Thiele 1/2 back ? And de-creasing tolex ?

[lento]

I've just found some old but new strips of tolex that I'm planning to use to make a new back for a thiele. I want to turn one into a 1/2 back for a more ambient sound yet still retain the original.
Makes sense to create a new back rather than buy another cab I think. Anyone tried this ?

For the tolex, anyone have any tips on de-creasing as they've been folded rather than kept in a roll. Hot iron, water ......?
I imagine it'll probably be better to work with a flat piece - maybe George has experience in this ?

 

[Mongo1]

I want to turn one into a 1/2 back for a more ambient sound yet still retain the original. Makes sense to create a new back rather than buy another cab I think. Anyone tried this ?

I've not heard of anyone creating a theile half back, but I often live under a pretty big rock.

Replacing the back to open it up some will definitey change the sound. It's an easy thing to try, but I doubt it will retain much of the character a theile is known for. The body/power of a theile is in how the speaker responds to the cavity space created by the closed back. It's designed specifically to push more lower frequencies out through the front ports. Opening the back changes all of that.

It's an easy thing to try, but I expect the very thing that makes a theile so awesome will be lost as it escapes out the back. Maybe try different size top openings or possibly a complete back with added port holes to shape the sound...

I look forward to your review.

 

[lento]

I didn't mean that I wanted to retain the original thiele character, just the original thiele closed back (rather than cutting the existing one).

I realise the sound character will change and will be different to both the thiele and 1/2 back - a hybrid of sorts.
But, your idea of different size openings and even ports sounds good.
I'm only going with the 1/2 idea as, for someone like me with absolutely no woodworking skills, it'll probably be the easiest

 

[Mongo1]

Sounds like a fun experiment.
Let us know what you find.

 

[t0aj15]

Turning a Thiele cab into a half-back literally defeats the whole purpose of the Thiele concept. I'd leave it as is and buy an open back cab if you want one. IMO nothing good will come from destroying a perfectly good Thiele just to get a different sound. "If it ain't broke don't fix it".