Awesome plate amps Charlie. I could show my true North Bend colors with one of those duct taped to the back of my 12/6. That's just how we roll out here.
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fEARful Part Twelve (12)
- Thread starter greenboy
- Start date
- Status
Awesome plate amps Charlie. I could show my true North Bend colors with one of those duct taped to the back of my 12/6. That's just how we roll out here.
- Dec 18, 2000
- 13,201
- 340
- Disclosures
- greenboy designs: fEARful, bassic, dually, crazy88 etc
next thing you know people out here will start using those iPodathingamajigs. They're just now getting over me showing up with a bass that had 5 strings.
Passinwind
I know nothing.
- Dec 3, 2003
- 23,066
- 45,991
- Disclosures
- Designer/Toaster Tech @ Passinwind Electronics
Awesome plate amps Charlie. I could show my true North Bend colors with one of those duct taped to the back of my 12/6. That's just how we roll out here.
Cool, represent. In Da Gorge we go full Gangsta and hide our plate amps in rack cases:
Link Removed
NERDS!!! I mean that in the nicest possible way, but NERDS!!!
I love twin peaks, and Charlie's amp was pretty sick sounding when Michael Manring took it for a stroll.
Passinwind
I know nothing.
- Dec 3, 2003
- 23,066
- 45,991
- Disclosures
- Designer/Toaster Tech @ Passinwind Electronics
Sorry to derail the discussion on awesome ghetto plate amps, guys, but I have a bit of a technical issue here... 
I just got back from an outdoor gig, and when I was setting initial levels on my 12/6/1, it made a rather ugly sounding crackling sound when I was turning up the volume. The last time I had this problem, it was actually the excursion of the woofer hitting my too-closely-installed grille. This time, I was nowhere near that loud, and couldn't really see much excursion on the woofer at all, and this was with the grille off. I kicked in the compression on my mixer and ended up dialing the volume back a hair--made it through the gig O.K., but didn't really have much headroom.
I did confirm that the crackling sound came from the woofer, not the midrange or tweeter.
The speaker has managed well for other gigs and rehearsals. This is the first time I've had this particular problem.
I run a Crown XLS 202, bridged mono. I couldn't hear any clipping or distortion right before (or after) it happened. I did visually check each item in my signal path and nothing was anywhere close to clipping. I'm using an Eminence PXB3:5K0 crossover (500/5,000 Hz, 400 watts RMS).
Aside from the less-than-ideal crossover, the rest of the build is bog-standard: 3012LF, Alpha6A, Selenium tweeter, Dayton Waveguide, dimensions and bracing to spec. I didn't make any changes to the port length.
The only other variable is that this was my first gig with a "tiltback" rack case I built that tips the cabinet back about 22 degrees. That shouldn't make much of difference, should it? Of course I didn't think to set the cabinet straight vertical but we were setting up for the gig and I would've had to undo my setup.
Any thoughts? The funny thing is, I got a really nice compliment on my tone after the gig, so aside from the lack of headroom everything else seems to be working O.K.
I just got back from an outdoor gig, and when I was setting initial levels on my 12/6/1, it made a rather ugly sounding crackling sound when I was turning up the volume. The last time I had this problem, it was actually the excursion of the woofer hitting my too-closely-installed grille. This time, I was nowhere near that loud, and couldn't really see much excursion on the woofer at all, and this was with the grille off. I kicked in the compression on my mixer and ended up dialing the volume back a hair--made it through the gig O.K., but didn't really have much headroom.
I did confirm that the crackling sound came from the woofer, not the midrange or tweeter.
The speaker has managed well for other gigs and rehearsals. This is the first time I've had this particular problem.
I run a Crown XLS 202, bridged mono. I couldn't hear any clipping or distortion right before (or after) it happened. I did visually check each item in my signal path and nothing was anywhere close to clipping. I'm using an Eminence PXB3:5K0 crossover (500/5,000 Hz, 400 watts RMS).
Aside from the less-than-ideal crossover, the rest of the build is bog-standard: 3012LF, Alpha6A, Selenium tweeter, Dayton Waveguide, dimensions and bracing to spec. I didn't make any changes to the port length.
The only other variable is that this was my first gig with a "tiltback" rack case I built that tips the cabinet back about 22 degrees. That shouldn't make much of difference, should it? Of course I didn't think to set the cabinet straight vertical but we were setting up for the gig and I would've had to undo my setup.
Any thoughts? The funny thing is, I got a really nice compliment on my tone after the gig, so aside from the lack of headroom everything else seems to be working O.K.
edwinhurwitz
Supporting Member
Sorry to derail the discussion on awesome ghetto plate amps, guys, but I have a bit of a technical issue here...
I just got back from an outdoor gig, and when I was setting initial levels on my 12/6/1, it made a rather ugly sounding crackling sound when I was turning up the volume.
Any thoughts?
Maybe a loose wire in the crossover going to the low end? It could be when it starts moving air or vibrating in there it makes and breaks a connection. Just a guess.
On another note, this morning I played an outdoor brunch with a acoustic guitarist friend. I brought an Eden WTX500 and my 12/6/1. I also brought a D-TAR Solstice to run the acoustic and vocal mic through the aux in of the Eden. It sounded really wonderful and was more than loud enough. It was an amazing amount of clarity and the bass in no way suffered from sharing the rig with the acoustic and vocal. These are indeed very hifi and wonderful cabs. Lots of compliments on how great everything sounded and no feedback at all. Of course, the early 70s Alembic Series I pickups, etc. in my '67 Starfire make a very not shabby sound too. Friday night through the full rig (WP100 and Crown XTi4000) at the Boulder Theater, the Guild was simply thunderous.
fEARfuls rock!
I did a trade today and picked up Passinwind's 12/6 in exchange for my LDS 15/6.
This 12/6 is a tank.... and a beautiful, well made one at that. One 12/6 and a 15/6 is all need as far as cabs go. Someday down the line I may get a lighter box built for this cab as it weighs over 60LBS. Its unlikely its replacement will look near as good though.
I'll rehearse with her on Tuesday.
This 12/6 is a tank.... and a beautiful, well made one at that. One 12/6 and a 15/6 is all need as far as cabs go. Someday down the line I may get a lighter box built for this cab as it weighs over 60LBS. Its unlikely its replacement will look near as good though.
I'll rehearse with her on Tuesday.
It was a busy weekend with my wife's birthday and her 10yr high school reunion so I only got a little time to work on the build. I made a little progress. I am now ready for rounding the edges and prepping for finish.
You can see my progress here:
Bardley - TalkBass Wiki
You can see my progress here:
Bardley - TalkBass Wiki
Looking good, Bardley. Cutting the hole in the jackplate for the tweet attenuator was a real PITA for me. My drill press is a very small, wimpy unit. It would just bind up trying to cut through the plate with a holesaw. Yours looks great. Did you use a drill press? It's good that you siliconed around all the jacks the rear of the jackplate. It's a simple thing that a lot of people ignore. Little air leaks add up and the more you can do to prevent them, the better. What will you use for stuffing the cab?
Looking foward to more pics.
Looking foward to more pics.
Yes, the hole was a real PITA. I just used my cheap hand drill. I tried a hole saw and had the plate clamped to some wood outside my garage. I drilled a center hole to line it up. I then used the hole saw but then the hole cutter hit that plate it made the loudest, most god-awful screech and was basically just carving a groove into the plate. My ears couldn't take it (and neither could the rest of the neighborhood since it was 10pm). I just took it back in the garage and drilled small holes all the way around the cut out and used my dremel with a cut off wheel to cut between the drilled holes. That worked well but the hole looked like crap. I filed it a bit, but no worries since it's covered with the plate.
As for stuffing, I have a roll of 1 inch thick quilt batting. I will cut pieces for between the braces and then put another layer over all of that. I'm using spray adhesive.
How many watts is the amp putting in? One of the downsides to the Eminence LF woofers is that you won't get any warning before you toast em. I think this is due to the voice coil length. If you're boosting lows and running a kilowatt I'd be wary.
Maybe it's time to swap out to Greenboys x-over so you no longer have any worries and the cab is running optimally.
Ah, the old Dremel to the rescue! Mine has bailed me out more times than I can count. Glad that you could get the hole cut. I wound up finishing cuting the hole with my hand drill and the hole saw. And then it bound up, slipped out of my hand and gave me a nice cut on the my finger, not to mention scratching the crap out of the plate. LOL!
Good luck with the spray adhesive, Bardley. I hated working with that stuff; it gets all over everything. When and if I build a 15sub I will probably use staples (I have an electric staple gun) to hold the batting in. Looking forward to seeing how yours turns out with that custom Duratex!
Good luck with the spray adhesive, Bardley. I hated working with that stuff; it gets all over everything. When and if I build a 15sub I will probably use staples (I have an electric staple gun) to hold the batting in. Looking forward to seeing how yours turns out with that custom Duratex!
I've been considering building a fEARful, but I'm not sure my skills are up to the task.
It seems most people here who have built one have SOME sort of wood working experience.
The only wood working experience I have was making a [crappy] bird house in high school.
Now, I'm good at assembling things. I played with legos and kinex and stuff as a kid, built model kits as a teen (the snap together kind, no glue or paint) and have put together a few things from Ikea (again, no glue or paint).
So, I'm not sure I'm ready to do a fEARful, but I think I could tackle a few smaller projects and work my way up to one.
What do you guys think? Should I go for it, or work my way up to it?
(keep in mind I don't have a shop, or know anyone with one, this would be just me in my garage, with my only tools being some screw drivers, a hammer, and one clamp).
It seems most people here who have built one have SOME sort of wood working experience.
The only wood working experience I have was making a [crappy] bird house in high school.
Now, I'm good at assembling things. I played with legos and kinex and stuff as a kid, built model kits as a teen (the snap together kind, no glue or paint) and have put together a few things from Ikea (again, no glue or paint).
So, I'm not sure I'm ready to do a fEARful, but I think I could tackle a few smaller projects and work my way up to one.
What do you guys think? Should I go for it, or work my way up to it?
(keep in mind I don't have a shop, or know anyone with one, this would be just me in my garage, with my only tools being some screw drivers, a hammer, and one clamp).
I'm in the same boat KingRazor. If I do "build" my own I think I'm gonna go with the kits from speakerhardware. You can pay a little extra to have them ship the whole thing with the crossovers prebuilt. That way it can just be installed. Kinda Lego-ish.
I have zero wood working experience before this build. The kit makes it super easy. I just went to the wiki and looked at lots of build threads until I had the process down and it was super easy. Plus, you have a bunch of guys who have been through the process to ask questions if you get stuck. The only thing i can recommend is having LOTS of clamps. Borrow if you can, but harbor freight has them pretty cheap. Go for it! It's a lot more fun than a birdhouse. 
Passinwind
I know nothing.
- Dec 3, 2003
- 23,066
- 45,991
- Disclosures
- Designer/Toaster Tech @ Passinwind Electronics
Hey Torin,
I hope that trade works well for both you and the previous owner. You could probably cut a little more weight by using the CBG crossover instead of the mega-overkill one I built for that cab, but I'd only bother if you replace the whole cab first. The only reason I used that heavy 3/4" stock was because I had a few extra pieces kicking around after building a pair of 1-15s for an install that ended up not happening anyway. The extra pieces of bling trim wood were actually needed to get the right panel sizes, but I like how it came out.
That 12/6 was my all time favorite at home, but I tended to use either a bigger cab or a smaller one on most of my gigs. It's plenty loud enough for many types of gigs though...
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