fEARful™ Part Twelve (12)

[mikeddd]

Well, the cab will sound like crap, for one. LOL! I was experimenting with stuffing my Avatar 212 cab. I mistakenly bought one of those memory foam mattress toppers and lined the whole cab with it. That memory foam is really dense. It was like putting concrete in the cab. The cab turned into a "one-note-wonder". It was focused (in a bad way), nasally and boomy but in a very limited frequency range. It sounded "choked" if you will. Basically, it sounded horrible.

Glad the build thread is helping you. That's why I'm doing it. There are so many ways to screw up and cause work for yourself. Documenting all that makes it easier for others down the road.

 

[BurningSkies]

Well definitely closed cell (memory foam) isn't suitable for damping material. I would stay away from mattress foam altogether and move towards quilt batting material.

 

[mikeddd]

Well definitely closed cell (memory foam) isn't suitable for damping material. I would stay away from mattress foam altogether and move towards quilt batting material.

Agree 100%. That was a huge waste of my time and money. I only used the mattress topper b/c that was what was available where I was at the time. What I'll be using now is precisely quilt batting. Just not sure on how many layers. The stuff is roughly 1.25" thick.

 

[BurningSkies]

Agree 100%. That was a huge waste of my time and money. I only used the mattress topper b/c that was what was available where I was at the time. What I'll be using now is precisely quilt batting. Just not sure on how many layers. The stuff is roughly 1.25" thick.

I just think that quilt batting is less likely for the novice builder to be too dense, over damp or change the box volume. I doubled up one of the thicker grades of batting and ended up coming up with a 2 or 2.5" thickness but it's definitely fluffy rather than dense.

 

[RaniBrandt]

+1 on the quilt batting.

I got mine from Michael's. It was thin, about maybe 1/2 inch thick, so I lightly spray glued 3-4 layers together, then spray glued and stapled the batting to the interior. Worked great!

 

[Bardley]

Looks like I will go with that, then.

 

[mikeddd]

I just think that quilt batting is less likely for the novice builder to be too dense, over damp or change the box volume. I doubled up one of the thicker grades of batting and ended up coming up with a 2 or 2.5" thickness but it's definitely fluffy rather than dense.

Did you double up the layers in the whole box? On both your 15/6 and your 15/sub? I know you're very happy with your fEARfuls and that you play loud. So if YOU'RE happy with the stuffing then I should be too.

 

[Sundogue]

I use open cell egg crate foam, which not only is not very dense, the ridges help knock down reflections even more.

I got bags of 20" X 20" squares of it from a friend who used to work for a company that used it for packing sensitive equipment. I haven't had to buy any for years, even with all the cabs I've built. They work great when stuck edge to edge on walls in studios or rehearsal spaces to do the same task.

Not sure where to find that stuff locally.

 

[BurningSkies]

Did you double up the layers in the whole box? On both your 15/6 and your 15/sub? I know you're very happy with your fEARfuls and that you play loud. So if YOU'RE happy with the stuffing then I should be too.

I did double it up on both boxes. I used the exact same batch of batting and installation both. I laid out the batting, spray glued all of one side than folded/doubled it over, then once dry, cut to size and installed. With the installation in the cab, I spray glued the inside surface and also one side of the batting panels I made.

 

[mikeddd]

Thanks for the details. That's very helpful. I will do the same thing.

 

[rad bassman]

i literally cut up a double bed quilt, cost me £7, nice n fluffy , stapled into place, looks nice n cosy in there, lol, sounds fine too, in fact that the 1st thing i noticed with my cab was how defined all the notes were on the low B

 

[::::BASSIST::::]

Here is a pic of my Art of Noise Composite fEARful 15/6.

I will be doing a full review in the Art of Noise Composite thread, but in short it sounds very good, is significantly easier to move than my LDS 15/6 cube version and weighs 39LBS.

 

[rpsands]

How tough's the exterior, dude?

 

[cableguy]

Very nice! Like in racing it's all about power to weight ratio. And I don't think to many rigs can touch yours. What about 900W at around 50lbs head & cab. That's almost 20watts a pound. DAMN!

 

[::::BASSIST::::]

How tough's the exterior, dude?

Its seems fairly tough and scratch resistant. Just as much as any other duratex coated cab. However, I will be cautious because I am unsure of just how strong it is... and I dont want to find out the hard way. Meaning I'd be hesitant to sit on it or treat it roughly. However, yes it 'seems's strong and these is no flex whatsoever from what I can tell.

 

[::::BASSIST::::]

Very nice! Like in racing it's all about power to weight ratio. And I don't think to many rigs can touch yours. What about 900W at around 50lbs head & cab. That's almost 20watts a pound. DAMN!

Yes. Its a powerhouse for sure. You do have to pay for that weight though, but for me its worth it.

 

[mikeddd]

Very nice, Bassist! 39 pounds? Wow, that's light. I think the drivers/crossovers/hardware in a standard fEARful weigh almost that much! Congrats!

 

[::::BASSIST::::]

Yeah Robby used the foam he built the cab with to pack the cab for protection (instead of bubble wrap etc) and the stuff is super light.

 

[::::BASSIST::::]

is here:

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f15/c...15-6-1-build-732771/index19.html#post11328771

 

[::::BASSIST::::]

Very nice, Bassist! 39 pounds? Wow, that's light. I think the drivers/crossovers/hardware in a standard fEARful weigh almost that much! Congrats!

Why thank you kind sir. I am most pleased with it.