Low-cost DIY practice/coffeehouse tweeterless 110 [long]

[tealrex]

Alright guys i finally finished!!! The first pic shows the wood inserts for the port. After they were glued properly i put a strip in the space between them. I set the width of the port blocker at at 2.5 inches wide( like Duke suggested) since my port is 1.5 inches longer than the factory set up.

Next i installed the 1" foam using 3m 90 spray adhesive. I made sure to leave plenty of room for the air to access the port.

And here it is completed!!!

This pic will help give a basic idea of the size.

It sounds awesome and it's amazingly loud! Such a nice full clear sound. I did the break in at 30hz and it really did help bring out the bottom end quickly, much faster than playing it for days till it opens up.
I'm going to take it down to practice tomorrow night and give it a run. I can't wait to see how it sounds in a band context. Thanks again Duke for the inspiration!

 

[kraigo]

I took the Mikeddd list from post 220 and ordered double of most of it (skipped parts like the handle and singles only of the screws. I omitted the speakers for the moment. The order I placed came to $114 because I ordered the Vifa tweeters for my three-way full range project at the same time. This got me two boxes and most of the parts with free shipping. I'll order the woofers from BLT Sound next month. I spread it out to minimize the spousal disapproval factor. I can do a lot of the work on the cabs in the meantime.

I play a lot in acoustic settings so having one is a great thing. Having a second will make for a public transportation friendly portable, yet giggable 2x10 rig if the need arises. I'm pretty excited!

I have a question for Duke: WinISD suggested a much lower tuning frequency for the box than you do. It seems to be in 46 or 48 Hz range, which is nice if you're worried at all about cone excursion with a B string. My five string fretless puts out a good amount of fundemental, so it looks like a good idea to me. The cone excursion at 30 Hz is about the same as it is in the hump higher, meaning that if I'm over doing it at 30 Hz I'm over doing it at other frequencies as well.

So why do you recommend the higher tuning frequency? I've learned a lot from your posts and I'm curious about this.

Thx

KO

 

[Turock]

Finished my TB110 (except for the corners and feet, they'll be in my net order). The thing does sound surprisingly good; in fact, I'm gonna put together another one. As tealrex said "such a nice full clear sound" or to quote Joe Biden it "clean and articulate". I haven't cranked it yet. I'm very pleased with how well it turned out; looks, size, and sound.
I went with the metal grill; figured I wouldn't skimp on protecting the speaker, being it was the the most expensive part. I used 1" mattress topper for batting, $10 from Target, 3M spray adhesive. I placed the handle for tiltback after seeing tealrex's cabinet. Good idea.

Here's a picture:

 

[thudfromafar]

Definitely still interested in this, but it will probably be a summer project for me.

Looks awesome guys!

 

[02Pete]

Congrats to those who have finished theirs. I've started mine, but I'm still waiting for the back-ordered speaker.

 

[DukeLeJeune]

I have a question for Duke: WinISD suggested a much lower tuning frequency for the box than you do. It seems to be in 46 or 48 Hz range, which is nice if you're worried at all about cone excursion with a B string.

The reduced-area port that tealrex is using lowers the tuning frequency to about 48 Hz, which should give good power handling for a low-B tuned bass while still giving fairly strong output at the first overtone. Off-the-shelf the enclosure is tuned to about 56 Hz, which should work for low-E. For a .90 cubic foot box, Eminence recommends 60 Hz tuning (which seemed a little high to greenboy).

I've never played a bass through the cab, so if you (or anyone else) find my tuning frequency suggestions are off a little or a lot, feel free to post your suggestions.

 

[mikeddd]

Congrats to the newest members of the TB110 Club, #3 tealrex and #4 Turock! Your TB110's look great, gents! http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f15/tb110-club-741202/

I'm hoping my replacement S2010 comes today. After playing through the cab for a few hours you kind of get hooked on that lower-midrangy-burpy-goodness.

 

[Wes Whitmore]

I think I have a pretty good donor cab for this project. I have a 1ft sealed 1x10 ampeg portabass cab. I don't like how it sounds compared to my ampeg svt210av, so it sits. It has a 3" OD hole cut in it for the tweeter and I could put a port there (It's 10.5" to the back wall). Any ideas of a port size to get me started?

Edit - Looks like Eminence is recommending 2 3" ports, so I might have to find a way to get another one in there.

Thanks!
Wes

 

[tealrex]

I took the cab down to practice last night. All i can say is wow! All these years i've underestimated the amount of usable output a proper single 10 can have. From higher notes down to the low b there was no real noticable drop in volume or fart out. No mudd either. I play fretless and have been searching for a natural sounding clarity and this is totaly hitting the nail on the head for me.

 

[mikeddd]

*high five!* Very happy to read that the TB110 is working out so well for you, tealrex! It does indeed have smooth, prodigious output for a single 10". IMO, to do better you'd have to spend a lot more dough. PE is going to have pay residuals to Duke with all the stuff they're going to sell.

 

[dug dog]

Wes: It looks like you should be able to get away with a single port of 3 inch OD. If you want to tinker a bit you could start around 6 inches and cut down to as short as 4 inches and these should give you tunings from mid to upper 40's.

Some folk with a bit more expertise will hopefully offer some further input but, at any rate, you shouldn't have to concern yourself with cutting another vent hole.

 

[tealrex]

Mike * high five* is right. I love it when a plan comes together. Ha

 

[mikeddd]

I received my replacement S2010 today and I'm happy to report that the original one from PE was indeed defective. Nothing wrong with this new one. This little cab definitely doesn't have the low end of my Avatar 212 (well, duh!) but the midrange is much more...focused. Don't know if that's an auditory illusion b/c this cab is elevated off the floor by about 24" (on a stand) and therefore closer to my ears, but I feel that midrange "mwuah" (not a fretless, but that's what I'm calling it) in my chest more than the Avatar 212. The 212 has a much bigger overall sonic footprint of course, but the TB110 "beams" sound in a very good way. The cab/port seems well-matched to the driver, at least for the 4-string. I've always preferred slot-port cabs to their round ported counterparts. Even if paper says the tuning is the same, the slot port cab has always had more slam to it. That goes for bass cabs as well as PA cabs or car stereo cabs.

Allrighty then, all you lurkers out there (14,000 views and only 5 guys have built one?)! Time for you guys to get on board! I've got TB110 Club membership numbers for everyone! Post your builds.

 

[tealrex]

Good news Mike. Did you try breaking it in with the burninwave generator?

 

[mikeddd]

Well no...not yet. I was too excited to know if the woofer was good so I put it in and just started playing. I'll run some tones through it tonight.

 

[Wes Whitmore]

S2010 and port should be here today. It's terrible when you have to find $16 in misc parts so you get free shipping from a store 45 minutes from my house. Oh well, you can never have too many speakon connectors...
Wes

 

[christw]

I chickened out when I ran out of money. I'd still love to put one together when money allows though. We'll see if I adopt a different 110 by then...

 

[mikeddd]

@Wes: If PE was 45 minutes away from me I'd be broke constantly, my house would be full of crap I probably wouldn't use and my wife would divorce me. PE = The Money Pit of Wonderness

@christw: IMO finding a better 110 than this puppy will cost you at least twice what you'd spend to built this one. And it wouldn't be 100% better.

When my t-nuts/bolts get here I'm going to experiment with some foam damping in the cab. Certain midrange notes seem a little peaky. NO complaints with bass boom. This cab doesn't have much low bass to boom with to begin with. But certain mids seem a bit too "resonance-ey" if I'm explaining that well enough. Right now the driver is held in with 1" coarse thread screws, which have been put in/removed...5 or 6 times now. The MDF's about had it in those areas. I'll leave it for now but will be experimenting w/damping later.

Off to play!

 

[Wes Whitmore]

Mikeddd,
If they had free shipping on all orders, I too would be in trouble. It's just far enough away that I don't visit often. I have a fair amount of raw drivers sitting around from past projects, but no S2010.
Try to find out it it's a physical vibration of the cab, components, etc, or if that is just want happens with this driver without a crossover.
Wes

 

[mikeddd]

Thanks, Wes. I do have a vibration from the grill on a few notes, but this is a different sound. The grill vibration/resonance is definitely there; I looped the notes and felt around on the grill. Touching in one certain spot stops the ringing. But the cab seems a bit peaky, depending on the notes. Not sure if the room could be affecting my ears; I've not played the cab outside my office/music room yet. The peakiness is NOT a deal-killer at all. Honestly, I've not even messed with the EQ on my amp yet; I have my sound dialed in for my 212 cab and am happy with it.

Wait...I think I just answered my own question. How embarassing is this? Have a parametric mid control on my preamp and haven't touched it yet. Whoops. Oh well, I'm not going to edit or delete anything. Hey, I work 12-14 hours a day and am pretty shot by the time I get home. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.