A pair of 1x12" cabs

[deksawyer]

This is a great build diary. Ready for the gig next week....?

D.

[Beer of the Bass]

[quote name='deksawyer' timestamp='1455322645' post='2978263']
This is a great build diary. Ready for the gig next week....?

D.
[/quote]

The gig is tomorrow night, and I'm tantalisingly close. I've put wadding inside both cabs and fitted the corners, feet and handles. I've made up both grille frames and stapled the cloth to one. I need to do the other cloth grille, glue the ports in and solder the wiring. I'm sure I'll have one ready for the gig, but whether I do both depends on how early I get up in the morning.

[Beer of the Bass]

Well, after a morning of frantic activity I have cabs. I'm now celebrating with a pint of good coffee and some fancy pastries (no beer, I'm driving later).
First of all I sorted out my grilles. I made the frames for these earlier in the week and painted them black. There is a bit of a knack to fitting the cloth straight and reasonably taut, and having done it a few times on other cabs and my guitar combo I feel like I'm getting a little better at it. After that I stapled my fancy gold piping around the edge, which serves no practical purpose apart from adding a bit of bling.

Here's my frame:



With cloth;



And piping;



The grilles are held in place with self adhesive velcro on the back. This always seems like it would be flimsy, but holds up well in use.
I didn't take any pictures while lining or wiring up the cabs, I'm afraid. They're lined with polyester wadding which my wife bought a few years ago for an upholstery project which never quite happened, so I thought I might as well make some use of it. I soldered the connections, as I'm always a bit uncertain about using crimp connectors on gigging gear.
So, without further procrastination, here they are:



I'll have some further thoughts on the the sound after tonights gig, but first impressions are positive. They're not super-bright, but seem to have plenty going on in the upper mids (~2K ish) which brings out some articulation from my flatwound-strung bass. Playing at low volume, they feel like they have plenty of bass though I suspect it's more midbass than fundamental, and I've got used to playing with 1x10" cabs so my perspective may be a little skewed. I'll probably only really need one of them for the gig tonight, but I might as well use both.
I've put a fair bit of time into building these, but I reckon they'll be good cabs for my purposes and they've worked out about as cheap as the very cheapest secondhand 1x12" cabs that I've seen on the BC classifieds. I haven't tried weighing one yet - they're easy to move around but not feather-light. I'm looking forward to trying them with the old Dynacord 80 watt valve head which I've recently picked up to refurbish.

[Beer of the Bass]

I should also say thanks to Stevie and Phil for their useful input, both here and on the 1x12" design diary thread which had a lot of good info. Also, cheers to everyone else who has commented on this thread.

[Norris]

That looks a very professional job. That piping sets them off really well. I hope they sound as good as they look - have fun at your gig!

[planer]

They look great. I like the piping too, but it's the colour that does it for me. So much nicer than everyone-else-has-done-it black.

[Merton]

Superb job!

[ColinB]

They look great - nice one!

[Beer of the Bass]

The cabs' inaugural gig went well. It was in a hall that was a larger space than the venues I usually play, and I wasn't through the PA though the drums were lightly mic'ed, so I was glad I'd brought the pair. I can only describe the band as not-quite-jazz quartet; sax, keys, drums and bass, we get quite noisy and riffy but probably less loud than most rock genres.
I had my GK MB200 turned up halfway, and I get the impression that they would cheerfully take a slightly more powerful amp if I needed to (within reason). The MB200 was just starting to compress a little on the attack of hard played notes at that point though there were no noises of complaint from the cabs. I liked the tone; they feel quite lively somehow, sproingy even. I'm not the best at verbalising such things without sounding silly!

Edited February 14, 2016 by Beer of the Bass

[rk7]

Great work, very impressed!

RK

[JTUK]

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1455409863' post='2978968']
The cabs' inaugural gig went well. It was in a hall that was a larger space than the venues I usually play, and I wasn't through the PA though the drums were lightly mic'ed, so I was glad I'd brought the pair. I can only describe the band as not-quite-jazz quartet; sax, keys, drums and bass, we get quite noisy and riffy but probably less loud than most rock genres.
I had my GK MB200 turned up halfway, and I get the impression that they would cheerfully take a slightly more powerful amp if I needed to (within reason). The MB200 was just starting to compress a little on the attack of hard played notes at that point though there were no noises of complaint from the cabs. I liked the tone;[b] they feel quite lively somehow, sproingy even[/b]. I'm not the best at verbalising such things without sounding silly!
[/quote]

Don't understand that...

what do you currently use and what sort of sound do you go for...

When I've really settled everything in... I don't tend to twiddle with the amp but this is helped by the fact that
I tend to have two seperate set-ups so an amp 'matches' the cabs,

Will listen out for further thoughts once you've used them a bit.

[Beer of the Bass]

Yeah, I find it tricky describing sounds. What I mean is that they bring out midrange detail well, so that if I want to emphasise a line and bring out the bark and growl a little with my right hand it comes through nicely with these cabs. Some rigs I've played before don't respond so well to that. I'm playing a bass I built; ash body, maple neck and fingerboard, passive Jazz pickups, standard Jazz wiring. The bass can be quite bright and aggressive sounding but then I use Sadowsky flatwounds which balance that out, so it's a flatwound sound but less dark than the Motown style. I usually keep both pickups on but back one off a little (either bridge or neck depending on the tune), tone control right up and played mostly with fingers, and occasional pick/palm muting. The amp is currently a GK MB200, contour switch turned off and nothing extreme going on with the EQ. I don't like to have highs in the tweeter range, but I like to hear plenty of content at the top end of what a tweeterless cab can do.
I guess that gets across what I'm going for a little better.

Edited February 14, 2016 by Beer of the Bass

[deksawyer]

Those do look pretty damn good - you've done a nice job and should be very proud.

D.

[SubsonicSimpleton]

Have you tried them with your upright yet?

[Beer of the Bass]

[quote name='SubsonicSimpleton' timestamp='1455540510' post='2979967']
Have you tried them with your upright yet?
[/quote]

I haven't tried it yet, though I should give it a go when I have the opportunity. I don't ever amplify the double bass at home as I live in a flat, so it would have to wait for the next louder gig or rehearsal with a drummer. My gut feeling is that the strong upper mid response of these drivers might take a bit of EQ to avoid sounding too "electric", but it'll be interesting to try it out.

[stevie]

So what's the verdict after a month?

[Beer of the Bass]

It's been a bit quiet on the gig and jamming front while the drummer moves house, so other than playing at whisper volume in my living room they've only been out once so far. They should see a bit more action in April and May. I've still got to try one with the double bass too.

[DIYjapan]

What a great looking pair you've got there. Any further word on how they sound on the stage?
Looks like they'd fill out most any venue just fine.

[Beer of the Bass]

[quote name='DIYjapan' timestamp='1508472340' post='3392405']
What a great looking pair you've got there. Any further word on how they sound on the stage?
Looks like they'd fill out most any venue just fine.
[/quote]

They're doing fine; most of the time one cab raised on a chair does the job and there have only been a couple of occasions where I've used both. I'm sure that the limiter on the GK MB200 kicks in before the cabs start to complain, so I suspect I could use a larger amp if I needed to. I'm pretty happy with the sound of them for electric bass either with the MB200 or my Dynacord valve amp. For double bass they're quite usable but do sound a little coloured.

[BassTool]

Great job Bass

Enjoyed this thread and the end result looks mega

Didn't understand the technical graphy stuff but that's 'cos I didn't stick in at O Level physics....possibly