DIY Cab Bill Fitzmaurice Jack 112 or Fearful 12.6

musicboyrod · #1 11-07-2010, 02:27 PM

Hi, I'm new here, but i am interested in building a diy bass cab. I would like to get opinions on whether to go with the Bill Fitzmaurice jack or the fearful 12.6. Thanks for your suggestions.

rpsands · #2 11-07-2010, 02:34 PM

They are very different cabinets. What kind of sound do you want? That's the most important question here.

I own both a couple Jack 112s and a fEarful 15/6 and can probably give some good insight on them - have made a lot of comments in a review thread about my Jack 112.

JimmyM · #3 11-07-2010, 02:40 PM

good question...it's considered that the fearful is one of the top designs in a direct radiating cab utilizing neos to their fullest advantage. bill's cabs are horn loaded line array cabs, which have advantages over direct radiating cabs that he can better tell you about than me...something about the outside air's impedance meeting the cab air's impedance and working more efficiently through it.

me, i'm totally down with either, except for the building part. i like to keep my fingers, and if i tried to operate power tools on a regular basis, i'm sure i'd have lost a couple. i came close a couple times on my pathetic attempts to learn how to use power tools.

wcriley · #4 11-07-2010, 02:41 PM

I built a fEarful 12/6 (alpha mid, no tweeter) and it is currently my favorite cab.

I have no experience with Jack12s, but I've built Jack10s. They don't suit my taste for bass cabs, but work very well as small PA cabs.

rpsands · #5 11-07-2010, 02:47 PM

In short form, I think the jack is not as versatile; it's super loud through the lower mids some of the upper mids. It does have more going on down low than a lot of professional cabinets, particularly when used with the premium drivers, but this is hard to tell since it has a ridiculous amount going on from 150-400hz or so.

The 12/6 has a smoother profile that is friendlier to reggae/dub type users, modelers, and in general people who want a truly "transparent" type tone.

The Jack has a tone profile like a typical rock cab, but to be fair I think a single J12 with a 3012HO could replace a conventional 4x10 with ease.

You *can* adjust the Jack quite a lot with eq. I just find it easier to use my 15/6 which is similar in the transportability department if I need that kinda tone.

Currently I use my Jack12's for mic'ing kick drum and vocals at practice, and they work great for that

I also practice with them with bass into the PA sometimes when my rig is needed elsewhere.

musicboyrod · #6 11-07-2010, 08:24 PM

I'm mainly looking for a clean tone without much coloration. I mainly play a 5 stringer, and gospel music and some r and b.

rpsands · #7 11-07-2010, 08:48 PM

I would go fearful in that case.

brendanbassist · #8 11-07-2010, 08:53 PM

You may also want to consider an Omni 12 or 15 from Bill, rather than the Jack.

NoGraveConcern · #9 11-08-2010, 05:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by musicboyrod

I'm mainly looking for a clean tone without much coloration.

Either one will give you that.

farboozle · #10 11-08-2010, 07:18 AM

Quote:

You *can* adjust the Jack quite a lot with eq. I just find it easier to use my 15/6 which is similar in the transportability department if I need that kinda tone.

Just looking for a little elaboration on this. In actual application, you find the jack112 and 15/6 equal in transport? I thought the jack 112 is somewhat smaller than the big fearful.

rpsands · #11 11-08-2010, 08:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by farboozle

Just looking for a little elaboration on this. In actual application, you find the jack112 and 15/6 equal in transport? I thought the jack 112 is somewhat smaller than the big fearful.

My fEarful weighs 48lbs or so and my Jack about 38. The difference in cartage is minimal, mainly because I always use a big rolling cart to move stuff around and the fEarful actually has a much smaller footprint.

The Jack's footprint is 22 x 18 or thereabouts. The fEarful's is 20.5 x 16.5 (mine is anyway).

In terms of cartage, the Jack is a little more awkward to carry and pack. Note - it does stand on its side for packing at 18x18, which is relatively convenient. With my travel setup, the extra couple inches of shallowness of the fEarful make it a tiny bit easier to pack for me. Not really a big deal though.

Versus a 12/6, the difference is much more noticeable, since it has an even smaller footprint.

Anyway, this is not to bag on the jack at all. In a rock and roll context without a ton of bass being dialed in or mids being dialed out, it's easily louder than the 15/6 and is smaller and lighter and cheaper.

rpsands · #12 11-08-2010, 09:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NoGraveConcern

Either one will give you that.

This is just inaccurate. They both color your sound a little but the difference in coloration between the Jack and fEarful is like dialing a +6db boost with a 1 octave Q at 350hz (roughly).

If you set the cabs side by side like I have the difference is immediately obvious and any joe off the street could easily tell the difference.

It is true to say that either one CAN give you that, with enough eq. I am not against that approach, but if you're always going to be dialing out 6-10db of lower mids with a cabinet, you might as well just get the flatter cabinet in my opinion.

rpsands · #13 11-08-2010, 09:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brendanbassist

You may also want to consider an Omni 12 or 15 from Bill, rather than the Jack.

This is a legitimate option but both of the Omnis (even the 12) are BIG cabinets. The fEarful 12/6 is the size of your average 2x10. About half the size of an O12TB.

wcriley · #14 11-08-2010, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rpsands

This is just inaccurate. They both color your sound a little but the difference in coloration between the Jack and fEarful is like dialing a +6db boost with a 1 octave Q at 350hz (roughly).

If you set the cabs side by side like I have the difference is immediately obvious and any joe off the street could easily tell the difference.

It is true to say that either one CAN give you that, with enough eq. I am not against that approach, but if you're always going to be dialing out 6-10db of lower mids with a cabinet, you might as well just get the flatter cabinet in my opinion.

Again, as I posted earlier, my experience is with Jack10s and and a 12/6.
I've listened to both hooked up at the same time, about 6 feet apart. My experience is exactly the same as rpsands' experience with the Jack12 and 15/6.
I could gig with at least 2 Jack10s stacked, by boosting the low end and cutting a bunch of mids. But the 12/6 requires very little EQ to get a sound that suits my taste.

Something I should mention is that I built the Jacks for small PA use, so they have the full melded array, whereas my 12/6 doesn't have a tweeter. I filter out just about everything above 5K from the bass guitar. It's possible that affects my subjective opinion.

farboozle · #15 11-08-2010, 11:28 AM

Quote:

Anyway, this is not to bag on the jack at all. In a rock and roll context without a ton of bass being dialed in or mids being dialed out, it's easily louder than the 15/6 and is smaller and lighter and cheaper.

Wow, the volume from a single jack 12 (assuming 3012HO) is "easily louder" than my 15/6? With full knowledge of the mid hump, which I miss a bit from my 15/6.

I had assumed I'd have to run 2 of the jacks.

rpsands · #16 11-08-2010, 11:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by farboozle

Wow, the volume from a single jack 12 (assuming 3012HO) is "easily louder" than my 15/6? With full knowledge of the mid hump, which I miss a bit from my 15/6.

I had assumed I'd have to run 2 of the jacks.

I've set them side by side, and the apparent volume in the near field is about the same (except below 150hz or so) -- but you have to keep in mind that the Jack is much shorter than the fEarful and has much narrower horizontal dispersion (which is actually a good thing...unless you are trying to hear it up close).

Out in a room, the Jack's huge advantage from 150-400hz is obvious. I've owned a Schroeder cab, which is widely regarded for loudness, and the Jack trumps it (21012R).

The jack is noticeably quieter when you pull down 6db of midrange to get it closer to the fEarful's tone profile.

If you get just one Jack 12 and aren't using it for FOH, I recommend the tilt back stand.

kesslari · #17 11-08-2010, 01:46 PM

Great info in this thread as I continue to debate whether to spring for a 15/6/1 or just keep my BFM Omni10...

musicboyrod · #18 11-09-2010, 05:02 AM

thanks for everyones insight, I think I will go with the jack because of the simplicity and cost and maybe do a fearful after the holiday season. So the 3012HO is the driver to go with or can I get by with using a Delta 12b?

billfitzmaurice · #19 11-09-2010, 06:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by musicboyrod

So the 3012HO is the driver to go with or can I get by with using a Delta 12b?

Commit this phrase to memory: Follow The Plans.

musicboyrod · #20 11-09-2010, 06:28 AM

ok I will. I am actually ordering the plans today.