Just sent in my order for all parts to build this cab - $125 including all major components, corner protectors, handle, grill cover, connectors, etc. Will post pix when done in a few weeks. Thanks again for this great info.
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Low-cost DIY practice/coffeehouse tweeterless 110 [long]
- Thread starter DukeLeJeune
- Start date
Excellent, bherman! 
Welcome to the club...that doesn't exist yet...but will because I just know this is going to be a cool little cab. I notice you said you'd post pics "in a few weeks." Are you not CONUS either? I'm not (Europe) and it takes 7-14 days for me to receive anything from the states...then of course the inevitable "trying to find the time to build it" happens. Heres hoping we both get our box of goodies in a timely manner! /beer
Welcome to the club...that doesn't exist yet...but will because I just know this is going to be a cool little cab. I notice you said you'd post pics "in a few weeks." Are you not CONUS either? I'm not (Europe) and it takes 7-14 days for me to receive anything from the states...then of course the inevitable "trying to find the time to build it" happens. Heres hoping we both get our box of goodies in a timely manner! /beer
Excellent, bherman!
I am in the us, but I'm figuring 5-7 days to get here then waiting for the weekend to assemble it, then me getting around to taking and posting pix. Here's hoping that it'll be faster! Going to use this with my Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0 head so am looking forward to a one-trip carry (bass, cab, and backpack with everything else!)
Ordered my parts. Looks like a fun project. If it goes well and sounds good, I'll probably make another.
Many thanks to DukeLeJeune for posting his idea for this affordable, easy to build and compact cabinet, and also for responding in detail to the many comments and inquiries.
Small, light cabinets producing reasonable tone and volume are a real boon for jazz musicians and others who perform at small urban venues with neighborhood-imposed volume limits, cramped stages, limited parking availability, snow-covered sidewalks, and the like. Large, heavy, loud amps are overkill for such gigs, a pain to carry in and out, and a challenge to fit on stage, but 20 or 30 watt practice amps don't produce quite enough volume for performing with several other musicians.
I currently play through an Aguilar GS-112NT 1x12" cabinet. It produces great tone and more than enough volume for my needs, can handle 300 WRMS, and is very well-built and durable. I like it a lot. At 14"x19"x18" and 39 pounds, though, even that 1x12" cabinet is a bit large and heavy for some of the places that I perform. I have no plans to part with it, but something smaller and lighter would be helpful for some of the gigs I play.
Not many major manufacturers are currently offering 1x10" cabinets, as opposed to low-power 1x10" combos. Eden offers the EX110, Raezer's Edge the Bass 10, Epifani the UL2 110, Euphonic Audio the Wizzy 10, MarkBass the AC 101, and Acoustic the Acoustic 260 mini-stack, but there aren't any 1x10" cabinet offerings from the likes of Aguilar, Avatar, Fender, Ampeg, Peavey, GK, Hartke, Mesa Boogie, and the like (even though some of them do offer 1x12" cabinets). Either the market for 1x10"s is not large enough, or the profit margins are not large enough, to support many products of this type; and of the few that are available, several are expensive professional-grade products as opposed to affordable cabinets for "weekend warriors" with limited budgets.
Duke's basic concept here is something small, simple, easy to build, light and affordable. Some of the comments, such as suggestions for adding a tweeter, an electronic filter, building multiple cabinets and the like, might yield broader-range, smoother or louder sound -- but would also have the side effect of increasing the complexity, difficulty, weight or cost of the finished project. Duke has done a great job responding to those comments, I'm not about to criticize anything he has done in offering us his knowledge, time and effort free of charge, and I have no desire to limit anyone's creativity, but I do have a couple of general thoughts I would like to offer in this regard.
The late, great aeronautical engineer Edward Heinemann, who was responsible for some excellent aircraft designs such as the A-4 Skyhawk, was once asked how he accomplished his design objectives, and reportedly responded: "Simplicate and add lightness." Many engineers also think that "The perfect is the enemy of the good," i.e. that efforts to improve a good design can backfire. Finally, engineers have a favorite acronym, KISS -- "Keep it simple, stupid!"
For those of us with rudimentary skills, limited tools and modest budgets, Duke's design is a great idea. For those having the technical background to modify it intelligently, great -- try building your ideas, and let us know how they come out. For most of us, though, the objective here is to make something small, simple, easy to build and affordable, and Duke's basic design appears to do an admirable job of meeting that goal.
Small, light cabinets producing reasonable tone and volume are a real boon for jazz musicians and others who perform at small urban venues with neighborhood-imposed volume limits, cramped stages, limited parking availability, snow-covered sidewalks, and the like. Large, heavy, loud amps are overkill for such gigs, a pain to carry in and out, and a challenge to fit on stage, but 20 or 30 watt practice amps don't produce quite enough volume for performing with several other musicians.
I currently play through an Aguilar GS-112NT 1x12" cabinet. It produces great tone and more than enough volume for my needs, can handle 300 WRMS, and is very well-built and durable. I like it a lot. At 14"x19"x18" and 39 pounds, though, even that 1x12" cabinet is a bit large and heavy for some of the places that I perform. I have no plans to part with it, but something smaller and lighter would be helpful for some of the gigs I play.
Not many major manufacturers are currently offering 1x10" cabinets, as opposed to low-power 1x10" combos. Eden offers the EX110, Raezer's Edge the Bass 10, Epifani the UL2 110, Euphonic Audio the Wizzy 10, MarkBass the AC 101, and Acoustic the Acoustic 260 mini-stack, but there aren't any 1x10" cabinet offerings from the likes of Aguilar, Avatar, Fender, Ampeg, Peavey, GK, Hartke, Mesa Boogie, and the like (even though some of them do offer 1x12" cabinets). Either the market for 1x10"s is not large enough, or the profit margins are not large enough, to support many products of this type; and of the few that are available, several are expensive professional-grade products as opposed to affordable cabinets for "weekend warriors" with limited budgets.
Duke's basic concept here is something small, simple, easy to build, light and affordable. Some of the comments, such as suggestions for adding a tweeter, an electronic filter, building multiple cabinets and the like, might yield broader-range, smoother or louder sound -- but would also have the side effect of increasing the complexity, difficulty, weight or cost of the finished project. Duke has done a great job responding to those comments, I'm not about to criticize anything he has done in offering us his knowledge, time and effort free of charge, and I have no desire to limit anyone's creativity, but I do have a couple of general thoughts I would like to offer in this regard.
The late, great aeronautical engineer Edward Heinemann, who was responsible for some excellent aircraft designs such as the A-4 Skyhawk, was once asked how he accomplished his design objectives, and reportedly responded: "Simplicate and add lightness." Many engineers also think that "The perfect is the enemy of the good," i.e. that efforts to improve a good design can backfire. Finally, engineers have a favorite acronym, KISS -- "Keep it simple, stupid!"
For those of us with rudimentary skills, limited tools and modest budgets, Duke's design is a great idea. For those having the technical background to modify it intelligently, great -- try building your ideas, and let us know how they come out. For most of us, though, the objective here is to make something small, simple, easy to build and affordable, and Duke's basic design appears to do an admirable job of meeting that goal.
Got my PE order yesterday, but never thought about a grill. I need to pull the driver out of another project. I am hoping to have it ready for next thursday's rehearsal.
Well said, 02Pete. I'm right there with you.
@troy mcclure: Happy to hear you have your parts already! I won't have my parts for another week at least. Just watch your feet until you get a grill.
I've not been this stoked about a project since I built my first Heathkit amplifier eons ago. I'm mostly stoked b/c if someone of Duke's knowledge level feels "these parts will mesh well and sound good" then there's a very high probability that they indeed will. And for this price? Well, anyone reading this thread already has the same stupid grin on their face that I do.
I know this is just a simple little cab, and even using the term "building it" is a stretch, but its simpleness is what's exciting about it. We get so wrapped around the axle discussing mega cabs like fEARfuls (for example); arguing how best to get 105db instead of 104.5db out of it, that we forget the simple, easy pleasures in life. I'm thinking this cab is going to be a nice, brisk shave on a sleepy winter morning.
@troy mcclure: Happy to hear you have your parts already! I won't have my parts for another week at least. Just watch your feet until you get a grill.
I've not been this stoked about a project since I built my first Heathkit amplifier eons ago. I'm mostly stoked b/c if someone of Duke's knowledge level feels "these parts will mesh well and sound good" then there's a very high probability that they indeed will. And for this price? Well, anyone reading this thread already has the same stupid grin on their face that I do.
I know this is just a simple little cab, and even using the term "building it" is a stretch, but its simpleness is what's exciting about it. We get so wrapped around the axle discussing mega cabs like fEARfuls (for example); arguing how best to get 105db instead of 104.5db out of it, that we forget the simple, easy pleasures in life. I'm thinking this cab is going to be a nice, brisk shave on a sleepy winter morning.
So, I see this thread where DukeLeJeune is pulling our coats to a nice cheap speaker build, and I see the response, I am like all over this. I happen to be poking around on our local CL and found a Eden CX110, one thing lead to another, I picked it up for $100.00, maybe a good score but, I DIDN'T DO THE BUILD, I DIDN'T BOND WITH MY BROTHERS AND LEARN FROM THE EXPERIENCE!
I hate it when that happens.
So, I see this thread where DukeLeJeune is pulling our coats to a nice cheap speaker build, and I see the response, I am like all over this. I happen to be poking around on our local CL and found a Eden CX110, one thing lead to another, I picked it up for $100.00, maybe a good score but, I DID'NT DO THE BUILD, I DIDN'T BOND WITH MY BROTHERS AND LEARN FROM THE EXPERIENCE!
I'll take it off your hands for $100 and then you can build one anyways. Almost like nothing ever happened...
Hummmmm, maybe I build a mate for the CX110I'll take it off your hands for $100 and then you can build one anyways. Almost like nothing ever happened...
... I saw this thread about building a neat cheap 1x10...
Got my parts today. I checked the speakon jack mentioned earlier and the flange is the same diameter as the hole for the spring terminal plate, so it won't work without adding some wood. I'll probably just enlarge the hole and use the rectangular dual-speakon jack plate I have. If you really want to use speakon without using a saw, just leave the existing plate and drill another hole for the flanged speakon. A 1" spade bit would do the job.
I wired the speaker to the spring terminals and laid the box on it's back to test it. Speaker is just sitting in place. Initial impression is that it sounds pretty good. Low-B on the 5 string is a little lacking, but Duke said it would be that way. So far I think it will work fine for the monitor purpose I have in mind for it. I still have to add batting, cut the jack plate and install the plate, speaker and grill. We have a rehearsal Thursday, so I'm trying to have it ready for then.
MX
I wired the speaker to the spring terminals and laid the box on it's back to test it. Speaker is just sitting in place. Initial impression is that it sounds pretty good. Low-B on the 5 string is a little lacking, but Duke said it would be that way. So far I think it will work fine for the monitor purpose I have in mind for it. I still have to add batting, cut the jack plate and install the plate, speaker and grill. We have a rehearsal Thursday, so I'm trying to have it ready for then.
MX
- Nov 24, 2008
- 4,343
- 7,163
- Disclosures
- Owner & designer, AudioKinesis; Auth. mfg, Big E (Home Audio only)
Thanks, Pete.
Yeah, I really have mixed feelings about that complex response-shaping filter circuit I posted there a while back. It really goes against the simple, affordable premise I started with.
I should stress that the IDEAL is to build the cheapo version, no filters (or maybe with the tweet - that's still reasonably cheap for what it potentially adds), and then use your TONE CONTROLS to beat the cab into submission. I expect it to be a bit bright & forward, but fixable if you experiment with your tone controls a bit. That's the price the budget cab guy often has to pay: He has to become a master of tone controls.
* * * *
I've been thinking about a two-cab stack, and would like to toss out an idea.
The S2010 "zigs" badly from about 1 kHz on up. So, what if we let one of them "zig" away, but we rolled off the other one so that it was "zagging" north of 1 kHz? This is just an idea, but if we let the top box (the one with the tweeter) run with no filtering (except for the tweeter's highpass filter), and then we rolled off the bottom speaker above 1 kHz or so, the "net" result should pretty much sidestep the effects of those big peaks. And the circuitry to do this is very simple: I suggest a 1.5 mH inductor in series with the lower S2010, either 20 gauge or 18 gauge.
This is not guaranteed of course, but this approach to a two-cab stack is a lot more elegant than that dang notch filter thing. I use that and other types of response-shaping circuitry in my expensive commercial cabs, and just charge people accordingly; but for this project we're looking at bang-for-the-buck and K.I.S.S., and I think that in a two-cab stack rolling off that lower speaker above 1 kHz makes sense. In home audio they do this a lot; you'll see a tower speaker with two woofers and a tweeter on top, and the lower woofer rolls off at a much lower frequency than the upper woofer. They call this a "2 1/2 way system".
* * * *
I found an alternate location for that little Vifa tweeter: Right in the middle of the port! This will lower the tuning frequency by about 1 Hz (measured). You still have plenty of port area for chuff-free airflow. Here's the tweeter again so you can see what I'm talking about:
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I think you can secure it in place with only two screws, one in the wood along the bottom edge of the port, and one in the wood along the top edge. Pre-drill the holes kinda at a slight angle so there will be lots of "meat" between the screw and edge of the wood, and use the glue-and-toothpick trick, and use a washer to distribute the pressure. Now turn the cab upside-down and voila, tweeter is centered above the woofer.
When stackiing two such tweetered cabs, the top one goes upside-down (what was originally rightside-up) to put your tweeters next to each other, if you want to.
- Nov 24, 2008
- 4,343
- 7,163
- Disclosures
- Owner & designer, AudioKinesis; Auth. mfg, Big E (Home Audio only)
Hey MX21, I guess you were posting while I was typing. Looks great!
The speaker will loosen up a little bit with break-in, but you'll probably have to give it a click or two of bass boost, and maybe a click or two of lower treble cut, to get the tone where it sounds right.
If a click or two of bass boost doesn't do it, let me know.
The speaker will loosen up a little bit with break-in, but you'll probably have to give it a click or two of bass boost, and maybe a click or two of lower treble cut, to get the tone where it sounds right.
If a click or two of bass boost doesn't do it, let me know.
MX21: Looks great! The grill appears to fit just fine; looks like I was incorrect. I know this isn't a high x-max driver, but is there enough room b/t the surround and the grill? I can't tell from the pics. Wouldn't want the surround slapping into the grill at high volumes; that would be bad.
Speaking of the driver loosening up: Would this woofer benefit from some free-air break-in before installation? It's Fs is 46Hz, so maybe a 55 or 60Hz tone run at moderate volume for an hour or so? Thoughts?
Speaking of the driver loosening up: Would this woofer benefit from some free-air break-in before installation? It's Fs is 46Hz, so maybe a 55 or 60Hz tone run at moderate volume for an hour or so? Thoughts?
