Basschat easy-build lockdown cab project

[JohnDaBass]

 

I glued the sewer soil pipe to the baffle and then glued in the 100mm X 120mm port from the front to give a nice pro-like finish.

So the cab is ready for some warming up playing some gentle music through it and then to check the tuning frequency with the old rice test. Later some A-B comparisons with my BF One10 using my Fender Rumble 500 with its regular settings rather than confuse matters using the MiniMax.

[Chienmortbb]

Nice work John

[JohnDaBass]

So after a few hours of Oldfield’s Tubular Bells, Motown greatest hits and Cream Live I used some rice and the online tone generator to check the frequency of the cab tuning. I was really pleased that it turned out to be between 49.5 and 50.5 Hz so I am happy to call it 50Hz. It’s not that easy to accurately detect when the rice stops vibrating but it’s in the ball park.

 

Setup to A/B the cab with my BF One10, a bit “Heath Robinson” but I wanted to compare what I had built with what I had bought. The BF One10 has only been used at home, and has not been pushed further than home volumes would allow. Fortunately Mrs DaBass went for a walk down the beach so I was able to let rip to hear the difference at some higher volumes.

Firstly the BCEasy Build-10 has a much tighter bottom end the BF One10 had a fuller G down to open E.

Secondly, the BCEB-10 was definitely louder.

While the BCEB-10 was not as “warm” as the BF One10 it did have a greater “attack”. The mids of the BCEB-10 were much more forward, clear and clean.

The BF One10 broke up much earlier than the BCEB-10 when I was able to crank up the volume out of the Fender Rumble.

All in all I am really, REALLY, pleased with the outcome.

It may not be a £400 cab but I tell you what it's a little Monster!!!!

 

We are so blessed here on Basschat to be able to follow @stevie and @Phil Starr excellent technical guidance to enable us to enjoy building something of personal value and achievement.

The purchase of the MiniMax has added a combo to the original speaker project and the cab dimensions have allowed for a nifty “cubby” to hold, mains lead, speaker lead, guitar cable and the Zoom B1 Four in the back of the amp compartment.

 

BTW thanks to John @Chienmortbb for the supply of his excellent hand made speaker cable.

 

 

Edited April 1, 2021 by JohnDaBass
spelling

[Chienmortbb]

16 minutes ago, JohnDaBass said:

So after a few hours of Oldfield’s Tubular Bells, Motown greatest hits and Cream Live I used some rice and the online tone generator to check the frequency of the cab tuning. I was really pleased that it turned out to be between 49.5 and 50.5 Hz so I am happy to call it 50Hz. It’s not that easy to accurately detect when the rice stops vibrating but it’s in the ball park.

 

Setup to A/B the cab with my BF One10, a bit “Heath Robinson” but I wanted to compare what I had built with what I had bought. The BF One10 has only been used at home, and has not been pushed further than home volumes would allow. Fortunately Mrs DaBass went for a walk down the beach so I was able to let rip to hear the difference at some higher volumes.

Firstly the BCEasy Build-10 has a much tighter bottom end the BF One10 had a fuller G down to open E.

Secondly, the BCEB-10 was definitely louder.

While the BCEB-10 was not as “warm” as the BF One10 it did have a greater “attack”. The mids of the BCEB-10 were much more forward, clear and clean.

The BF One10 broke up much earlier than the BCEB-10 when I was able to crank up the volume out of the Fender Rumble.

All in all I am really, REALLY, pleased with the outcome.

It may not be a £400 cab but I tell you what it's a little Monster!!!!

 

We are so blessed here on Basschat to be able to follow @stevie and @Phil Starr excellent technical guidance to enable us to enjoy building something of personal value and achievement.

The purchase of the MiniMax has added a combo to the original speaker project and the cab dimensions have allowed for a nifty “cubby” to hold, mains lead, speaker lead, guitar cable and the Zoom B1 Four in the back of the amp compartment.

 

BTW thanks to John @Chienmortbb for the supply of his excellent hand made speaker cable.

 

 

I have a Zoom B1 Four and it really is an impressive bit of kit. Nice review of the cabinet John.

[stevie]

I have samples of both the Pulse 10 and the B10N-300X drivers. The Pulse has a bigger bottom end than the BN10 in this box but isn't quite as loud. Top end extension is about the same. Although there's a difference of 100W in the thermal power handling, the excursion capability (xmax) is fairly similar. So they should start to complain at about the same time.

[Phil Starr]

Thanks @JohnDaBass for the review. It's nice to have a comparison with a commercial cab many here will know.

We all love it when we see builds take place. Makes it worth the effort.

I absolutely loved what you did with the foam roller. Definitely one to try, though I think I might use a heated nail. I wouldn't fancy cleaning your soldering iron. 😋

[JohnDaBass]

Thank you @stevie for taking the time to do the technical comparison.  From your explanation the Pulse appears to have a similar character to the Eminence driver in the BF One10 but the BF may have a higher Xmas. IMHO the B10N-300x appears similar to the cleaner BF Super Compact rather than the more coloured BF One10. The extra 100w thermal power gives a decent safety margin when used with the MiniMax delivering 300w of headroom. 

So I've built a 13kgs, easy carry, 300w combo with sufficient headroom to match any "shed building " drummer who may turn up for a jam down the Dog & Duck. 

Happy days 😎

Edited April 2, 2021 by JohnDaBass
Spelling

[Chienmortbb]

On 22/03/2021 at 17:40, EBS_freak said:

Or are told they don't need a tweeter... instead of listening to what their ears are telling them (or looking at the old gear that their heroes are using) and deciding for themselves!

A you probably know I  built the 12" Mk3  with tweeter and now when I play without one I feel I am missing something. I would not trust one that has a switch for the tweeter or an adjustment of any sort , EQ belongs on your amp not your cabinet.

Edited April 4, 2021 by Chienmortbb

[JohnDaBass]

Has anyone else tackled a Basschat easy build lockdown cab?

It would be great if you could share your experiences. 

[funkydoug]

Not yet but am considering an airhead combo like yours @JohnDaBass, it's a great idea.

Not sure about the crossover though. Would be interested to know what this one is doing and what scope there is to improve on it as I think Stevie suggested.

[stevie]

The crossover brings the level of the HF unit down to match the bass/mid driver and applies a high pass filter that matches the natural, upper rolloff of the bass driver. This is what virtually every bass cab manufacturer does. It's simple, it's easy and it's cheap.

Both the compression driver and horn are usable down to 2.5kHz, and that's where the system could be improved.

However, to get the two components to cross over at 2.5kHz, you'd need to filter the upper response of the bass driver, which means additional components. The circuit for the HF unit would also be more complex than it currently is. Chances are, you'd end up with three times as many components in the crossover, which  was not the aim of the project.

[Jolltax]

I am a beginner (bass player!) and want to get an amp / cab (currently I just play to headphones through an audio interface), I happen to be able to solder and am fairly comfortable banging bits of wood together so want to give this a try as it seems like a fun project.  Have downloaded the drawings and have some noob questions :

• Can you confirm the crossover and tweeter are optional? i.e. I can just build with a 10" driver and add the tweeter and crossover later if I want.
• I have also been reading the thread and watching the video about the 1 x 12" cab which seems very similar, would this one be more suitable for home use / practice?
• What would I need to drive this, I don't have any kind of amplifier, is there cheapo option? Harley Benton do the Block -300B, would that do it?
• Carpentry question : do you predrill holes before screwing, I always tend to do this with other stuff as it tends to stop the wood splintering / cracking.  It kind of looked like in the video Phil Starr had pre-drilled because of the way he inserted the screws but wanted to check
• I'm a bit unclear on whether its a good idea to put wool or other padding inside the enclosure

Cheers 

J

 

[Phil Starr]

Hi J, funnily enough I spoke to @stevie yesterday and we were just saying we were surprised no-one has built this yet, as designed. I have the prototype here (in bits at the moment) and I'm going to finish it off properly: better paint job, cabinet lining, a quick check to see where extra bracing would help and a grille fitted. Once that is done I'm going to use the cab and put up a review, hopefully with some sound clips. I'll probably try it with and without the tweeter but the horn is going to add a lot. It's the clever bit of the design.

Can you confirm the crossover and tweeter are optional? yes but it will sound a lot better with the tweeter which is higher quality than most commercial units

 

The 1 x 12" cab seems very similar, would this one be more suitable for home use / practice? It's the same cab. That cab is designed for gigging though and the maximum volume is higher as well as the response being highly coloured to fit in with the mix. The 110T is much more honest, loud enough for most gigs but ideal for home use and rehearsals. If you screw the baffle on with some draughtproof foam strips as I do you can always swap speakers later.

What would I need to drive this, I don't have any kind of amplifier, is there cheapo option? Harley Benton do the Block -300B, would that do it? It would be great but remember Thomann are currently offering prices without import duties/VAT so that isn't the price you would pay. There are cheaper options like the TC BAM and the Warwick Gnome Bass Amp Heads - Andertons Music Co.

Carpentry question : do you predrill holes before screwing, I always tend to do this with other stuff as it tends to stop the wood splintering / cracking.  It kind of looked like in the video Phil Starr had pre-drilled because of the way he inserted the screws but wanted to check Yes I pre drilled. Not least because I knew I was doing a live demo

I'm a bit unclear on whether its a good idea to put wool or other padding inside the enclosure. Yes we'd recommend carpet felt at least on the rear panel, better on three panels and better still a lined cab.

[Jolltax]

1 hour ago, Phil Starr said:

.. loads of cool stuff ...

Thanks so much for your reply @Phil Starr,  I have a load more questions about the build but first I think I will bang together the box before asking about the speakery stuff. I'm gonna head down to my local wood store and get some stuff cut.  I will have loads more dumb questions once its done and before I order the bits.  I don't have anywhere to build / wood work inside so in my case progress is at least somewhat dependant on having some better weather!

J

[Chienmortbb]

35 minutes ago, Jolltax said:

Thanks so much for your reply @Phil Starr,  I have a load more questions about the build but first I think I will bang together the box before asking about the speakery stuff. I'm gonna head down to my local wood store and get some stuff cut.  I will have loads more dumb questions once its done and before I order the bits.  I don't have anywhere to build / wood work inside so in my case progress is at least somewhat dependant on having some better weather!

J

There are noi dumb questions, just dumb answers.

[Phil Starr]

2 hours ago, Jolltax said:

Thanks so much for your reply @Phil Starr,  I have a load more questions about the build but first I think I will bang together the box before asking about the speakery stuff. I'm gonna head down to my local wood store and get some stuff cut.  I will have loads more dumb questions once its done and before I order the bits.  I don't have anywhere to build / wood work inside so in my case progress is at least somewhat dependant on having some better weather!

J

It's really exciting starting a build, hope it goes well.

[stevie]

I see Phil's answered your questions comprehensively. To save drilling holes (or using clamps) when you're assembling your cab, get yourself some self-drilling screws like those made by Reisser and others. Once the glue's dried, you can  unscrew them if they're a bit close to an outside edge or if you'd like to reuse them. A matchstick (with wood glue) is about the right size to fill the holes. Then dab on some wood filler and sand flat.

[Jolltax]

OK, I got the wood, I am working on a parts list for the other stuff so I can place orders, looking back in the thread I wasn't exactly clear on the tweeter is it right? :

1. Celestion PULSE 10 10" 200 watt 8ohm Bass Guitar Speaker
2. B&C ME10 1inch Throat Horn 90 x 60 Dispersion 
3. Monacor MBR-100 100mm Bass Reflex Tuning Port Tube
4. Case/Speaker Cabinet Feet 38mm x 15mm 
5. Connector Dish with 2 x NL4MP Speakons and Terminal Block 
6. Plastic case/speaker/cabinet stacking corner
7. Convair Air Cored Inductor 0.13mH 38mm OD 0.9mm wire
8. Crossover Capacitor Metallised Polypropylene 2.2uF 250V (Narrow)
9. Cement Resistor SQZ 10W 4.7 Ohm (PCB Mount)

Some questions :

• Electrical components : couldn't find an exact inductor so got one close - will this be OK? I've got some chocolate block I can use for the 'solderless' version or I might solder it onto a board, haven't decided yet
• Could someone explain in a little bit more detail how each speaker is connected to the crossover, it looks like the 10" is directly connected to the amplifier and the crossover circuit is connected only to the tweeter is that right? Also the wiring diagram show a 1W (2.8V rms) power amp, which I was a bit confused about - do I need to worry about this?
• Could I use carpet instead to muffle the enclosure? I already have some I could use, I could line the enclosure with it

As long as its sturdy I am not really worried about the cosmetics so I might not paint it but will try and find a speaker grill to protect the driver at some point.

Cheers!

J

 

[Phil Starr]

Using the larger inductor will lower the crossover point but hang fire until @stevie gets back to you, he designed the crossover.

Don't worry about the amp  we should have changed the drawing and I didn't double check. 2.83V is the voltage we use to check speaker parameters, it represents a standard 1W into 8 ohms.The mipedance of speakers vary so we use a standard voltage rather than a wattage figure. The cab will handle around 200W depending upon the exact usage.

You can try carpet but obviously we haven't tried it and carpets vary a lot. you might be able to pick up some offcuts of felt carpet underlay for very little or nothing from a carpet warehouse, worth asking anyway.

Yes the speaker gets the full range signal and the 'crossover' is actually a high pass filter which rolls off the bass to the horn driver, as well as attenuating the signal. I Imagine you'll have an answer on the crossover before you are ready to fit the speakers.

[stevie]

@Jolltax, .13mH will be OK.

[Jolltax]

The sun came out for long enough for me to get a bit done, so I built a boxy type thing, still need to put in the braces which are cut but not yet installed, I am just letting it dry overnight with the front and back bits in.  Its not as straight as I would like because some of the plywood I bought was a bit warped but it will work OK, I ploughed on regardless, I also didn't use quite the right baton, mine is slightly bigger and I couldn't wait for it to be in stock.. I am planning to line it with some carpet I got left over unless I can find some underlay.  Did I mention I am somewhat of a bodger?

I also got an order of bits and pieces to fit to it from Aran, I am such a dumbass I didn't realise that the ME10 thing wasn't actually the tweeter (although it did seem quite cheap),  Celestion CDX1-1070 added to the parts list

I haven't bought the drivers yet because I will need to wait for next month, especially now I know I need 2. I also won't be able to actually hear it until I buy a head amp, I like the look of Warwick gnome.

Enjoying myself, if it works it will be a bonus .... 😎

Edited May 19, 2021 by Jolltax
I dun speld it gud

[funkydoug]

Making it so that the baffle can be swapped is a genius idea 

[stevie]

I'd advise against using carpet inside the cab. It's relatively heavy and not very effective. Carpet felt underlay is good - I use that for some things - or the usual BAF wadding, which is the kind of thing you find in duvets or sleeping bags. Don't put any within about six inches or so of the port.

Looking good so far!

 

Edited May 19, 2021 by stevie

[Phil Starr]

11 hours ago, funkydoug said:

Making it so that the baffle can be swapped is a genius idea 

It goes further than this. My guitarist is now a convert to lightweight cabs. I've designed him a cab based on the 30l cab. It's fitted with a Celestion G12H variant built for a Marshall. He's using it in the prototype for this cab as an upgrade for his open back Marshall. He loves the extra punch he can get, the ability to shape the bottom end by using the cab as ported or sealed and the portability. It sounds fabulous at rehearsal.

[Phil Starr]

Just a quick update on the 110T, I have it back from Stevie and reassembled it. I had a chance to run some test tones through it and there really was a serious panel resonance on the baffle centred around the area between the port and the bass speaker. You really need a brace on the baffle behind that point. I'll make some changes to the drawings to show this.

Yesterday i had my first chance to try the cab in anger at a band rehearsal. Our drummer has returned from COVID lockdown full of enthusiasm and was really hitting the skins so it was a good workout for a little cab. That's the first thing to notice, the cab weighs in at 10.0kg at the moment, it still needs a grille and a handle but it really is a featherweight. First impression is that it was bass heavy but that was due to room acoustics, it's actually very neutral sounding. I've been trying out new settings on my Zoom B1 and it takes FX well. Dial in grit and that's what you get, dial it out and the clean sound is all there. 

I was drowning in bass until I switched to in-ears. As a stage monitor you won't need anything else and the drummer was happy too, he normally likes the bass louder than I do. Out front it was loud enough for a pretty hard rehearsal, it would certainly do the average pub gig without stress but I did have a bit of compression on and an HPF. We've acquired a sound engineer as we are attempting to move up-market as a band, well you've got to dream  His response was very interesting as he was there setting up levels and monitor mixes "I didn't need to do anything to the bass other than set it in the mix"

So would I use this as my only speaker? Well yes, but I do have a feed to the PA so I'm only worried about stage volumes. It will certainly cope with the average pub gig. This is a 10kg speaker with a pretty flat response and a lovely full rounded bass.  You should be able to build this comfortably for £150 Get the panels cut to size and it's no more difficult to construct than some flat pack furniture, the only tricky bit is cutting the speaker and port cutouts and it can be constructed without needing to be soldered. What are you waiting for?