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DIY cabinet stand

jobbermania

jobbermania

Feb 25, 2012
196
174
Philadelphia PA
#1
After reading hundreds of threads on TB I got the recurring message that
getting my bass cabinet up and nearer to ear level would help me hear myself and my tone better.
So, here is my DIY cab stand build.
The uprights are the kickers which protect bundles of plywood or drywall from steel straps.
The shelf and back panel are pieces of MDF left over from a DIY cab build not yet completed.
It is finished with black stain one step wood finish and,
yes, I see that I missed getting the stain in the kicker grooves.

The bottom of the cab is 29 inches off the floor as shown.
That puts the center cap of the upper driver at ear level give or take an inch.
The stand can be inverted to achieve a 24 inch height.
It is quite sturdy. I did jostle it around to test its stability; it's all good.

So now I can enjoy all the rich tonal goodness and midrange flavor of the 1505s I recently swapped into that big old 215D.
And I can better judge my volume relative to the band.
 
#2
pics
 

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#4
Nice amp stand Mr. Beans, but, I bought a real amp stand because I don't want to scratch the top of my 147 any more than it already is.

I can't play keyboard even more than I can't play bass, so this one lives at my friends home studio, (along with my Hammond A102), since he can actually play it.

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#6
What was the rule of thumb regarding how high the stand and the loss the crowd hears due to less coupling with the floor?
I played around with this a few months ago due to a guitard with a Peavy Classic 30 that he refuses to lift higher than a milk crate and play loud on a small stage. Seemed like after about 18" the bottom dropped out of my normally fat amp tone 10' past the stage. This was only tried at a soundcheck and we only used vocals in the mains for a 75 seat room.
 
#8
Jim C said:
What was the rule of thumb regarding how high the stand and the loss the crowd hears due to less coupling with the floor?
I played around with this a few months ago due to a guitard with a Peavy Classic 30 that he refuses to lift higher than a milk crate and play loud on a small stage. Seemed like after about 18" the bottom dropped out of my normally fat amp tone 10' past the stage. This was only tried at a soundcheck and we only used vocals in the mains for a 75 seat room.
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Around 34 inches. I raise the cab to monitor. Miking the cab helps with loss.

According to BFM:

There two distinct and independant forces at work here. One is the physical vibration of the*floor, the bulk of which is created by the sound coming from your speaker, not by physical vibrations transferred from the cabinet to the*floor. Nothing short of adding a few more 2x10s to the*floorsupports will fix that. Isolation pads can help with that component which is the direct product of a vibrating cab, but what they mainly do is to*isolate*the cab from the vibrations of the*floor*created by the soundwaves from the cab. Clear as mud? But as for physical coupling adding low end, even bolting the cab to the*floor*won't result in more bass output.*
The other force is boundary reinforcement, which occurs when the cab baffle is less than 1/4 wavelength from the*floor. Lifting the box as much as 2.8 feet will have no effect below 100 Hz, what is considered 'bass', as it's still within 1/4 wavelength, so de-coupling doesn't reduce low-end response. However, above 100 Hz response is reduced, and that can be very beneficial in reducing 'boom', as boom is mostly sourced not in the bass below 100Hz but in the mid-bass from roughly 120-350 Hz. That's probably the case in your practice room.
 
#11
I never realized how helpful a stand would be until I started using one. Well, not a stand per se, but... For my bass amp, I just poked two hole in a paper towel tube (for the feet to hold on to) and put it under the front. Helps me hear it sitting on my bed. My class v tube amp is set on top of a cardboard box about 12" off the ground. So much more clarity. On christmas eve, since we weren't gonna set up our equipment at church (read as tennis court), I just brought my bass amp, the tube, and the box, and cranked it to 3. Glad I raised it up, as it was running out of steam just to be heard over two singers and one acoustic guitar.
 
#12
I usually just carry a simple rectangular folding keyboard seat/bench ... cabs sit well on it, and when I get tired I drop it down and have a nice seat .. folds flat for easy carry/storing when not in use .. looks like this ...

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#13
nice job, TommyKnocker.

this little fella gives me a perspective on my timbres and volume, with a a bit more angle than a floor monitor. still close to the floor but definitely a better sense of volume than sitting flat onstage. also stashes easily for transport and only takes up the amp's footprint.

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#14
I have a 8 space rack that works well as a cab stand. Its the ATA flight case style or whatever and it is made out of real plywood, normally I just have my rack ontop of my 410 but on some stages where the stage is really shallow and the 410 on the floor just goes by my knees or on stages that are narrow and I'm really close to the drummer or a guitar rig I flip it and i set my rack on the floor, then my cab on top. I like to take the back wheels off the cab when I do that to get a little tilt and I normally use foam under the front wheels to minimize noise, the back doesn't really need it because the rubber feet on the cab do a good enough job.
 
#19
Hi.

Nice work.

Not something I would like to take to a gig probably though.

BassmanPaul said:
I use Acme B2 cabinets. I personally think that the best stand for an Acme B2 is a second Acme B2! :D
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What a coincidence, I often use a EV TL505 as a stand for another EV TL505 :).

IMG_5694_zps101c3553.jpg


smeet said:
I'm trying to think of a simple DIY design with adjustable height AND tilt angle. Has anybody done or seen something like this, using just simple plywood and screws/glue/etc?
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Side panels with a straight (notched) on rear and curved on front slots works pretty well.
Wing bolts and threaded inserts complete the gizmos.

Takes a bit of geometry head-scratching to get the curved slot(s) to work with all of the rear heights, but it's doable.

Regards
Sam
 

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