alexclaber

I tried one in GAK and although the tone was nice it went nowhere near as loud as my active studio monitors which were half the price. If it was twice as big (two speakers) and had twice the power (6dB greater output) then it would be a lot more useful. Alex

We have quiet band practices with the full instrumentation in the rehearsal studio. If you can make the songs happen at lower volume then you sound better on the gig, you have better dynamics and you can really hear what needs working on, instead of hiding behind aural distortion, noise, reverb, acoustic build up and rattles, and so on. Now if only other bands could get the hang of this I suspect they could soundcheck in half a song rather then playing half their set whilst we twiddle our thumbs. Alex

[quote name='stevie' post='205005' date='May 23 2008, 02:43 PM']Have you considered using poplar ply, Alex?[/quote] Have you tried finding it? Decent ply is very elusive! I'm using FSC Brazilian hardwood ply which is less dense than Baltic Birch but presumably denser than poplar. Alex

Head + Cab definitely. 84lbs feels much heavier than 60lbs so your transport is logic is flawed regarding one vs two person carries. You definitely win the prize for greatest number of threads started to choose one rig! Alex

[quote name='XB26354' post='195878' date='May 10 2008, 10:42 AM']I think it is worthwhile pointing out that in general your amp should have a higher wattage than your cab(s). If you have a 100w head and a 400w cab it will work fine but you'll still only perceive the volume to be something close to the rating of the amp. The temptation would then be to crank the amp past its most efficient output level to get more volume. Most amps tend to work best when the output/master volume is between 40% and 60% - any higher and the amp runs out of headroom and will start distorting. Much better to have a 500w head with the output at 50% driving a 300w cab than a 300w amp at 90% driving a 500w cab. Obviously you need to be aware of the output from the amp so you don't blow the speakers![/quote] I think you need to re-read my posts above, you've missed quite a few critical points and thus are pretty much incorrect on all counts. Alex

Well I've just ordered a pile of grills for these cabs, five for the compact 15" and four for the big 15"+6.5", so I'm committed to making at least nine of them! Alex

[quote name='The Funk' post='202223' date='May 19 2008, 04:06 PM']What's bonkers is the fact that Walter Woods has been making amps like this for over 20 years - but the mass manufacturers have only just realised that an amp that fits in your gig back front pocket is a desirable thing for the gigging musician.[/quote] Or is it that until recently only Walter Woods had worked out how to make this possible? Alex

[quote name='Musky' post='201089' date='May 17 2008, 03:56 PM']Incidentally Alex, what kind of size and weight are you envisioning for the compact 15" cab?[/quote] I think the big 15"+6.5" will be just over 40lbs and the compact 15" just over 30lbs. Sizewise, the big one is 740mm H x 520mm W x 400mm vs the compact 15" at 640mm H x 480mm W x 340mm D. In inches that's approximately 29"x20.5"x16" and 25"x19"x13.5". The big one is ~97dB sensitivity, -3dB @ 48Hz, -10dB @ 36Hz, the midrange speaker takes the response to ~10kHz, and handles 800W comfortably, recommended amp power 200-1000W, 2000W if you're sensible. The compact 15" is ~98.5dB sensitivity, -3dB @ 67Hz, -10dB @ 43Hz, response reaches to ~4kHz, and handles 400W comfortably, recommended amp power 100-500W, 1000W if you're sensible. With suitable amplification I'd expect the big one to achieve similar output to a 6x10" and the compact similar output to at 3x10", though obviously the tone will be different. Alex

[quote name='bilbo230763' post='200959' date='May 17 2008, 11:41 AM']The action of an instrument and the fact that it is or is not playable with or without amplification is of no consequence. The music is what matters and Holland, of all people, transcends the idea of technique and focusses on the music.[/quote] Ah, but this is a forum, where gear matters most, technique occupies the shakey middle ground and music is oft forgotten... Alex

[quote name='Musky' post='200437' date='May 16 2008, 02:20 PM']All your pix have disappeared Alex. Did you delete them or is it some kind of technical cock up?[/quote] My friend whose space I'm borrowing switched server whilst I was on holiday, so his email to warn me about losing everything on there wasn't received until too late! Alex

To give an update on the situation, I finished the first cab (very roughly) before going on holiday. There were a few problems with vibrations etc and the planned fabric grill turned out to be a nightmare. I've done a thoroughly updated design of this model with more extensive bracing and some component changes plus a metal grill. I've also designed a compact 15" cab using the 3015 woofer instead of the 3015LF as I'm getting rather into that more mellow sound, plus the less deep and wide bottom could be nice when there's a big PA with subs also putting out lows. The reduced size and weight of the 3015 cab could be nice if you want to use two cabs if you have a low powered amp and want a really high sensitivity (103dB) rig. I'm in the process of ordering parts for a few these cabs and then I'm going to start building them on a limited basis once I've done one of each cab for myself. Alex

[quote name='thinman' post='200297' date='May 16 2008, 11:41 AM']In basic terms I keep coming back to thinking that there's no need to have anything louder than an unamplified drum kit. Maybe not the case?[/quote] To match the SPL of a loud drummer with a compact deep response (and thus low sensitivity) cab you will need a lot of watts. My Acme rig was driven with a 2000W amp and sounded fantastic. Use more conventional cabs with less bass extension and you could reach the same SPL with 500W or less. Those who continue to equate power with loudness are completely missing the point. Furthermore there is little point of a manufacturer selling a range of amps whose different power models exhibit less than a 2:1 power ratio, due to the logarithmic nature of hearing, other than to pander to marketing needs. In my experience those old TE rigs had much less bass extension, a much more midrangey sound and much more compression than I like - I am not surprised that 150W is enough with that kind of sound and enough speakers. But if you want deep bass and don't want to carry a van load of cabs then you need big power to reach high SPL. I should also point out that many bassists have such poor control of playing dynamics that a rig with good headroom and minimal compression can make them sound awful - that's one reason the SVT rig remains popular. Likewise rigs with true deep bass extension are such a shock to the average bassist that they continue to boost the lows and end up sounding rubbish. Alex

The question should not be why so much power now but why so little power in the past. Investigate the true sensitivity of a compact bass cab plus the full dynamic range of an uncompressed clean bass guitar, compare that to the sensitivity of a guitar cab and the dynamic range of a typical guitar sound and you have your answer to the original question. The answer to the other question is because that's all we could get at the time. All this anecdotal evidence about amp A being X watts and Y loud despite only having the volume control at Z is as useful as comparing the performance of cars by seeing which travels fastest along the M1 during rush hour. Alex

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='199584' date='May 15 2008, 01:57 PM']This does genuinely interest me Alex and I know that you have as much knowledge as any one in this respect (and more than most) so I'd genuinely like to know is this difference in 'perceived' volume (heard by all three of us) dependent upon the output? That sounds like daft question but what I'm getting at is that at a low/moderate volume the Schroeder was very much louder than either the Tech or the Epi 310[/quote] Your ears are less sensitive to low frequencies at low SPL, so when playing quietly the more midrangey the cab, the louder it will sound. [quote name='warwickhunt' post='199584' date='May 15 2008, 01:57 PM']However if the wick is turned up and the same test done again the volume differential is diminished. Is this simply because our ears and able to differentiate at higher volumes or is it that the other cabs designs are coming into their own.[/quote] When you turn up you can hear the lows that the other cabs are producing better and thus they seem less quiet. Also as you turn up the speakers start to run into compression on low notes due to over-excursion. [quote name='warwickhunt' post='199584' date='May 15 2008, 01:57 PM']For referrence the Tech 610 cab is 5.3 ohms and 105db, the Schroeder is 4 ohms and 104db and the Epi 5.3 ohms and 103db... the ohmage should counter the sensitivity in each I would have thought[/quote] Those sensitivity specs that are quoted are the usual useless bs. The first step to understanding what's going on with speaker cabs is to stop believing what most of the manufacturers are telling you. Alex

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='199129' date='May 14 2008, 10:29 PM']I'd love to know what accounted for the difference. The contrast with the other cabs was immediately apparent, and striking, like the volume had been given a good crank...[/quote] Sensitivity is what made the difference. 4 ohms vs 5.3 ohms is less than a 1dB difference, nothing like a striking difference, in fact barely audible. Alex

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='198692' date='May 14 2008, 01:10 PM']I know where what you're saying here Alex (mid humps et al) but it was 'noticeably' different from both the 5.3 ohm Epi and the 5.3 ohm Tech and at various levels with a variety of amps! I would concede that the natural tone of the cab might account for some of the perceived volume increase (and nobody was more surprised than I) but it wasn't a subtle difference [/quote] I realise that but the difference between 4 ohms and 5.3 ohms is tiny in terms of dB output. Furthermore the ohm figure is just a nominal one which is very different to the reality. How many ohms is that speaker? That is a typical ported cab plot btw. The small Schroeders don't just have a mid hump - almost their whole bandwidth output is boosted by virtue of having very little bottom - make the cab smaller and tune the cab high and this is the result. This is the same reason an OmniTop 12 is louder than an Omni 10. Alex

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='198381' date='May 13 2008, 11:29 PM']4ohms is 'significantly' different to 5.3ohms regardless of sensitivity[/quote] And this is where anecdotal evidence causes serious misinformation. Alex

"We ain't got forty acres and a mule..." If all proggers were also into funk it would really kill its cool factor... Funk isn't just about slapping, funk isn't just about cheese. The best funk is big, bad and has something to say. Some fantastic and significant political messages in the music of James Brown, George Clinton and Gil Scott Heron et al. "And when America found itself having a hard time facing the future, they looked for people like John Wayne. But since John Wayne was no longer available, they settled for Ronald Reagan – and it has placed us in a situation that we can only look at – like a “B” movie." Alex

[quote name='jjl5590' post='198173' date='May 13 2008, 06:51 PM']i have an Ibanez Ergodyne EDB-500 bass, actice pickups, the E string is quite boomy, the G string is really twangy, but the sound from the A and D strings seem to get lost.[/quote] Sounds like you're cranking your bass and treble knobs. Reduce that and the string to string balance will be restored. Alex

[quote name='Pedro1020' post='195454' date='May 9 2008, 02:35 PM']P.S. Oh yeah, this bass totally OWNS...[/quote] This is my '87 Streamer: [url="http://picasaweb.google.com/alexclaber/PressurePointMay07/photo#5141347918464792322"]http://picasaweb.google.com/alexclaber/Pre...347918464792322[/url] These old Warwicks are awesome. Alex

[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' post='195162' date='May 9 2008, 01:26 AM']Finding the parts on your side of the pond is the most difficult part, very odd since the #1 source, Jantzen, is Danish.[/quote] I'd recommend this place: [url="http://www.audio-components.co.uk/"]http://www.audio-components.co.uk/[/url] Alex

[quote name='david_l_perry' post='181747' date='Apr 21 2008, 12:48 PM']So reading between the lines it sounds like the btm end is not as authoritative as you are hoping ? Have you bedded in the 3015 driver fully before testing ? I know this made a [i]massive [/i]difference in the Omni15 Was the cab resonating a lot, hence the comment about wanting extra bracing ? I am assuming at some point the amount of bracing outweighs (pun intended) the choice of 9mm ply rather than 12mm ply, with less bracing...[/quote] More that the midrange is louder than I'd like. The 3015LF is partially bedded in but I think could do with some more loosening up. The cab was resonating a fair bit at very high levels but I'd finished it off quickly and left out a fair bit of my intended bracing so adding that bit extra shouldn't make that much of a weight difference. Crossover components, wiring and handles also rattled at bit at high volume so I'll have to secure them more firmly next time around. Think I might see how the 3015 stacks up in a simple 1-way cab too. Alex

Prototype complete: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=13344&st=80&start=80"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=...80&start=80[/url] Not sure on the weight but it's lighter than my 4U shallow rack which contains a 21lb amp and a 7lb preamp - somewhere under 40lbs? Alex

Prototype complete! Lots of things learnt, including why most people don't use fabric grills - metal on the next one, whose parts I'll cannabalise from this cab. Next version needs more extensive bracing, and I'll be switching to a slot port for the same reason. Also might go for a shallower cuboid midrange enclosure to free up more volume for the woofer. No midrange L-pad on this one so it's pretty bright and midrangey - will see how the Beyma 6.5" neo mid compares in future versions. Alex

[quote name='david_l_perry' post='179521' date='Apr 18 2008, 09:27 AM']Not sure if you are being sarcastic Alex...[/quote] No, not at all, I hadn't even considered using a clamp to push them in instead of tapping them with a hammer. Just tried it now and it works really well. Have soldered and mounted crossover and speakon this evening and made some noise. No insulation in cab yet and midrange sitting on top whilst the baffle is fixed post t-nut pains but it sounds great! Looking forward to pushing some low frequency sine waves through it tomorrow and seeing how the cab stands up - am ready to add extra bracing... Alex