Piccolo8, cab build for piccolo bass

[Arjank]

If a Piccolo bass is tuned to the same frequencies as the lower four strings of a regular guitar, what is its use???

Good question.
Well, cuz of the different scale length it has a very different timbre then a regular guitar. I like the sound and it invites me to play more melodic.

 

[BassmanPaul]

Thanks for the answer Arjank, another if I may. What holds down the bottom end whilst you're up in the stratosphere (so to speak)?

 

[Arjank]

What holds down the bottom end whilst you're up in the stratosphere (so to speak)?

Well, some other bassplayer

Btw. the cab is up and running now!
Just testing it in my music-room.
The horn-reflex does it's work as predicted, when playing the low E or A(regular 4-string) and closing the port definitely lowers the output a lot. The horn doesn't only add "oomph" around the tuning frequency but also an octave above that.
Dispersion is good and a tweeter is not really needed.

What needs to be tested now is how it will hold up against some real drums.

So far it really performs beyond expectations

 

[BassmanPaul]

Thanks for your patience Arjank. I appreciate it.

 

[Arjank]

Btw. I wanted to change the title of this thread into "Piccolo8, 8" cab build" since it's not only for piccolo bass. The edit function though doesn't let me change it.....moderators?

 

[Arjank]

If people are intersted in how it sounds, I could record some soundclips (I'll use my measurement mic).
I'll do several combinations then.

-Hifi-amp + Focusrite Saffire + BBE BmaxT
-Bugera BVP5500

And switching between my Ibanez SR1200VNF and RD500.
And ofcoure my Squier Jaguar that is tuned as piccolo

 

[Matthijs]

subscribed

I'd like to hear those samples.


Did you think about DB aplications for this cab? Could be interesting.

 

[Arjank]

Did you think about DB aplications for this cab? Could be interesting.

Allmost forgot!
I have a hollowbody EUB with Fishman and "normal" pups, so I'll record some samples with that one too.
Due to the horn-reflex it has this "wooden" sound in the low-mids, could work very well. Let me try this tonight.

 

[Matthijs]

The wide dispersion and the better coupling of the horn might also add to a more 3d-acoustic feel.

 

[Arjank]

The wide dispersion and the better coupling of the horn might also add to a more 3d-acoustic feel.

+1
When closing the horn it immediately sounds less acoustic/3D.
Though maybe not as "true" sounding like a hifi cab it sure colors the sound in a nice "wooden" way.

Btw. this is the EUB I own, it's from quest-md.com

 

[Matthijs]

Pretty,

What is the neck like? Anything like the real thing?

 

[Matthijs]

looked it up on the website. Looks real good, out of curiousity how much did it cost? Maybe it's on the website, but my Japanese is a bit rusty.

 

[Arjank]

looked it up on the website. Looks real good, out of curiousity how much did it cost? Maybe it's on the website, but my Japanese is a bit rusty.

Neck feels great.
I paid 1800euro's for it.

 

[Arjank]

Yesterday I tested the cab at higher volume levels but did not dare to push it any further cuz it got really loud and didn't want to get trouble with my neighbours
The horn-reflex really makes it more efficient, it sounds more like a 10" or 12" then an 8" driver (though a 12" may provide some more oomph down low).
I'm also very happy about the mid/highs and the dispersion, the slanted baffle really makes a difference with projecting the sound into the room.

I also tried the EUB, woody sound for sure! The only thing is that the pre-amp of the EUB is noisy..... I checked the wiring but it looks ok, maybe I''ll increase the voltage to 18v, the opamp should be able to handle it

 

[astack]

Very cool as usual, Arjank. We've been lacking good DIY threads lately. Thanks for posting.

You've got a PM for a similar cab design. I'd like to hear what you think about it.

 

[will33]

Arjank...I'm having trouble wrapping my head around this porting concept. It seems as if could gain a little bit of output by using larger port area but that could very well be wrong. I'm not understanding the horn action here. It doesn't look near long enough to load anywhere down around a typical port tuning frequency.

You have any measurements comparing this cab to a more conventional cab using regular ports at the same cab volume and tuning frequency?

I'm getting confused and might be spreading some misinformation. Is it that you can't increase by going larger, just not decrease output by going too small?

 

[Arjank]

Arjank...I'm having trouble wrapping my head around this porting concept. It seems as if could gain a little bit of output by using larger port area but that could very well be wrong.

That is what it actually does, it yields a slightly higher output then a regular ported cab but that depends on the drivers TSP's.

I'm not understanding the horn action here. It doesn't look near long enough to load anywhere down around a typical port tuning frequency.

It doesn't act like a regular rearloadedhorn, it's still a helmholzresonator. The only difference is that the port ends a lot bigger then with a normal port. Due to the larger radiation area the coupling with the air is slightly better. This approach works good with midbass frequencies. Deeper tunings will require a rather long port which in turn will create a "hole" in the midbass frequencies and that's not what you want as a bassplayer.

You have any measurements comparing this cab to a more conventional cab using regular ports at the same cab volume and tuning frequency?

I only have simulations that show the difference (see post #4)

 

[will33]

Hey, thanks.

It's the air impedance matching stuff that's over my head.

 

[Arjank]

Update

I recently installed a new pickup on my EUB (kind copy of The Realist) and it now sounds amazing.
When I plug it into my Bugera BVP5500 (passive input 1Mohm) and run it through the "Piccolo 8" the sound is fabulous. The "woody" quality of the sound of the cabinet adds some additional colour to the sound of the EUB making it sound even more like a real upright.
I think this is a real good solution when you play in a small jazz-combo.

 

[seamonkey]

This thread deserves a bump for anyone looking to build their own cabinet for a small speaker. The whole design has a lot of good things going on.