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Wood choices for 2x12 cab

Discussion in 'Amps and Cabs [BG]' started by hachi kid, Apr 17, 2012.

  1. Apr 17, 2012 #1
    hachi kid

    hachi kid

    Jun 2, 2008
    Austin, TX
    Hey guys. I'm in the planning stages of building a stereo 2x12 cab. I know the general approach for a quality, lightweight cab is 1/2" Baltic birch for the body, and 3/4" Baltic birch for the speaker baffle. I'm curious if anyone has any suggestions for another type of wood that could yield better results in terms of light weight and strength.

    Also, where is a recommended place to get this from? Should I look around for local lumber suppliers? Or should is what they sell at Lowe's/Home Depot quality enough?
     
  2. Apr 17, 2012 #2
    DukeLeJeune

    DukeLeJeune rational romantic mystic cynical idealist Gold Supporting Member Commercial User

    Nov 24, 2008
    Princeton, Texas
    Owner & designer, AudioKinesis; Auth. mfg, Big E (Home Audio only)
    Baltic birch = very strong, hard to beat for strength. Apple ply might be stronger.

    Arauco ply = considerably lighter and still plenty strong for a bass cab (Lowes has it in my area, but not all Lowes carry it)

    One 1/2" window-pane style brace between the two 12's on a 1/2" thick front baffle = better strength/weight ratio than 3/4" baffle and no brace

    Partition board between the two 12's = even better than window-pane style brace
     
  3. Apr 17, 2012 #3
    hachi kid

    hachi kid

    Jun 2, 2008
    Austin, TX
    I'll definitely look into the Arauco plywood. I was going to go with a dividing board between the two chambers like you were talking about due to one side will be ported, and one side will be sealed.
     
  4. Apr 17, 2012 #4
    DukeLeJeune

    DukeLeJeune rational romantic mystic cynical idealist Gold Supporting Member Commercial User

    Nov 24, 2008
    Princeton, Texas
    Owner & designer, AudioKinesis; Auth. mfg, Big E (Home Audio only)
    If you go with Arauco, cherry-pick unwarped sheets. Then I suggest assembling the cab within the next day or two after cutting it. In my experience Arauco is somewhat prone to warping. I built my first dozen or so commercial bass cabs out of Arauco and still use it for protoyping, so it's quite useable even if it warps a bit (screws & clamps can readily overcome the warp), but you might as well make things easy on yourself.
     
  5. Apr 17, 2012 #5
    majortoby

    majortoby

    Jul 2, 2009
    Tampa, Fl USA
    carbon fiber :p
     
  6. Apr 17, 2012 #6
    hachi kid

    hachi kid

    Jun 2, 2008
    Austin, TX
    how much lighter is it than using regular baltic birch? and majortoby: wouldn't that be freaking sweet! I'd just need the multi-thousand dollar kiln to cook it in....lol. I have heard of some people using aluminum to make cabs out of.
     
  7. Apr 17, 2012 #7
    deeptubes

    deeptubes

    Feb 21, 2011
    A 2x12 of course!

    Sorry, couldn't resist. :D
     
  8. Apr 17, 2012 #8
    hachi kid

    hachi kid

    Jun 2, 2008
    Austin, TX
    huh? -_0
     
  9. Apr 17, 2012 #9
    DukeLeJeune

    DukeLeJeune rational romantic mystic cynical idealist Gold Supporting Member Commercial User

    Nov 24, 2008
    Princeton, Texas
    Owner & designer, AudioKinesis; Auth. mfg, Big E (Home Audio only)
    Not sure, maybe 15-20%.
     
  10. Apr 18, 2012 #10
    hachi kid

    hachi kid

    Jun 2, 2008
    Austin, TX
    ah, ok. I may stick to BB, then. this is my first fully custom build, and I'd rather not worry about warping. one other thing I'm curious about, how do I go about translating number from winISD to physical dimensions? things like cubic feet inside the cab, and such, and allowing some extra space for things like handles and dampening material.
     
  11. Apr 19, 2012 #11
    hachi kid

    hachi kid

    Jun 2, 2008
    Austin, TX
    Anyone?
     
  12. Apr 19, 2012 #12
    seamonkey

    seamonkey

    Aug 6, 2004
    make it 20% bigger internally than what winisd says to leave room for
    bracing, driver, ports, ...
     
  13. Apr 19, 2012 #13
    Chainsaw Willie

    Chainsaw Willie

    Nov 6, 2011
    Redmond, Washington
    about the 2X12 ?

    I believe that gag was about how a 212 speaker cabinet should be built out of a 2 inch by 12 inch plank.

    212
    2X12
    two by twelve

    edit: oops sorry, i see you were adressing a question in another post. d'oh!
     
  14. Apr 19, 2012 #14
    hachi kid

    hachi kid

    Jun 2, 2008
    Austin, TX
    No, I was curious on how to translate the winISD numbers into measurements to cut the boards to.

    Good tip for the 20% extra, though. Can this be seconded by anyone else?
     
  15. Apr 20, 2012 #15
    hachi kid

    hachi kid

    Jun 2, 2008
    Austin, TX
    Bump
     
  16. Apr 20, 2012 #16
    will33

    will33

    May 22, 2006
    austin,tx
    20% may be an OK guesstimate with good bracing and multiple drivers, but if you want to be accurate, get the port tuning right, you measure the volume of everything in the cab and subtract it from the gross. That includes the drivers, bracing, ports, cutouts for wheels, anything that takes up space in there. Do not include the lining in this. That doesn't eat into the cab space really.
     
  17. Apr 20, 2012 #17
    seamonkey

    seamonkey

    Aug 6, 2004
    Hey I just saw you're buiding a "stereo" cabinet?

    I wouldn't bother with the 12" in stereo, use the 12" just for subs, but you could add the mids and highs in stereo, and just for effects in small clubs. There is something about stereo chorus/phasing/echo that just adds a new dimensions, especially through 0-phase. But it doesn't scale up to med to large venues - IMHO.

    Check out M/S (Mid/Side) Stereophonics, It works just like the mics but in reverse. In many cases it offers a good wide stereo effect.
     
  18. Apr 21, 2012 #18
    hachi kid

    hachi kid

    Jun 2, 2008
    Austin, TX
    what I mean by stereo is that one side would be ported and contain a bass speaker, and the other one would be sealed and contain a guitar speaker. I have two outputs on my bass. one goes to a bass amp that's EQ'd for low frequencies, and the other goes to a tube guitar amp that's EQ'd for mids and highs.