"tweed" champ cabinet

pie_man_25 · #1 03-01-2013, 08:50 AM

Hey guys, mods - I wasn't sure where to put this, so if you feel it should be moved, then move it.

So I've got an epi valve junior head for my guitard purposes. The problem is, I have no guitar speakers, I've been plugging it into my warwick 410 - it sounds pretty cool actually, the thing is, it's too loud. So I've decided to build a cabinet based on a tweed 5f1 champ combo to install a speaker and the chassis of the valve junior. I've basically taken apart a pallet for lumber, which is currently water logged, I'd have to wait a few weeks for it to dry out. I'm perfectly fine with using the pallet wood, but then I realized that I have approximately enough walnut - already dried out and furniture-grade that I've had sitting around for a few years - to build this cabinet with, I still need to find some 1/4" ply for the baffle and back boards, but right now I'm wondering, should I use the walnut or wait and use the pallet wood, which varies from poplar, oak, and what looks like either soft maple or pine.

Lonesomedave · #2 03-01-2013, 09:22 AM

definitely go for the walnut....but i have a question...

does a guitar amp need a baffle? my son has an epiphone galaxie 25 that i got real cheap at GC and it does not have a baffle...just an open back

anyway, you said you had enough walnut (or almost), and it's dry and ready to go....will look pretty.

BTW, on my son's epi, we had it serviced at my local amp doctor, and they exchanged the celestion speaker for an Eminence Patriot Swamp Thang... man, i can't tell you how much i love that speaker....are you going to have to buy speaker(s) or do you already have some?

if you're gonna have to buy, i recommend a 2x12 config with two of those Swamp Thangs...might run a little more, but you'll never be sorry you did.

pie_man_25 · #3 03-01-2013, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lonesomedave

definitely go for the walnut....but i have a question...

does a guitar amp need a baffle? my son has an epiphone galaxie 25 that i got real cheap at GC and it does not have a baffle...just an open back

anyway, you said you had enough walnut (or almost), and it's dry and ready to go....will look pretty.

BTW, on my son's epi, we had it serviced at my local amp doctor, and they exchanged the celestion speaker for an Eminence Patriot Swamp Thang... man, i can't tell you how much i love that speaker....are you going to have to buy speaker(s) or do you already have some?

if you're gonna have to buy, i recommend a 2x12 config with two of those Swamp Thangs...might run a little more, but you'll never be sorry you did.

I thought a baffle was the board that you mound your speaker to, in that case, you would logically need a baffle. The cabinet doesn't need to be closed back or ported though, though closing it up can help with bass response - though that's a bit simplistic. simply put - guitar drivers tend to be more flexible in terms of the box they're put into.

That being said, I did consider building a 112 or 212 cabinet - but it would be more than a little more expensive. I'm just going with the "champ" combo idea for now - it'll be quieter for practicing, smaller, easier to carry, and I can always add more on later - the output transformer has taps for 4, 8, and 16 ohms. Plus, the cabinet I'm building now, minus the speaker, will amount to less than 30 dollars in cost - the pallet was free, even most of the walnut was scavenged from people's renovation junk. If I build a 212, that'd be 100 bucks-ish per speaker, not to mention wood and other materials. The speakers I'm looking at - the weber sig-8 models are under 50 bucks. Keep in mind, I'm also planning on not covering it in tweed or tolex, I'm just going to get some oxblood grill cloth, and coat the cabinet in either french polish shellac, linseed oil, or polyurethane, maybe a combination - I'll figure it out when I get there.