Bass player building Omni 15

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tks
Posts: 20
Joined: Mon Jun 09, 2008 4:40 am
Location: Sweden
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Bass player building Omni 15

#1 Post by tks »

Hello everyone!

My name is Tommy, I'm 27 years old and from Sweden. This year I picked up bass playing again (after not having played in a band for 8 years), and since last time around I'm more interested in my gear, and getting stuff that fits my style. Since the band I'm in play quite heavy rock (7 string guitars and 5 string bass, with frequent use of the low B-string) at high volumes, I've noticed that far from all commercial bass cabs are up to the task. Sure, there are some cabs that can handle the low tones I throw at them at the required volume, but they either need many watts doing so, are a bit of a pain to carry around, or just too expensive (or a combination of all three). I'm not a big guy myself (5'9"/120 lbs), so I prefer not lugging around bass cabs close to my own weight. I'm currently a student, so I can't afford too expensive gear either.

I've just completed some bass related DIY woodworking. I was given a 4x10" cabinet with blown speakers from a fellow bass player, and after playing around for a while in WinISD i decided it could become a perfect 2x12", so I built my own baffle, loaded it with 2 Eminence 12:s and it came out just really nice. I'll probably add a tweeter though.

My second project was building my own 5 HE rack case for my preamp/EQ/poweramp. It looked really nice, carpet covered and with plastic corners/recessed handles. I decided to do some more DIY stuff, and of course building cabs that could handle more power/have higher dB/w than the 2x12 was to be my next project. I was thinking about 2x15 and 4x12 cabs not larger than 30x27x19" so they would fit in the car. Neo speakers to keep the weight down. While playing around i WinISD and reading bass forums, I stumbeld upon the Omni15:s. The Omni15 Full range had almost exact the same measurements and better response than my planned 2x15. Also, it would actually be cheaper than the designs I was considering earlier. I didn't need much time to decide, so I ordered the plans for the Omni 15 Full range and the Tallboy as well, just in case.

So, I'm reading the plans now, and some questions are already on their way, and more will come when I start building (maybe this week already). I will build the Omni15 with extended sides so I can fit a grill and make it look more like a conventional cab. And after building one, I'll probably end up building another one if I like it, just to be able to have a full stack behind me (even if only one would be enough sound wise), two Omni15:s stacked sure looks nice, I'm thinking of EW:s thread:
http://billfitzmaurice.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=5880

I'll probably make mine black carpet covered and with a stretch metal grille.

So, questions to come in the Omni forum, and then a build diary. I hope to have enough free time so I can complete my first (and I hope not my last) Omni this month. I'll keep you updated!

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klocwerk
Posts: 262
Joined: Tue Jan 02, 2007 10:45 am
Location: Somerville, MA
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Re: Bass player building Omni 15

#2 Post by klocwerk »

Heya, welcome to the forum!

If I may be the devil's advocate for a second here...
Since you're playing a lot of 5 string with lots of low Bs, I'd strongly consider doing a T48 with a big top, like an OT12 or OT15, but ideally a DR250.

tks
Posts: 20
Joined: Mon Jun 09, 2008 4:40 am
Location: Sweden
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#3 Post by tks »

I've considered all options, but fitting everything in the car is one of the most important things, so a T48 is out of the question. The DR-series is a bit above my ability as a builder, so I'll go for one O15 and see how I like it. I guess it will fit my needs well; go into the car, not to heavy to lug around and it will give way more output in the low range than some (or maybe all) of the commercial bass cabs I've been playing on.

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Chris_Allen
Posts: 3355
Joined: Wed Jul 11, 2007 2:43 pm
Location: Huddersfield, UK

#4 Post by Chris_Allen »

Hi Tommy,

Welcome to the forum.

There are a lot of happy people with Omni 15's, and EW's look tasty. You may find that a single Omni15 is plenty but building speakers is a nasty addiction and you may end up with 4! :lol:

Chris.

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