Space restricted mobile DJ

[vtso4]

Wanted to introduce myself and let everyone know what I'm hoping to build & learn.

Been doing quite a lot of research and was finally intrigued by a few members of the forum. I'm hoping to build 2x Tuba 24s to use alongside my Mackie SRM450 v2 active cabs. I'm planning to later on down the road building a set of Otop 212s w/ piezo tweeters and sell my active tops to finance the project and finish by the end of the summer. I'm a little confused about matching drivers to amps and crossovers and different ohm rates but I guess this is what the forum is for. I'm not sure how all my equipment will fit in my house let alone car but I'm sure I'll make something work.

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

Wanted to introduce myself and let everyone know what I'm hoping to build & learn.

Been doing quite a lot of research and was finally intrigued by a few members of the forum. I'm hoping to build 2x Tuba 24s to use alongside my Mackie SRM450 v2 active cabs. I'm planning to later on down the road building a set of Otop 212s w/ piezo tweeters and sell my active tops to finance the project and finish by the end of the summer. I'm a little confused about matching drivers to amps and crossovers and different ohm rates but I guess this is what the forum is for. I'm not sure how all my equipment will fit in my house let alone car but I'm sure I'll make something work.

a pair of OTop 112s are a lot louder than what you have now, devote what space you can to the subs.

[Gauss]

GIve us some idea of where you are so we can offer more specific help (i.e. fill out your profile). I've got a big T39 in my living room, so I can understand your space predicament. I think you'll find one of the newer amplifiers with DSP (digital signal processing) will be a huge advantage. You can set the crossover and adjust to match the volume between the subs and tops. I once compared my T39 (at 10 ohms) to a 18" direct radiator (at 4 ohms) and couldn't figure out why it didn't beat the pants off of it. You learn a lot as you go. Welcome.

[DJPhatman]

Wanted to introduce myself and let everyone know what I'm hoping to build & learn.

Welcome, and nice to meet you!

Been doing quite a lot of research and was finally intrigued by a few members of the forum.

It's good that you read the forum first, then ask questions.

I'm hoping to build 2x Tuba 24s to use alongside my Mackie SRM450 v2 active cabs.

I suggest you re-think this. T24 is a good sub, but T39 is much louder. Better to turn cabs down than to not have enough.

I'm planning to later on down the road building a set of OTop 212s w/ piezo tweeters and sell my active tops to finance the project and finish by the end of the summer. I'm a little confused about matching drivers to amps and crossovers and different ohm rates but I guess this is what the forum is for. I'm not sure how all my equipment will fit in my house let alone car but I'm sure I'll make something work.

I urge you to reconsider building 2X12 OTops. Build a pair first, you will find they will get much louder than the SRM450's. For amps and impedance (ohms ratings), I suggest you look up the WIKI for Ohm's Law. This will help you to understand how impedance gets added with added cabs.

And whatever you do, ask questions if you are not sure. We are here to help you succeed in you build, and to be happy with your cabs.

[sine143]

yeah... I *believe* correct me if I'm wrong, that 2 Otops 112s should be more, or matched to just about any pair of subs on this forum (okay, maybe not t60s, or super wide t48s... w/e). I'm still waiting to tweet mine up, and they are not loaded with good drivers, but w/e.

[SeisTres]

Although I would not recommend the t39 to dj's, due to your restrictions, this time I will. If you want the most sound for the least amount of pack space, build two 16" t39's 3012lf loaded. I could fit two in my sedan. Then your tops, if you can fit otops they would be it, if not, jack 10's would have to do.

If you're thinking about upgrading your system and transportation later on, then slim t30's with 3012lf, hopefully you can somehow fit two in there. Same tops as above.

However, if you do not want to be locked down to those two models due to your current transportation and will rebuild the whole system once you get another ride, then Tall Auto tuba's. Two with a premium 10" driver should suffice for small events.

However, if you don't play music with low extension (notice i did not say bass heavy since some of the popular bass heavy music doesn't really go that low), then build the t39's and don't look back.

[vtso4]

a pair of OTop 112s are a lot louder than what you have now, devote what space you can to the subs.

Duly noted. I'll take your word on it and save the space. Thanks for the input.

GIve us some idea of where you are so we can offer more specific help (i.e. fill out your profile). I've got a big T39 in my living room, so I can understand your space predicament. I think you'll find one of the newer amplifiers with DSP (digital signal processing) will be a huge advantage. You can set the crossover and adjust to match the volume between the subs and tops. I once compared my T39 (at 10 ohms) to a 18" direct radiator (at 4 ohms) and couldn't figure out why it didn't beat the pants off of it. You learn a lot as you go. Welcome.

I live in a condo and don't have much space here but I do have a somewhat empty 10'x10' self storage space for equipment/misc items. I guess what I'm looking for is a setup able to handle a 200-250 max crowd that will fit in my '05 Nissan Sentra with weight being a priority while being able to play Electronic Dance Music, Hip-Hop, and Top 40 with great sound quality. I'm not sure if that setup could run off of one amp but I might be asking too much. My budget would be around 1200. I'm a novice at woodworking so I think I'd have to stay with the otop 12's.

I'll definitely look for a DSP amp once I get going on my builds. I've owned a pair of Yamaha BR15's running on a QSC GX3 before I switched to active (for weight & space) but besides knowing the basic concept and only being familiar with 8 ohm applications I'm not really sure about anything else. I'm sure once I'm done I'll know what you meant by
"I once compared my T39 (at 10 ohms) to a 18" direct radiator (at 4 ohms) and couldn't figure out why it didn't beat the pants off of it." Haha.

I suggest you re-think this. T24 is a good sub, but T39 is much louder. Better to turn cabs down than to not have enough.

I always try to follow that rule too since I never want drive my equipment into the ground. I would've never thought to build the T39 because of their massive size. Would I need only 1 T39 vs 2x T24's?

I urge you to reconsider building 2X12 OTops. Build a pair first, you will find they will get much louder than the SRM450's. For amps and impedance (ohms ratings), I suggest you look up the WIKI for Ohm's Law. This will help you to understand how impedance gets added with added cabs.

True, I can always add more if needed, I guess my initial concern was crowd coverage. Looks like I'll be doing a lot more reading. I should've paid more in physics class. Thanks.

And whatever you do, ask questions if you are not sure. We are here to help you succeed in you build, and to be happy with your cabs.

Glad to hear that.

Although I would not recommend the t39 to dj's, due to your restrictions, this time I will. If you want the most sound for the least amount of pack space, build two 16" t39's 3012lf loaded. I could fit two in my sedan. Then your tops, if you can fit otops they would be it, if not, jack 10's would have to do.

If you're thinking about upgrading your system and transportation later on, then slim t30's with 3012lf, hopefully you can somehow fit two in there. Same tops as above.

However, if you do not want to be locked down to those two models due to your current transportation and will rebuild the whole system once you get another ride, then Tall Auto tuba's. Two with a premium 10" driver should suffice for small events.

However, if you don't play music with low extension (notice i did not say bass heavy since some of the popular bass heavy music doesn't really go that low), then build the t39's and don't look back.

I'll have to look into the T39's now. Aren't Auto tuba's only used for car applications in a very small space? I mean I have the trunk and entire backseat if I tetris my turntable and mixer cases in my passenger seat. Would building a pair of T39's 20 inches wide instead of 16 inches wide make a significant improvement in performance if I can spare the space?

[netwerks]

I suggest you re-think this. T24 is a good sub, but T39 is much louder. Better to turn cabs down than to not have enough.

I always try to follow that rule too since I never want drive my equipment into the ground. I would've never thought to build the T39 because of their massive size. Would I need only 1 T39 vs 2x T24's?..

I had a similar concern. The T39 looks and sounds like a monster on the site but in actuality it's not. Its nowhere as deep as the tuba series so while you may build it 22" wide, its still only 19" deep (as compared to the depths of tubas) so you can flip it on its side if you need to for pack space

Two tuba @ 24" wide stacked would equal 48t x 24w x 24d (Compare this to a T30 and you're even bigger) whereas a single T39 @ 24" would only be 39t x 24w x 19d. (you could build the T39 even slimmer if you need to, 20" may be better for you).

Go to your local appliance store, get some refigerator boxes and build a mockup to see for yourself what you can work out in your ride

Also on the OT112 I don't think out of the gate you'll need anything more than this. They'll blow away your mackies and when you add the sub you're going to see a hella difference compared to what you have now as you wont need to push your tops anywhere near what you have to now to get the bottom end and output you need. I'ts the improvement in low end volume you're looking for.

Building the OT212 will get you a little more sensitivity and make your sound flatter without so much eq but I think you are going the right path to add another pair later.

Not to mention if you decide to build a second system another pair of subs you got two systems or you can put it all together to make one large system.

Modular, light and easy to move/pack is key. Keep it simple and flexible I say.

[netwerks]

Wanted to introduce myself and let everyone know what I'm hoping to build & learn.

Been doing quite a lot of research and was finally intrigued by a few members of the forum. I'm hoping to build 2x Tuba 24s to use alongside my Mackie SRM450 v2 active cabs. I'm planning to later on down the road building a set of Otop 212s w/ piezo tweeters and sell my active tops to finance the project and finish by the end of the summer. I'm a little confused about matching drivers to amps and crossovers and different ohm rates but I guess this is what the forum is for. I'm not sure how all my equipment will fit in my house let alone car but I'm sure I'll make something work.

a pair of OTop 112s are a lot louder than what you have now, devote what space you can to the subs.

p.s if you sold those mackies off and were a savy bargain hunter and did some horse tradin' you could just about buy everything you need to build a pair of OT12 with prebuild melded array from leland & 3012HO and pair of T39 with 3012LF using auraco plywood and building your own speakon cables.

Only thing you would need then is an amp. XTI 2000 can be had for @ $380 on ebay w bing cashback, ebay bucks.

A killer new system for under $1500 minus what you get for the Mackies. You'll make the difference back in the additional gigs you'll get when people hear (and feel) your new rig.

As they say here BUY ONCE CRY ONCE !

[SoundInMotionDJ]

I would suggest a slightly alternate approach...

Build Jack 110's for tops. These can run stand alone for small(er) gigs...and for use in your condo.
Build T39's. If you can not go any wider than 16", I would use the BP102 driver. If you can build 20+", then the 3012LF is the only way to go.

--Stan Graves

[SeisTres]

I would suggest a slightly alternate approach...

Build Jack 110's for tops. These can run stand alone for small(er) gigs...and for use in your condo.
Build T39's. If you can not go any wider than 16", I would use the BP102 driver. If you can build 20+", then the 3012LF is the only way to go.

--Stan Graves

Since he does not plant to build a herd and use as many as needed, I would still go with the 3012 regardless if he can carry the 20" or only the 16". Even v plated and wall loaded the pair of bp102 won't keep up with any tops. Now, the 3012 loaded titans will handle a pair of otops once corner loaded.

And to the question about the autotuba, if you load it with, let's say the hl-10c(even though it's discontinued) it works just like any of the other subs. But that's in case your restrictions are very strict and don't think about expanding. But if you are, go for the pro sound subs right off the bat.

[Gregory East]

I thought Monomer was keeping up fine indoors with T39 slims!

[SeisTres]

I thought Monomer was keeping up fine indoors with T39 slims!

For bars yes, for anything bigger than that, I wouldn't think so.

[bzb]

I'd honestly say that for at least 80% of all mobile DJs, a pair of OT112 is more than you'll ever need. I've done a couple outdoor gigs where I could barely turn them up halfway on the XTi1000 - pushing around 25 volts.

Seriously, a single 212 turned up would destroy everyone's ears in a typical indoor mobile DJ setting.

[jcmbowman]

I thought Monomer was keeping up fine indoors with T39 slims!

For bars yes, for anything bigger than that, I wouldn't think so.

Monomer is using 1 OT112 in a bar and running it at maybe 15%.

Running 2 of them should be able to cover a decent-sized room, so long as you're not going for concert levels all the way throughout.