DHC Bass 1x12 Cabs

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

Judging by the copied and pasted 'Features' it's the same driver. Since there are no T/S specs, and I very much doubt the builder has the gear or know how to measure them himself, there's no way the cab could have been properly designed. I can't imagine the size of the ports was arrived at by any method other than 'they fit my hands'. 

Edited June 18, 2018 by Bill Fitzmaurice

[Phil Starr]

I'm amazed this thread is still running. This is a bass player trying to make a little money by building cabs. He's chosen the simplest of designs, a roughly 50l 1x12 and is offering effectively to put in the driver of your choice at different price points. You'll get exactly what you pay for. His advertising claims are no more silly than anyone else's, kind of true but not very enlightening. I'd suspect you'll get a very simple box which you could build yourself for £40 but someone else has put it together for you. That QTX driver is the sort of driver found in millions of cheap speakers with a hundred different brand names all coming out of a factory somewhere in China. It'll make a noise but won't have a lot of deep bass and will give up the ghost fairly early if you turn the power up due to over excursion. The Eminence Beta will sound like an Eminence Beta, it's a good mid range driver for bass and is used re-badged in a number of designs. An unbraced 3/4" ply cab that size isn't going to be high end but the panels are rigid enough not to be awful and you can always add braces yourself.

I'm not as cynical as others, having done something similar back in the early 1970's. It's tough when you have no capital and you have to do everything yourself. You operate on the tightest of margins and keeping costs down by saving on handles and fittings and sticking to one design makes sense. I doubt he's making minimum wage once his time is factored in but we all start somewhere.

[lemmywinks]

I think most people are just interested in getting an idea of what it sounds like and how it would perform without actually buying one, they look decent and the prices are low enough to make them tempting as an impulse purchase. 

[Dan Dare]

Spot on, Phil. He's hardly charging Barefaced prices. You get what you pay for. If people want boutique kit, they should look elsewhere and stop bleating.

[Dan Dare]

3 hours ago, lemmywinks said:

I think most people are just interested in getting an idea of what it sounds like and how it would perform without actually buying one, they look decent and the prices are low enough to make them tempting as an impulse purchase. 

As Phil says, it will perform like any 50l cab that uses off the shelf Eminence drivers.

[lemmywinks]

1 hour ago, Dan Dare said:

As Phil says, it will perform like any 50l cab that uses off the shelf Eminence drivers.

It doesn't use an Eminence driver though so that statement is fundamentally wrong. In fact it was only yesterday that someone spotted the driver he used, hence why the thread is still going.

 

As you were.

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

1 hour ago, Dan Dare said:

As Phil says, it will perform like any 50l cab that uses off the shelf Eminence drivers.

Not if it's tuned wrong. How it will work with a driver for which there are no T/S specs is anyone's guess. If you want an inexpensive cab there's plenty of used available.

[Phil Starr]

Just to be clear, the cheap QTX driver is the same one used in a lot of cheap cabs, mainly those advertised as 'party cabs' or disco cabs but also used as cheap and cheerful PA systems in churches and schools. Maplin used to sell them as their cheap as chips speakers. They are remarkably good for the money but I just wouldn't advise anyone to go out and buy one, they really aren't up to any serious bass use at any high power level, They might sound great for home practice, I couldn't say but for £135 you could probably buy an active PA speaker with amp tweeter and crossover built in but with the same driver. He's probably designed the cab for the Beta anyway. That's what I'd do and the cab will probably be tuned to around 50Hz. A 50l 50hz cab with a Beta will be fine and he's probably used winISD anyway.

Here you go https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/QTX-QX12A-12-ACTIVE-PA-SPEAKER-400W-DJ-DISCO-SOUND-SYSTEM-PA/202077424069?hash=item2f0cc0c9c5:g:O2YAAOSwls5Y63zR

Bill will know better than me of who uses the Beta in their commercial cabs, they might be a similar price to these and  they'd definitely be cheaper used. Nobody is ripping anyone off but there isn't a free lunch being offered either. There's a TC RS212 in the for sale section for £380, less than a pair of the Eminence driven cabs at £200ea, They'd probably be similar but I'd go for the brand name because I'm not bothered about stuff being new.

[DHC Bass]

Hi. I really enjoyed the discussions over my bass cabs. Using the handles as vents sprang from practical experience. I I made two bass cabs for my bands PA using 2 10” drivers I had purchased to replace 4 blown in an EBS cab. In the end EBS were so supportive and exported replacement drivers from Sweden at very reasonable cost so I was left with 4 10s. 

I run the sound for my band and we needed some oomph but with low funds I had to  keep costs down. The handles were initially a cost down but their performance on stage and the ease of pick up and carry led me to use the same principle for a 1x12 Bass guitar  cab. Again the result was good and I was amazed  that I could hear my bass over the “noise” of a 8 piece Funk band..

The first cab used the low cost driver you mention but  it took  a hammering and continued to perform amazingly for years so I tried to pass on the low cost option to other players. I’ve had good feedback and to date no failures so low cost but not “cheap”.

I have made a range now including 1x15, 2x6.5, 2x10 and 1x12. The switchable piezo tweeter I use follows many tests with larger bullets and dynamic horns etc but they were very brittle. I use bass drivers that have some natural top end (go above 3kHz) so the tweeter acts to support the top end not take the lot. Using the treble control on your guitar or amp and the switch provides  full control over the top end. 

I now have  a new range soon to be available through the Great British Bass lounge ( only deliverd this week). Apart from the 6.5s they are all Neodymium and they sound amazing. Sadly the cheap but cheerful will go after I’ve sold those few on e bay but they really didn’t deserve to die. FYI the new 12s are Faital Pro’s (first time of using) and I’m very impressed with these drivers. 

As a footnote: following  years of agony over my sound and poring over technical details I have found something good using instinct and testing and practical use. I’ll take anything back you don’t like. Test if you can but give the eBay 12s a try if funds are short. In all enjoy your bass playing. These cabs help add to the fun. DHC ( David Clarke - “Final Funk’s” Bass player)

 

[lemmywinks]

Good to hear from you David and welcome to the forum!

[DHC Bass]

5 minutes ago, lemmywinks said:

Good to hear from you David and welcome to the forum!

Thanks. Never joined in with the bass banter before but I hope I can make some useful contributions.

[DHC Bass]

On 18/06/2018 at 15:00, lemmywinks said:

Looks like it, they're £27 each online:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/QTX-902-509-Replacement-Speaker-Driver-for-QS-Series-Speaker-8-Ohm-Impedance-12-/401109577747?_trksid=p2349526.m4383.l4275.c10

 

I'm guessing these aren't some miracle driver that outperforms speakers more than double their price then?

I bought one of these Citronic drivers to replace a bass driver in a Peavey PA cab but fixed the problem (the braid to the coil had fractured). I was surprised at the build quality. Cambriic surround, raised spider and a vented magnet. I thrashed the speaker as a sub woofer before using it in a test cab. It’s a great driver despite its low price. It never gave up even when abused. I like it’s upper frequency response. I’ve bought over 10 now and had no quality issues. Each brand has its own sound and response and this one has its place for a 250 watt driver. Made in China but some expensive brand names do too. Just a thought but two of my 1x12 cabs are cheaper than one top brand.

[RandomBass]

4 hours ago, DHC Bass said:

Thanks. Never joined in with the bass banter before but I hope I can make some useful contributions.

I'm glad you are here. More power to your elbow.