Sitting Room Build: Jack 12 Lite

[Jools4001]

I used the Lumberjack stuff on my monitors and similar Evostick polyurethane on my Jacks. Don't be put off by the "sets in 5 minutes", I found it gave me plenty of time to position and clamp/staple/screw joints together.

It all seems like the same type of stuff to me, applies with a mastic gun, foams and expands to fill gaps, forms an airtight joint and will destroy the surrounding wood before you can pull apart a fully cured joint. The advantage of Evostick is that of you need some right away it's down at your local Screwfix.

Incidentally, PL cures with moisture and seems to be hygroscopic. If you lay a tube aside for more than a few days without making sure the cap is on tight, the whole tube can set up. The good news is that if you put it in a polythene bag and stick it in your freezer it'll last indefinitely....as far as I can tell, since I started my Jacks several months after building my wedgehorns using the same tube.

[rogerc]

The Lumberjack is available at Toolstation too (UK)

http://www.toolstation.com/shop/5+Minut ... 0ml/p78519

I've built 2 jacks, 4 WH8s and 2 T39s using it without problems

[HugoMack]

Thanks DJP.

[Chris_Allen]

I've found the 5 minute needs a lot more humidity to set rock solid.

[Chris_Allen]

Lots of these will help the build quite a lot:

Ultimate indoor adhesive tool

[rogerc]

Lots of these will help the build quite a lot:

Ultimate indoor adhesive tool

Haha! Local to you too Chris. Humidity hasn't been a problem for me lately!!

[HugoMack]

Thanks guys. A Peace Lily ought to help on the spiritual side too, after my cutting session... esp when I do the T39s

[HugoMack]

Well, strategic position taken on this....

Leland will deliver a box of goodies next week or so to include two tubes of the sacred Loctite PL. Blue Arran short of one 3012HO until then so that fits.

So assembly scheduled for April.

I've taken BIll's advice regarding doing everything in small steps. I haven't - like some - printed off the instructions. Instead I have an A5 note pad onto which I make a diagram of the next stage which I do in my office upstairs - checking the 3D SketchUp as required. When I understand totally, I go downstairs to the sawdust and confusion of our living room and do the next bit.

I'm debating now whether to assemble both cabs at the same time, or do one then the other? Learning from mistakes could lead to one cab being better than the other, which really isn't the idea.... Any thoughts?

[rogerc]

Both at once for me. I tried the one at a time route and ended up with one cab slightly different in size (only really by the width of a saw kerf). Hardly noticeable but I know it's there and it annoys me!

[Charles Jenkinson]

If there are no constraints to doing assembly operations simultaneously, then do them simultaneously. Familiarity is IMO the reason sonething you've done once already, goes quicker the second time, but if there's reasonable set up time for each operation, then that time is not recouped by doing sequentially. Sawing out double thickness, for lites, is the obvious one. Most other things are by nature sequential, but most op's are not rocket science, and when done on the first, immediately doing it on the second cab is obviously quicker. ...I hope that's helpful - a little contradictory in tone, but hopefully helpful.

[Jools4001]

+1 to the above advice to build simultaneously where you can.

I did this for 80% of my build, then reached a point where I needed one finished cab within a week, however I did get to a point where the second cab 'only' needs the final few bits constructing and finishing such as...

Routing handle recesses
Constructing connector recess and fitting speakon sockets
Fitting flanges for back panel
Building melded array & mountings
Sanding and painting
Final wiring and assembly

Still a lot of work but, melded array apart, more of the straightforward stuff that needs a bit less of constant reference to the plans.

I've given myself a week or two off since our next couple of gigs are in tiny, tiny pubs...we're talking places where to get 50 people in they have to be crammed in like sardines and there is only enough stage space for ONE J12, yes really, the good thing is that one J12 will be enough.

Oh....and I have started the second melded array today with half of the piezos cut so far

[Mark Coward]

I noticed your Fractal setup, I used to run an AxeFX rig. Are you planning to use the J12 with it as FRFR?

Hi Mark,

I'm definitely going to try out the JAck Lite 12's as FRFR. For pub gigs I'll set up patches with extra scenes that make just the modulating effects in stereo from out of Outputs 1 into the PA then to the Lites, keeping the amp coming out of the backline speaker which isn't FRFR (a Matrix NL12). I haven't worked out the patch yet, but it will use changes to cab output to mute and open Output 1.

This "triphonic" setup is a great effect, which also works on a big FOH even if it's only running in stereo.

If the Jacks do justice to FRFR on the Axe (which is pretty seriously picky about needing to be utterly flat), I'll build a third one (Assuming these go OK obviously!!), and run the triphonic set up with the big rig, by having a Jack in the centre somewhere suitable.

Triphonic really emphasises the modulations, widening them hugely (chorus sounds great), while keeping the dry from the backline cab really strong. Stereo doesn't do this, and the guts drops out of the sound, which is why most people don't like it for live use.

Otherwise known as W/D/W. I tried a lot of different rigs, ended up using guitar cab and mic. Not that FRFR is "bad", my personal feeling is that the nuances in the varieties of cab emulations - and amp sims - get lost in a live situation. I pretty much stuck with two amp/two IR's, for dirt and clean. All other patches used these along with various FX blocks.

I've ran it through W8, J10, J12, OT2x12. All work quite well using the output's GEQ, you can add a PEQ module if you really want to RTA to flat. IME, the OT2x12 sounds most like a guitar cab onstage. Guitar cabs & speakers have little output below 100hz. All of the comments you see about the "low end" of 4x12 cabs and "moving air" is pretty much rubbish, unless you are running some high power/excursion drivers and detuning there's just not much below 100hz. And, there's not much above 5k or so from a standard guitar cab. The piezos sound smoother onstage especially in tight setups.

I think the ideal setup would be a guitar cab mic'd for the dry sound, and two FRFR for the L/R wet sound. Similar to Larry Carlton's setup. The caveat is the same L/R DI feeding the onstage FRFR would feed the FOH, so could require some compromise in EQ. And of course, 3 input channels at FOH.

[HugoMack]

WDW is sort of the same, but with no attempt at any sort of stereo "picture" - just widening the choruses etc. Output 2 for Dry and Outputs 1 wets with cab sims into the PA works nicely. With as you say, the guitar cab miked up on larger gigs with FOH. The Wets can be brought back through the fold back - if required (they are nice).

Larry Carlton's set up when I saw it used Eon15s for the wets, which I've tried and they're not great. But on the other hand, the Wets are different (but the same) it's good. (I just find the Eons - I have two), hard to EQ hence building Jack 12s.

[HugoMack]

DO you guys use speaker wadding or speaker foam to pack the cabs?

The wadding options I've got are:
http://www.bluearan.co.uk/index.php?bro ... ew=Wadding

And the foams options are:
http://www.bluearan.co.uk/index.php?bro ... adnew=Foam

So I'm a bit baffled (appropriately) about what to get and how much of it....

[DJPhatman]

This is similar to what is used, but shop the discount stores for it. This price is way too much, IMHO.

*I'm referring to the mattress pad under the chick!