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Real NOOB Needs Help. DIY

K

kingpin

Oct 22, 2008
7
0
#1
Hey guys and girls.

I will give the quick notes first then i will post more details if anyones interested.

My friend plays a Schecter 5-string bass. We recently purchased her a GK 1001rbII and a GK 410rbx. She plays in a hardcore rock band. I have done a bit of research and found out 5 strings play as low as 30hz(please correct me if wrong).

I am into home theater and built my own main speakers which are 7feet tall and 500lbs each. As well as my 2 18"subs. What does this have to do with anything? I was thinking about building her a dual 15" sealed bass cab(size restrictions) for a X-Mas gift.

I know absolutely nothing about instruments and how speakers and drivers work with each other. I made the mistake of mentioning this to her and she flipped out in a good way.

I was thinking of building these to supplement the 410rbx and to reach a bit lower.
My questions are:


Is this a feasible idea?
Does this make sense or would it be a waste of materials?
Any plans out there for this?
It would have to have a load of 8 ohms total so she can run the cab off the gk.

In home audio I wouldnt want the subs to play to deep into the mid bass. My subs right now go down to 10hz and cross to my mid bass at around 90hz.

Would the same premise apply here?

Okay thats enough for now. :D
Hopefully someone can chime in. Any info appreciated.

Thanks
Mike.

BTW This is the stuff I build.
Picture010-6.gif
 
#3
Yah man. lol
Movies have infrasonic frequencies that are down to 6hz now. I'm lagging. lol
Thats in room response. They are tuned to 15hz. Those are the subs that arent in that picture.
I actually have built new sealed boxes for size reasons.
The mains you see have 2 12" mid bass and 2 10" low mids.

Picture004.gif
 
#6
Just a bit of advice, with the proviso that there are many who know more than I do. That 30 Hz number is dangling out there as a temptation, but most mainstream "bass" speakers roll off well above the lowest fundamental of the bass. A speaker that actually goes that low will sacrifice a lot of sensitivity.

Another thing is that it might be difficult to find a musical instrument driver that is happy in a sealed box these days, and the power handling advantage of a ported system seems compellling.

A lot of DIY'ers appear to be achieving good results with the relatively new Eminence 3015LF driver.

It would be worth measuring the response curve and overall sensitivity of the 4x10 as a sort of mental calibration before proceeding.

By the way, nice work.
 
#8
Thanks for the kind words guys.

See I was wondering, and I guess this is the big question.

Would the 2 15's be adding anything in sound, like fullness for example?

I am right in saying that I wouldn't want them playing much into the frequency level of the 410rbx?

If these drivers would also be good for home theater use it wouldnt be a big deal. But since they would be of no use to me if this project fails, I would hate to have them sitting around doing nothing.

I have been looking around and noticed that maybe 1 15" in a bigger ported box would be better. But aesthetically 2 15's look downright menacing sitting underneath the 4 10's. lol

Mike
 
#11
fdeck said:
Just a bit of advice, with the proviso that there are many who know more than I do. That 30 Hz number is dangling out there as a temptation, but most mainstream "bass" speakers roll off well above the lowest fundamental of the bass. A speaker that actually goes that low will sacrifice a lot of sensitivity.

Another thing is that it might be difficult to find a musical instrument driver that is happy in a sealed box these days, and the power handling advantage of a ported system seems compellling.

A lot of DIY'ers appear to be achieving good results with the relatively new Eminence 3015LF driver.

It would be worth measuring the response curve and overall sensitivity of the 4x10 as a sort of mental calibration before proceeding.

By the way, nice work.
Click to expand...


Best info so far fdeck. The world of home audio hifi as well as car audio is deep 20-40hz response at the expense of SPL. Bass rigs can do without low fundementals at even volume but need to get loud from the 1st harmonic and above to come out sounding good from band to audience. You can worry about 30hz in a car or a living room because you don't have that much space to fill with sound. Compete with Marshall stacks and a bashing drummer in a nightclub/bar and it's a different story.

If she's got a 1001rbII and a 410, there's no lack of power or appreciable volume, add a long excursion, yet decent SPL 212 or 115 to the stack with an honest f3 of close to 50hz and there's your bottom.

For reference, yes, the fundamental of a low B is 31.something hz but there's not much going on down there, you need decent SPL at 62hz and it'll sound fine.


Edit: Bass rigs the respond too deep can drown out/stomp on a kick drum in a live situation where the audience actually hears your rig and not bass through the PA.
 
#13
+10 on Bill fitzmaurice cabs.

I built a couple of subs and am loving them. I have been thinking about selling my stage rig cab (Avatar 2x12) to finance building this: http://billfitzmaurice.com/Omni15.html in the tallboy configuration. It may look a bit different, but after hearing the subs I am itching like mad to hear this thing.

Also, FWIW, I found some of bills responses a little cold at times, but after seeing how many emails/posts on forums he responds to I could not imagine him being anything other than direct, short, and to the point. There are quite a few bass players on his forum too.

Good luck and good on ya!
 
#18
Personally I wouldn't bother.

That is going to be
. a PITA to move (a pair of 3015LF wants what 6.5 cu ft ?)
. difficult to power (OK - it's just another cable and a power amp and larger rack)
.won't add much if anything usable below the 4x10. More likely you're going to get two cabinets's that conflict more than play well together ...

The other point - you have PA experience ? and you want the bass louder, deeper on stage ?
 
#20
DIY audio is a good site. I have started a thread proposing a forum stick on Sub Bass that unfortunately seems to have sparked much contraversy.

I don't know what style music your girl plays. But to have a rig that does 30Hz useful for live performance, it would have to be substantial, the drivers would have to be fairly specialized.

I'll link you to a few things I have been working with, and thinking about.

My journey down the Rabbit hole.
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=454920

Journey close to its end.
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=469734

Experimental Bass.
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=476898

Sub Bass Contraversy?
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=476590

Bill and several others here surely have more useful input.
 

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