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Fearful Part 14: one better than 13!
- Thread starter Chef
- Start date
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Got done with my 15/6 today . All I can say is wow , just like everybody says , these things are the real deal .
Nice work! Have you popped her on the scale, yet?
Mark
BurningSkies
CRAZY BALDHEAD
- Feb 20, 2005
- 27,956
- 20,348
- Disclosures
- Endorsing artist: Dingwall Guitars
Just wanted to thank Ron Anchak (and his wonderpup!) for hosting me this past week in Palm Springs. He's got a great new shop (he's still moving in), and in addition to his speaker builds, he also does some great machining of exotic parts.
Ron, of course, is an Authorized Builder and has several fEARfuls, including two 15/6/1's, 15subs, 12/6/1, etc. on display, and we tried out most of them. I'd already had a chance to listen to Smeet's a few months ago, and I was curious if the homebuilt sounds any different from the builder-built, and the answer is no -- Smeet's done a very good job on his. And Ron's build quality is outstanding.
Ron coats his in LineX, which I know from experience is more than tough; it's structural. The military uses a variant to protect buildings from explosions, and a recent Mythbusters episode blew up two small pickups, one of which had a LineX type bedliner, the other without. They overused the explosives and the trucks were nearly vaporized, with the only large piece that survived intact -- the pickup bed coated with bedliner.
For me, weight isn't much of an issue -- certainly not down in that range. I'd been leaning toward going ultralight with a pair of the 15/6/1s, and ordering up a composite build. But even with the LineX over wood, these things really aren't heavy, and I know from experience with the 2x12s I have now that LineX can simply ignore abuse that would shred ordinary cabinets. So now I'm back to being torn, and I'm currently leaning toward the LineX tanks. If at some point I can find a composite cabinet in the LA area, I might more easily make up my mind. But I've got a few weeks before I have to make the decision (and before I've sold enough of my old crap to make room for them).
Arrgh.
Ron, of course, is an Authorized Builder and has several fEARfuls, including two 15/6/1's, 15subs, 12/6/1, etc. on display, and we tried out most of them. I'd already had a chance to listen to Smeet's a few months ago, and I was curious if the homebuilt sounds any different from the builder-built, and the answer is no -- Smeet's done a very good job on his. And Ron's build quality is outstanding.
Ron coats his in LineX, which I know from experience is more than tough; it's structural. The military uses a variant to protect buildings from explosions, and a recent Mythbusters episode blew up two small pickups, one of which had a LineX type bedliner, the other without. They overused the explosives and the trucks were nearly vaporized, with the only large piece that survived intact -- the pickup bed coated with bedliner.
For me, weight isn't much of an issue -- certainly not down in that range. I'd been leaning toward going ultralight with a pair of the 15/6/1s, and ordering up a composite build. But even with the LineX over wood, these things really aren't heavy, and I know from experience with the 2x12s I have now that LineX can simply ignore abuse that would shred ordinary cabinets. So now I'm back to being torn, and I'm currently leaning toward the LineX tanks. If at some point I can find a composite cabinet in the LA area, I might more easily make up my mind. But I've got a few weeks before I have to make the decision (and before I've sold enough of my old crap to make room for them).
Arrgh.
Very cool that you got to meet him. He's a great guy and his fEARful builds are impeccable.
Thanks ! I don't have a scale but I'm real happy with how light it is , very easy to carry and lighter than any stand alone cab I've had .
I run an SVT-4 Pro bridged through either one or two 15/6/1s. I think it's a great pairing.
With one cab in our rehearsal room, I run it with both gain and master around noon. I change things up occasionally, but this is where I know it'll cut through our drums and 2 guitars. Never had the clip light come on - never heard clipping at all.
With two cabs at about the same setting, it was rattling pictures upstairs, and I was asked to turn down for safety reasons.
I think the two cabs will take everything the amp has to give. I've been cautious with just one, but it'll crank.
As for EQ, I mostly run almost everything flat with maybe the bass boost on. Actually, since my treble knob broke off, I don't know where it sits (it was at noon), but it sounds like it's in the right place. I really only use the sliders for a few songs that have a brighter sound to them, but never by much.
A few weeks ago with both cabs, I was playing with the octaver on my envelope pedal and I loved the response I was getting when fiddling with the bass EQ.
I'm not sure which is heavier, my head case or my cabs.
New authorized builder jHawk's first build:
BB ply. Stainless Steel grill. Eighteen Sound mid w/ switchable pad.
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Also, Leland's latest creation...
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For those of us with a more reserved taste:
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Featuring Eminence Speakers, Crown Amplifiers, DIY Speaker Kits - Speaker Hardware, over 30 years Audio experience
Barry Audio 1515/66/1 with cloth grill
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BB ply. Stainless Steel grill. Eighteen Sound mid w/ switchable pad.
Link Removed
Link Removed
Also, Leland's latest creation...
Link Removed
For those of us with a more reserved taste:
Link Removed
Featuring Eminence Speakers, Crown Amplifiers, DIY Speaker Kits - Speaker Hardware, over 30 years Audio experience
Barry Audio 1515/66/1 with cloth grill
Link Removed
That cloth grille 1515/66 is pretty much what I want to do when I build a fearful... looks really classy!
+1. If I wasn't heavily involved in a metal project, I would go with a cloth grille.
Second post for me here on TB - the fEarful threads are one of the main reason I visit this forum.
I'm a DIYer and the fEarful cabs seemed really appealing when I finally got really sick of my old 'high-end' cabs. I built a 12/6/1 last summer. It sounds great with both my electric and upright.
The head I use is a mash-up of a couple things. Basically it's 2 Alembic-style pres in to a 600 watt class-d amp. I've got separate power switches for the pre and the amp, foot switch to go between pres, transformer DI out, and a couple other utility switches. It constantly gets reconfigured. Anyhow, the amps sounds good, but the cab makes it really great.
I thought I'd post a picture of mine. It looks better in person than in the picture, but you get the idea.
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I'm a DIYer and the fEarful cabs seemed really appealing when I finally got really sick of my old 'high-end' cabs. I built a 12/6/1 last summer. It sounds great with both my electric and upright.
The head I use is a mash-up of a couple things. Basically it's 2 Alembic-style pres in to a 600 watt class-d amp. I've got separate power switches for the pre and the amp, foot switch to go between pres, transformer DI out, and a couple other utility switches. It constantly gets reconfigured. Anyhow, the amps sounds good, but the cab makes it really great.
I thought I'd post a picture of mine. It looks better in person than in the picture, but you get the idea.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
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