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DIY very small cabinet

PDGood

PDGood

Sep 19, 2010
2,947
854
Nashville, TN
#1
Now that amps are so small in size, I'd like to have a small cabinet that would be easy to haul for get togethers with an acoustic guitarist (or several acoustic players).

I'm looking for an inexpensive purchase or build and thinking 1-10" would probably still have some low lows and be very portable. But I am open to other options.

I have a Markbass LMlll which I know is way more powerful than needed, and too much for some speakers, but if I play at a low volume would that be an issue?

Someone posted a ready made, very inexpensive small cabinet on here but I have searched and haven't been able to find it. Something like that might work. I'm open to suggestions.

I already have a 1-15 w/horn and a 2-10, so I'm definitely wanting to go smaller.

Any ideas would be appreciated.
 
#6
If you want something pretty hi-fi, I came up with this cabinet design, using the ubiquitous B102 10" driver. The mid is a Beyma 5", more compact than the 6" drivers popular for bass cabs. I have no idea how it sounds - haven't quite finished the cabinet yet. But, it should sound OK. The cabinet has enough volume to have a decent low end, even for a fiver.
 

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#7
Thanks, looks interesting. Of course, how it sounds is very important. I've seen those Phil Jones cabs with 5" speakers and wondered how that could possibly do the job. (Not that I'm looking in that price range). There oughta be a way to hear comparisons of small cabinets online. I sure haven't seen any of those around here that I could check out in person.
 
#14
LGT said:
Have you looked at the audiokinesis thunderchild? I've never tried one, but they're supposed to have pretty flat response and are really compact.

EDIT: not sure about the price however.
Click to expand...

Yeah, you hit the nail on the head on both accounts. It is THE perfect small speaker cab - except for the price. (Around $800). And I'm sure it's worth every penny, I'm just looking for something inexpensive that I can haul home at Christmas time to play along with other family members that play acoustic guitar and hammer dulcimer. Push come to shove, I can haul a 1-15, I just remembered that 1-10 that Geoff mentioned and thought it'd be worth a hundred bucks to have something super small for those occasions.
I would love to hear the Thunderchild though. If they have nice gear like that in Nashville, I haven't found it yet. Probably need to make a trip to Atlanta.

P.S. I wonder how the SWR would compare to the DIY one that Geoff suggested.
 
#18
You can get an alpha 10 for around $50. Put it in enough box to reach 80 hz, probably around 1 cubic ft. or little more. Model it sealed as well as ported. It'll get the job done as a little cab for acoustic back porch jams. Reaches high enough you could forgo a tweeter, or string a piezo or 2 on it with an on/off switch. They're cheap too. Could probably do the whole thing for $100.

My 2 cents as far as cheap but effective for that situation.
 

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