First timer building bass cab

[BassWiseman]

Hello,

First off, I am new to talkbass and found this site to be full of useful information about cab building information. However, after spending quite a bit of time searching through threads I thought I would man up and ask a few questions.

I am hoping to add on either a 1x15 or 1x18 to my Ashdown Mag C410T, the reason being, I am in a metal band and we play in drop C (32hz). The problem with my amp is that it only goes as low as 60Hz. I want to add on an extra cab so I can get that low end.

So.....

Does the tuning of the cab affect the low Hz? So if I did not buy a driver that is exactly 30 or 32 Hz can the tuning of my cab make it still sound fine?

Also, my amp power output is 300w rms. Would it be terribly horrible if I bought a driver that had a higher (say 600w?) wattage?

I'm still reading through the threads trying to find gold nuggets of information, but it's a lot to sift through. Any help would be nice.

[T-Bird]

Hi.

Welcome to TalkBass BassWiseman.


As You will discover when going through more cab threads, the reproduction of the fundamental isn't usually necessary or even wanted. One of the reasons being the huge rise in power requirement as the frequency goes down. 300W with a "normal" ported ~96dB sensitivity cab will be what I consider quiet on frequencies below 50Hz or so. You can test that with a PC based signal generator (Win ISD) and Your rig to get a feel.

What You have to keep i mind is to watch the program below the tuning frequency (on a ported design) closely as the speaker performs in free air (ie. without damping) in that region and over-excurses easily.

I tend to use a speaker at least double the power handling of the amp, as the figure is a thermal power handling and the real world figure is way less.


I have played gigs with a F#BEADG tuned bass through what can be considered a budget rig (200W Chinese tube head + Laney 410 + HK15"),with no problems. I do know how to keep the speakers happy though and that's always the key for efficient use of budget equipment.

Regards
Sam