Josh’s Jack 210

[invidiosulus]

I built a Jack 210 last week.

I used some Chinese Eminence neo drivers that I picked up really cheap from parts express a while back as the specs seemed to be within the recommended range.

So far I’m really enjoying the sound.
I should get a chance to try it out at band practice this weekend and see if it can do a better job of keeping up with our drummer than the Markbass combo amp we had in our practice space.

I still haven’t decided on a finish for the cab.
I wanted to play it for a bit and make sure it didn’t fall apart or have any leaks before I got some finish on it.

[Tom Smit]

Well done!
Waiting for your review.

[invidiosulus]

Got a chance to try out the Jack 210 at a live show last night.
It was actually my first live gig since 2001.
Some friends of mine and I set up a festival to raise money for our town of Spruce Pine to deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Helene and we were the final act.

I was running a my Squier vintage modified JB into an HX stomp with LA compressor and Ampeg B15 blocks, out of the stomp I split to the PA and my ancient GK 400RB into the Jack 210.
My band uses IEM’s and I didn’t technically need the amp and cab on stage but I liked the extra feel and folks said it sounded really good overall.

It must have been doing something right because I had one of the other bass players from earlier in the day come up and grill me about my setup and the cab I was using afterwards.

I’m really happy with the setup and how it worked out last night.

[Seth]

Nice! Thanks for the gig report! And my hat's off to you guys taking action to help support communities in need.

[Tom Smit]

Thanks for the review! Nice job on the cab, too.
Did you use that much throttle at the gig?

[invidiosulus]

Another gig report but no pictures.

I played with some friends of mine in a rockabilly band called Slow Poison at Asheville’s oldest bar.
The oddly named Burger Bar which doesn’t serve any burgers.
It was a small setup with only vocals run through the PA.

The guy playing bass for the opening act played through my rig, the GK 400RB into the Jack 210, so I got a chance to see how it sounded throughout the bar.
It had a nice punch to it and you could actually hear the individual notes, even when around the corner at the far end of the bar.

Once again I had some of the other bass players come up and ask what kind of cab I was using and compliment me on my sound.
The guys in my band were happy with it as well.

A while back I did run some EQ sweeps on the cab with REW and my UMIK.
I ended up plugging the center port with a piece of pipe insulation foam and added some pieces of pool noodle inside the back of the cab to reduce the internal volume slightly to tune things better to the drivers I used since they were spec’d with a smaller Vas than the recommended drivers.
After doing so the response flattened out a little and I’ve been very happy with the sound.

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

Regarding plugging the port that will lower the cab tuned frequency, which may or may not be a good thing. Reducing the port area also raises the port velocity, which may cause chuffing. Of course what matters is the end result, so it it works it's all good. If you get chuffing you can extend the port depth to lower the tuning and reduce the rear chamber volume.

[invidiosulus]

My band was the entertainment for our town’s Independance day celebration.
At most of our smaller shows I go direct from my helix into the PA but this outdoor show I had decided to bring the Jack210.

I was initially worried about being too loud and told our sound guy to let me know if I needed to turn down.
After about the second song he came over and said he was running out of headroom on the subs and could I turn my amp way up.

I cranked the volume on the XLS1002 and let the limiter do its thing.
For the next hour and forty five minutes the 210 happily blasted away behind me.

I had several folks after the show come up and tell me it sounded pretty good once I turned up.
Almost a year in and I’m still very happy with the Jack210.

And yes, we will be using a bigger PA the next time we play a big outside show.
And yes, I’m building at least a Jack15 for my own personal edification.

Edit: I’ve already got a suitable eminence neo 15” for the jack15 which is why I’ve planned on building one.
Thinking about it though I may be better off building a T39.
With the XLS amp I can set a separate high/low pass crossover to each channel and could run the T39 and the 210.

[Bruce Weldy]

Thinking about it though I may be better off building a T39.
With the XLS amp I can set a separate high/low pass crossover to each channel and could run the T39 and the 210.

I think this would be a smarter move. A Jack 15 is pretty unwieldy.....I know, I built one. Much easier to roll a T39 than to carry J15. Stack the J210 on top. But, you'll have to dial back the J210 as it will outrun the T39 with that amp. Only gonna' get about 40 volts at full tilt. With a 3012LF, a T39 can take at least 10 volts more than that. But, be aware, the limiter on the XLS is NOT a brickwall limiter designed to protect your speakers, it's designed to protect the amp. Good news, is that you should be able to run that amp wide open with the 3012LF, but you must be careful about boosting bass on the input as you have no way to high pass the low side and you want to be careful of over-excursion on low frequencies.

[Bruce Weldy]

double post

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

Unless you find the J210 weak in the lows you're best bet for those outdoor gigs is a second J210.