stevie

As far as progress is concerned, it's been a case of two steps forward and one step back. The good news is that I've assembled a CNC cabinet and taken photos showing how to fit it out. It's relatively straightforward and I'll list all the parts you'll need. I'm working all of today and tomorrow, but will post the photos in a few days' time. Next week, I'll also finalise the port tuning, fine tune the crossover (the PCB is already laid out) and send the final changes to Richard so that he can produce a final technical drawing. The step back (and the reason why it's taking so long) is that my CNC person has proved to be less than reliable on a number of fronts. Which is a shame, because he was within a short driving distance. Without going into too much gory detail, I'm going to have to find another CNC company. That's another job for next week. On the positive side, we do have a CNC file that (hopefully) just needs a bit of tweaking to get us back in business again. I'm sorry it's not progressing as quickly as we'd all like - but we will get there in the end. The last thing I want is for everyone to receive a cabinet kit that cannot be assembled because the CNC company was sloppy - or because the design wasn't checked properly before putting it into production.

There isn't really anything you need to buy in advance, as all the components are available at short notice. So just start shopping when you know your kit is imminent. The only exception would be if you want to get the corners I am using (take a look at the finished cab). I like them because they are discreet and made of metal. They are also a bit cheaper than other metal corners, but you'll have to order them from China via Ebay. <https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/8Pcs-90-Hard-Steel-Guitar-Amp-Amplifier-Audio-Speaker-Cabinet-Corners-Protector/263655998126?hash=item3d631f42ae:g:RLQAAOSwCyVcd1Mh>. They come with black screws, which is handy. However, there is also a huge choice of corners available from UK suppliers.

Those Proper Job clamps look quite good. You'll need four 600mm (24in) clamps. A couple of small ones are handy too. The Proper Job web page is here: <https://www.properjob.biz/shop/Rapid-Bar-Clamp-24in-M3235>. The ones I'm using were from Ebay and they're good quality. Here: <https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-4Pcs-F-Clamps-Woodworking-Bar-Clips-Quick-Slide-Tools-50-150-50-300-80-600mm/113763919222?hash=item1a7cdba576:m:mVN-XAqagSxIuUF_70LeMZA>. There are some cheaper ones on Ebay that look all right: <https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4-PACK-HEAVY-DUTY-600MM-X-80MM-F-CLAMPS-SOFT-GRIP-HANDLE-QUICK-SLIDE/392097460082?epid=1866877692>

The overall impedance of the system will be eight ohms.

Faital drivers are quite popular in the bass cab world. They are used by companies like Mesa, Vanderkley and Bergantino. They are considered to be at the top end of the quality spectrum, which I can confirm from experience. Whether a Faital 12" would be better than the stock GK driver depends on what driver they have chosen to fit. I've no idea, but I do know that some of their cabs use the cheapest, nastiest drivers I've ever seen. As your cabs are currently empty, you could do a lot worse than use Faital Pro, but it does need to be the right driver for your cab and your needs.

The horn is one of those types that has been designed to be rotated, which is quite a useful feature for monitors. All you need to do to fit the horn horizontally is to cut two small pieces out of the horn aperture on the baffle. When you see the cutout, it's dead obvious and fairly simple to do - even with a small handsaw. If you're planning to rotate the horn, be sure to fit t-nuts rather than wood screws.

I forgot to mention, Subsonic, that the piece of wood we cut out to make the (rectangular) hole for the horn is used for the input panel on the back of the cab. Just about every square centimetre of the sheet of plywood is used in the cabs - there's virtually no waste. So altering it would be problematic.

Now you're embarrassing me.....🙂

I know everyone is chomping at the bit to get their CNC cabs and not a lot seems to be happening, but progress is being made. The CNC company is currently altering their program to take account of what we found in the two pre-production prototypes. The prototypes are now back with the CNC company so that they can rout out the back of the cabinet for the input panel and the two Speakons. As soon as I get the cabs back next week, I'll start assembling one in earnest (with glue) so that we know that everything is A1. I'll then start fitting it out and will post the photos and instructions in the thread. Luke has now designed a brilliant logo for us, and is producing artwork so that we can get grille badges and vinyl stickers made. Another piece of great news is that Celestion is supporting the project. They have offered us such a great deal on the compression drivers that I have taken the executive decision to go for the next model up - the CDX1-1425 - which has the same great sound as the 1415 but twice the power handling for a weight penalty of 150g. They also sent me the sample I need to reconfigure the crossover, which shouldn't take long. So, a big thanks to Celestion's European sales manager Aidan McFall - a fellow musician no less - for his help on this.

Although I just looked at the Amps and Cabs for Sale and the first six were all Markbass.

It's one of the biggest brands in the industry. You'd expect plenty for sale in the classifieds.

It's all very much in an embryonic stage. So please submit your ideas and comments.

It's a fairly easy DIY jigsaw job to alter the cutout so that the horn fits both ways. You don't even need to change the screw holes. Big RedX, a wedge version isn't on the cards. Because of the crossover point and the vertical dispersion of the horn, you don't need to tilt the cab to hear it.

That's a nice driver but I'm not terribly enthusiastic about it in a bass guitar cab. Have you already bought it?

We've reached the ten cabs target. 🤩 Anyone who wants one now will have to go on the waiting list - if we do any more in the future. Thanks to those ten early adopters!

Nine's pretty close. 😀

Because of ongoing developments (!), the drawings keep changing, but here is the latest one, which shows the final size. The dimensions shown for the port and handle are 1mm and 2mm out respectively. I'll attach a complete set of drawings and info to post #1 once everything has been checked and finalised. Thanks to RichardH and Ghostbass for their excellent drawing work. The cab's not huge - smaller than the Fearless 112 - but neither is it tiny. It's easy to pick up and carry thanks to the light weight, top handle and modest front-to-back depth. 4_2019.pdf

I'm not convinced that DSP can add much to what we have already. We're starting off with very good quality drivers – the Faital in particular has a very smooth response. Our crossover already equalises the frequency response of the drivers in the cabinet and integrates them in a phase-coherent fashion. An active crossover isn't going to offer any improvement IMO and would need a second power amp. I think a new thread on the amp would be ideal. Luke, we're now up to eight cabs. As soon as we reach ten, I'm closing the book because ten is about the maximum number I can conveniently handle at one time. I've only got a certain amount of space and there's going to be quite a bit of packing up and organising to do. I want to make sure that when the kits arrive with their builders, everything is as it should be. I'm going back to the CNC company to get the back panel routed and the input panel drilled on the two pre-production models I have here. Then I'll do a proper assembly (with glue), paint the box and fit all the components. As the cabinet is slightly larger than my prototype model, I'll also need to adjust the tuning (rather than just calculating it). I need to do this to iron out any problems that we haven't foreseen. So please bear with me on this. For example, the two pre-production samples relied on the technical information provided by the component suppliers. The Faital driver and the horn were a perfect fit - but the holes for the top handle and the port were too small, even though they were cut exactly as per the suppliers' technical drawings.

That's very thoughful of you chaps, but don't worry about me. Just order what you think is best for you.

Sorry 'bout that. It doesn't make much sense to me either, and I wrote it. Just ignore that bit and concentrate on the more sensible stuff earlier. There's no right or wrong choice.

Good question. The more expensive crossover contains Ansar Supersound polypropylene capacitors and the less expensive one contains Philips mylar capacitors. The coils and resistors are identical. I checked the prices of the Ansars at Wilmslow Audio and the ones I'm fitting would cost you £24 to buy. Both are film capacitors. They will handle the power no problem and will also have a long service life. However, some people think that polypropylene capacitors sound better and pay huge sums for audiophile versions that cost an arm and a leg. The Ansars have a very good reputation and you'll find them in speakers like ATC's studio monitors. Either will do the job. If you're working to a budget, I'd say go for the mylars. It's unlikely you'll notice the difference. On the other hand, if you want the best and are not bothered about spending an extra tenner or two, get the Ansars. I'm using the Ansars on mine. One buyer has already told me they want the Ansars. If more people go for the Ansars, I can probably reduce the price, as it's more time consuming for me to work with two slightly different board layouts. That's probably not helped at all, has it Stu?😀

Bought some Gotoh tuners from Dave. The ad description was spot on and delivery was fast. Deal with confidence!

I normally dislike bass solos intensely, but found this enjoyable - and beautifully played. More than anything, it was not a piece that would have sounded better on another instrument, which is my problem with a lot of this stuff. IMO.

Thanks Converse - that makes eight so far. I think we've got ourselves a convoy! 😀 Would you mind just sending me a quick pm for the record? I'm going to have to start a spreadsheet to keep track of who wants what.