stevie

Nothing against the Hypex, but I think John's considering the ICEPower 700 watt unit because he already has some ICEPower modules and can get hold of more. What I'm looking for is a lightweight, high-power amp that we can fit inside the cab and that will accept the input from a bass or a pedal. It will just have a volume control. I don't need tone controls because I have what I need on my bass and always have my amp set flat anyway. I would then junk my bass amp and just take the cab to gigs.

Dunno, Luke. It sounds pretty good to me through my Sennheiser 650s.

Funny you should say that. My reference is a sealed hi-fi cab fitted with an 8-inch Seas magnesium bass/mid driver and a Scan-Speak 1-inch compression driver. Total cost just for the drivers is about £400 - per cab. Surprisingly perhaps, our bass cab fitted with the Faital Pro and Celestion compression driver actually sounds better in a number of areas - something that would not have been possible a few years ago. The hi-fi boys have now picked up on our Faital Pro driver. Here is a recording of a system fitted with the 12PR320 we're using. If I can figure out how to do it, I'll post a recording of our specific cab.

Wow! We've reached five cabs already. 😀

A badge and grille really do finish the cab off. I fitted an Ashdown badge to the first one I built, but badges from Trace Elliot, Ampeg, Marshall, and plenty of others are available on eBay.

OK - I'm putting Funkle down for one cabinet. Chienmortbb has also ordered one. I've got two, but I'm afraid that doesn't count towards the ten.... If anyone else would like one, just send me a pm. Once we reach ten, I'll place the order. No money needs to change hands until they're ready. And I won't be concerned if you find you can't afford it when the time comes. I'm sure somebody else will. Once we get near to ten cabs, I'll negotiate some discounts on the drivers. Probably best not to clog the thread up with this. I'll pm anyone who has ordered a cab with the prices. This was never meant to be a budget design, but if we can bring it in at a budget price, so much the better. I'm also working on branding the cab so that it looks like a commercially manufactured product. That means a label for the top handle and a badge for the front. I've designed quite a cool logo (IMO). If you'd like a badge and a sticker, I'll supply them at my cost. Unfortunately, trying to order these things in small quantities is problematic. More info in due time.

The other good thing is that you know that you it's been made properly because you've done it yourself. No skimping. No shortcuts. No saying "that's good enough".

Yes, very rude. 😀

It will be nice to have you in the club, Stu.

Coming from a Fearless owner, that means a lot. Thanks!

FAQ Do I have to use the horn/compression driver? No. The Faital Pro driver extends quite high and is perfectly usable without a tweeter. Simply blank off the cutout for the horn. Use the four screw holes provided and seal the blanking piece with foam (rather than glue). You'll then be able to fit a horn later is you wish. I have a spare 12" driver available. Can I use it in this cab? Although the cab was designed with specific drivers in mind, any 12" speaker described as a "bass guitar speaker" will be good - with or without the horn. Optimum performance is with the specified drivers for obviousl reasons. However, please note that you cannot fit any other compression driver. Is this an FRFR cab? Yes. Use in place of any other FRFR cab. This one has been designed specifically for bass. It will work just as well with a regular bass amp. Two for the price of one. Can I fit a cloth grille? Sure. There is space for a 15mm picture frame batten to fit the grille material of your choice. What finish do you recommend? The easiest finishing option is Tuffcab paint. However, carpet also is fairly easy to fit if you prefer that finish. It's difficult for an amateur to get a good finish with Tolex. Where can I obtain the parts I need? Most of the parts, apart from the compression driver, are available from Blue Aran, including handles, corners, etc. As they don't carry Celestion, you'll have to get the compression driver from Lean. There are a couple of Ebay sellers for some of the components that I'll list in a parts list later. How much is this CNC cab to buy? If we place an order for ten, the cost is £80. Slighty more than half of this is CNC machine time. I've already paid for eight hours of CNC programming, which you can now benefit from. And the crossover? It depends on what components you'd like. To help get some of these cabs out into the real world, I'm prepared to assemble ten crossovers for the cost of the components. The audiophile-type capacitors shown on the previous page are quite pricey. Total component cost is over £50. However, using cheaper but still good capacitors would bring the cost down to half that. I'll include a pair of Speakons and a set of connecting cables with crimped connectors. You'll therefore be able to fit the crossover without having to solder - just push the crimped connectors onto the Speakons and drivers and screw the wires into the connector strip on the crossover board. Any future plans for this design? There will be a complementary cab fitted with a bass driver and crossover for anyone who wants a 2 x 12" configuration. Possibly an Eminence 3012LF (which I already have) or a second Faital. John (Chienmortbb) is looking at the possibility of fitting an ICEPower amp inside the cab to make it active. That's it really. [I'll probably come back and add to this FAQ at a later stage]

You can now put a few screws in the handle to make it easier to move around. Marvel at how light it is. 😀 Finishing and fitting out is next. This is no more difficult than assembling the box. I'll post a guide on fitting out in a few weeks' time.

Once the glue has set, turn the cab over and fit the bottom. Same procedure.

Just top and bottom to fit now. This is when you are most likely to need your clamps. Here's an illustration. Although you're unlikely to have to do this, the clamps make it easy to get adjoining panels perfectly flush. You'll appreciate this when you come to paint the cab.

Second side panel fitted.

Now for the second side panel. Here's a view showing the CNC'd rebates that help everything slot together.

OK. We're half way there and your box is looking like this. Time for a coffee perhaps while the glue sets.

Any bending of the plywood can be sorted by using a clamp. Here's an example.

It should fit like this.

Once the glue in the side panel has set, fit the baffle by tapping it into place with your hammer.

Don't hesitate to use your clamps to pull the panels together if necessary. As in the photo. You may not need them now - it's pot luck really. But just be aware that using the clamps is the easiest way of making sure that the panels fit perfectly.

This is the kind of fit you are looking for.

Here's what it looks like fitted.

The back panel should be set now and we can add one of the side panels. Again, notice how it's fully rebated so that it easily locks into place.

If you're going to fit t-nuts, now is the time to do it. Also, be sure to cut and fit the port now. You can do it later, but it's a tight fit and a lot easier to tap in from the back of the baffle. When I did my resonance testing to decide on the bracing layout, it was clear that the baffle was by far the worst offender for spurious resonances. So you'll notice that the baffle is braced at the top, in the centre, and at both sides of the driver opening. This bracing structure is also firmly attached to the sides and back of the cab, which is how it should be done.