My fEARful 12/6/1 Build

[Bassman1775]

I’ve decided to share my fEARful 12/6/1 build with the community. I did a lot of research on fEARful cabs before I made a decision. I could have bought a very nice cab from a reputable brand for the same price as the build cost but I decided to DIY and build my own high end boutique cab that is probably worth way more. Needless to say I am not disappointed and I am currently building a second matching cab! Here is my story...

I sourced all of my electronics and speakers from Leland at www.speakerhardware.com. They sell kits that include anything you need in various stages of completion. I ordered pre-built crossovers, hardware and all 3 speakers and it ran me about $600. The speakers drop ship directly from Eminence and the rest of the stuff ships from speakerhardware.com. Very detailed plans and diagrams are available on their site as well.

These are the plans.

 

[Bassman1775]

I built the box out of 1/2” finish grade ply wood. I chose not not to use finger joints because I don’t have the jig and I figured it would be plenty strong with a good dose of wood glue and 1.5” nails every inch and a half or so. I routed the edges to round them so the corners would fit appropriately. I added little blocks of wood behind the speaker screws so they have more to hold onto.

 

[Bassman1775]

I like to find wraps for cabs at Hobby Lobby or various craft stores. They always have a good selection of vinyls and 40% off coupons. For this cab I found a pretty unique faux osterich skin. I used heavy duty 3M spray adhesive to adhere it to the cab. I used black vinyl fabric on the face.

 

[Bassman1775]

I ordered antique brass corners and studs that I though went well with the osterich skin. Got them from Amazon and local craft stores.

 

[Bassman1775]

I foamed the majority of the inside with 1.5” egg foam that I ordered on Amazon. I used 3M spray adhesive to attach it. No pics of the process though. Sorry!

 

[Bassman1775]

Speakers and electronics showed up and I pre-drilled all holes for the speakers but did not install. The crossovers were mounted on some scraps of the 1/2 inch ply wood. I used plastic stand-offs to hold the circuit cards off the wood a bit. Then I screwed the assemblies to the inside of the cab with wood screws. I mounted 2 crossovers to the shelf and 1 to the upper left corner of the back wall. I used this wiring diagram for reference.

 

[ThudThudThud]

Great stuff. Once I get my house finished I'm certainly going to look into making one of these (12/6/1). I must say the diagram showing the wiring for the crossovers etc. is the best I've seen.
Love he ostrich finish!

 

[Bassman1775]

Last I built a frame for the grille out of wood. It’s about 3/4” thick and 1” deep so it has some stability. I wanted the look of the wicker Mesa Boogie amps so I found the material on eBay called “cane webbing” which is what they use. You have to get it wet to allow it to stretch and bend. I stapled the sides around the frame and when it dries it contracts and gets tight. I also ordered the white piping off eBay and stapled that as well. I put a thin layer of 2-part epoxy around all the sides to prevent fraying of the materials and screwed the grille into place with 4 long black sheetrock screws which seemingly disappeared into the pattern of the wicker material.

All in all, I think this cab turned out really nice. It sounds incredible and looks unique and professional. I’ve had a lot of gawkers so far. I am currently building a second matching cab and I think it’ll take me about half the time since I’ve already sourced all the parts and materials and figured out the wiring and all the details for the build.

Let me know what you think of my fEARful 12/6/1 and I’d be happy to answer any questions!

 

[Bassman1775]

Great stuff. Once I get my house finished I'm certainly going to look into making one of these (12/6/1). I must say the diagram showing the wiring for the crossovers etc. is the best I've seen.
Love he ostrich finish!

I searched for like 4 hours before I found one that was clear enough and showed what I needed. I would recommend using a small bus bar as shown in the diagram. I didn’t in my first cab but I probably will on the second one.

 

[ThudThudThud]

Last I built a frame for the grille out of wood. It’s about 3/4” thick and 1” deep so it has som stability. I wanted the look of the wicker Mesa Boogie amps so I found the material on eBay called “cane webbing” which is what they use. You have to get it wet to allow it to stretch and bend. I stapled the sides around the frame and when it dries it contracts and gets tight. I also ordered the white piping off eBay and staples that as well. I put a thin layer of 2 part epoxy around all the sides to prevent fraying of the materials and screwed the grille into place with 4 long black sheetrock screws which seem disappeared into the pattern on the wicker material.

All in all, I think this cab turned out really nice. It sounds incredible and looks unique and professional. I’ve had a lot of gawkers so far. I am currently building a second matching cab and I think it’ll take me about half the time since I’ve already sourced all the parts and materials and figures out wiring and all the details for the build.

Let me know what you think of my fEARful 12/6/1 and I’d be happy to answer any questions!

Outstanding. The Mesa look is very cool. Very unique looking cab with the ostrich, wicker, white piping, and being a fEARful. Which amp will drive it?

 

[jlepre]

I like the look. Can I ask how much she weighs?

 

[Bassman1775]

Outstanding. The Mesa look is very cool. Very unique looking cab with the ostrich, wicker, white piping, and being a fEARful. Which amp will drive it?

Thanks! I use a Mesa Subway DW-800. It’s very versatile with the EQs and filters. I think it has great tone for a D Class amp.

 

[Bassman1775]

I like the look. Can I ask how much she weighs?

I haven’t weighed it personally but I’ve read that the 12/6/1 built with 1/2” plywood, the Eminence 3012 LF, and the Alphalite 6” weighs about 36 lbs or so if I remember correctly. It’s a neodymium speaker so it’s lighter than most and the 12” ply is light while the bracing gives it stiffness and strength.

 

[Blues Bass 2]

Great looking cabinet !

 

[turcmic]

Nice job!

 

[Plastalmonus]

That looks amazing. Such a great job! You’ve inspired me to get off my butt and have a go for myself

Really, if I can hand build an acoustic guitar, I should be able to handle a speaker cab.

 

[Bassman1775]

That looks amazing. Such a great job! You’ve inspired me to get off my butt and have a go for myself

Really, if I can hand build an acoustic guitar, I should be able to handle a speaker cab.

You can definitely do it! Just need a circular saw, a jig saw, finish nail gun and a drill.

How do you like the Orange amp? I used to have an Orange AD30TC guitar amp and LOVED the tone although I’ve never played out of an Orange bass head.

 

[Plastalmonus]

You can definitely do it! Just need a circular saw, a jig saw, finish nail gun and a drill.

How do you like the Orange amp? I used to have an Orange AD30TC guitar amp and LOVED the tone although I’ve never played out of an Orange bass head.

The AD200 is my forever amp. I love it so much that when I decided to buy a back up I went with the Terror Bass.

 

[ELG60]

That looks very very good. Excellent job! A cabinet one would be proud to own and use . . . even more so since you built it yourself.

 

[JoeVictim]

What I want to know is, how does it handle a muff set for maximum muff?