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Just opened up my 210MBE...

#441
smeet said:
< snip > My MBE115 (combo, is that right?) has always sounded bosomy and indistinct to me. < snip >
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bos·omy - adj \&#712;bu&#775;-z&#601;-m&#275; also &#712;bü-\

Definition of BOSOMY
1: swelling upward or outward <bosomy hills>
2: having prominent breasts​

.... and .....

bos·om·y/&#712;bo&#861;oz&#601;m&#275;/

Adjective: (of a woman) Having large breasts.
Synonyms: chesty

Where can I got one of those cabs?
 
#444
Just got done putting in some 1" foam on the back wall of my MB210. It definitely tames the boom at first blush. I was running it around 2-3, now I brought it up around 5-6 and it definitely feels tighter overall. Only had a quick run-through though, will burn it up a bit at practice this weekend and give opinion then.
 
#445
Got an MB210 used recently. Read this thread and decided to open it up, brace and dampen. It may be a case of fixing something that wasn't broke because it didn't have any rattles and sounds decent to me. Not spectacular but not boomy and muddy as some have described it.

So anyway, here are before pics:

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Honestly I thought it seemed pretty well braced. But here's what I did:

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If anybody has any better ideas I haven't glued them in yet and I'm about to go the store to find quilt batting.

Here's a vid doing the knock test before and after. I think I can tell some difference. One curiosity was that I thought it sounded the least like it was supposed to when I knocked on the back right where the factory center front to back brace piece was located. To me, it sounds high pitched everywhere now but still rings a little, so I'll try the batting next.

 
#446
POST #1 by miner49er11

Just opened up my 210MBE...

Thought I might have burnt the horn's voice coil so I popped off the front to check the horn. Noticed that there is no acoustic material in the cab at all. Is this an ok thing?
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Yes - and if you speak with the manufacture they will tell you not all cabs sound best with acoustic material in the cab and if you add some the cab will no longer sound like the manufacture intended.

EDIT: Post #6 by rag.
There is plenty of bracing in these cabinets, they are very stiff which is why they sound a good as they do. Also do not add any material to the inside, they are designed to work best just the way they are!
Bob Gallien
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#452
Looks like you got a top to bottom, side to side and front to back there...glue them in solid. If you're still getting a thump where the factory brace is, check it's glue joint, or just glue in a little piece of wood to help connect the end of the brace to the wall. The ring could just be a normal resonance due to the dimensions of the cab...like if you hum inside of it and hear that resonance somewhere in the low mids. The lining will cure that.

Yes, they changed things a little. The originals didn't have any bracing at all. These have a little, but not where they need it most...out in the middle of the panels where vibrations will be the worst.

Yes, different amounts, thicknesses, types and placement of the lining can make subtle changes in the tone, but they all need lining, no matter what GK says. It's simply a cost cutting measure. That coming from a fan of a lot of things GK here.

Anyway, your work looks good. Glue it in permanent, line it, load it up and play.
 
#454
Going through the pics again, it looks like they added a front to back brace and maybe a couple sines along the walls? That is a good improvement over the originals, but your work is even more improvement. When you crossbrace and attach opposing panels like that, the result is even stiffer. So, I guess good on them for fixing the worst of it and good on you for making it truly high quality. They still need to be putting some lining in there.

I have done cabs with all spine braces like that and no crosses that are extremely solid, but they use many more spines, closer together and running both directions on all panels interlocking in the corners. The crossbracing is easier, cheaper, uses less wood, takes up less volume in the cab and is much less labor intensive. It's also at a minimum at least as effective and oftentimes more effective than the spines.
 
#455
will33 said:
Yes, different amounts, thicknesses, types and placement of the lining can make subtle changes in the tone, but they all need lining, no matter what GK says. It's simply a cost cutting measure. That coming from a fan of a lot of things GK here.
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Hmm, that is a very bold statement. I know some people believe many hi-profile bass guitar cabinet manufactures like GK don’t know what they are doing - but, that simply isn’t true. They have been making bass cabs for years and using software and much more to deign their bass cabs no matter what you, BFM or anyone says. And if you alter a cab it will no longer have the original sound the manufacture intended. Anyway, carry on.
 
#456
Joe Louvar said:
Hmm, that is a very bold statement. I know some people believe many hi-profile bass guitar cabinet manufactures like GK don’t know what they are doing - but, that simply isn’t true. They have been making bass cabs for years and using software and much more to deign their bass cabs no matter what you, BFM or anyone says. And if you alter a cab it will no longer have the original sound the manufacture intended. Anyway, carry on.
Click to expand...

The engineers at major cab companies probably know what the score is, but they're forced to operate within constraints:
1) What marketing thinks will sell from a form factor standpoint
2) What the finance guys say you can afford to have in materials/overhead

So if your operating margin target for a new cabinet is 40%, and adding 30 minutes of labor and 5 bucks worth of lining material pushes you over that, guess what gets cut?
 
#457
rpsands said:
The engineers at major cab companies probably know what the score is, but they're forced to operate within constraints:
1) What marketing thinks will sell from a form factor standpoint
2) What the finance guys say you can afford to have in materials/overhead

So if your operating margin target for a new cabinet is 40%, and adding 30 minutes of labor and 5 bucks worth of lining material pushes you over that, guess what gets cut?
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This^^

I don't remember saying "they don't know what they're doing". If the engineers had free-reign, there'd be products out there the quality of which none of us have ever heard......that none of us could afford.

These are budget cabs that looks like have had some worthwhile improvements made to them. This after how many stories here about rattles, vibrations, and stuff basically coming loose after a few months on the original series?

Meh...they're budget cabs. They put just a few more bucks into them and they're decent cabs. Throw $3 worth of lining in there and they'd be good cabs. These are all such miniscule costs that have good returns, they should happen....and they would if they were visible from the exterior.

But when the company comes out and says, "they're designed like that, don't change it", then they go and change it following the same suggestions as to what needed to be changed....that smells of either politician-style double-speak, or good marketing, depending on how you look at it.....I lean towards the former. Now that they're built like this, and they say, "it's designed like that, don't change it", then they go and put some batting in there....then what is it? Still designed like that and shouldn't be messed with?

You can't have your Kate and Edith too.
 
#458
The deed is done.

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I wasn't crazy about the grey grill so I painted it black. Also removed the logo. It's metal and feels heavier than the wood I put in. So I don't think this project added any weight.

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As far as sound, I think it's an improvement. The sound seems tighter and there seems to be more mid detail. It's hard to say without having another one side by side. I'll gig it outside tomorrow (100+ degrees) with PA support. No need to post the Poppy video on hearing.
 
#460
rag said:
There is plenty of bracing in these cabinets, they are very stiff which is why they sound a good as they do. Also do not add any material to the inside, they are designed to work best just the way they are!
Bob Gallien
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Joe Louvar said:
Hmm, that is a very bold statement. I know some people believe many hi-profile bass guitar cabinet manufactures like GK don’t know what they are doing - but, that simply isn’t true. They have been making bass cabs for years and using software and much more to deign their bass cabs no matter what you, BFM or anyone says. And if you alter a cab it will no longer have the original sound the manufacture intended. Anyway, carry on.
Click to expand...

Given the fact that bracing has been added since Mr. Gallien made this post it is apparent that GK came to the conclusion that it need more bracing.
 

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