6v6 Posted October 17, 2013 Author Share Posted October 17, 2013 Finally got the dome-socket head screws I've been waiting for, so final assembly can happen! Still need to sort a grill, but otherwise it's nearly done! Doesn't look like I've done much, but today at lunchtime I: - Attached both handles and speakon-plate - Fixed wiring with cable-ties and bases - Added stuffing (maybe will need to add more, I only got one small roll, not sure?) - Repainted the baffle, and attached it with the right screws Tomorrow I'll touch in the paint around the baffle edges, fit the driver, re-test, and order a grille (probably going for perforated steel, although I have made a ply baffle too expecting to use grille cloth - I'm liking the stealth all-black vibe atm tho! ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ticktock Posted October 17, 2013 Share Posted October 17, 2013 Looking very good indeed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt P Posted October 17, 2013 Share Posted October 17, 2013 that's a smart looking cab, for next time you could see if you can find the combined 1/4" - speakon sockets, there a little bit more expensive than the standard speakons but should be cheaper than separate speakon and 1/4" sockets. Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6v6 Posted October 17, 2013 Author Share Posted October 17, 2013 [quote name='Matt P' timestamp='1382025035' post='2246846'] that's a smart looking cab, for next time you could see if you can find the combined 1/4" - speakon sockets, there a little bit more expensive than the standard speakons but should be cheaper than separate speakon and 1/4" sockets. [/quote] Yeah, I did think of that, too late after I'd ordered the speakon-only plate, I may order some and rewire it at some point.. Would also solve the problem of what to do with the 1/4" hole created by the switchcraft jack, which I'll have to plug when I'm using a speakon lead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allighatt0r Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 [quote name='6v6' timestamp='1382025478' post='2246861'] Yeah, I did think of that, too late after I'd ordered the speakon-only plate, I may order some and rewire it at some point.. Would also solve the problem of what to do with the 1/4" hole created by the switchcraft jack, which I'll have to plug when I'm using a speakon lead. [/quote] You could just plug it with one of these? [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Adaptor-Premium-Quality-Headphone-Adapter/dp/B002JP6JEK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1382087462&sr=8-1&keywords=jack+converter"]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Adaptor-Premium-Quality-Headphone-Adapter/dp/B002JP6JEK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1382087462&sr=8-1&keywords=jack+converter[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sprocket123 Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 Thanx for the updates , great build mate . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gusbass Posted November 30, 2013 Share Posted November 30, 2013 More!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6v6 Posted December 17, 2013 Author Share Posted December 17, 2013 [quote name='gusbass' timestamp='1385797364' post='2292231'] More!! [/quote] Ok then... Here's a picture of the completed cab, along with some impressions having used it for several gigs and rehearsals: Overall, I'm really happy with the way the cab has turned out - I may re-do the grille in the new year as I'm not completely happy with the appearance of the mesh/screws, but overall I'm fairly satisfied with the way the construction and finish has turned out, considering this was my first bass cab build. The sound I'm very happy with - so far I've gigged it with both my Hartke kickback (just the amp, bypassing the internal speaker), and more recently with a Mark Bass Little Mark 3. I'm also working on a DIY hybrid amp, but that won't be ready for a while due to work commitments. To describe the sound, it's deep, punchy and "woody", for want of a better term - you can really hear the natural character of the P-bass come through, whereas with the Hartke internal speaker, it's kinda lost a bit in boom and clank. The bass extension on the new cab is *way* more than the Hartke, despite them both being 12" drivers, I guess a factor of the better Beyma driver combined with a much bigger box. Also the bass is not at all boomy, it's tight, controlled and articulate - whereas the Hartke combo can very easily be provoked into boomy resonance at gig volumes, the new cab is much tighter and deeper sounding. The front ports are also useful as it's not super sensitive in terms of positioning near walls in small pubs. The treble extension is somewhat less than I expected - probably due to the very bright nature of the internal Hartke 12" speaker - by comparison the high end on the Beyma is somewhat muted, but it is there, and can be eq'd to a reasonable extent via the amp & bass tone controls, I just run everything (quite a lot) brighter with the Beyma than with the Hartke speaker. I'm undecided, but I may consider adding a tweeter or midrange driver with a crossover, despite the fact that I normally like a fairly dark sound - the top end performance is OK, but feel like I'm missing a little midrange punch, grind and presence, some gig audience comments seem to confirm this (although comments have been positive overall). Alternatively I may need to just get better at eq-ing the flat response of the cab, compared to the very coloured response of the Hartke combo! An alternative to the tweeter is to build another cab which sits on top - I was considering a smaller cab with a brighter 10" driver, similar to the Barefaced compact/midget stack, but I'm unsure how I'd go about ensuring correct phase response between the two, more investigation/research required! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Starr Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 I'm pleased it has turned out this way for you, The bass sounds pretty much as I predicted so that is reassuring. The speaker has a pretty well controlled top end and most of the commercially available drivers have a characteristic peak in the 2-4 kHz range which gives them their character. The aluminium Hartke will be particularly characterful which is why the shape control works so well on it, basically it allows you to filter out bits of the peak. I have a hartke 3500 top on which I use the graphic to dial in the more typical bass cab sound when i want it. I'm currently using my Beymas in PA tops and can let you have details of the horns I use, which will give you more extended cleaner tops at the cost of doubling the expense of your cab. I'm also working on a 6" driver based cab to punch out a few more mids which I can share as soon as i get round to it. 10" drivers are too big to be good mid range drivers really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6v6 Posted December 17, 2013 Author Share Posted December 17, 2013 [quote name='Phil Starr' timestamp='1387279960' post='2310092'] I'm pleased it has turned out this way for you, The bass sounds pretty much as I predicted so that is reassuring. The speaker has a pretty well controlled top end and most of the commercially available drivers have a characteristic peak in the 2-4 kHz range which gives them their character. The aluminium Hartke will be particularly characterful which is why the shape control works so well on it, basically it allows you to filter out bits of the peak. I have a hartke 3500 top on which I use the graphic to dial in the more typical bass cab sound when i want it. I'm currently using my Beymas in PA tops and can let you have details of the horns I use, which will give you more extended cleaner tops at the cost of doubling the expense of your cab. I'm also working on a 6" driver based cab to punch out a few more mids which I can share as soon as i get round to it. 10" drivers are too big to be good mid range drivers really. [/quote] Interesting, I'd definitely be interested in details, particularly of the 6" driver based cab - I'm kinda resisting the whole tweeter idea, because I don't like any hiss or bright string-click type sounds to get through - using a dedicated mid driver seems to be a good compromise to add mid presence without too much "hi fi" top end, which I really don't need. Since the existing cab is 8ohms, and fairly big, it would be ideal if I could build a smaller cab with more mids (but still *some* bass) which sits on top, and could potentially be used alone occasionally for low volume rehearsals, and/or a personal monitor when I'm DI'd through a PA with subs. I guess my 10" speaker comment was based on previous experience with guitar cabs - I keep forgetting that speakers designed for bass have much less mid and high content (where in guitar amps I've used 10" and 12" drivers which have a *lot* of mid and treble capability) Thanks again for your help in getting to this point, it's been a really enjoyable process, and overall I'm very happy with the result! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 Nice one, that looks like a very tidy job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Starr Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 I've got a couple of six inchers that claim to go quite high, I've two schemes planned for them, to try them in a critically damped sealed cab and to experiment with different crossover frequencies and to try building a mid-horn cab to sit on top of my normal cabs. I'll let you know as soon as I make a start or you can contact me in the new year and prod me into action if you wnat to get oin with it sooner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6v6 Posted December 23, 2013 Author Share Posted December 23, 2013 Gigged the cab again on Saturday in a busy medium sized venue, I had the LM3 running at well over half volume so pretty loud, and the cab stayed really punchy and tight, really impressive considering it's a single 12" cab. Re the treble extension, after some experimentation I've realized that I can reclaim most of the bite and treble I felt was missing by not using my Boss LMB-3. I found the compressor was needed on the Hartke (particularly with the internal speaker) to even out some of the clank and transients, but with this cab and the LM3, it seems to roll off the treble and transients too much, almost like the LM3 has some internal compression built in. So I may just run without any compressor for a while as that seems to work pretty well and probably negates any immediate need for a tweeter or mid driver. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted December 23, 2013 Share Posted December 23, 2013 [quote name='6v6' timestamp='1387830185' post='2316305'] I may just run without any compressor for a while as that seems to work pretty well and probably negates any immediate need for a tweeter or mid driver. [/quote] I found compression unnecessary when I used a Markbass amp. I wonder why that is? Perhaps the filters have something to do with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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