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Design ideas needed for diy lightweight cab/combo

T

t0neloc

Sep 30, 2012
17
2
North Yorkshire, UK
#1
Hi folks,

As per title, looking for ideas or preferably designs for building a lightweight cab or combo. Skip next two paras of explanation...

I'm mainly a guitar player plus a bit on bass but barely picked them up for the past two years what with a house move/renovation and other things.....:meh:
Now feeling the groove as spring arrives and want to get practicing again. Trouble is that my new music room is in the attic reached via a drop down ladder & hatch. There's no way I can lug my Custom Sound Cub 60 bass combo up that without serious injury (especially at my age). Nice tone to it and the onboard chorus is heading into Peter Hook territory. 15" Fane driver. Interestingly there's an internal baffle about half way back in the cabinet meaning that the speaker is actually in a cab less than half the size of the overall combo.
Custom Sound Cub 60 bass combo

Custom Sound Cub 60 bass combo

Custom Sound Cub 60 bass combo 15" Fane driver
1980's combo with on board chorus effect
Rear view Custom Sound Cub 60 bass combo

Rear view Custom Sound Cub 60 bass combo

1980's combo with on board chorus effect

I need a lightweight cab/combo that can be very easily carried and will mainly be used for practice and possibly small gigs. The obvious answer is to buy a cheap combo but I care about the sound and would like something that can do both.
I've previously made a cabinet out of pine to rebody a Vox DA5 with a 12" driver. Very light, sounds great & way louder than the 5W it generates. Can beused for bass at lower practice volume but the guitar amp modelling adds too much colour for my liking.

So... I've just picked up a very cheap pair of unused Eminence Basslite SC10. They're 16 Ohm so I'm thinking a 2x10 cab wired in parallel or maybe a 1x10 and lose some power. They're claimed to be designed for sealed cabs.
Happy to go down the head/cab route although I'd prefer to make a combo.
Ideas on materials - 18mm ply or will this end up too heavy?
Recommendations for a simple power amp head or a combo with a small control panel that could be cannibalised?

Any ideas welcome and especially any links to designs/patterns.

Thanks
 
#2
Can't work out how to edit posts.
The weight & size of the Custom Sound Cub is 22kg and 18" cubed. Any solution needs to be at least 50% lighter.
I'm struggling to find any reasonably priced combos of a lower weight other than the specialist ones such as Phil Jones or Markbass.
 
#4
Redbrangus said:
The Fender Rumble 100 is about the same size and weighs in at about 10kg.
Click to expand...
Good call but the other issue is that the attic hatchway is only 18" wide. This means that to be in any way practical it needs to be both light and small in at least one dimension. The rumble 40 would do it but a bit low in wattage for gigs.
This is why I'm trying to create something bespoke rather than just buying something off the peg. The only realistic contenders are Markbass, Phil Jones or a few low end practice amps.
I'm fairly certain that it's possible to construct a thin ply, braced cabinet that would fit the bill. I'll give it a go but just hoped that someone might have been there before me.
Initial idea is to use 18mm ply but use a router to reduce the thickness in a pattern across the inside of the panels. E.g. slots of 50% thickness across most of the side panels and a few on the frtont and back. This should reduce weight whilst retaining the rigidity of the panels if the pattern is thought out. Coupled with lightweight speakers it would save a few kg.
 
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#5
Why use thick plywood if you're only going to shave it down? Too much work and waste. Use 1/2" plywood for all but the front baffle. Proper bracing is a key design feature that lets you use thinner plywood without compromising rigidity.

With the hatchway being one of your limiting parameters, going with a vertical 210 will probably be your best option. The SC10-16's you purchased are primarily designated for sealed cabinets, although they will work in ported designs as well. They are probably about as light as you can get and still sound decent. Here are some design proposals from Eminence:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Or if you want pre-built no compromise:
AT 208 – GRBass
AT 212 slim – GRBass
 
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#7
I'm with @abarson about not using 18mm plywood and then shaving it down -- that doesn't make all that much sense to me. It would be better and easier to use 12mm plywood to begin with.

I'm not sure any of the Greenboy fEARless cabs fit your criteria, but you might get some ideas about lightweight construction and bracing from looking at the plans for them. The plans are archived on the Web, and there is information about them here: fEARful DIY Speaker Kits for Bass Guitar
 
#12
fdeck said:
There's also this famous thread:

Low-cost DIY practice/coffeehouse tweeterless 110 [long]

You could follow Duke's design but build your own box out of 1/2" ply.
Click to expand...
I was going to mention this thread.

I have two of those cabs (built by @LennyJ -- one using the carpeted box and the other built out of ply), albeit with Deltalite II 2510s subbed in for the Basslite drivers. I've never heard them with the Basslites Duke originally spec-ed (though, somewhere in the thread, someone discusses the differences after switching the Basslites for Deltalites). The Deltalites handle more power and are marginally more sensitive but, beyond that, I can't say whether they're more or less suited for electric bass duty in this enclosure than are the Basslites. I can say that they're more capable than I expected with four-string bass. One will do small pub jams and two will cover a loud little room without requiring a ton of power.

I've thought about building the two drivers into a vertical 210 -- maybe even a combo, with a moderately powered, relatively light head (something like a GK 400RB, though OP could use the micro of his choice).

As for separates vs. combo, OP could bridge the gap by building something like the old Genz Benz (or current Genzler Magellan) combos -- basically a cab with a pigtail cable and a bracket to hold a small amp on top -- handle(s) placed in whatever way is most ergonomic for you and your use.
 
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#17
If you're not stuck on building, the Hartke KB12 will fit thru the doorway and will (believe it or not) carry a decent sized room with no PA. I have been amazed how loud this thing gets without farting or getting muddy. And it has a pre-eq DI just in case. I can carry it with one hand.

I have a Fender 800 Pro head and TBP-1 pre with a 4x12 cab but the KB has done everything I need by itself and has that typical Hartke clean thump I love. The only change I'd ever make is a higher SPL Neo speaker to shave even more weight, or add an HPF to squeeze even more volume. But again ... I haven't needed more.
 
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#18
Snaxster said:
Hello. If you might change your mind about building rather than buying, consider the Traynor SB112. I just bought one to donate to a friend. It is made in Canada, is very well built, and it sounds great.
Click to expand...

I hear good things about the Small Block combos as well. Very reliable and amazing volume and tone in a small package.

I have played Elf head/cabs and the volume just wasn't there except as a stage monitor once elevated. For a loud-ish rock gig, anyway. IME. YMMV.

The Ashdown OriginAL sounded awesome and was mega loud. Just a bit pricey for a 1x12 combo.
 
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#19
fdeck said:
Not to toot my own horn, but my little 12" box would fit in your space and weighs about 17 pounds:

https://bassisttech.github.io/12-in-bass-speaker/index.html

I didn't take any pics while I was building it, so I don't have a step-by-step assembly guide.
Click to expand...


Many thanks for this. I'll take a while to read the pdf explanation and see how it could be applied to my situation. I can understand the construction principles form the diagram.
 

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