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LMT800 cabinet build?

henryjurstin13

henryjurstin13

Supporting Member
Jun 5, 2005
1,471
897
NWAR - 72764
#1
I recently got myself a Markbass LMT800, & I'm thoroughly enjoying it. However.... with that dark brown faceplate and yellow knobs, it seems to be begging for a tweed cabinet. I've thought about building (or LDS order) something to compliment it. Maybe a vertical 2x10 cab with a space for the head to live in (i.e. - make it a combo), or a single/small/cube-ish 15 cab, or some type of 12/12 or 12/10 setup. Tweed, brown leather strap handles, mojo aesthetics, etc....

What would you do? It won't be a big stage rig, so I don't need to find a way to get all 800 watts into a pair of speakers... mainly a practice/small gig amp.
 
#4
well the high xmax woofer moves air at about twice the rate of an ordinary 15, and the mid driver picks up the mids and highs and disperses them a lot better than a larger speaker would, and it sounds better than a tweeter. you can get them with a tweeter, but some of those mid cones will do up to about 8k, which i think is plenty high end, even for those who like a lot of it. some will also do only up to 5k, which is better if you're an svt freak like me.

i'm not saying that other smaller and more traditional cabs won't work well, but if i'm looking to go as small as i can but still have a lot of oomph, i'm getting a fearful.
 
#5
Fearful looks great, and I do want a small/reliable/consistent/efficient cab... so, it seems like a no brainer.

Mid driver -- I rarely (if ever) use a tweeter on any cab I play through & always roll tone knobs down.... how much high/mids come through this driver? Is it controllable like a tweeter knob on the back of traditional cabs?
 
#6
mid drivers have all sorts of high end cutoffs. there's one that eminence makes that's popular with this cab that only does 5k, which is standard ampeg svt cutoff. there's also a B&C mid cone that does like 8k.

re: attenuation, you'd have to ask don.

now the big question is will you like it? don't know. you may hate it. some people find having all the high/mid dispersion a little disconcerting. but i love it and i'm seriously considering one. of course, my wife is seriously considering leaving me if i do, so... ;)
 
#8
I agree with JimmyM on the fEarful 15+6. The 6" mid driver will carry enough high end for me, and LDS can build it with any color options you like.

I just bought an LMT800 myself, and like you, would think the cab would look killer with tweed or oxblood.
 
#9
JimmyM said:
mid drivers have all sorts of high end cutoffs. there's one that eminence makes that's popular with this cab that only does 5k, which is standard ampeg svt cutoff. there's also a B&C mid cone that does like 8k.

re: attenuation, you'd have to ask don.

now the big question is will you like it? don't know. you may hate it. some people find having all the high/mid dispersion a little disconcerting. but i love it and i'm seriously considering one. of course, my wife is seriously considering leaving me if i do, so... ;)
Click to expand...

I'm in the minority here, in fact, I think it's just Kjung and me, but I'm not a fan of mid drivers. I'll take a tweeter anyday for that nice, squishy pop on the g string over a mid range. Whenever I used a mid range, I thought it took over the whole tone of the cab. Probably just my old ears.
 
#10
Nobody? Not even a lil "if I had $XXX, I'd build a ____________." ???

This got me to really re-thinking about an older cabinet idea I had, but never went through with -- http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=369936&highlight=

I really like the idea of the 15" being huge & fillin up the air... and the 10's or 12's to hit the rest of the needs. I'm not looking for uber-clean, or uber-responsive, just a really nice cabinet to hit hard & sound smooth --- whilst wearing some nice & tight TWEED!!!

Com'on guys, get creative!!!
 
#11
I've looked at the spl response curves for the fEarfull stuff and always thought they needed way too much power to really "speak", at least visually, looking at the graphs, so my input probably doesn't mean squat, but a 2x12 cab with the kappalite 3012lF's would at least in theory be awesome with a little under 400 watts each. And I don't even like the word awesome.

On spl graphs, at least, the perfect all in one cab.
 
#12
The fEarful 15 is as efficient as a 3x10 with high end neodymium drivers. This "needing lots of watts to speak" business has gotta stop :) I've run it with a 200w PA head and it sounded great and pretty decently loud.

That said, remember the 15/6 with poplar (expensive hard to find light ply) is the size and weight of an ultralight 4x10 as well (a smidgen lighter maybe). A 2x12/6 is even bigger and heavier (probably around 75lbs with birch ply).

With all the watts an LMT800 has, I would build a 12/6 and expand from there if you are thinking something about the size of a 2x10. If you want a fEarful.

That said, the only thing the size of 2x10 that's going to take the watts from an LMT800 cranked with some bass added is a 12/6. No 2x10 other than with BP102s will take it, and the 2x10 with BP102s would need to be the size of a conventional 4x10 to compete on the bottom.
 
#13
Another really solid option would be a Kappalite 3015 in a 3cf box. It'll be louder than the 12/6 throughout most of the spectrum for a lot less size.

A single 3012HO in a 2cf box would be adequate as well, as long as you don't beat the crap out of it with bass, and can tilt it back in some fashion for stage monitoring.

Remember with the 3015 or 3012HO - they are very very flat down low and you will need to add lows or low mids to get a "beefy" sound out of them.
 
#14
rpsands said:
The fEarful 15 is as efficient as a 3x10 with high end neodymium drivers. This "needing lots of watts to speak" business has gotta stop :)
Click to expand...

This "not reading in context" has gotta stop too. ;) I was speaking specifically about the 3012LF, not the 3015LF. I agree, the 3015LF seems to be a rare bird in efficiency AND power handling. That said, If I had 800 watts on tap, I'd go for the 3012 LF's.
 
#15
Let's not de-rail too far in the Fearful stuff, besides -- that's why it's got it's own mega-threads.

Any options/benefits of running a 12/6 or a 15/6? I've never liked/used tweeters/horns in the past, are the mids controllable via attenuation? Or, are they generally fixed?
 
#16
The 12/6 is a lot smaller. You can control the 6 by using your eq or by building in an attenuator. My suggestion would be to use, instead of a continuously variable attenuator, to wire up a switch for "high" and "Low" attenuation (say 3db an 6db or so) if you want that.

It's much easier to just use eq, however, and build the attenuation in the crossover to parity (That is, as sensitive roughly as the woofer).
 
#17
Based on what you are looking for, with the tone knob rolled off and such, I would get a 3015 in a 3cf box (e.g. a TL606, if you can't plan it out yourself - plans are free).

Lots of output, no need for complex crossovers, etc.

Mind you: It will require bass and/or VPF and low mid fiddling to get a bottom heavy tone."
 
#18
I don't mind adjusting my amp's EQ.... but, I'm just wondering what the Fearful will sound like. I don't have any experience with any cabs of similar design.

Attenuation on the 6" could be pretty easy for me to control, as long as it wasn't too expensive for the design...
 
#19
It runs around 450 in parts to build a fEarful 12/6 or 15/6, ballpark. About 300 for drivers, 50-70 for crossover parts, 40-50 for wood, and 50 bucks for misc (screws, connectors, cups, etc). It can easily run a bit over that if you aren't careful or wind up paying lots of shipping.
 
#20
I think I'd like to build a fEarful 15/6 for my LMT800 -- BUT, I'm thinkin about making a type of airhead slot on the back panel to add my LMT800. A fEarful combo... What should I think about in terms of customizing? I know some here have added cupholders, kickback stands, etc....

I wanna do Tweed & Oxblood, leather handles, etc... it'd be a real looker, but are there any other tips/tricks to consider?
 

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