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BFM Jack 210 Build

The_Jester

The_Jester

Jun 28, 2002
80
15
48
Asheville, NC
www.orangekrushband.com
#1
After I managed to blow the speakers in my SWR Super Redhead for the second time I decided to build a Jack 210. I used Arauco plywood from Lowes, Deltalite II 2510 speakers, and 16 1016 piezos. I wired the piezo array with a on/half on/off switch. I went back and forth on making it and "Airhead" but ended up making a separate matching 3 space rack. I routed holes for the handles and butterfly clips. It has tilt back casters and a extendable handle. I painted the inside of the cabinet and the rack purple and the rest is painted with 3 coats of Duratex. Took me about 3 weeks to build.

The rack will be loaded with a Genz-Benz Streamliner 600 (as soon a I get the rack kit), a wireless and compressor. I only recently bought the SL600 and am still getting use to it.

I was playing for the musical Footloose all last week and used a Stingray 5, SL600 and a Carvin 210 for most of the shows. I manged to get the Jack done in time to use it for the last two shows. I was very impressed with the sound.

When I was using my Redhead I cut my lows and boosted the mids a bit. The SL600 is very bassy and a bit mid shy. With the Carvin I need to cut the lows and boost the mids a fair amount but with the Jack I can leave the eq fairly flat. So far I think the Jack sounds great. My volume seems to be very consistent over all my strings. In the past I have had to cut my lows to avoid over powering my high strings and to cut through. With the Jack I am finding I can have a lot of low end with out loosing clarity.

I haven't had a chance to use it much yet. I play in a wedding band and a funk band and I have a lot of gigs coming up so I will report back after I have a little more experience with it. So far I'm loving it.

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#9
Thanks guys. Not sure how much it weighs yet as I don't have a scale but I'll try to get it weighed soon. I spent a few hours playing it today with different amps. With the piezos on it has a good full sound with nice bright highs. Great for slap. I'm really digging the sound with the piezos off as well. It looses the really bright sound but the highs are still solid and not over powered by the lows. It's a really nice finger style sound especially with a little tube distortion. Have a rehearsal with a funk band tomorrow and can't wait to see how it sounds in that context.
 
#16
With the SWR and the Carvin I am use to cutting my lows. In a band context I found the lows tended to overpower the highs as a result I would have trouble hearing the g string. With the Jack I am able to have a lot more lows and still have even volume across the strings. I think the lows are a lot clearer. Flat the Jack it voiced with a strong mid bump as the graphs on Bills site shows. It is quite a bit louder than my other cabs.

I am becoming a big fan of the BFM designs. I was sceptical when I read rave reviews of his PA cabs. I am very weary of the hype around gear. I like building stuff my self so I first built a DR200 which a really weird design. The speaker faces backwards and it has butt checks:smug: I took it to a few gigs to use as an extension cab to my Redhead and was blown away. It added a clarity to my sound that I didn't even know I was missing. Now the DR200 is in the wall of the live room in my recording studio. I use it for loud play back for musicians and for rehearsals. I have run a 9 piece band through it and have barely pushed it. It sounds like a high end studio monitor only a lot louder. It is a little lacking in the lows but this is a single 8" driver. After my experience with the DR200 I was set on trying the Jack and my Redhead dieing was the perfect excuse. If fact I am so impressed with the DR200 I'm replacing my whole PA with BFM speakers. I will have to do a few more gigs before I can really know if the Jack lives up to my expectations.
 
#20
Lief - thanks for posting your review here. It sounds like the tone profile of the Jack suits you very well.

This is one of the nicest Jack builds I've seen. The purple interior isn't quite my thing, but I like the rest. Looks very professional, and the "cartability" is exactly what I would want. Where did you get the extension handle? Wonder if it vibrates.
 

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