- Feb 12, 2006
- 60,963
- 5
- 220,650
- Disclosures
- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
Forget science, physics? I bet that will turn out just wonderful...
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Help me finish my polystyrene cab build
- Thread starter neal sanger
- Start date
Well... there's some sense in that. When I've looked into the sums a bit (with my limited ability to do that) the big problem with using the exotic materials for cab construction is that by the time you've got enough meat into the outer skin to be roadworthy and not dent to hell after the first load-in a large chunk of the weight saving is gone. So if you consider a design with a lot of internals like a folded horn then the internals can certainly be way lighter than they used to be. Add a neo driver to that and you've got more weight saving. That's the plus side.
But consider: because you don't have many drivers per cubic foot of cab the driver is a relatively low percentage of total weight, so neo doesn't get you that big a proportional gain, and because the cab is still a big SOB you've still got most of the problems of getting it up stairs, storing it and so on, and although its a relatively light SOB for its size, its still damned heavy because the outer skin still needs to be roadworthy and it is still a big lump. And its a big lump made up of carbon fibre composites, which means its a damned expensive big lump. And although its a very efficient expensive big lump, its still going to be way more hassle than owning smaller cabs with multiple drivers, which incidentally saved a hell of a lot more weight with neo because there is so much more magnet in them.
So I think you would have to be very dedicated to that old school sound and either have a lot of resources, or alternatively have access to a high tech shop where you might be able to use end of storage life pre pregs and the like to get the materials cheap. I would be surprised if it could be made to work commercially.
Contemporary full sized pick up trucks still look like pick up trucks ; only now they get 20 MPG vs 10; still a significant improvement w/o sacrificing function or design.
I think the issue is how the "modern lightweight" construction material behaves.
It won't behave the same as what was originally used, making much of the originally involved research and numbers invalid.
Imho, ymmv etc etc. I'm no expert, I'm hardly versed in amp and cab technology.
- Feb 12, 2006
- 60,963
- 5
- 220,650
- Disclosures
- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
It's not just the engine, everything works together to improve efficiency.
But pickup trucks are still hard to park at walmart. New bass cabs are smaller and lighter. Smaller is a big part of that. And newer trucks are more complicated to fix and more expensive. We didn't notice because interest rates dropped so much.
As someone in the industry (well big trucks), we are getting to the point where we have aerodynamic mods, aluminum hubs. Top gear being a direct drive and having 2.xx:1 rear drive ratios to compensate because a transmission in top gear has less drag. Predictive cruise control to get better efficiency going up and down hills.
Low rolling resistance tires, super singles.
Ok enough rambling.
My Sunn is circa 70s
No PA support and using same amplifier and settings: I’ll put any 1-12, 1-10,1-8 against my 1-18 @ 500 ft indoors or out. I own a 1-12, 1-15, 2-15 as well.
IMHO smaller cabs have “small” sound but my hernia repair and lower back love the 1-12.
My Sunn doesn’t require PA/ front of house support just to be heard off stage.
I don’t have a pic of it but my cab is sort of cube shaped with a curved piece of wood forming the throat/horn.
Contains “breath of Thor” within.
Somebody will clone it utilizing lighter construction materials while keeping shape , form and function.
Enough from me; where’s the OP?
These are probably louder. How big you wanna go?
OP probably doesn't want to dig into finding appropriate measurement tools. I mean if he's happy that's great, but if he wants to change the world he should probably listen to those that can help him quantify the results.
I doubt that the engineers “forgot science” to make that happen.
Again, I only meant just copy existing design ; using light weight materials and not redesign .
I’m still a little off put by a certain b f m who instead of kindly informing me that he didn’t agree with my idea, he sternly scolded and insulted me so I’m a little wary when dealing with the “CAD , comp program only” design crowd.
My motto: It’s nice to be important and more important to be nice
FWIW, after a lifetime career in R&D in the high tech industry, I would just point out that empirical concept testing typically gets results before theoretical prediction suggests that same approach. Theory guides, experiment decides.
That said, one does need to be prepared to disprove one’s own experimental hypothesis.
- Feb 12, 2006
- 60,963
- 5
- 220,650
- Disclosures
- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
Since the (real world) performance of folded horn speakers for bass guitar have fallen out of favor for a lot of good reasons (outliers excluded), expending such time, energy and money into such a project would have an extremely limited appeal. You could probably knock off maybe 20 pounds and retain the (mediocre) performance but you would still have the size to contend with, and this is one of the major stumbling blocks for most players.
I know, I know, there are a few of you who don't see any limitations with the folded horn designs, fortunately for you there are many available used for the cost of hauling off. I removed some from an installation a while back, I couldn't even give the cabinets away and ended up running them all through the chipper/shredder at the recycling center.
If you don't care about low frequency extension, and you don't care about midrange clarity/voicing, if your only concern is sensitivity, then these are the ideal cabinets for you. They are sensitive over a fairly narrow bandwidth, which is exactly what makes them a poor candidate for most (I didn't say all) players.
I know, I know, there are a few of you who don't see any limitations with the folded horn designs, fortunately for you there are many available used for the cost of hauling off. I removed some from an installation a while back, I couldn't even give the cabinets away and ended up running them all through the chipper/shredder at the recycling center.
If you don't care about low frequency extension, and you don't care about midrange clarity/voicing, if your only concern is sensitivity, then these are the ideal cabinets for you. They are sensitive over a fairly narrow bandwidth, which is exactly what makes them a poor candidate for most (I didn't say all) players.
In the early to mid 1970's I owned a pair of EV 15" speakers. I then had zero knowledge of audio science (now I know just enough to be dangerous 
), but I had read something that convinced me to build a pair of folded horn cabinets, one for each speaker. Actually my dad built them to spec from plans that I believe I ordered from a catalog.
When I played my bass through them the first time I was SO disappointed. They were boomy, muddy, and they had no high end whatsoever; heck, I don't even think they had any mids to speak of. They lasted all of one gig. The speakers ended up going back into the dual 15" bass reflex (EV design) cabinet they had come out of.
), but I had read something that convinced me to build a pair of folded horn cabinets, one for each speaker. Actually my dad built them to spec from plans that I believe I ordered from a catalog.When I played my bass through them the first time I was SO disappointed. They were boomy, muddy, and they had no high end whatsoever; heck, I don't even think they had any mids to speak of. They lasted all of one gig. The speakers ended up going back into the dual 15" bass reflex (EV design) cabinet they had come out of.
