4x10 or 4x12 Bass Guitar Cabinet Plans

[roxhayes]

Need your assistance.
I am an experience musician (woodwinds) but a novice bass player. Looking for plans for a custom bass cabinet to be paired to an amp, TBD.
I am not concerned about the size or weight because it will 99% reside in my office/practice room so I want it to look like very nice furniture.
Thinking a 4x10 or 4x12 cabinet with ports. I'm OK with two (2) 2x10 or 2x12's incorporated into a single unit.
I just want clean, clear, low end with separation from the mids when paired with a J-bass.

Looking to buy the 4x10 and 4x12 plans but need to lean on your expertise regarding design, porting, baffles, etc. If you put it in a plan to purchase, I can take it from there.

Thanks and glad to be a member of the forum

[Bruce Weldy]

Welcome to the forum.

It kinda' depends on what you are playing and how much power you are bringing to the party. In an office, a single Jack10 or Jack12 will be plenty. If you want more, just add one keeping in the 10 or 12 family.

The 4x cabs are guitar cabs, not bass cabs.

[Tom Smit]

Welcome to the forum!
+1 to what Bruce posted. The amps that most people think of are those that make the electrical signal stronger (amplify). Most of the cabs that Bill has designed are acoustical amplifiers, ie, amplify the sound itself. Hope this helps a bit.

[9830Lark]

My Jack10 (Lite) with an amp head that puts 150 amps into the 8 ohm driver gets quite loud with my passive P-basses. More than plenty for home use and arguably enough for some gigging. The master volume is never above 9 O'clock at home (unless the spouse leaves, ha ha). With a second one, then I think I could handle anything, especially with the DI out on the head. With two separate cabs, you get more flexibility and can go light and easy sometimes.

[roxhayes]

Welcome to the forum.

It kinda' depends on what you are playing and how much power you are bringing to the party. In an office, a single Jack10 or Jack12 will be plenty. If you want more, just add one keeping in the 10 or 12 family.

The 4x cabs are guitar cabs, not bass cabs.

Thanks for the reply, Bruce.

Ashton, Kustom, Markbass, Hartke and a few others make 4 x10 bass cabinets but to your point, there are virtually no 4 x 10 plans.
I'd like to make a clone of one of those, I'd also be fine with two 2x10s.

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

We don't do 4x10 or 4x12 bass cab plans because the 4x format is without a doubt the worst possible configuration. If you really must have four drivers, which is rare these days even for stage use, it should be in the form of two 2x cabs, with the drivers all in a vertical line.

[Bruce Weldy]

Welcome to the forum.

It kinda' depends on what you are playing and how much power you are bringing to the party. In an office, a single Jack10 or Jack12 will be plenty. If you want more, just add one keeping in the 10 or 12 family.

The 4x cabs are guitar cabs, not bass cabs.

Thanks for the reply, Bruce.

Ashton, Kustom, Markbass, Hartke and a few others make 4 x10 bass cabinets but to your point, there are virtually no 4 x 10 plans.
I'd like to make a clone of one of those, I'd also be fine with two 2x10s.

Sounds like maybe you are wanting to build a cab based on looks as opposed to sound. There's nothing wrong with that if that's what you really want. But, if you are wanting to improve your sound quality with a more efficient cab (which horns provide), we'd be glad to help you walk through that process.

Putting speakers side by side decreases the horizontal dispersion. Stacking is the proper way to increase the horizontal while squeezing the vertical dispersion (keeping the sound more focused and off the floor and ceiling).

The Jack series will give you more low end than any of the cabs you listed can. Those direct radiators rarely get down below 60hz....the Jack will go lower with less power.

Anyway, if any of this interests you, tell us what kind of music you play, what kind of amp, etc. We'll offer up some suggestions.

[roxhayes]

You are correct, I’d like it to look and sound good.
I play a J-bass, decided on a Bugera Veyron BV1001T amp.
Play R&B, Jazz, Pop, some Christian music.
Although a novice bass player, I grew up with some fairly serious artists and listen to music at a reasonably high level. I’m also pretty well versed in technology and know my way around a wood shop.

Thanks in advance for your assistance.

[Bruce Weldy]

You are correct, I’d like it to look and sound good.
I play a J-bass, decided on a Bugera Veyron BV1001T amp.
Play R&B, Jazz, Pop, some Christian music.
Although a novice bass player, I grew up with some fairly serious artists and listen to music at a reasonably high level. I’m also pretty well versed in technology and know my way around a wood shop.

Thanks in advance for your assistance.

Well, several years ago, there was a guy on the forum that had a stack of 6 Jack12s if I recall correctly - that was pretty impressive to look at...

Seriously, you could build 4 Jack 12s and stack up high - with that small amp on top, that would be impressive. If you want something to look wide, then put 2 stacks of two next to each other. Or build 2 Jack 212 cabs and arrange however you want. Of course, you'll probably end up only playing through half of them.

Just remember, putting the speakers side by side will decrease your horizontal dispersion.