Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Ok folks, color me goofy but I'm going to build a folded horn (W bin) enclosure.... yeah I know there huge but looking forward to hear my 4003 through one... Made of a suitable plywood though bout the same size as an 8x10 cab, I believe I can maneuver it around too most of the dives I gig. Not sure weather I'm gonna use a single 15 or a single 18" driver yet, still doing research. So... let the carnage begin lol....

Tom - welcome to the fun, I'm sure somebody will chime in with some info…or at least more encouragement!

I built a single 15 enclosure like that back in the 80's, sounded like Hammer of the Gods, but got sick of lugging it around. I was in college in the bad old pre-internet days. I remember spending hours tracking down an article in some archived hi-fi enthusiasts magazine by pouring through card catalogs and typed article snynopsis. Finally found the correct bin, correct folder, correct old magazine issue..... only to find the desired article with dimensioned plans neatly razored out. Thank god for Youtube.

I hope you've actually played through one before you build it. An Acoustic 360, or Cerwin Vega makes some bass bins for PA. That's a lot of work for, "there's something missing" !

Back in my youth (when my back was youthful), I had an Acoustic 371 which was the head plus the 360 18" folded-horn cabinet. It had its own wheels and two big recessed grab handles on the back. It was like moving a small refrigerator around to ever gig. I could do it then, but wouldn't attempt it now. I liked the caution sticker on the back of the cabinet that read: "Caution: Sound levels with 10 feet of this cabinet can reach 120db"! Sure it sounded marvelous with my Toaster pickup (my bass didn't even have a treble pickup back then), but I didn't know much about tone back in 1974 when I was 25 years old. I only wanted loud. Speaker and amp technology have progressed since then.

After outgrowing the capabilities of my B-15N my go-to cabinet was always a Sunn 118VH with its Cerwin Vega 18" speaker, pointed up and toward the back of the cab. The tone, projection, and if needed, volume were outstanding. It was also a good place to take a nap while the guys worked out harmonies with its nicely curved "back rest".





Not light, but not as bulky as most. Sometime I'll build another one - as soon as I figure out what I would ever do with it. There are on-line plans for building a cabinet based on it, but using a 15 here:

http://speakerplans.com/index.php?id=domhd15

I was thinking about doing something like that as well... just haven't been able to make time to do it yet.

http://www.speakerplans.com/index.php?id=domhd15

same page that Todd referenced ... sorry didn't see it at first.

I built something like this back in the early '80s while in college:

http://colomar.com/Shavano/scoopguts.jpg

http://www.bassreflex.de/scoop.gif

I used a JBL 2225 driver, and it has been used for lots of recordings with my old 4005WB and a Traynor YSR-1 amp, using a Western Electric 639B microphone. Glorious sounding it was, kind of wish I still had it.

If you can get it locally, 3/4" Baltic Birch plywood is fantastic for making bomb-proof cabinets, and as plywood goes, it's wonderful to work with. I built my double-baffle B-15-style cabinet from it and it is so much nicer than working with fir plywood. These days, you can also get reliable water-based contact cement for attaching the tolex. Much more pleasant than working with the old solvent-based cements.

Ampeg made a 2x15 horn enclosure that was the same external dimensions as a 8x10 SVT cabinet, it was used with their V4B amp.....had one in the early 80s.

V4B cabinet.

http://digilander.libero.it/vacca_strac ... d-horn.jpg

I used to use 2 No. Folded Horn Cabs some years ago (stacked), had the amp on top and I had to ask our guitarist to plug my bass cable in as it was beyond my reach! Not a bad sound as I recall but there are much much better and smaller enclosures now. It looked impressive at the time though!

I also owned a Laney 2 x 15 bass reflex cabinet, monstrous size (and sound), far too large to transport though and I could not unleash its full potential in the band (and venues) I was playing in at the time.

I think we bass players have turned into a load of wimps now!

During your research you should visit here: http://www.billfitzmaurice.com/DR280.html

I have helped buid tge 250DR and the Omni 12 & 15. My bass player has used all three. The DR is stunning and with the melded piezo array and some inventive switching of tweeter groups you can dial in just the right amount of sparkle.

The Omnis are also quite impressive and are small enough to fit in a small car. The Omni 210 we built can fill a nice sized hall when driven by a Markbass head.

They are not an easy build, but really well worth te effort.

...Dean

I think the OP may be looking more for that vintage schlep.

Here is a nice alternative.

Ouch!