New cab build

Blues Bass 2 · #1 05-19-2011, 08:46 PM

I started a new cab build a few days ago . I'm using an Eminence Legend CB158 15" in an Eminence designed cabinet .
http://www.eminence.com/pdf/Legend_CB15_cab.pdf
It's the medium size bass guitar cabinet plan .
The dimentions are :23" high x 20.5" wide x 15"deep with the baffle recessed 1.5". It has two 4"ports 5.5" long .

I wanted a full range speaker so I borrowed a design from the Audiokarma forums . It's called the Econowave because it's an inexpensive way to get very good waveguide performance . They use it mostly to modify hi-end home listening speakers and have had great results so I thought it might work for bass guitar too . They originally used a JBL waveguide but found later that a Pyle waveguide worked very well too . That gets coupled to a Selenium D220TI driver but the thing that makes it work is the crossover they designed for it . We'll see how that works out when I get it all together .

For the cab I'm using 1/2" Birch . I don't have a truck so I had to use what was cut in 2 by 4ft size to fit my Honda Accord . I wanted to save some weight because the CB158 has an 80 ounce magnet and the Selenium driver is 24 ounces plus the weight of the crossover . I'm hoping it turns out lighter than 60 pounds . Anyway here's some pics of the progress .

First coat of Duratex:

Adding the lining

Adding the handles:

Done with the stuffing

I wanted to front port the cabinet but with the size of the 15" and the horn it just wasn't going to work . The port placement doesn't matter soundwise anyway so I put them to the left and right of the compession driver and I think it worked out pretty good . There should be plenty of room for air movement up there . I've heard that you don't want the ports right behind the drivers so that's why they are up top . I also used flared ports , mainly because they mounted easy but they should cut down on chuffing . You can see them on the table with the glue drying after attaching the tubes to the flare . Next up installing the corners and ports and then building the crossover .

Petebass · #2 05-19-2011, 09:48 PM

Looking good! Thanks for sharing.

DukeLeJeune · #3 05-19-2011, 10:26 PM

Beautiful work and excellent design decision, Blues Bass 2. I use the same waveguide-style horn as the Econowave in my bass cab and in several of my home audio speakers. While I "discovered" it independent of Zilch and his Econowave project, he beat me to it by a year or so. When I first ran a suite of measurements on that horn, I thought my measurement setup was broken or something - the results looked too good to be true. You have the makings of a truly superb bass cab there. Not the lightest cab around, but superb in tone and bang-for-the-buck.

Blues Bass 2 · #4 05-20-2011, 07:46 AM

Thanks guys , I've got a crappy skill saw that needs a new blade as you can see from the burnt cuts and no router so it takes a while to get the cuts right . I used a couple sureforms to round the edges and while not as easy as a router it still works . I do enjoy building though and this is working out pretty good .

dbhokie · #5 05-20-2011, 07:58 AM

Doin a great job thanks for sharing.

Never_grew_up · #6 05-20-2011, 08:13 AM

Check the nearest Biglots or Harbor Freight for a cheap hand belt sander. I don't think I paid $20 for mine and it does a great job of rounding corners & edges. Replacement belts in various grits are about $2 ea, much cheaper than router bits. I've even clamped it in my workmate by it's handle & used it as a poor man's spindle sander.

drdunwoody · #7 05-20-2011, 08:16 AM

Looks nice! Where did you purchase the lining material from?

will33 · #8 05-20-2011, 10:12 AM

Hey, now there's an example of a nice build. Your bracing scheme is well done, I like your choice of woofers too. Even with heavy drivers you should be able to hit your weight goal or at least get close, nice job.

Blues Bass 2 · #9 05-20-2011, 12:50 PM

Wal Mart ,mattress topper. Bill FitzMaurice always reccomends it when people ask what to use . Really Bill F. ,Greenboy and Duke are why this cab build will probably work out . I got most of the know how from reading the threads on Talkbass where these guys tell the rest of us over and over what will work and what won't .

Quote:

Originally Posted by drdunwoody

Looks nice! Where did you purchase the lining material from?

rpsands · #10 05-20-2011, 01:32 PM

Quilt batting beats the crap out of mattress topper

singlemalt · #11 05-20-2011, 03:14 PM

I do like that Polyfill batting from Walmart. Staples in nice and no itch. The mattress topper looks pretty cool.

Blues Bass 2 · #12 05-22-2011, 08:49 PM

Got the horn installed . Used some adhesive backed foam door sealer around the edges on the box and then cut a section of the foam mattress pad to fit over the horn bell . I stretched the pad to fit between the horn edge and baffle and tightened it all up . I got most of my crossover built today and I'll have pictures when I have it intalled in a day or two . Then I'll be able to give it a smoke test to hear what it sounds like . The grill's coming from Reliable hardware and should be here Thursday .

I also took a picture of my new cab between an old Peavey I have been upgrading some and one of my older Avatar 112s that I modified to pole mount PA mains a few years ago for size comparison . I bought the Legend 15" to replace the speaker in the Peavey cabinet then found out the Peavey speaker was fine , thus started my new cab build . I'm also going to do the Econowave mod to the pair of Avatar cabinets as soon as I get done with my bass cab . I may use them for bass again once that's done .

My name is Mudd · #13 05-23-2011, 10:00 PM

Nice build! Thanks for the pics.

Willicious · #14 05-23-2011, 11:30 PM

subbed for a nice build!

Blues Bass 2 · #15 05-24-2011, 07:11 AM

Finished it up except for the grill .

Tried it last night with my BB425 and my Carvin BX500 and a BDDI . Very nice and clear all the way up . It had good bottom end with no flab at all . It won't go super deep but what it has is plenty for what I do and I know after it breaks in a while it will even get fatter . From what I heard I think it will do as a standalone cab for gigs , I'll know more next week when I try it with my band .

Very happy !

singlemalt · #16 05-24-2011, 09:44 AM

Nice looking cab!

What did you trim the corner overhangs with? That's a nice detail, I need to attend to on my cabs.

Can't wait to see the grill, I'm about done with the round grill look.

Exploiter8 · #17 05-24-2011, 09:50 AM

Nice work! I'm glad to see you went the extra mile and used t-nuts. I'm amazed manufacturers have gotten away from using them.

X8

Blues Bass 2 · #18 05-24-2011, 01:21 PM

Thanks .

The corners I used a yellow handle (straight) tin snip to trim . They work real well with the plastic corners and make it easy .

The t-nuts were just about a nessesity with the 1/2" baffle . True to form though one of them locked up when installing the speaker for the first time and it was a pain to get it out . Then another trip to the hardware store . I have used #8 sheet metal screws in 3/4" baffles before with no trouble but I wouldn't trust it with 1/2" . T-nuts aren't that hard to put in though so if your bracing or cabinet edges don't get in the way they work great . I used 10/32 .

I did have a scare last night when I tried the cabinet . On a couple of different places on the fretboard high and low I would get an electronic buzz . Turned out one of my sons snare drums was ten feet away .

Petebass · #19 05-24-2011, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blues Bass 2

I did have a scare last night when I tried the cabinet . On a couple of different places on the fretboard high and low I would get an electronic buzz . Turned out one of my sons snare drums was ten feet away .

Don't feel bad. This sort of thing happens to the best of us. My garage/workshop has no shortage of things that can resonate and I've gone crazy at times trying to make the room quiet so I can hear the cab properly.

Blues Bass 2 · #20 05-26-2011, 05:54 PM

Got the grill today and installed it . The cabinet really looks finished now .

This thing turned out just like I wanted . I don't have a scale but I would guess this cab only weighs about 50 pounds or a little over and this is with heavy drivers . It's a very easy carry . Anybody who wants to build their own cabinet don't hesitate because of neo prices going up . You can still build a fairly lightweight cab just by using 1/2" ply and bracing it right , I am suprised how much that saves in weight . Anyway thanks to Duke who has sent me many PMs giving me great tips on building .