BillFitzmaurice.info

The original plan was for two T39s at 24" and two at 30". Three things I am set on: they will be 3012LF loaded, there will be four of them for outdoor gigs, and they will be T39s.

Got a bunch of cardboard boxes from a new toy, and made some mockups of the 24 inchers... I just can't seem to fit two of these like I thought I would.

I then thought I'd be able to get away with two 20 inchers, as the height inside the Tahoe is a little over 40 inches. That's a no-go, too, as they'd have to sit back about 10 inches from the tailgate. The opening of the tailgate area is right at 36 inches. I'm considering ripping out the plastic trim to give me an extra inch of vertical packspace.

Argh!! So now I'm stuck with this dilemma... Do I build:

1. Stick with the two 24 inchers - weight concern, that's why I have slims right now - and only carry one to most of my gigs (house party/small bar/wedding gigs)?

2. The 30 inchers first, and carry only ONE with me to most of my small gigs? Then do I even bother with smaller ones, or go ahead and build all four at 30 inches?

3. Two 18 inchers, and carry both to my smaller gigs.


Looking at the chart, there doesn't seem to be a huge advantage of going with 20+ over 18 (keeping in mind my "sweet spot" of 60-80Hz for hip hop)... unless I'm going all out to 30 inches. If I take a single, I don't know that I want to lug around the heavier unit, though, so that's why I'm considering 24 inches for the single.

But, how badly am I neglecting the benefit of the two cabs @ 18 inches?

Maybe I just need to scrap all this junk and just get a bigass van that my wife will absolutely hate .

How about two 18" wide and two 30" wide?
For your smallest gigs you could bring one 18" wide cab. If you need more you can bring one 30" wide cab. If you need a little bit more than that bring the two 18" wide cabs. If you need a little bit more still just V-plate them. All these options would fit your packspace.
If you wanna kill anybody just bring it all.

Btw, if you build 16" wide inner panels you get minimum waste from a 4'*8' sheet.

Your outdoor rig is serious. That will require something with hauling capacity. Have you planned that part out? Rental?

Your two slims are about the same as a 3012LF in the same box, so you might consider building a 28" and V-plating it against the two slims. That'll require some creative wiring, but you should get a good bump in output. Do you have space for this?

Turntablist wrote:How about two 18" wide and two 30" wide?
For your smallest gigs you could bring one 18" wide cab. If you need more you can bring one 30" wide cab. If you need a little bit more than that bring the two 18" wide cabs. If you need a little bit more still just V-plate them. All these options would fit your packspace.
If you wanna kill anybody just bring it all.

Btw, if you build 16" wide inner panels you get minimum waste from a 4'*8' sheet.

I think I'm leaning towards the 18 inch versions, mostly for weight concerns. I want to be very *happy* with these builds, though... as the current ones I have are good, but not great, you know? That's my only hesitation, and why I'm leaving the 24 as an option.

Unfortunately, I'm also dead set on BB, so I use 5x5' panels The only thing that's truly optimal for waste for me would be a T60

Gauss wrote:Your outdoor rig is serious. That will require something with hauling capacity. Have you planned that part out? Rental?

Your two slims are about the same as a 3012LF in the same box, so you might consider building a 28" and V-plating it against the two slims. That'll require some creative wiring, but you should get a good bump in output. Do you have space for this?

I have a flatbed trailer for the outdoor gigs, so no worries there. I figure if weather doesn't hold up for the trailer, it won't hold up for the event! I hope to have 6 OT12s inside the Tahoe along with the components, and the Titans will be strapped to the trailer. I'll have to build some plywood boxes to stand those OTs up, as well. For any of the outdoor gigs, I have plenty of help from friends and the city workers.

Honestly, I'm thinking about getting rid of the slims altogether. I will never use them in singles again. If I can sell them locally, I'll do that - otherwise I'll just sell the drivers and use the boxes for bracing or jigs.

The only reason I'm not really considering bigger than 24s for the "A" rig is weight. The way I calculated it out, with BB, every inch on the Titan equals about 5 additional pounds of weight. At 28", we're talking well over 100 lbs... not really something I want to lift in and out of the Tahoe on a regular basis

6 dB at 50Hz is an awful lot of 50Hz that you are missing out of!

Chris_Allen wrote:6 dB at 50Hz is an awful lot of 50Hz that you are missing out of!

Indeed, but my back is happier

TBH, I cross over right at 50Hz. Does the response flatten out simply by adding the second cab? With two 18 inchers, aren't we talking an additional 4-6 inches of mouth?

Edit: wow this post sounds dirty.

bzb wrote:

Chris_Allen wrote: Edit: wow this post sounds dirty.

thats what she said

I vote 4x 18". But i'm all about symmetry, and I couldn't imagine running different sized subs at a gig. Just wouldn't look right.

bzb wrote: Maybe I just need to scrap all this junk and just get a bigass van that my wife will absolutely hate .

If you've got a Tahoe why not just get a little 5x10 enclosed trailer and be done with it. You can probably find one for less than a grand if you look around.

netwerks wrote: If you've got a Tahoe why not just get a little 5x10 enclosed trailer and be done with it. You can probably find one for less than a grand if you look around.

+1

Over here it's 95% cars and trailers in this business. I've been amazed many times by guys that want to buy vans or even trucks before trailers. It seems like that's the way it is on the other side of the pond. No offence to you bzb.

Here in New England my preference is to NOT tow a trailer in the winter. Just an extra hazard, i've seen more than a handful of SUV's get pulled off the road by their trailer. That being said, I drive a pickup, but my gig vehicle is a van. I use a trailer when I need to bring out more gear.

netwerks wrote:

bzb wrote: Maybe I just need to scrap all this junk and just get a bigass van that my wife will absolutely hate .

If you've got a Tahoe why not just get a little 5x10 enclosed trailer and be done with it. You can probably find one for less than a grand if you look around.

Already have a flatbed for one (I guess I could add walls and a door to it?). For two, you ever tried parking an enclosed trailer in a parking garage in downtown Atlanta? On a side note, I prefer having my stuff locked up in the vehicle. It's far more likely someone clips the lock and runs off with your gear (or motorcycles) than breaks into your vehicle. There are many times I just keep my gear in the Tahoe and park it in my garage.

I'm kind of surprised that trailers are the norm in Europe. Seems your tiny roads and non-existent parking wouldn't be conducive to owning a trailer.



As far as the matching set, I hear ya on that. I don't know that anyone will really notice at the outdoor events, though, since they'll be stacked with the slimmer ones on top of the 30s.


But back on topic... what effect does doubling up on the T39 3012 @ 18" have versus a single @ 30" (not considering V-plating)?

bzb wrote:I'm kind of surprised that trailers are the norm in Europe. Seems your tiny roads and non-existent parking wouldn't be conducive to owning a trailer.

I'm not talking for the whole of Europe Here in Kalmar in Sweden stuff gets stolen but it's very, very, very rare. Ofcourse, it's a matter of how cautious you are.. We have wide roads and parking lots here to handle trailers. From your post it seems like I'd have to honk my horn every other minute to scare the mountain goats away from the path of packed dirt that I'm driving on

But back on topic... what effect does doubling up on the T39 3012 @ 18" have versus a single @ 30" (not considering V-plating)?

Are you talking about a comparison about two 18" wide cabs and one 30" wide cab? If so there's not a lot of difference, the 18" wide cabs can go a db louder on average, they have more versatility and they can be V-plated. That's about it.

Due to your original graph looking weird (read: sucking ) I decided to repost.



But if you cannot go with your original plan, simply default to the plans: build as wide as possible. So if you want the slim pair, then go for it and then just build the wider ones to take up the extra space. And for small gigs, i would rather take the two slims than one of the wider ones. I mean, it doesn't really matter that you gain 2 extra db from going wider if you can't fit all four of them in your truck.

And on another note, be a real man and just get a mini van

Turntablist wrote: it seems like I'd have to honk my horn every other minute to scare the mountain goats away from the path of packed dirt that I'm driving on

Wait, you DON'T have to do that?

I've driven in Belgium, Italy, Germany, and Hungary. Tiny roads abound (but I always had tiny cars, too!) I've never been to Sweden, but I assumed it was the same. Thousand pardons to your goats

Are you talking about a comparison about two 18" wide cabs and one 30" wide cab? If so there's not a lot of difference, the 18" wide cabs can go a db louder on average, they have more versatility and they can be V-plated. That's about it.

So in a nutshell, Pros for 2x18s:

- About half the weight for each carry
- Can be v-plated or stacked depending on situation

Cons:

- Costs an extra driver with no additional output over the single 30"
- Additional build

You're not making this easier!!