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what wood for a new speaker cabinet?

W

warwick89

Oct 6, 2009
86
3
#1
hey guys, i know this isnt a bass build or anything.. but i figured i would trust you guys more than other people.
So, i want to build a cab, so would i want MDF or Ply, or something else?
I know sub boxes for cars are mdf, but some (maybe all) guitar cabs are ply?
or will i even notice a tone difference?

I would guess MDF will be a lot heavy just from building sub boxes for my friends' cars.

thanks
I did do some searching, but i see people using different materials....
 
#3
I believe that the point of speaker boxes is to control the direction of sound. MDF is the most uniform material to use; particle board would be next. Anything with voids should be avoided; i.e. any ply.
 
#4
Should be in the amp section but I use 9 ply baltic birch.
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#8
+1 for baltic birch ply, basically the best ply you can get.

It is lighter and stronger than MDF, both good things for speaker cabs.

MDF will begin to degrade and fall apart whenever it gets wet - how many times have you had to carry an amp in through the rain/sleet/snow? How many times have you had beverages spilled on your speakers?

Stay away from MDF.
 
#9
Any A grade ply from pine to Mahogany Luan will make a good sounding cabinet. The design, sealing, and bracing will determine the resonance of the cabinet, and the amount of effect on cone travel and distortion. See "Great speaker design Cookbook" for further help.
 
#10
erikbojerik said:
+1 for baltic birch ply, basically the best ply you can get.

It is lighter and stronger than MDF, both good things for speaker cabs.

MDF will begin to degrade and fall apart whenever it gets wet - how many times have you had to carry an amp in through the rain/sleet/snow? How many times have you had beverages spilled on your speakers?

Stay away from MDF.
Click to expand...

ya, but....what kind of tone will it give me?











:ninja:
 
#11
stevetx19 said:
ya, but....what kind of tone will it give me?:ninja:
Click to expand...
*please let me preface this by saying that i am no expert, but i have been doing a TON of research lately on building speaker cabinet. as i am in search of a light and powerful cab with a flat-as-a-board tone response.

here are some things that i have learned: (experts please feel free to correct me.
-construction materials have very little to do with tone, as long as they are strong enough to hold up (dont use balsa....)
-box design is more important than anything, but since you cant design a driver, you need to pick a drive and design a box around it
- driver size (10's 12's 15's) is less important than most people think
-MDF is a great material for car sub boxes and crappy swedish furniture
-tone comes from the bass, the fingers, and preamps. good speaker cabinets (at least the kind im looking for), are for reproducing the tone that you put into them
-humans cant hear below 20hz... get over it

*this statement has not been evauluated by the FDA, the NSA or the NRA. it was not itended to diagnose or treat any illnesses. no car subs were harmed in the research performed.
:hiding:
 
#12
To this point, there have been a number of DIY cabs presented in the "Amps" section that were made out of foam-core and carbon fiber. In no case has the building material had any influence on the tone of the cabinet. tdogg spelled out where the tone comes from.
 
#14
Driver size does have an effect on the sound, as driver size is directly proportionate to the amount(cubic Volume) of air moved. Thus moving a lot of air will not only increase SPL, but will effect the tone of the sound by circular wave size comming off the cone, along with the rigidity of the cone, and the compression effect inside the box if sealed or vented/ported.

Other than that, Tdogg made good sense in his assessment....I am no expert either, but learned a great deal about speaker building when I was involved in theater set-ups as a youngster....LOL
 
#15
mikeyswood said:
I believe that the point of speaker boxes is to control the direction of sound. MDF is the most uniform material to use; particle board would be next. Anything with voids should be avoided; i.e. any ply.
Click to expand...

This is a funny post coming from a strong proponent of the "wood choice doesn't impact the sound of a bass" belief.
Certainly with speakers, other factors are far more impactful - e.g. design and drivers.

Oh yeah, and filling the screw holes with authentic clay dots...
:D
 
#17

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