300w, neo driver, 12Kgs, £200.

[solo4652]

I've been looking for a decent, light 112 cab to go with my GK MB500 head.

How about this cab: [url="http://www.lean-business.co.uk/eshop/montage-112-intro-empty-1-x-12-guitar-cabinet-p-1844.html"]http://www.lean-business.co.uk/eshop/montage-112-intro-empty-1-x-12-guitar-cabinet-p-1844.html[/url] with one of these inside it: [url="http://www.watfordvalves.com/product_detail.asp?id=3036"]http://www.watfordvalves.com/product_detail.asp?id=3036[/url]

£200, 300w neo driver, 12 kgs.

What do we reckon, folks

[Mr. Foxen]

You'd need to port the cab and tune it. Plus that celestion probably handles about 100-150w tops.

[solo4652]

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1370284306' post='2098647']
You'd need to port the cab and tune it. Plus that celestion probably handles about 100-150w tops.
[/quote]

Aaah, right. What would be a good, inexpensive, lightweight alternative to that driver, capable of handling 250 - 300W?

[Mr. Foxen]

Choose two of those things.

[stevie]

Porting the cab wouldn't be too difficult (although a pain): I'd be more worried about how 'sealed' the back panel was. I expect Lean will produce some ported cabs for bass if this line takes off, which it quite likely will. It might be worth waiting until then.

As far as drivers are concerned, the Green Celestion neos (BN12-300X) are a good inexpensive buy - inexpensive for neo drivers that is. What is interesting about this range of cabs is that could offer an opportunity to clone some, dare I say it, overpriced booteek models.

Edited June 3, 2013 by stevie

[VTypeV4]

^ He's right about that pretty much..

if you like the idea of Celestion (as do I) than how about this bad boy..

[url="http://celestion.com/product/70/ntr123018d/"]http://celestion.com/product/70/ntr123018d/[/url]

Premium driver of it's type and mostly specs better than the one previously mentioned..

[discreet]

I can certainly recommend the Kappalite 3012HO, but only in the context of a BFM J12 cab... 400W RMS and 18kg.

Edited June 3, 2013 by discreet

[Mr. Foxen]

[quote name='VTypeV4' timestamp='1370290046' post='2098769']
^ He's right about that pretty much..

if you like the idea of Celestion (as do I) than how about this bad boy..

[url="http://celestion.com/product/70/ntr123018d/"]http://celestion.com.../70/ntr123018d/[/url]

Premium driver of it's type and mostly specs better than the one previously mentioned..
[/quote]

Also twice the price, and about same price as the Kappalite, which has slightly better specs.

[Phil Starr]

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1370293635' post='2098852']
Also twice the price, and about same price as the Kappalite, which has slightly better specs.
[/quote]

This is the problem with self build, you don't really get a guarantee as to how it will sound. I think these two drivers are fairly similar in specs and quality. The Kappalite shows higher headline efficiency and Xmax (excursion, important for deep bass without distortion) to the Celestion NTR but the extra efficiency is because of the K's peak in the midrange, bass efficiency is pretty similar maybe favouring the Celestion but not by enough to worry about. Xmax differences could be entirely down to the different ways the two companies measure Xmax.

They are going to sound different though, The Celestion is a PA driver and has a fairly flat response apart from the dip at just above 1kHz The Eminence has a big midrange peak at 2.5kHz, much like the majority of bass drivers which will give it a livelier, punchier sound. Not knowing what sound you like makes it difficult to give you advice.

Both of these would work well in your little cab the first cheaper Celestion would find the cab a little small, workable, but with a bass hump and roll off at a quite high frequency. Much like a lot of commercial cabs and a sound a lot of people like, but not accurate and lacking deep bass if that is important.

You might get something you love and all the satisfaction of making something good, or you may end up disappointed. the trouble is that it will cost you £200 to find out.

[VTypeV4]

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1370293635' post='2098852']
Also twice the price, and about same price as the Kappalite, which has slightly better specs.
[/quote]

I never checked the price.. Whoops!

[BassBunny]

I thought you had a Barefaced Compact Steve?

[solo4652]

[quote name='BassBunny' timestamp='1370302893' post='2099014']
I thought you had a Barefaced Compact Steve?
[/quote]

Yes - I still do. At 13 kg it's really light and powerful. That said, It's still a bit awkward to lug up and down stairs because of its size. Never satisfied, you see. I'm looking for something I can use with the GKMB500 at home for practice and also at rehearsal. The obvious solution would be a Barefaced Midget, but I haven't saved enough bottle tops for one of those yet. So - something just like a Midget, but half the price. Like a Golf, but not a Golf. Something like your Zoot 112, in fact.

Edited June 4, 2013 by solo4652

[LawrenceH]

If it's just for rehearsal and you already have a compact, why not make the weight/size saving worthwhile and go for a ten inch unit? I use one loaded with the celestion ntr ten from a markbass f1 and always have volume in reserve, it is a nice driver.

[discreet]

Bill Fitzmaurice's Jack 12 is a front-loaded horn design, so achieves performance and sensitivity way in excess of any other cab loaded with a Kappalite 3012HO in the 'usual' way...

[url="http://www.billfitzmaurice.com/Jack.html"]http://www.billfitzmaurice.com/Jack.html[/url]

[xgsjx]

The cab dimensions are also pretty small in comparison to any standard bass cab designs. So maybe not really suited to getting the best from a bass driver?
I'm pretty sure you could get a decent 2nd hand 1x12 cab for £200.

[voxpop]

I've had great success using this .....

http://www.lean-business.co.uk/eshop/faitalpro-15pr400-8ohm-15-400watt-pa-speaker-p-1381.html?zenid=8d58378e41744e8c6095d2b421b8fd1b

It replaced a celestion that sounded very wooly by comparison.

[voxpop]

Sorry just noticed you needed a 12 not a 15. Whoops.

Edited June 5, 2013 by voxpop

[Phil Starr]

A lot depends upon the relative importance to you of having something you've made yourself versus a practical solution. A second hand speaker means you can try before you buy, you have good residual value if you need to sell, you know exactly what you are getting. If you decide to go ahead you could try this driver [url="http://profesional.beyma.com/pdf/SM-212E.pdf"]http://profesional.beyma.com/pdf/SM-212E.pdf[/url] I use them and like the sound, smooth and controlled. This is a ceramic magnet driver but still only 2kg more than the Celestion with better excursion and lower bass.

6V6 is building a cab at the moment with this driver, you could wait until he reports back how it sounds and then go for it. Here's the thread [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/200152-1x12-diy-cab-build/"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/200152-1x12-diy-cab-build/[/url]

[solo4652]

[quote name='Phil Starr' timestamp='1370420019' post='2100457']
A lot depends upon the relative importance to you of having something you've made yourself versus a practical solution. A second hand speaker means you can try before you buy, you have good residual value if you need to sell, you know exactly what you are getting. If you decide to go ahead you could try this driver [url="http://profesional.beyma.com/pdf/SM-212E.pdf"]http://profesional.b...pdf/SM-212E.pdf[/url] I use them and like the sound, smooth and controlled. This is a ceramic magnet driver but still only 2kg more than the Celestion with better excursion and lower bass.

6V6 is building a cab at the moment with this driver, you could wait until he reports back how it sounds and then go for it. Here's the thread [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/200152-1x12-diy-cab-build/"]http://basschat.co.u...-diy-cab-build/[/url]
[/quote]

I'm not a very practical person ("DIY" = Destroy It Yourself, as far as I'm concerned...) so, in reality, I'd be just about capable of fitting a driver into a pre-prepared cab - hence my interest in the empty cab + driver idea. I'd certainly not be capable of building a cab from scratch. You make sensible, practical points about what I'm aiming for. Basically, I want something that's easier to take to rehearsal than the Compact. I realise I'm probably not going to get anything much lighter than the Compact, but I'd be interested in something that is less awkward/cumbersome to carry up/down a steep flight of twisting stairs to a basement room and could also be used for home practice. I don't want to spend any more than £200 but i don't want something that sounds awful. I don't want much, really. Secondhand? No problem. Easy (empty, pre-built) cab + matched driver + 6 screws + push-fit wiring? No problem.
This? [url="http://www.basscentre.com/bass-cabs/eden-ex110-cab.html"]http://www.basscentre.com/bass-cabs/eden-ex110-cab.html[/url] or maybe the 112 version.

Edited June 5, 2013 by solo4652

[solo4652]

[quote name='LawrenceH' timestamp='1370389158' post='2100316']
If it's just for rehearsal and you already have a compact, why not make the weight/size saving worthwhile and go for a ten inch unit? I use one loaded with the celestion ntr ten from a markbass f1 and always have volume in reserve, it is a nice driver.
[/quote]

Yes - good point.