Peavey Combo 300--> New DIY project

[rustyginn]

So I have an 80's peavey combo 300. It has the "black widow" woofer. The amp and woofer are powerful and reliable, but.... I absolutely hate the way it sounds. The cabinet is open, dry, and transparent sounding, no strong low end punch. I though I might try to build a new cab around the amp and woofer. Is this a bad path to take? Anyone here had any luck with this sort of project? If so, I would love your recommendations....

[dhomer]

My guess would be that building another cab around the same woofer isn't going to change much.. If you want that low-end kick, you're going to want to upgrade the woofer. If the budget allows and the amp would fit, I'd suggest an airhead version of a fEARful 12/6. PM me if you like..

[dhsierra1]

in the middle of redoing an 80s TNT 130. I found the basic sound to be OK but could be improved somewhat in the low end. Plus the cabinet is really heavy, on the order of 70 lbs. I want to help a friend's 16 y/o son who's starting bass and only has a small practice amp so thought this'd be something to try.

I got the T/S parameters from PV w/in a couple hours of emailing them, ran some modelling on WinISD and came up w/something that should be an improvement over the current configuration in terms of size and tuning. Basically 2.5 cu ft tuned to around 45 Hz. Not perfect, but better that what's there based on the plots and my experience of how those tend to sound.

Broke out the amp and building a case for it to sit on top of the separate speaker cab. All cabinetry built out of 1/2" birch ply and strategically braced similar to the fEARFULs. Painting it semi-gloss black using tinted shellac. 4 casters on the bottom and a few handles here and there. Lining the inside of the spkr cabinet w/1" mattress liner foam (no liner in the current cab!!). Should take off somewhere around 20-30 lbs total. Still in the middle of it but so far I think it's worth doing as the amp cost me next to nothing, sounds pretty good, I'm set up to build spkr cabs conveniently, and will definitely be useful for a beginning bassist for awhile. And the amp continues to lead a useful life in a more schleppable package.

[dhsierra1]

Originally Posted by dhomer

My guess would be that building another cab around the same woofer isn't going to change much.. If you want that low-end kick, you're going to want to upgrade the woofer. If the budget allows and the amp would fit, I'd suggest an airhead version of a fEARful 12/6. PM me if you like..

If you want something more serious in the low end this is a very good suggestion, what I'm doing is simply an easy and inexpensive way to help a beginner out. And it's custom built from a friend so there's the sentimental value as well.

[rustyginn]

Thanks for the advice guys. I was thinking that the woofer would have to be replaced. Throughout the years I've heard good things about it, but my experience is that it isn't worth keeping. @dhomer--- thanks for the fEARful tip--- I've read about those cabs before, and totally forgotten about them until i read this.

[1n3]

I own an 80s Combo 300. Have rarely played it out; it's mostly just a backup amp. It's not even with me right now.

The cabinet is not optimal; there is definitely room for improvement. Going from a measurements I took years ago, the internal volume is about 2.2cf. Subtract for the speaker, and you're close to 2cf. Could probably use some more room, though without the speaker specs, that's just a guess.

The ports are two triangular holes cut in the 3/4" thick baffle. I don't have the exact port dimensions, but cab tuning is probably well over 60hz - too high. Little wonder that the amp doesn't have a lot of bottom.

Add in the facts that the amp is very heavy, and the cabinet is particle board, and I think there's a good case for the project you describe.

dhsierra1 - I like your project. I gigged a TNT 130 for years, and liked that amp a lot more than the Combo 300. Your friend's kid is lucky. I'd love to see pics of that when you're done.