• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Custom Bass Cab

L

lupus

May 4, 2004
3
0
#1
I'm toying with the idea of making myself a new cab and was wanting some opinions.

First of all, its gonna run from a Behringer 3000T head and should it be a single 15" or what? Also, can I use subs that would be used in a car stereo for the driver if its the right rating or not, as I can get hands on these on the cheap.

Thank you and appreciated
 
#2
lupus said:
I'm toying with the idea of making myself a new cab and was wanting some opinions.

First of all, its gonna run from a Behringer 3000T head and should it be a single 15" or what? Also, can I use subs that would be used in a car stereo for the driver if its the right rating or not, as I can get hands on these on the cheap.

Thank you and appreciated
Click to expand...

A single 15 will often make a great bass cabinet. You need to be careful though. Car audio subs will not sound good when used for a bass guitar. Their sensitivity is down in the low 90's, often into the 80's for db/1W/1m. Good bass gear is in high 90's or over 100, so it will be getting lots of power, but produce much lower sound pressure levels than a professional audio speaker. Also, car audio subs won't have response above 200Hz or so if you're lucky, so it'll sound like mush. Even my SWR Big Ben (an 18" speaker cabinet) responds decently up to 2kHz. Differences in driver design are what cause these huge discrepancies.

When building a cabinet, you need to pay attention to many more parameters than the power rating of the driver. Its Thiele/Small parameters, Fs, among many other characteristics will be required to determine the correct cabinet size and tuning. For information on drivers, check out the Eminence website (www.eminence.com if I'm not mistaken). I'm sure some more experienced gurus can step in and provide you with links to nicer stuff too.

Hopefully this helps a bit.
 
#3
The cab can be anything you want. You are not limited to a single 15".

Car stereo subs? Nope.

Cheap speakers? Sure. You get what you pay for, and this is very true when it comes to bass gear.

-Mike
 
#4
If you hadn't noticed I need as much help as I can get so anything would be useful. Such as what speakers, where to get them etc. I want something to be a learning experience but also sound half decent at the end of it
 
#7
In all honesty...used 1x15s are so cheap that you won't gain anything or save any money by building your own.

A commercially built cabinet will have known resale value. If you do some careful shopping, when the time comes, you might be able to get 100% back. If you build your own, it may have value, it may not depending on a lot of factors.

If you add up all the money that you'd spend on materials and place a value on your time, a new 1x15 from Avatar is still a bargain.

Skip the cheap speakers...they'll cost more in the long run.
 
#8
I tend to agree with BillyB. If you're looking for a fun project or something to experiment with, then by all means, build away. However, if you're looking to save money, "building your own" when it comes to speaker cabs isn't always the best way to go. :hmm:
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back