DIY Bass Cab

[62Bassman]

this program will be absolutely essential for designing a sealed or ported box specific to the drivers you choose: http://www.linearteam.dk/default.aspx?pageid=winisd

some tips:
-don't make it a cube. cube=standing waves=bad sound
-don't forget all of the hardware and connections you'll need for this thing.
-don't use MDF.
-when it's all said and done, you'll likely have ended up spending almost as much as it would have cost to just buy a cab of the same specs.

The only bit I disagree with here is over the cost, far eastern imports made of cheap materials and loaded with cheap no brand speakers are the least expensive way to go but there is always a trade off withn these things.
Finnish Birch Ply has a very tough exterior so just painting will suffice assuming corners wouild be fitted.
Before I got my own cutting machinery my local timber yard would cut a sheet to my sizes for a small extra fee.
I can put a speaker cab together loaded with the same name brand speakers that many leading manufacturers use for less than half the price that they charge, although I get my drivers at trade I dont get the bulk discounts that they do.

+10 on the guy for wanting to build his own cab/s although at my age I'd go for two single 15s

 

[billfitzmaurice]

Commonly known in UK/Europe as Finnish (as in Finland) Birch Ply.

We call it Baltic in the US mostly because most of it's Russian, and not so long ago that was a negative marketing aspect.

 

[BassIan]

Read a book. Seriously. This one would be appropriate:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Having done that you'd have some understanding of driver parameters, which are explained here:
http://www.eminence.com/resources_data.asp
and then you can use WinISD to design your own cabinet.

Definitely do this. If you are going to do something and spend this time, you may as well just do it right.

Now if only more of the manufacturers would do this.

 

[greenboy]

Now if only some of the manufacturers would do this.

Some do, but they still have to meet customer expectations.

 

[Crockettnj]

It's bad to put two different drivers into a 2-by box...

A very popular brand of bass cab does this very thing.

NOt disagreeing with you, just saying...

 

[billfitzmaurice]

A very popular brand of bass cab does this very thing.

NOt disagreeing with you, just saying...

Qualification: You should always use at least two different drivers, as no one driver can adequately cover the entire frequency spectrum. What you should not do is use two different drivers (or cabinets) to cover the same portion of the frequency sprectrum, and yes, that is common practice.

 

[Bassman62]

We call it Baltic in the US mostly because most of it's Russian, and not so long ago that was a negative marketing aspect.

I added the info for the benefit of UK constructors, I personaly don't use Finnish/Baltic ply if I intend to cover the cab, what I have picked up recently when boarding out my loft was some chinese shuttering ply made to a far higher standard than the usual shuttering ply that we get in the UK, I used some to see how it turned out which proved to be totaly acceptable.
at £12 $22 8'x4' sheet it is very cheap probably the same stuff some of the imported cabs are made from.

 

[giglawyer]

Bill Fitzmaurice is kind to share his resources. I suggest you check out his site as well. http://www.billfitzmaurice.com/
If I had the time, I would definitely build one of his cabs.