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fEARful part 13: the bad luck's done, son

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#301
Anyone build a 15/6/1 and 15 sub and then wished they just built TWO 15/6/1's?

My original plan was to have a 15/6/1 and a 15 sub for larger venues, but now I am starting to second guess myself and just have TWO 15/6/1s.
 
#303
domestique said:
Anyone build a 15/6/1 and 15 sub and then wished they just built TWO 15/6/1's?

My original plan was to have a 15/6/1 and a 15 sub for larger venues, but now I am starting to second guess myself and just have TWO 15/6/1s.
Click to expand...

Personally, I would rarely recommend a 15sub as an addition to a 15/6/1. It's not going to add that much more volume than a 12/6/ cube would, and the extra 100 bucks or so makes a second standalone cabinet. It will get the job done for sure, but it's a very special use case (the type of person who has nothing to gain from having a second cabinet that can be used on its own, for example).
 
#304
I was going that way, the 15/6/1 and a sub. I even built the bastard sub out of a TL-606 cab I had, with a 3015LF and the CBG lowpass. I sure liked the direction that took things, but it was plain that I needed to build the right cab.

Looking around for stuff to sell I came on one of those auction 18sound mid drivers I'd forgotten about. That put me just a horn and some crossover parts from having the whole 15/6/1 ready to build.

I figured I had most of the parts, why not go for the whole enchilada? Building a cab is way more fun than selling off the parts and calling it good with what I've already built.

The sub won't work well with the 12/6 cube with the Alpha 6, I tried that, and it was too scooped, and it doesn't work as a stand alone cab. It does, however work really well with the 15/6/1 and is quite a bit cheaper to build.

I'm at the point where saving a few bucks on materials doesn't make sense when I balance it against the time I spend working on the builds. I figure having the two cabs will be much more flexible, I can park one at a practice space, use the two of them for PA, or both for bass. Truthfully, both together will be pretty much overkill, the 15/6/1 and the 12/6 cube together are scary.

I figure I'll have four more hours of labor (mid range chamber, more bracing, wiring, installing the mid and horn, and the more complex crossover) and $150 bucks more in parts going into the 15/6/1. I ended up with maybe $80 in the 18sound after I split a pair with another TB'r( that's a really good deal, figure more like $120-130), $40 for the horn and wave guide, the rest for crossover high pass , Lpad and Erse's flipping shipping charges.

The 12/6 cube came before I considered doing another 15/6 or the sub. It has been the most used of the cabs I've built so far. Light, plenty loud, and it fits in the trunk of the Corolla.
 
#307
singlemalt said:
The 12/6 cube came before I considered doing another 15/6 or the sub. It has been the most used of the cabs I've built so far. Light, plenty loud, and it fits in the trunk of the Corolla.
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Ditto. I have LDS 15/6 and 12/6 cabs. I use the 12/6 on 90% of gigs as they don't require loud volume. It sounds better in my home studio, too, as the bigger 15/6 overwhelms the small space. Both cabs sound great together, but as the 15/6 can produce a ton of volume, it's usually not necessary to bring both to a gig.
 
#308
smeet said:
I'm trying to decide between a 15/6 and 15/6/1. How much does the tweeter add? Can you get a decent modern slap sound out of a 15/6?

If you have a 15/6/1 and you turn off the tweeter, does it sound exactly like a 15/6?
Click to expand...

Honestly, If I was doing it over again I would have left out the tweeter and saved the money and a little weight. I leave it off most of the time as the 18Sound has plenty of highs for my needs. I only see needing it if you need a really shimmering high end. I plan on building a 12/6 cube to match and I will leave the tweeter out of that one.
 
#309
These cabs are plenty spanky with or without the horn. My feellings about the horn are mixed too. That may be because I run them off my GK 1001's high circuit, which covers 5K AND UP. If I ever change heads, I'll need to add another a control and high pass to each cab and that may make them more pronounced as they get a wider slice of the spectrum. Anybody know just what frequency the horns come in at with the CBG crossovers?

It was easy to take advantage of the GK's high circuit and the horn driver and wave guide only add $40 to the project. I'm putting another horn in the second 15/6/1 today mostly so they will be a matched set, but I thought about just leaving it out.

For now, I control the horn volume with the tweeter control on the GK: 50 watts @ 8 ohms, 75 watts @ 4 ohms. The wiring is on the #2 poles of the four wire speakon connectors, it's really simple. There's not a lot happening in the 5K and up range, but you can enhance the breathy, open highs. The horn sounded better with Charlie's EUB than without. I use a touch of horn when I have the 15/6/1 but don't miss it at all with the 12/6.

They sure look cool, and if you are doing acoustic upright or EUB or have plans for some PA applications, or just want every last bit of range, they won't break the bank.

I use a hole saw to install them, so it's quick and easy.
 
#310
Thanks!

Also for those wood-challenged individuals like myself, I called Allied Veneer Co. and was told that okoume is actually a cheaper and less stiff material than the baltic birch (I had assumed it was stiffer). He also said it had a poplar core which made it softer.

So I guess I'm going with baltic birch and a 15/6.

Just placed my order for the 3012LF!
I'm really excited about this. For some of you, this is a couple of hours easy project, but for me it's like jumping off a cliff... :bassist:
 
#312
smeet said:
I'm trying to decide between a 15/6 and 15/6/1. How much does the tweeter add? Can you get a decent modern slap sound out of a 15/6?

If you have a 15/6/1 and you turn off the tweeter, does it sound exactly like a 15/6?
Click to expand...

Tweeters are evil.
 
#313
singlemalt said:
These cabs are plenty spanky with or without the horn. My feellings about the horn are mixed too. That may be because I run them off my GK 1001's high circuit, which covers 5K AND UP. If I ever change heads, I'll need to add another a control and high pass to each cab and that may make them more pronounced as they get a wider slice of the spectrum. Anybody know just what frequency the horns come in at with the CBG crossovers?
Click to expand...

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed].
 
#314
I used to think so too, but these are worlds away from the plastic crappy tweets we all know and hate.

I never met a tweeter I didn't turn off or unhook until now.

And the horns in the Audiokenesis Thunderchild are flat out amazing.

Oh, thanks, I guess they won't be getting a wider slice of the pie at 6.5 K

How's that Thunderchild holding up?
 
#315
singlemalt said:
Oh, thanks, I guess they won't be getting a wider slice of the pie at 6.5 K

How's that Thunderchild holding up?
Click to expand...

It's still great for my playing situations Mark -- especially for the EUB. I'll be very interested to hear greenboy's even smaller FearLESS design when it comes out, he filled me in on the basic concept yesterday. Even the 12/6 was just a bit of overkill for most of my gigs.
 
#319
smeet said:
Thanks!

Also for those wood-challenged individuals like myself, I called Allied Veneer Co. and was told that okoume is actually a cheaper and less stiff material than the baltic birch (I had assumed it was stiffer). He also said it had a poplar core which made it softer.

So I guess I'm going with baltic birch and a 15/6.

Just placed my order for the 3012LF!
I'm really excited about this. For some of you, this is a couple of hours easy project, but for me it's like jumping off a cliff... :bassist:
Click to expand...
If light weight is a strong consideration for you, you might just consider sticking with the Okume and adding more bracing.
 
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