Sound Rules!

The audience expects to hear the music like it is on the CD, but also to FEEL it - to have it cascade right through them. This is what we as sound tech's strive for. But it can't be just any sound, it has to be the perfect balance of instruments and vocals that will make the audience stand up and cheer!

Getting that perfect mix is the ultimate goal for us. In a live environment, finding that magical balance between instruments, vocals, and percussion is an ongoing challenge; one that is made exponentially more difficult by excessive stage volume.

Tech's have been pretty creative trying to control stage volume. We've asked the artists to turn down their amps, turned them sideways or backward, built sound barriers around them, and even moved them off stage to another room. And when all else fails, we have to push up the room volume to overcome the sound from the stage.

This is why most sound techs and guitarists have such royal feuds - we battle for control of 'the sound'. The guitarist wants their amp loud enough to preserve the tone. Sound techs need the stage volume low so we can mix all the instruments and vocals to provide that near-CD-quality experience the audience desires.

BUT...
... what if there were a way to let the artist keep their volume and tone while still keeping the stage volume under control? Would that be too much to ask for?

Not at all, dB down has the answer!

Say "Hello" to the patented Performance Isolation Cabinet (PIC)™ from dB down...

Touring Series

Gigging Series

Not Just "Another" Isolation Cabinet

Guitar Isolation Cabinets are nothing new. There are several already on the market from other vendors that share the same basic design; an external speaker, encased in a sound deadening enclosure, with one or multiple microphones mounted inside to transfer the sound to an external mixing source.

This design is a good start to controlling stage volume, but it does have some inherent problems.

First, it relies on a speaker that is most likely different than the built-in speaker in the Combo Amp. This non-native speaker naturally produces different tonalities than the built-in speaker, either being darker or brighter. Another reason for the tone difference is the design of the case where this external speaker is mounted. Restricted air movement in the case makes it harder for the speaker to produce sound, which suppresses some frequency ranges.

The second problem with the typical Iso Cab design is microphone placement. There are currently three schools of thought on the number and placement of mics for guitar amplifiers.

The 'One Mic' school advocates a single mic placed at close proximity and pointing into the speaker at a spot that captures a particular sound.
The 'Two Mic' school supports the use of two mics with both either in front of the speaker or one in front and one behind, again at close proximity and pointing into the cone, to capture two different tones from the speaker.
The 'Multiple Mic' school takes the 'Two Mic' school of thought and adds more mics to capture even more different tonalities. This school uses mics placed both in front of and behind the speaker at close proximity and pointing into the cone.

The problem is finding that target spot (or spots) that will capture the best overall sound.

The dB down PIC™ difference

The isolation cabinets by dB down are designed and hand-crafted in the U.S. by a guitar player and a FOH sound engineer to simplify sound and micing problems on stage. Iso Cabs are nothing new, but what we have done is nothing short of revolutionary!

dB down Iso Cabs not only kill the on-stage volume by 20-30 dB, they give you the ability to do what has not been possible on stage until now - completely isolated distance micing. Distance micing is how Alan Parsons recorded David Gilmour's amps on the album "Dark Side of the Moon."

With distance micing you are capturing more frequencies from the speaker because the mic is picking up sound from the whole speaker, not just a few square inches of the speaker as you do with the traditional one- (or multi-) mic placement paradigm.

All our PICs™ incorporate Focused Sound Technology (FST)™. So now, instead of pointing the microphone at the amplifier, you're pointing the mic toward the reflector. By doing this, we have achieved a distance between the mic and speaker of 16"-18". Not only that, we've essentially created a microphone the diameter of your built-in speaker (or speakers, as the case may be)!

Just think of it, no more mic placement issues. No more frustrating church services because the amp is too loud. What about having to set-up and tear-down quickly at a festival? Or how about that gig at a small venue where the rest of the band has to be balanced out to the volume of the guitar?

Our cabinets are the answer you've been looking for. They are quite literally Plug and Play!

For guitarists, you can show up to the gig with your cabinet, plug in the mic cord to the external XLR connector, turn on your amp, and you are ready to play! And the best part is you shouldn't have to turn down your volume.

For the sound tech, after the guitarist is set-up, place the appropriately sized Gigging Series cabinet in front of the amp, plug in the mic cable to the external XLR connector, and you are ready to start mixing!

Not only do our Iso Cabs provide a great reduction in the dB levels, but because of FST™, the entire frequency range is boosted, allowing more headroom on the mixing desk and greater freedom to the sound tech to let the guitarist slam out that screaming solo.

	Their IsoCab	dB down PIC™
Speaker Type	External / Non-Native Speaker	Combo Amp Native Speaker
Number of Mics	One, Two, or Many	Only One Needed
Mic Orientation	Pointing Toward Speaker	Pointing Toward FST™
Mic Proximity to Speaker	Close to Speaker	Up to 16" Away
% of Speaker being Mic'd	From < 0.5% up to 2%	100%
dB Reduction	Up to 20 dB	From 20-30 dB Consistantly
Cooling	N/A	Active Ventilation* * Available on the Touring Series cabinets

Our Artists

Shane Rootes - Touring Series

"Ever grateful to dB down for manufacturing a world class product. Every venue I play brings with it unique challenges relating to how 'live' the room is. dB down's iso cab allows me to get the sound I need from the tubes doing what they do best without my amp volume being overly loud stage wise. I can't say enough about this great product. If you want to play a tube amp where the tubes are really working... then you need dB down's iso cab."

Shane plays and has full endorsements with Lowden Guitars, Godin Guitars, D'Addario, Radial Engineering, Eventide, Source Audio, Pigtronix, XY Midi, AER Amplification, Orange Amplification, Wedge Picks, and dB down.

Nu-Blu

Nu-Blu - Acoustic Image case

Bluegrass artists Daniel and Carolyn Routh of the group Nu-Blu dropped by our booth at NAMM and had a unique request; Could we build a road case for an upright bass amplifier? They not only needed the case to protect Carolyn's Acoustic Image amplifier while in transit, but also have it designed to isolate the amplifier from the stage during a show. It seems, a number of the stages they play on are raised platforms built of wood with no insulation underneath. So when her amp is placed on stage, the down-throw speaker in the amp causes the stage to reverberate and drown out the rest of the instruments.

Working with Nu-Blu, we designed the case with a unique flip-over lid for the amp to sit in that both raises the amplifier and isolates it from the stage floor. This eliminates the hollow reverberations from the stage and allows the whole band to deliver some kickin' bluegrass, like this.

Carl Butler's Gospel Lounge - Gigging Series

Wait a minute - WHAT? A Church in a Lounge? Where artists come in from all over the country to play bluegrass, country, blues, and a little rock and roll? Is this some kind of joke?

No, it's Knucklehead's Saloon in Kansas City MO, home to Carl Butler's Gospel Lounge. Because it is such an intimate venue, Carl and his sound guy were having some volume and balance problems. We brought out a Gigging Series PIC^TM to demo it's capabilities, and they loved it! Prior to this, the sound tech told us he had "never been able to mix Carl in the room." Now, not only are they delivering some hot licks and Good News, we've helped them control the volume and find the balance they wanted.

The Line Up

All dB down products are designed and made in the United States of America

Touring Series

This is the original dB down iso cab, designed for the touring professional.

ATA Specification 300, Category 1 flight case compliant, to protect your amp from most transportation abuses*.
Custom designed for your specific amplifier.
Low-Noise Active Ventilation system to draw cool air in and push tube heated air out.
Ventilation chamber is isolated from the sound chamber.
Provides 20-30 dB noise reduction when closed.
Heavy Duty casters, handles, and latches.
FST™, mic mount, and external XLR connector included, mic optional†.

Gigging Series

A lighter and more compact version of the Touring Series, so it's easy to put in the back seat along with your amp, pedals, and guitar and head out to the gig.

Model P-110 - sized for an amp with a single 10" speaker.
Model P-112 - sized for an amp with a single 12" speaker.
30% lighter construction.
Provides 20-30 dB noise reduction.
Comes with our FST™ and external XLR connector.
DOES NOT come with a microphone†.

* No case or enclosure can protect against damage or destruction in all possible circumstances (including puncture, fire, flood or submersion, acts of God, drops from any height, etc.). In such events, there is no guarantee or warranty, expressed or implied, against damage to any item housed or stored inside a dB down PIC™.

† dB down highly recommends the Heil Sound PR31-BW microphone for use in all our cabinets.

Contact Us

Do you have a question, or would you like some more information about our products?
Just shoot us an e-mail and we will get back with you as soon as possible.

Trent Canupp - trentcanupp@gmail.com

William Greene - wmfgreene4@gmail.com

We look forward to hearing from you and working with you so you can have 'Your Sound, Your Way'!

The whole team @ dB down LLC