stevie

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.

Mr Blue Sky is a great song to play. I found the walking bit a bit tricky - so that sounds like a good workout for your ten-year old grandson. Another walking bassline he is likely to enjoy is My Baby Just Cares for Me by Nina Simone. It really is fun to play, swings like crazy, and should be doable if he can play Mr Blue Sky. It's actually a good one to read - so maybe it will help to get him into reading. There are plenty of transcriptions online (the song was written in 1930) and plenty of bad bass playalongs. But listen to Nina Simone's version. If he likes, it - go for it. It's a bit of a musical education in itself.

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.