- awesome
- awesome from differen't angle
The plans were cheap and very detailed, so as long you follow them, take your time and if like me a first time builder, be reassured your building high end bass cab...so if you take care you'll be happy with the results.
I have a table saw and router so i only invested in more clamps and consumables during the build, but i would say you could do it with a circular saw and guide rail or even a jigsaw..with a guide rail.,,,but a router is a must imo.
When I fnished the glue up and was filling and sanding, it was hot and i did start to question my life choices...i came to the conclusion building your own cabs in the best life choice..sanding is good exercise. Im glad i didnt choose to buy a used cab or a new cab for that matter.
Speaker cab building is extremely technical and the information can be difficult to absorb, the more you learn the more you dont know it seems and that is true, but keep reading and you will be suprised how new nformation can be absorbed. This forum is very well organised and easy to navigate and find resources. The process translates into a better understanding of how your bass reproduces sound...I actually learnt how to use my eq more effectively amongst many other things...looking at speaker frequency charts made the correlation.
Anyway, the bass cab sounds sweet, at first I was like...its a bass cab....as in it was familar with no nasty suprises. I was happy that i had no weird sounds or air leaks and everything worked. The first night playing through my new cab i had the same feeling when i tried out a Wayne Jones rig in a shop...it is amazing.
I chose to use the Eminence 3012HO's with no tweeters as i like using distortion and at the time wanted to keep things simple. You may read that these drivers have a nasty mid peak....I didnt notice anything nasty about them. You can use your EQ and get any sound you want. Some may describe the non tweetered version as being old school? Maybe you wont get that tweeter sizzle but I would say you can get a modern sound if you have a modern bass. These drivers have all the highs i need, with new strings i found them pretty sizzly. I noticed a lot of fret and finger sounds that my old 410 cab didnt reproduce. I had to adjust my string height and pickups as finer nuances were more noticable. If you need post contempary bass tones....you can get them. My warwick corvette sounds awesome and growly...and sweet like marshmallows if you want too.
The HO in 3012HO stands for high output, and thats what I noticed most. I remember seeing Primus live and Les claypool plays a tapping riff on "Jerry was a race car driver" and i thought it was amazing he could use a tapped main riff to carry that song....whenever I tried tapping it was always low volume and barely audible and i just gave up. With the simplexx the volume I can get tapping is as high as a slapped note...so tapping just sounds amazing....maybe learning to use my eq helped as well. I haven't played with a pick for ages, so i tried some of my past bands tunes and it sounds grindy...if you like grindy pick punk bass or metal this is a good cab. I was looking at new amps and all the news ones are 800 -1200 watts....my current old hartke HA 2000 with its 200 watts is LOUD... I have to be careful to avoid ear damage. the volume is very enveloping...you can feel it deep inside your brain even when i think its low volume i get can a headache after a while...I think my neighbours can really appreciate the volume...I think a 500 watt amp would be my limit.
My cab came in at about 32kg's which is in line with most lightweight 212's. I know that some like the barefaced super twin are about 20kg's. Its light enough but still feels soild that it won't fall over or bounce around. It wasnt until I carried my old 410 up stairs to put into storage that i realised how light it is. I coudnt believe how heavy the old 410 was..how did i use to carry that around
When I was in the plywood shop I picked up a piece of italian poplar, that was extremely light but probably not as strong as birch, I used baltic birch. I think Bergantino use polplar with birch for the baffle.
Anyway, I hope this helps anyone wanting to build their first bass cab, but it could be your last bass cab because it is such an excellent cab.
Eventually I will put up a build thread, as i may have some things of interest, and some options for materials for people in Australia.
I know i will never buy a buy a cab again, building your own cabs is the way of the future!
Bill does all the enginneering for you.
- Neutrik silcon speakon gasket with dust cap
- space age polycarbonate Pennelcom handle
- hopper gun-duratex smooth texture
- corner port
