Making a DIY bass cabinet

throw_this_away · Post by **throw_this_away** » Fri Oct 28, 2005 4:35 am

Hey,

More for fun than anything I was pondering making a bass cabinet or two (maybe a 1x12, or 2x10, or 2x12, or 10+12 with tweeter). Any good links to articles on the topic?

thanks

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Fri Oct 28, 2005 5:57 am

I buld my own 2x10 1x18 1x15 cabinets ... I have been thinking of documenting this on my web site ... www.3dentourage.com/425 ... but it is not there yet ...

here are some pics ...

kcole4001 · Post by **kcole4001** » Fri Oct 28, 2005 6:00 am

Jeff, you posted a link to those Eminence speakers you use. Where do you buy them? Locally, or online?

teb · Post by **teb** » Fri Oct 28, 2005 6:22 am

This one has always sounded interesting:
http://www.core-sound.com/bottom-article.html

then their is this plan available.
http://www.lightshow.cc/explorer/Stuff/Speaker_Cabinet/speaker_cabinet.html

I also looked forever to find a plan similar to my old Sunn horn cabinet design, which were always my favorite bass speakers and found this one, which I'll try building when I get around to it.
http://www.speakerplans.com/index.php?id=hd15horn

This may also be of help for some designs:

http://www.diysubwoofers.org/sld/sealed1.htm

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Fri Oct 28, 2005 6:55 am

I get the Eminence speakers from

www.partsexpress.com

they ship stuff quickly and have good prices ... you can get the corners, ports, carpet, tolex, handles, and all the parts you need to build your speakers ...

I use the eminence beta 10s for a few reasons ... they are rated for 250 watts each, the are PA/guitar/bass speakers ... they have good low, mid, and high frequency response ... they don't get muddy or boomy. Then I put them in my DIY plywood cabinets ... the dimensions are 18"to 21" high x 23"to25" wide x 13"to14" deep ... sort of seat of the pants engineering ... loosely based on an old acoustic design and dimensions ...

A deeper cabinet will give it a cleaner sound with more low end ... but I want a real mid punch cabinet that will break up at a certain volume level ... this keeps me from playing too loud ... I let the big PA project the high volume stuff ...

I usually have an ampeg b2r head with 350 watts and I run 2 cabs ... if I need more power on stage I can run a second rig as a slave setup ... that way the whole thing has one volume control ... and I mike a 10 with an SM57 ... I find that gives me better tone than the xlr out on the back of the head ...

david_schwab · Post by **david_schwab** » Fri Oct 28, 2005 8:19 am

Jeff, nice looking cabs!

I have two EV 15's I've been thinking of making cabs for... or maybe I will just sell the speakers.

I'm getting too old to lug big cabs around!

kcole4001 · Post by **kcole4001** » Fri Oct 28, 2005 12:32 pm

Thanks!
Those speakers will be perfect replacements for my Peavey 2X10 cab. Plus you can get 8 or 16 ohm speakers!
All I use is a 4X10 & a 2X10 for the drummer to use as a monitor of my amp. The bins do all the hard work. These cabs give a great stage sound with plenty of headroom. No need to deafen myself any further. That's why cymbals were invented

johnhall · Post by **johnhall** » Fri Oct 28, 2005 2:06 pm

Jeff, speaking strictly from a specs standpoint and no experience with these particular units, the Eminence BP102 looks like it would be a significantly better choice for your cabinet design than the Beta 10's for a bass cabinet. The Beta's free air resonance is so high, you must get great harmonics but almost no fundamental. There's almost no porting you could do to correct this.

But the Beta's specs suggest they'd be killer in a tri-amp arrangement as midrange speakers.

rickenbrother · Post by **rickenbrother** » Fri Oct 28, 2005 3:40 pm

I think I'm getting too old to carry around big cabs also. I'm thinking of replacing my SWR Goliath II 4 x 10 (90 lbs) with a cab loaded with neodymium 2 x 12" speakers. That should bring the weight down about 20 lbs or so.
I thought building my own cab would be a cool project to do, but I really don't have the time. I was thinking about trying an Avatar 2 x 12 cabs with the neodymium speakers. For the price, how bad can they be?
I really don't like the sound of horn tweeters in bass cabinets, especially for rock. I usually play with the tweeters off. I wish bass cab manufacturers would have the the option for their premium cabs made without tweeters or have a 4 to 6 inch driver handle the upper frequencies. Those tweeters are fine for the modern "smooth jazz".

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Fri Oct 28, 2005 3:40 pm

That's why I like them great mid response ... The sound from that cab that has a lot of mids and I mike it into a PA that adds lows and highs ... it makes for a real John Wetton King Crimson sound or a good early Yes Chris Squire sound ... I Have tried more traditional 10s that are for bass guitar and didn't like them I have tried 12's and didn't like them 15s are cool and a 2x10 and 1x18 or a 2x10 and 1x15 is great too ... If I wasn't running into the big pa then I would need a bigger more full frequency amp ... my sound is a full package ... the ric 5 string bass, round wound strings, the bass pod, the ampeg head, the eminence speakers, the sm57 mike, the allen and heath mixer, the cerwyn vega subs, the kliptch mains ...

Since I did this seat of the pants engineering I'm sure it is not optimized ... but since I did it by trial and error I like the sound a lot ... If somebody wants an optimized cabinet buy one off the shelf ... there are many good ones ...

Thanks for your insight John ...

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Fri Oct 28, 2005 3:42 pm

Joey ... I don't like the tweeter either ... I made one cab with one but I don't use it much ...

rickenbrother · Post by **rickenbrother** » Fri Oct 28, 2005 3:51 pm

Yeah, I see your cabs don't have them. I'd like your cabs if I could get plenty of low end out of them. My SWR cabs can shake a house down with their low end, yet remain punchy and clear.

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Fri Oct 28, 2005 4:02 pm

My cabs are not deep enough to get a lot of low end at high volume ... my amp won't fill a big room with low end ... my cabs are in the in the middle of the chain ... the Mains and subs is the sound the audience hears ... my bands approach is small amps and a low stage volume and a big PA ... we can pump out a loud sound without blowing out our ears onstage ...

http://www.m2midnight.com/Main_sound_system_frame.htm

The rig I had in the 80s was cool ... and acoustic 1x18 folded horn and a crossover that went into a 1x15 ... with the head on top it was 7 feet tall ...

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Fri Oct 28, 2005 4:04 pm

The off the shelf cabs I like best are 6x10 ampeg or hartke or similar cabs ...

rickenbrother · Post by **rickenbrother** » Fri Oct 28, 2005 4:32 pm

I wonder how that Bergantino 6 x 10 is. I've throught about that cab a few times, but I'd really to get lighter cabs not heavier ones.