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

"This tuning frequency is arguably a bit on the high side for optimum power handling before fartout, but you should be fine on low-E. On low-B you may run into fartout; if so, you can build a simple insert that will reduce the port's cross-sectional area. The port dimensions are at the link provided; if you decrease the width of the port by 4", over its entire 10.25" depth, that will lower the tuning frequency to about 48 Hz which should be fine for low B. .... The stack can be centered in the port or off to one side; the tuning is the same either way, but it looks better centered." - duke's post, #1.
 
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So you didn't use car audio cabs, you made your own. Very light and they look very stylish. Well done.
Thanks! Correct, I made them from
scratch using 1/2 plywood. I wasn’t too into the idea of a MDF cab..and I also really enjoy building this kind of stuff so it all worked out!

Please remind me what the deal is with the blocking port divider.
My understanding was that adding the port divider would low the tuning frequency so it would better handle a low B. I didn’t check anything out via WinSD or any other program..I just went off Duke’s original suggestions on that.
 
For under $110 plus shipping, screws, and a bit of wire, you can put together a decent little tweeterless 110 practice/coffeehouse cab.

The speaker you'll be using is the Eminence [Invalid or Expired Link Removed], $74.97

The real cost and labor saver is the enclosure, a Parts Express [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] meant for a car, exquisitely finished in classic ratfur, $28.50

Finally you'll need a decent [Invalid or Expired Link Removed], $1.98, along with a [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] to mount it on, $4.68. No gasket needed; ratfur is self-gasketing.

The total comes to a shade over $110, not counting shipping.

The enclosure is about .9 cubic feet net internal volume with the speaker in place, and the port tunes the box to about 56 Hz (measured, not calculated). This tuning frequency is arguably a bit on the high side for optimum power handling before fartout, but you should be fine on low-E. On low-B you may run into fartout; if so, you can build a simple insert that will reduce the port's cross-sectional area. The port dimensions are at the link provided; if you decrease the width of the port by 4", over its entire 10.25" depth, that will lower the tuning frequency to about 48 Hz which should be fine for low B. High precision isn't required; for example, most "half-inch" plywood these days is actually 12 mm, and you can use a stack consisting of four 12mm plywood boards measuring 4" wide by 10.25" long, painted black, and wrapped on the ends with just enough black electrical tape to give a good friction fit. The stack can be centered in the port or off to one side; the tuning is the same either way, but it looks better centered.

Most 10" woofers will have a somewhat boomy response in that little enclosure, but the Basslite S2010 doesn't. That boomy bass sounds good sometimes, but here's the problem: As you go down the low end of the scale the lowest notes sort of die off. With the Basslite S2010, there is only about 2 dB falloff of that critical first overtone as you go from low E down to low B (with the 48 Hz tuning; the difference is a little greater with the 56 Hz tuning because the low E is louder). So that's why I chose the Basslite S2010.

Use #8 pan-head sheet metal screws, 1" long, to attach the speaker to the cab. Pre-drill 7/64" pilot holes for the screws, using the S2010's 8 screwholes as a template, and kinda hug the outer edge of the holes in the S2010's frame so that you leave lots of "meat" in the wood between the screw and the speaker cut-out. After the pilot holes have been drilled, I recommend using a toothpick to coat the inside of the holes with wood glue; this strengthens the particleboard where it needs it the most (for the screws' threads). Let the glue dry for a couple of hours before adding

On the back of the cabinet is a little push-terminal that can accept bare wires. You might leave that in place, and just cut out an opening for the jack plate with a jigsaw.

If you don't have a jigsaw and/or want to save a few bucks, don't get the jackplate. Instead, you're going to use that input jack as an external adaptor. Solder a couple of speaker wires to it, 18 gauge should be fine. The + wire goes to the the part that contacts the nose of the plug, and the - wire goes to the part that contacts the side of the shaft. Plug your 1/4" plug into the jack, and plug the wires coming off jack into the push-terminals.

So you're going to want to run wires inside the box from the quarter-inch input jack and/or the little push-terminal to the speaker. You want about 18" or so, to give you a little slack to work with when you connect the speaker.

If you want both the push-terminal and quarter-inch jack to be available, solder on two more wires, one connecting the + on the push-terminal to the + on the jack, and the other connecting -to -.

The speaker has push-on type connectors, which you can probably find at an auto parts store. Maybe Radio Shack still carries them; take the speaker with you to make sure you get the right size. Sometimes they start out a little loose, and you can gently close 'em off just a wee bit with pliars. Overdo it, and you can usually pry 'em back open a bit with the tip of your pocketknife. Or, you can just solder the wires to the tabs on the speaker.

But before you install the speaker, I suggest lining the inside of the cab with some 1" open-cell foam. 75% coverage is good. I think Jo Ann Fabric sells open-cell foam cut to the length you specify, and you won't need much. An 18" by 24" piece should be plenty, and you can get the cheapest the sell. Just make sure you haaaaah your breath through it; if not, it's closed-cell foam. Glue or staple in place, your choice, and keep it an inche or two away from the inner opening of the port.

Now connect the wires to the speaker, double-checking that you're going from + to + and - to -. Install the speaker with the screws, connect your amp, and try it out.

If you think the port-area-reduction woodstack might be a good thing, go ahead and experiment with that as well. You can make it permanent with glue and/or screws, but I suggest taping over the nearby ratfur so you don't mess it up with glue during the process.

If you feel so inclined, you can add corners, feet, grill, and a handle. Note that the edges of the enclosure are not rounded-over, so you'll probably want to get corners that have a sharp angle.

Now if you think you might want to add a second cab in order to have a more gig-worthy little rig, one of the cabs will need two input jacks. Wire them in parallel (like I described for the little push-terminals). The reason I don't suggest installing two jacks on both cabs is, the unused jack will be an air leak and you don't want that. Or you can get fancier air-tight connectors, taking your pick from these pages (if you decide to use Parts Express):

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Here are the specs you can expect with the port tuning reduced to 48 Hz:

Impedance: 8 ohms
Power handling: 150 watts thermal
Efficiency: 94.7 dB/1 watt, based on Thiele-Small parameters (which is how I think it should be specified)
Low end response: -2 dB at 100 Hz, and -4.5 dB at 62 Hz (first overtone of low B). No peak in bass region. Crank in 2 dB of bass boost, and now you're -2.5 dB at 62 Hz and still don't have any peaking.
Dimensions: 16" tall by 12" wide by 14.5" deep, not counting grill.
Weight: About 21 pounds, before optional hardware (grill, corners, feet, handle).

* * * *

Take a look at the frequency response curve for the S2010:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

If I were going to use this speaker in a commercial tweeterless cab, I'd probably want to smoothe the frequency response somewhat. If you'd like for me to design a circuit to do so, let me know in a reply.

Finally, don't ask me to sell you any of this stuff and/or do any assembly. If I were to do that, this post becomes an "ad". I'll make my nickels off the guys who can afford my expensive "boutique" cabs, but will probably never have the economies of scale that would allow me to offer competitively-priced entry-level products. Thus something like this is probably the only way I can get involved with bass players on a tight budget.
So - The Parts Express cabinet link is not working. Do you have the dimensions? It is possible to get more inventory from Goldwood, who makes the car cabinets currently for sale on Parts Express. There is one that looks similar that says it is tuned to 36 hz....

I am needing a small lightweight cab and I don't have the budget to spend at the moment.
 
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So - The Parts Express cabinet link is not working. Do you have the dimensions? It is possible to get more inventory from Goldwood, who makes the car cabinets currently for sale on Parts Express. There is one that looks similar that says it is tuned to 36 hz....

I am needing a small lightweight cab and I don't have the budget to spend at the moment.

This looks to me like the same enclosure, or pretty close. In the question & answers section it says the tuning frequency is about 55 Hz, which is close enough to the 56 Hz that I measured to make me think it's the same box. Unfortunately the price is a lot higher, which reflects what's happening to the price of wood these days:

https://www.parts-express.com/Goldwood-E-10SP-10-Single-Vented-Box-Speaker-Cabinet-260-628
 
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Resurrecting an older post, but it's still applicable.

I built mine originally a little over a year and a half ago. I left them where my cats could get to them and they used them as scratching posts. :bored: I didn't care for the rat fur and the cats did enough damage, I decided to re finish them. I'm glad I did, but it was also a mistake. Getting that rat fur off was a big PITA! :sour: I coated it with DuraTex and I love the final result.

With TB110.JPG


One more to go, as I made two of them. It's down to just the glue residue to strip off, fill and sand as necessary.

Anyways, if I would do it again, I would just build the cab myself. I'm not looking to do this again. :rollno:
 
Resurrecting an older post, but it's still applicable.

I built mine originally a little over a year and a half ago. I left them where my cats could get to them and they used them as scratching posts. :bored: I didn't care for the rat fur and the cats did enough damage, I decided to re finish them. I'm glad I did, but it was also a mistake. Getting that rat fur off was a big PITA! :sour: I coated it with DuraTex and I love the final result.

View attachment 5350010

One more to go, as I made two of them. It's down to just the glue residue to strip off, fill and sand as necessary.

Anyways, if I would do it again, I would just build the cab myself. I'm not looking to do this again. :rollno:
Looks classy. Play them often. (RIP rats.)
 
Resurrecting an older post, but it's still applicable.

<snip>

Anyways, if I would do it again, I would just build the cab myself. I'm not looking to do this again. :rollno:

I guess I'd have considered just doing new cabs. MDF isn't a good choice anyway. I did buy a different MDF cab for a prototype in a different project, so I'm not being terribly judgemental here.

I also built two, but I gave one to a friend. I don't use the one I kept that much, but I had screwed up one of the cabs and left it out for my cat to have her way with.

I've done Herculiner finishes on some (hi-fi) subs I made. It's cat resistant.

I like what you did with the port. How much did you shave off?

Anyway it looks good, should be good with the cat (unlike rat fur) and I'm thrilled that you like it. I have no plans to get rid of my remaining one.
 
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I should consider that. I've never been thrilled with the sound of the cab, although I like the power handling and portability. I'd decided that I don't love the S2010 driver, but that could be assigning the blame to the wrong element of the rig. Since working outdoors is not as viable for a few months in Minnesota, perhaps a little tweaking on the cab or designing a new one would be worthwhile. I could probably repossess the other S2010 cab if needed since the same guy has been using my MarkBass 1x12 combo+1x12 extension for the last two years.

I'm driving mine with a GK MB-200, similar to what you drive yours with. It's about perfect for situations where you aren't trying to keep up with a rock band. Loud enough to get you out of trouble in many cases. If you have concerns, suck it up and bring a larger rig.
 
Made from 3/8" cabinet grade Birch plywood, which I'm leaving Au Naturale (3 coats of matte polyurethane for protection.) No More Rat Fur for me.
Contains an Eminence DeltaLite II 2510 speaker, and (2) 2" rear ports.
12.75"H X 12.75"W X 12"D.
Weighs just 14lbs. (!)
I'll be using it ( for my Double Bass), with either my EA Doubler or my WW Electacoustic amp for small room, acoustic piano trios/quartet, situations. (No PA, no bashing drummers, just enough to get me in the acoustic mix.)
Thanks.
IMG_5229.jpg
 
just checking...those are the external dimensions, yes? no internal bracing?
Yes. Those dimensions are the external dimensions.
No "internal" bracing, but the front baffle sits in a dado channel on all 4 sides, which adds a tremendous amount of structural integrity. All butt joints are glued and screwed (#6 wood screws), and all internal joints are also sealed/glued for leakage prevention.
It is very solid, for such a lightweight cab.
Also, the 3/8" Birch plywood is beautiful - absolutely void-free.
Thanks for your interest.
 
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Update on cab #2; finally got all the lacquer and adhesive stripped off. It still needs finish sanding, the application of DuraTex, more sound dampening and the installation of the speaker and hardware. The little sound dampening in there is what I had at the time I built it. The other cab has a double layer all throughout and sounds tighter, more controlled. I should have it done by Monday, allowing for ample time for curing of the DuraTex.

TB Under Construction.JPG