Car sub box as external cab?

Electricblue · #1 02-23-2011, 08:45 AM

If I got a budget 12" car sub box and put an Eminence or Celestion bass guitar driver in it, would it sound ok as an external cab?

tdub0199 · #2 02-23-2011, 08:47 AM

all depends on the size of the cab, you will need to match the speaker specs with the cab specs, is it ported or sealed?

craig.p · #3 02-23-2011, 08:51 AM

Also what's it made of, how is it assembled/jointed, and how is it braced internally?

lbwdog · #4 02-23-2011, 09:05 AM

Here is a thread devoted to that exact subject (for a ten). It is also authored by a respected speaker designer.
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f15/lo...eeterless-110-[long]-736360/

aren't you the same guy who was insisting a 4x6 cab would be good regardless of what the experts said?....

Many younger and new members here seem to be hell bent on repurposing certain audio components for bass guitar duty ( I've seen it dozens of times). It just usually doesn't work! It's always best to get the right tool for the job.

There's a million dollars worth of knowledge right here in TB threads over the years. Your best bet is to read, read, read. Learn who the experts are and take their advice to heart.

christw · #5 02-23-2011, 09:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lbwdog

...

Many younger and new members here seem to be hell bent on repurposing certain audio components for bass guitar duty ( I've seen it dozens of times). It just usually doesn't work! It's always best to get the right tool for the job.

There's a million dollars worth of knowledge right here in TB threads over the years. Your best bet is to read, read, read. Learn who the experts are and take their advice to heart.

I'm a younger member and I don't do that stuff! I listen to Bill, Duke, and greenboy among others. Then again, I already did it and got it out of my system a while ago.

Electricblue · #6 02-23-2011, 09:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lbwdog

Here is a thread devoted to that exact subject (for a ten). It is also authored by a respected speaker designer.
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f15/lo...eeterless-110-[long]-736360/

aren't you the same guy who was insisting a 4x6 cab would be good regardless of what the experts said?....

Many younger and new members here seem to be hell bent on repurposing certain audio components for bass guitar duty ( I've seen it dozens of times). It just usually doesn't work! It's always best to get the right tool for the job.

There's a million dollars worth of knowledge right here in TB threads over the years. Your best bet is to read, read, read. Learn who the experts are and take their advice to heart.

Haha, I understand its best to get a proper cab, but i figured i could get a 200w 110 cab with celestion for £60. Thats very inviting for me to be honest.

chadhargis · #7 02-23-2011, 09:21 AM

Best sounding bass "amp" I ever played through was my old home theatre system. Four 12" subs each powered by mono 125watt amps and two Definitive Technology mains pushed by a THX approved 100/channel multichannel amp.

The bass was plugged into my M-Audio interface.

Talk about rocking the house. It was AWESOME!

Would be a bit hard to carry to gigs though.

MNAirHead · #8 02-23-2011, 09:28 AM

I think you should do it.. we all do and then "get it out of our system"

Cool thing is that you can then learn about sound physics etc.. if you don't spend too much on it, can always put it on Craigslist when you abandon it for a factory cab.

I've built some FANTASTIC cabinets.. non of them were cheap or easy to do correctly.

lbwdog · #9 02-23-2011, 09:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chadhargis

Best sounding bass "amp" I ever played through was my old home theatre system. Four 12" subs each powered by mono 125watt amps and two Definitive Technology mains pushed by a THX approved 100/channel multichannel amp.

The bass was plugged into my M-Audio interface.

Talk about rocking the house. It was AWESOME!

Would be a bit hard to carry to gigs though.

LOL!
Best one I played through was four "Altec Voice Of The Theaters" powered by two Crown DC 300s. not an easy carry either!

Electricblue · #10 02-23-2011, 09:46 AM

This

And

This

Good idea?

rtslinger · #11 02-23-2011, 09:48 AM

Yeah you could but, a lot of work getting it gig ready. May not be worth the effort

chadhargis · #12 02-23-2011, 09:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lbwdog

LOL!
Best one I played through was four "Altec Voice Of The Theaters" powered by two Crown DC 300s. not an easy carry either!

Oooh...I'm sure that was a beast.

I'm sure it's been done sometime in the past, but I have to believe an amp with adjustable active crossovers which would allow you to use large drivers for a subwoofer and smaller drivers to carry mids and highs would be stellar.

Can you imagine a couple of these babies pumping out 85hz and below of your bass. A 5 string bass playing through an octaver.

JL Audio 15" subwoofer...toss about 1000watts at 'em and see if you can rupture someone's spleen.

christw · #13 02-23-2011, 09:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Electricblue

This

And

This

Good idea?

Are you ignoring everyone? It's a bad idea from an engineering perspective to just dump any random speaker and enclosure together. If you want to do it so badly with something, just do it.

To be sure, you'd have to have more information on that box than they provide.

impactwrench · #14 02-23-2011, 09:53 AM

About 10 years back I bought a pair of Gauss Cetec 15" drivers and put them into un-ported sub boxes. They sounded like bunk. Maybe because I was driving them with a Fender BXR300C combo. I put two PVC ports in each cab, they still didn't sound much better. After I was done playing in that band I sold the drivers on ebay and gave the boxes to a DJ. I dont think I would try cab assembly again unless someone else had done it with good results.

lbwdog · #15 02-23-2011, 09:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by christw

Are you ignoring everyone? It's a bad idea from an engineering perspective to just dump any random speaker and enclosure together. If you want to do it so badly with something, just do it.

To be sure, you'd have to have more information on that box than they provide.

It seems to fall on deaf ears..

...think I'll just mosey along......bye,bye!

Electricblue · #16 02-23-2011, 09:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rtslinger

Yeah you could but, a lot of work getting it gig ready. May not be worth the effort

I forgot to mention i have a 15 to go with it.

Ric5 · #17 02-23-2011, 10:04 AM

Generally you want to play bass through full range speakers. I know a guy who replaced 2 10s in his ampeg 8x10 svt cabinet with subwoofer 10s. It lost warm mids and went from boomy to harsh with a turn of the dial.

Electricblue · #18 02-23-2011, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lbwdog

It seems to fall on deaf ears..

...think I'll just mosey along......bye,bye!

Il admit i dont know a lot about cabs and such... I gotta learn somewhere...

Ric5 · #19 02-23-2011, 10:10 AM

If you play through sub woofers then you should have a full engineered system like a pa. Subs, mid range speakers and horns, with crossovers at the proper frequencies.

If I were to add a sub to my rig I might try a powered sub in its own cabinet and run it from a line out from my amp head. This "might" work, and could be an alternative where you don't get pa support on a gig. But you are doing seat of the pants engineering and it could go wrong.

lbwdog · #20 02-23-2011, 10:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Electricblue

Il admit i dont know a lot about cabs and such... I gotta learn somewhere...

I understand. That's why I said this in an earlier post.
There's a million dollars worth of knowledge right here in TB threads over the years. Your best bet is to read, read, read. Learn who the experts are and take their advice to heart.

Do some research here. Use the search function. Read Bill Fitzmaurice and Greenboy's posts. I know you're trying to save money, but your ideas are just not very sound sonically. Read more and find out why. This isn't a slam on you but you gotta realize every speaker will react differently in different cabinets. Learn what speakers do best in what cabs. The more you read, the sooner it'll make sense......good luck!