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AudioKinesis Cabs Part VI...
- Thread starter Thor
- Start date
Nada, but Duke's been at this a long time and none of us are getting any younger. Add to that the travails of working thru a hefty backlog with aging & possibly ill parents in a distant city, a serious sleep affliction, and the Rona plague. Plus, he has another business. Hi-fi audio is where he made his name and his bones, not bass cabs. All this makes my antennae go up.
imho, speculation like this can lead to rumors, which may not be productive for duke.
Nothing stays the same. Duke has been forthright regarding the difficulties he has encountered the last year or two. If he decides to throw open the doors for new business he won't have any trouble filling his order book. Put me down for another H1506.
Duke loves us bass players too much. He'll endure. The Duke abides!
Al Kraft
Supporting Member
- May 2, 2016
- 10,771
- 40,450
- Disclosures
- Mesa Boogie beta product tester and player support
I have absolutely no inside knowledge and am suggesting absolutely nothing...please pause and read that again before reading further...
I have always wondered if Duke considered teaming with a "quality builder" as either a partner or via a licensing agreement to produce his designs at a volume much greater than he can do on his own. That would free him up to focus more on product development/refinement and if he wanted to keep his hands in construction he could perhaps run a limited custom shop operation.
Duke's build quality is outstanding and his designs are beyond innovative. If he could just find the right partner to handle volume production, I think he and his customers would benefit greatly.
This not meant to be a criticism of Duke's business model just something to consider going forward that would give Duke an easier life, a more robust income stream and place more great cabs in the hands of willing buyers.
I have always wondered if Duke considered teaming with a "quality builder" as either a partner or via a licensing agreement to produce his designs at a volume much greater than he can do on his own. That would free him up to focus more on product development/refinement and if he wanted to keep his hands in construction he could perhaps run a limited custom shop operation.
Duke's build quality is outstanding and his designs are beyond innovative. If he could just find the right partner to handle volume production, I think he and his customers would benefit greatly.
This not meant to be a criticism of Duke's business model just something to consider going forward that would give Duke an easier life, a more robust income stream and place more great cabs in the hands of willing buyers.
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This sort of outcome sure seems like a win-win, if Duke could find the right partner. Consider the Sadowsky/Warwick licensing arrangement. That said, I don't know if Duke's quality could be maintained at his current price point, under such a deal. And the Sadowsky/Warwick thing is pretty special - you may not like Warwick instruments as a matter of design or sound, but their attention to quality, at a wide range of price points is undeniable...and the pre-Warwick Sadowsky line was simply out of reach for many players. Anyhow, more power to Duke, wherever and however he proceeds!
Hey Al, I don't know if you've ever looked inside one of your AK cabs but here is the crossover in my Changeling Cab:
OKAY OKAY maybe that's an exaggeration but it's not far off
I would say most of his time is spent on crossover design/construction and I don't know if he would be willing to farm that part out to a circuit board manufacturer or not. Of course it would probably mean a price increase.
Instead of paying attention to all the guys carrying signs, I'll just wait to hear from Duke about any news, which I hope to be positive for him, regardless of what anyone else predicts or recommends.
Speaking of the internal workings of an AK cab, I have a question about what I have rattling around in my C112 right now. I took all three port plugs out and shook the cause of the rattle into view. It is a very small hex nut. So small that you can see that it would never fit on the speaker mounting screws that show through the t-nuts next to it.
It’s not a particularly good photo, but you can see it up against the side of the enclosure, to the left of the t-nut.
I’m thinking I should remove the grill and driver to gain access, but where do you think this goes? I’m guessing that it might hold the crossover to the cab, or maybe is supposed to secure a crossover component to the board.
Anyway, if I DO find where it goes, do you think a drop of Loctite would be appropriate to keep it in place?
Thanks in advance for any advice.
Mike
It’s not a particularly good photo, but you can see it up against the side of the enclosure, to the left of the t-nut.
I’m thinking I should remove the grill and driver to gain access, but where do you think this goes? I’m guessing that it might hold the crossover to the cab, or maybe is supposed to secure a crossover component to the board.
Anyway, if I DO find where it goes, do you think a drop of Loctite would be appropriate to keep it in place?
Thanks in advance for any advice.
Mike
His own silence speaks volumes. Naturally he will act in his & his family's best interest.
Lowendtech
Happily trending in my own peculiar direction.
I’m hoping he isn’t freezing in the dark with no heat, no power and piled high with snow atm.
totally. he’s in texas and they’re getting slammed.
That looks like one of the nuts used to bolt the mid driver to the cab but I don't think it could find it's way into the main cab. Other than that it may be used on the crossover.
The one-man shop, boutique bass cab business is, I imagine, tough right now. I hope and imagine that Duke will continue to make bass cabs when he's cleared his backlog but he's not obligated to do that.
As to his (relative) silence here, it could mean any number of things -- it might just mean that he's got better (more productive, less wheel-spinning, less aggravating) ways to spend his time than explaining himself (more than he has already) to folks here. He's said that he's behind on fulfilling orders, gave some background as to contributing factors, and said that he's not taking orders until he's caught up. As far as I know, he's acting in accordance with that. What more is there for him to say on the topic that would be productive?
Meanwhile he has popped in a few times to answer questions on the cabs and help folks out with issues.
Being in Texas, the man probably doesn't even have power and has bigger things to worry about. How about cut him some slack?
Actually I'd say it's a nut that bolts one of the back plates on. See if one of those screws is loose.
I feel that I might have come across more gruffly, a few posts up, than I intended. I certainly don't impute any ill-will to @slagheap and admit my own curiosity as to how things are progressing with Duke's backlog. I just don't think that, beyond letting the folks to whom he owes cabs know that he's taking concrete steps to make that right, he's obligated to go into things more than he has here.
At any rate, that's enough out of me -- and Duke can speak for himself, should he wish to.
I wish him and anyone else reading this the best.
At any rate, that's enough out of me -- and Duke can speak for himself, should he wish to.
I wish him and anyone else reading this the best.
locktite yes. crossover, maybe?. grab it with a magnet on a stick. remove backplate, it likely secures the crossover, or a component ON the inside of the backplate, perhaps a PC board
