Why is everyone selling their LDS cabs?

[iualum]

To be fair,
Don does not "indiscriminately practice Mad Science."
I'm not implying that's what you're saying rpsands, just making sure folks understand the nature of Don's shop here....

However, if you call up and commission something stupid, he will generally let you have what you ask for....so, make sure you know what you want, if you're doing something "odd."

And:
Not everyone is selling their LDS stuff.
I'm not; I have 5, currently.

I know Mark doesn't want to sell his 2x8 three ways, if those are what you're speaking of, but, he's having some financial troubles, and, those cabs in particular are very underpriced for what they are.

That's right. If what's asked for seems like it doesn't quite make sense, Don will surely politely discuss it with you & suggest other ways you might think about skinning the cat.

At the end of the day, though, if something is insisted on, it'll likely get built. I'd do the same. Probably most others would as well.

 

[thetaxmiser]

Not many people racing out to get bag ends nowadays.

Funny, I've been rethinking my entire rig. I always have liked the sound of bag end cabs. Haven't heard one in years. 1-15, weighs 44 lbs, and 103db 1w/1m sensitivity. I'm not racing...perhaps more proceeding cautiously.

No more buying over the internet based on reviews for me. Basses or cabs. First hand knowledge only.

 

[guy n. cognito]

Funny, I've been rethinking my entire rig. I always have liked the sound of bag end cabs. Haven't heard one in years. 1-15, weighs 44 lbs, and 103db 1w/1m sensitivity. I'm not racing...perhaps more proceeding cautiously.

No more buying over the internet based on reviews for me. Basses or cabs. First hand knowledge only.

That's cool. Do you actually have a BE stocking dealer in your area?

 

[thetaxmiser]

That's cool. Do you actually have a BE stocking dealer in your area?

I'll check it out but most likely not. I see them occasionally on craigslist.

 

[rpsands]

To be fair,
Don does not "indiscriminately practice Mad Science."
I'm not implying that's what you're saying rpsands, just making sure folks understand the nature of Don's shop here....

If you call up and commission something stupid, he will generally let you have what you ask for....so, make sure you know what you want, if you're doing something "odd."

I agree, Don generally has the basics in place to do a decent job of designing speakers, and his crossover guy (Ralf) does a solid job by and large as well. However, I've seen a few monstrosities come out of his shop that were his doing. Some of the poor design issues I've seen:

-insufficient port area
-insufficient bracing
-insufficient batting material
-insufficient grille setback
-port tuning different than intended
-dimensions other than agreed
-small deviations from the plans not discussed

In addition I sometimes think he doesn't do enough to steer people away from mad science who don't know what they're doing - but that's really a minor complaint. The biggest mad science problem I've seen is using woofers with woefully insufficient xmax for bass.

Overall the quality of the LDS cabs I've seen is solid, and he's really affordable. I would definitely consider buying from him again even knowing what I know now; there's no better way to get something specific you want. You've just got to be prepared to be specific and discerning.

None of the problems I've seen/heard of in LDS cabs are endemic to his entire operation either, just scattered issues to be aware of.

* The port area thing is the biggest to be aware of. If you are like me and use a lot of bass to upper bass in your signal, you need to confirm how much port area you're getting and what the tuning will be. These things can vary a lot by user.

 

[Foz]

-insufficient port area
-insufficient bracing
-insufficient batting material
-insufficient grille setback
-port tuning different than intended
-dimensions other than agreed
-small deviations from the plans not discussed

Yes.. but other than that, what did you think of the play Mrs. Lincoln?

 

[hdracer]

Not many people racing out to get bag ends nowadays.

Why buy new when slightly used will do.

There are a lot of BE cabs out there. Whenever they come up for sale they sell right away at premium prices.

 

[guy n. cognito]

* The port area thing is the biggest to be aware of. If you are like me and use a lot of bass to upper bass in your signal, you need to confirm how much port area you're getting and what the tuning will be. These things can vary a lot by user.

This topic seems to have gotten more lip service than anything else. When I had my 212 built, a number of members commented that they were confident that the cabinet would exhibit port chuff....since they could apparently tell it was inadequate from a iPhone photo. The cabinet didn't chuff, even when pushed with 900 watts, but I still had certain members commenting on port chuff......despite my direct experience to the contrary.

There have been a few issues with Don's cabinets, but most have been overall happy with their experience. Don initially built my 212 to the wrong dimensions, but fixed the problem immediately and at his costs. Outside of the few problems well known to some, many of the issues have come from a lack of communication or certain assumptions made by the buyers. I think a lot of people don't really know what to expect from a truly custom cabinet experience and get disappointed when their assumptions aren't met.

 

[guy n. cognito]

Why buy new when slightly used will do.

There are a lot of BE cabs out there. Whenever they come up for sale they sell right away at premium prices.

Because they are hard to find new, and even rarer used. I'm not sure what you consider premium prices, but a quick scan of the classifieds demonstrate that BEs sell between 40%-60% of their new price.

 

[kesslari]

I'm picking one up, baring it exploding when I test it out tomorrow, so I wanted to do some research using the handy-dandy search feature. However, all I seem to come across, besides a mention here and there, are cabs that have been sold. Why is that? Is it just the tail end of the TB fad of LDS/fEARful cab designs or is there something else I should know?

Don's mathmatical calculations factor in the End of the World as predicted by the Mayans, but with a fudge factor of +/- 483 days. Consequently, his cabinets will all spontaneously combust on a specific date. I'd tell you when but you'd need to buy a whole lot of kool-aid from me.
But that's why all the in-the-know people are selling theirs.
Me, I'm keeping mine...

 

[hdracer]

Because they are hard to find new, and even rarer used. I'm not sure what you consider premium prices, but a quick scan of the classifieds demonstrate that BEs sell between 40%-60% of their new price.

Around here as soon as one gets listed on CL for around 60% of original price it is gone in hours. 80% lasts about a week. We do have a dealer in town.

 

[rpsands]

This topic seems to have gotten more lip service than anything else. When I had my 212 built, a number of members commented that they were confident that the cabinet would exhibit port chuff....since they could apparently tell it was inadequate from a iPhone photo. The cabinet didn't chuff, even when pushed with 900 watts, but I still had certain members commenting on port chuff......despite my direct experience to the contrary.

There have been a few issues with Don's cabinets, but most have been overall happy with their experience. Don initially built my 212 to the wrong dimensions, but fixed the problem immediately and at his costs. Outside of the few problems well known to some, many of the issues have come from a lack of communication or certain assumptions made by the buyers. I think a lot of people don't really know what to expect from a truly custom cabinet experience and get disappointed when their assumptions aren't met.

Playing styles and tone profiles have a big role in whether port turbulence will occur. See Torin's 3012HO cabs - when Kjung played them, no chuffing, when Torin got them, chuff city. Because Torin rocks the tone knob off short-scale bass with flatwounds that just slam a lot of fundamental.

Most people don't even have any idea they need to pay attention to port size, so I recommend anyone buying a custom cab do it. That is all.

 

[rpsands]

And you all probably know what I think of bag end so no need to get into it

 

[guy n. cognito]

Around here as soon as one gets listed on CL for around 60% of original price it is gone in hours. 80% lasts about a week. We do have a dealer in town.

Interesting. Can't give em away around here.......

Playing styles and tone profiles have a big role in whether port turbulence will occur. See Torin's 3012HO cabs - when Kjung played them, no chuffing, when Torin got them, chuff city. Because Torin rocks the tone knob off short-scale bass with flatwounds that just slam a lot of fundamental.

Most people don't even have any idea they need to pay attention to port size, so I recommend anyone buying a custom cab do it. That is all.

No doubt that some can cause chuffing in a certain cab, but not others. I tend to be heavy handed and hear some chuffing is some commercial offerings I've tried that otherwise never report such an issue. That said, a few reports of chuffing in LDS cabs seemed to get extrapolated by a few here to represent his entire body of work. Who's Torrin?

And you all probably know what I think of bag end so no need to get into it

We do?

 

[AngusHasMoxie]

Well, this topic has come full circle, as it were. I picked up guy's LDS and I'll hopefully have it for a very long time. You know you've got something special when even your guitarists comment on how much they like the way you sound!

 

[Chef]

"ports/chuffing"

Yeah, individual players really vary that.

At the time I had a Berg AE410, I was playing the same ash/maple J bass as KJung.
He, and most guys, had great success with that cab.

For me, it chuffed so bad it couldn't be mic'd.

I don't boost bass, it wasn't eq, etc.

 

[::::BASSIST::::]

Playing styles and tone profiles have a big role in whether port turbulence will occur. See Torin's 3012HO cabs - when Kjung played them, no chuffing, when Torin got them, chuff city. Because Torin rocks the tone knob off short-scale bass with flatwounds that just slam a lot of fundamental.

Most people don't even have any idea they need to pay attention to port size, so I recommend anyone buying a custom cab do it. That is all.

Yeah, they certainly did not work for me. Rpsands has summarized it nicely. They looked very nice but I got alot of chuff, which interestingly I have never experienced before and I have played thru alot of different cabs.

I lost a lot of money on those LDS 112s so overall I cannot say I was thrilled with the experience. YMMV.

-Torin

 

[Chef]

LDS do not seem to have brilliant re-sale value, so, that does not surprise me.

 

[Downunderwonder]

Looking from afar, nothing much seems to have great resale value in the US.

Regarding "prominence". It's like that when I'm looking at buying a new car, all of a sudden they are everywhere I look. I wasn't looking at them before so I didn't notice them.

 

[guy n. cognito]

Well, this topic has come full circle, as it were. I picked up guy's LDS and I'll hopefully have it for a very long time. You know you've got something special when even your guitarists comment on how much they like the way you sound!