopic air pockets in the joints where sound vibrations can get refracted and dampened. We use old fashioned hot hide glue, the traditional glue of choice for luthiers on account of its unique ability to bond two pieces of wood such that they transmit sound as one. We also draw from the methods of traditional luthiery for our cabinet finishing recipes which combine a base coat of fresh mixed shellac to tone the wood and enhance it's natural highlights followed by numerous coats of instrument lacquer hand rubbed to a durable high gloss finish.
Our methods make the production of our cabinets extremely time consuming and labor intensive necessitating a very limited production. Cabinets are currently available only as custom orders in single 10" or 12" ported front configuration with a turnaround time of 2 to 3 months. We offer an option of select local Eastern White Pine or vertical grain Douglas Fir for the main cabinet wood. The standard baffle is 11-ply baltic birch with a 3 piece 13-ply "convertable" back. Contact us to inquire about solid wood baffle options. Cabinets are offered either unloaded or with a choice of quality American made drivers from Weber, Scumback or Tone Tubby.
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