My brother came to me a few days ago saying he wants a new bass cab for practicing. He is currently using a Hartke 4x10 with an outboard 350w amp. When hes practicing with his band (in a warehouse) he said everyone else drowns him out and hes looking to get more output. He was looking at an Ampeg 2x15 that costs $899 and I told him I would see what I could do to save him money, and possibly build him something nicer. I have a year of recent speaker building behind me and am very familiar with using computer box programs like WinISD and all the jargon behind it. What Im looking for are tested boxes that people have built themselves with drivers available off the internet, preferably Parts Express. If you know of a design that hasnt been tested but you feel would perform really well, please speak out. This box must be able to have a higher output than the Hartke 4x10 and preferably be more sensitive so my brother doesnt have to buy a new amp. Hes looking to spend $400-$500 for everything, but could pinch a few more pennies if needs be. I have extra MDF and plywood lying around so that should help reduce the cost. Dual cabinets are not a problem. Thanks for any input and taking your time to help my brother and me out!
I don't know how adventurous you are, but I had a conversation with a local sound tech and I was telling him about the Schroeder cabinet design when he told me about Bill Fitzmaurice, who sells loudspeaker designs with "state-of-the-art folding geometries". http://www.billfitzmaurice.com/
Just order a 215XL from "Sam Ash" $499.00. It's what I use with the 3500.......He won't have a problem.
If you chat with owners of the Fitzmaurice DR250a at http://audioroundtable.com/BillFitzmaurice/ myself included they all say the same thing, that the DR250a is the best cabinet they've ever played through or heard, bar none. Paired with a Tuba 24 sub it's even better. The DR250a is not easy to build, but more than worth the effort. If you don't have the chops to do it yourself there are builders listed on his website that will build one for you. If you go DIY you can make a DR250a/Tuba 24 combination for less than $400. I wouldn't dream of selling mine for less than $2K, and then not before I had time to build replacements, cause I'll never play through anything else. Unless Bill comes up with something better, that is, which he seems to do on a pretty regular basis.
