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Lightweight Allaround DIY Cabinet

#22
Bbboy said:
I did but I don’t know what was wrong. I built the exact cabinet out of 1/2” plywood and bought a BN 15 400x celestion neodymium speaker. Before the celestion arrived I loaded the EVM 15L speaker into the new cabinet and used it at a gig..it sounded good but was still too heavy. When the celestion got here I loaded it and it was the perfect weight but any note below A distorted. I closed the ports and messed with it but couldn’t get rid of the distortion. The EV CUBIC VOLUME WAS 3.2 cubic feet and I remember the celestion called for 2.7cu feet. I sent the celestion back and am going to try again.
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Sealing a box with a driver intended for ported applications is an almost guaranteed failure.

Did you happen to do the math for the Celestion driver or were you just guessing?
 
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#24
Aidenn7 said:
Carbon Fiber.. light af and strong af.. build a box.. that the only thing I can think of look up GR bass Cabs
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Only strong when designed as a system. Carbon fiber itself is not that stiff, how it’s fabricated dictates the panel stiffness and enclosure strength.
 
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#25
Blues Bass 2 said:
... I have built a couple of 115 cabs that hit that lightweight and portable but loud enough for a band setting... I put a Faital pro 15PR 400 in the other and it's my main cabinet . About 32 pounds.
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Bbboy, I think you could do a lot worse than copy this cab. Half-inch ply, 24h x 20w x 13d, 1.25" baffle recess, some braces, two 4"dia x 7.5 long ports... Sounds like you're skilled enough to figure out the rest.
 
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#26
Build a Greenboy fEarful 12/6 with the Alpha 6 mid and simple CBG crossover. A proven winner. I like the cube form.

Once I built this simple cab, the bigger more elaborate builds were sold. I wish I had started the fearful trip with this one. Huge bang for the buck.

Light enough that I only put one scoop handle in, a comfortable one hand carry. Bass, gear bag with class D head and stuff, slung over a shoulder, cab in one hand: one trip.
 
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#30
Someone gave me a pair of small PA cabinets, 1- 15 and 2- horns in each. I used a Hartke 3500 with them and boosted the bottom end to get a decent sound out of them. I noticed it was breaking up more at each gig and after doing some research on TB, I think I damaged the speakers. I found a used Mesa 800+ and Subway 1-15 here on TB and problem solved. With a garage full tools and equipment, my wife will ask why am I building something I could just buy? "Because I have a garage full of tools and equipment."
 
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#31
pie_man_25 said:
This.

It's tough out there for us DIY types these days.
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I think the tough thing is that the industry has caught up to the latest major breakthrough, and there hasn't been another one yet.

It seems to me that DIY speakers go through occasional bursts of activity, when a new technology comes out but the industry hasn't absorbed it yet. And there can be good reasons why the industry needs to be more cautious and deliberative than a hacker in their garage.

I'd say there have only been a couple of major breakthroughs in my time as a DIY'er, which spans 40+ years. The first was widely available "consumer grade" design software. The second was neo drivers. And of course, widespread sharing of information on the Internet is a revolution in its own right.

I built my DIY speakers at the right time for coming out a bit ahead of mainstream industry, while boutique makers had already caught up, so I enjoyed a bit of a savings but not a profound one. I was able to tailor my designs to my needs, and I saved some money by omitting out the trappings of "pro" gear, such as casters, corners, tolex, handles, jackplate, and custom grille. I know that my gear gets handled gently, and rarely gets taken out more than once a week.
 
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#32
fdeck said:
I think the tough thing is that the industry has caught up to the latest major breakthrough, and there hasn't been another one yet.

It seems to me that DIY speakers go through occasional bursts of activity, when a new technology comes out but the industry hasn't absorbed it yet. And there can be good reasons why the industry needs to be more cautious and deliberative than a hacker in their garage.

I'd say there have only been a couple of major breakthroughs in my time as a DIY'er, which spans 40+ years. The first was widely available "consumer grade" design software. The second was neo drivers. And of course, widespread sharing of information on the Internet is a revolution in its own right.

I built my DIY speakers at the right time for coming out a bit ahead of mainstream industry, while boutique makers had already caught up, so I enjoyed a bit of a savings but not a profound one. I was able to tailor my designs to my needs, and I saved some money by omitting out the trappings of "pro" gear, such as casters, corners, tolex, handles, jackplate, and custom grille. I know that my gear gets handled gently, and rarely gets taken out more than once a week.
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There are probably a lot of reasons for it tbh, but this is an angle I haven't thought about.
 
#33
pie_man_25 said:
This.

It's tough out there for us DIY types these days.
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I feel that.
I whole-heartedly support doing things yourself, including experimenting, evaluating the results, learning from them, and then making improvements. A lot of the reason I build stuff is so I can make it exactly how I want instead of settling for what is feasible for companies to manufacture. That comes with costs, though, in time, money, and space. Even if you have the time and space, the price of materials has become a serious hurdle.
I build custom cabinets and furniture on a small scale. The first thing I tell a potential client is, if you can buy what you want, then do that because it will be a lot cheaper. If what they want is not commercially available, then we discuss the possibility of doing business.
In my specific bass rig situation; I didn't want to experiment - I wanted a good cabinet the first time, I didn't mind buying used equipment, and I have a wealth of other shop projects to keep me busy.

Build on!
 
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#34
Sure, I can buy cabs any day. Where’s the fun in that?

The fEarful thing was one of my best TB experiences. A great set of plans that yielded great sounding cabs. Lots of guys chatting up their builds and posting pictures. Helpful advice when you ran into an issue.

Does DIY save you money? No. I do it because I like building stuff, and wood boxes are right up my alley. It’s a great excuse to clean up the garage, find the tools, crank up some tunes and have at it.

After a pleasant afternoon in the garage:
IMG_0055.jpeg
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A little Duratex makes it pretty.

It’s been a few years, but this fearful cube came in at under $300 in parts. My time: priceless.

So much fun, I built another!
IMG_0007.jpeg
 
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#38
I looked hard at a fEarful build too. The Greenboy and BFM plans both have supportive communities. That goes a long way toward getting a great result on the first try.
Cabinet-builds could be out there in my future somewhere, just not a priority right now. A pair of 1 x 12 cabs with a matching head case would be easy to tote around and look really sweet!
 

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