Building my First Bass Cab..HELP!!!

[will33]

The CA154 is an extremely cost-effective woofer in my opinion, the only potential drawback I can see is that you're already at 4 ohms, so if you need more SPL you can't readily add another cab without the impedance going too low. But for the money (and weight), the CA154 moves a lot of air and has a nice response curve.

I'd probably put it in something like 3.2 three cubic feet net internal volume, and tune it to maybe 45 Hz or so. You'll only be -2 dB at the first overtone of low-B (62 Hz), and the lower tuning frequency gives you better fartout resistance than the 55 Hz tuning frequency in Eminence's published 3.75 cubic foot design. Two 4" diameter ports, each 6" long, will get you there.

If weight is an issue, I suggest 1/2" (12 mm) Arauco plywood from Lowes, thirty-something bucks a sheet ballpark. Note that bracing becomes more critical as your plywood thickness and weight goes down. Butt joints are fine if you glue & screw them, that's what I do for prototyping, with a good countersink bit and #6 x 1.25" drywall screws (cheaper than wood screws). Use "corner clamps" to hold your joints square while you glue, drill, and screw. If there's a flaw in the wood such that getting an airtight seal is questionable, make some putty by mixing sawdust and glue (assuming you're using wood glue). And after the initial assembly, run an extra bead of glue around the joints from inside the box.

Good bracing can make your DIY build better than a roughly equivalent commercial cab. Ideal would be a window brace that goes around the cabinet at roughly mid-height, and you'd have to bignotch the brace to allow for the woofer frame and magnet. This would adequately stiffen all four vertical boards. Then glue 2.5" wide plywood strips edgewise on the top and bottom in a "+" sign pattern, butted/glued against one another in the middle. Also, do similar edgewise bracing between cut-outs. So if your woofer and port cut-outs are on the front panel, plan on some extra edgewise bracing there. The front panel is subject to the strongest vibrations so pay the most attention to it.

If you can do internal ratios of 1: 1.62 : 2.62, that would be great. I have used such ratios in studio speakers, but never in a bass cab because it just doesn't end up being as practical. Another set of ratios that works well is 1: 1.26: 1.59. You might be able to get away with no internal damping (foam glued to inner walls) with these ratios, which in turn results in a little tiny bit more low end energy.

If you really want to get fancy, use three 4" diameter PVC pipe ports on the back of the cabinet, in a symmetrical row, with the middle port centered behind the woofer magnet. You may have to shift your window brace location to accomodate the ports; it's more important to have that middle port centered than to have the window brace exactly on the midline. Each port is 6" long, and make the cabinet deep enough to allow at least 2.5" of clearance between the middle port and the woofer magnet. Buy two 4" diameter expandable plumber's test plugs, and verify beforehand that they will fit your ports. With three ports open, the tuning frequency is 54 Hz (big low end, possible fartout issues). Plug the middle port, and the tuning frequency is 45 Hz (medium low end). Unplug the middle port and plug the two end ports, and the tuning frequency is 33 Hz (tight low end).

Learn from your mistakes, learn from your successes, and your best speaker will always be your next speaker.

OP. You are new here so you might not know, but this guy ^^ is one of the best in the business. Search up " AudioKinesis" speakers to see what it's all about.

When you get advice from someone like that....take it.

 

[shaginwagin]

To the op, I get what you are trying to do. Im a grown man but still wanna try my hand at anything I would usually have to pay for. In most cases you don't really save any more money than just picking up the same thing used, this case being a 15" cab. But if it, or the next one, or the next one, turns out great then you have something to be proud of. If not you learned SOMETHING. I think its great you would rather tinker on a bass cab than rot in front of the tv. Kudos to you.

So I say, GO FOR IT! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR??? ARE YOU DONE YET???

Oh, and good luck.

And of you are using your dads tools clean them up and put them away, every time you use em. He'll think your'e swell.

 

[HertzWhenIPlay]

Build it!
the first speaker box i ever built (twenty years ago) i was 14 and made all my cuts with a jig saw. True, I have learned a lot since then but the standard principles still apply.

ofcourse, i studied the subject and had help and input on the design of my first build.

 

[will33]

Build it!
the first speaker box i ever built (twenty years ago) i was 14 and made all my cuts with a jig saw. True, I have learned a lot since then but the standard principles still apply.

ofcourse, i studied the subject and had help and input on the design of my first build.

My first was boxes for a pair of 6x9 car speakers for my truck at around 18 or so. I had seen these "holes" in speaker boxes before and thought they "let the bass out". So, I put more holes in my box to let out more bass. I then crammed them behind the truck seat. They really rumbled back there but that was all. The cones were pressed up against the back of the seat and all the highs fired right into the cushion.

 

[INTP]

Build it!
the first speaker box i ever built (twenty years ago) i was 14 and made all my cuts with a jig saw. True, I have learned a lot since then but the standard principles still apply.

ofcourse, i studied the subject and had help and input on the design of my first build.

I made my first speakers as a teenager with a pawn shop jigsaw that I got for $30. I think the experience is definitely worth it.

And DukeLeJeune was extremely generous in his response. Right on!

 

[::::BASSIST::::]

As a teacher who works with High School kids, I commend your effort OP. I say go for it, but take your time. Don't try to re-invent the wheel. Its all been done before by guys who know what they are doing.

My advice:

1. download and use these plans: EV TL606 plans

https://www.google.ca/search?q=EV+T...s=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

2. buy decent plywood with no voids (empty spaces) in it. I bought a 4x8 sheet of Arauco (lightweight decent quality) ply at home depot of $36cdn. The only thing more important than the wood is the driver so dont cheap out on the wood.

3. get the wood cut for you. Thats what I did on my first cab build and it only cost me $40 but it REALLY paid off. If your wood is not cut precisely you will run into HUGE problems and your cab will be a mess. If you have the tools and desire you can take a stab at it, but prepared to be challenged. The thing is wood is cheap so either way all you lose is time, but it is a great learning experience.

4. Use PL adhesive as glue. There is nothing better that I have seen. It doesnt stink and it is super strong.

5. On my first build I used clamps (4 large ones) and screws to hold it together as well. Once the PL dried (24hrs) you can remove the screws to save a bit of weight. On the current cab I am building (a fEARful 12/6) I am not using clamps at all. Just 2" drywall screws.

6. Once the box is built, take your time on the finishing work. Sand like crazy and use drywall spackle to fill in any holes. The more time you spend on the spackle/sanding step the better your cab will look in the end.

7. You can use any old cheap paint. If you dont like the results you can always just repaint it. If you want to get the super good stuff use duratex. Its $14 for a pint of it at speakerhardware.com so not too bad.

8. You can go cheap on the hardware for now and replace it down the road if desired with good stuff. The 'bone' style handles are only like $5 each, easy to put on and work pretty good.

9. The most important thing is to follow the plans, they did the science part of it for you. If you dont follow the plans the cab will not turn out well.

10. The other really important thing is to *take your time*, think about every step thoroughly before you do it.

Good luck. It takes alot of work to build a cab, probably more than you realize, but the results are excellent if you take your time and follow the plans.

 

[Growly Lytes]

Are you going to put a full face grill ?, Input jack plate, corner protecters, tolex or line-X, feet on the bottom, handles......... ?

I already looked into everything. I may or may not put on a face grill, but I've done my research (something a lot of people don't think I have). Input jack plates are around $12-13. Corner Protectors, you can buy those at any furniture store for $5 bucks? I don't plan on doing anything to the plywood except painting it. If I decide to go 'luxury', you can buy casters for what, a dollar a piece at the very most? Handles? I can put a nice looking kitchen drawer handle on it (may sound stupid, but you don't need fancy handles to move something).

I'm comparing the cab I WANT TO MAKE to a cab I WANT TO BUY. The cab I want to buy is $250. With all the materials I have so far, I'm 'maybe' looking at around $120-130. Put on a face grill? (I have experience in metal working), what's keeping me from buying sheet metal (don't even get me started on this, I know how much MY local retailers cost) and making my own face grill.

True... your not going to biuld 100 of them so id say go for it.Get a speaker that suits your needs & do some homework on how to get the most out of the speaker & enclosure.

 

[subbasshz]

listen to these guys

reaaad up on this for MONTHS before you make even 1 cut.

I spent 6 years researching sub octave cabs (apartment living FTL) before I ever got to build one.

also [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

same driver, same price, WAAAAAAY better company.

 

[chzwolfe666]

Man to hell with all that. Trial and error. Who cares how it sounds. Get you a rat pedal and crank it all the way up and get dirty. All these farty know it all bassist with funny gear think they know everything. Its like the more off the wall ******** your gear looks the bigger your bass dick is. If you mess up then just save your $$ and look in to EMPEROR cabs or buy you a vintage fender 2x15.
I've built a hand full of cabs that are bad ass and i don't know **** about speakers and they all sound good enough for me to dump my ampeg and mesa.
If you want to do it for you then just do it. Look at specs from other companies and rip em off, build it yourself cause you WILL save your money....I know I have.

 

[::::BASSIST::::]

^ I don't know whether to cry or laugh.

 

[majortoby]

So much siggable material in one post, and I can't touch any of it

 

[chzwolfe666]

^ I don't know whether to cry or laugh.

I do both every day my man