Hello! Newbie here. I have my plans and getting ready to build me some greatness!

[kdrums]

OK. Glad to be on this site! So much knowledge and support from people who actually care about proper sound. . I have a friend who has built many T48's/Omni's and I have mixed several gigs inside and out with BFM cabs. I was sold on day 1. Now it's my turn. Building a "small" rig that will fit in my SUV. Big shows I will just borrow his I am Going with 2 jack 10's on sticks with melded arrays, 2 T39's 15" wide w/v plate and 4 Wedgehorn 6's for monitors. All premium drivers. Wish me luck. Need to get er done for summer patio shows and small venue's

Looking forward to posting pics someday of the little rig that could

I know where to come with questions, that's for sure....

[Chris_Allen]

Welcome aboard!

Can you make your T39's 16"? That's the minimum width for the 3012LF or Lab12 which gives you the best output to size ratio.

Are you always going to use subs? If so, I would skip the Jacks and build OmniTops instead.

[kdrums]

Pack space is my number 1 concern for this build. I was planning on ordering the 15" config flat pack through speakerhardware as it is my understanding that is the smallest i can go with a 12" T39 yes?. I know i can get pre-cut 15/18/20 and so on etc.

I did consider the Omni's as well but the jacks are ever so slightly smaller. I will at times use the Jack 10's in my car with an amp/processor case/small mixer etc for acoustic gigs so o tops wont cut it. I am truly going for "wow" all that is coming out of that little PA and a swiss army knife of sorts. I have used many small subcompact commercial rigs over the last few years at 5-10 times the cost that on paper cant even touch the smallest BFM rig as I am planning.

Thank you very much for your reply

[Tom Smit]

Welcome to the forum! Enjoy your builds!

[Grant Bunter]

Yes indeed, welcome to the forum

Don't second guess your pack space. Build some cardboard mockups of the cab sizes you intend to build (Jacks and T39's), and see if that takes up all your pack space, or no. Or that maybe a bit of cab tetris will give you more space than you thought you had.

Reasoning;
The wider you can get your T39's, the better the output.
Similarly, J12's will do better than J10's.
I think that's important for you when are have heard Otops...

[DJPhatman]

Similarly, J12's will do better than J10's.

Grant, I believe you meant to say OT12s will do better than J10s.

kdrums, Do yourself a favor, and build OT12s with cross-fired melded arrays. Small, intimate gatherings? Use 1 of each. Bigger gatherings? Bring it all. Modular is the key here. Always bi-amp, tops and subs. This keeps your sound whole. I (we) totally understand about pack space. This is why we recommend

Build some cardboard mockups of the cab sizes you intend to build

[Chris_Allen]

Two (+3dB) Vplated (+3dB) 16" T39s have the same sensitivity as one 30" wide one whilst being 3" thinner in pack space.

15" is too narrow for the 3012LF, 16" is your minimum width and you are just throwing away free low end response.

Building one 28" 3012LF T39 will probably give you more output that a two 10" driver, 15" wide T39s with less pack space. The 24" will probably be a couple of dB down above 50Hz.

[kdrums]

Thank you ALL for your feedback. I amgoing to re think things. I am going to make cardboard mock ups
And play around...

[kdrums]

In relation to the recommendation to just jump up to the Otop 12. I am going to be doing an acoustic act in a few weeks for about 100 folks with my good friends O top wide cabs. NO subs. We are talking fiddle, acoustic gutiar, accordian, etc(folk/Irish). This would be the type of gig I was thinking the Jack would be the better fit for. After further review I think I can pull it off with the Otop12 wide. I am not looking for high SPL's for this type of event I would run without subs. Not allot going on under 100 with this style of music. After looking at dimensions, Jack 10's only save me a few inches in pack space.

Now onto the other noted comment regarding Bi amping. I was not planning on BI-amping for my future build again due to simplified setup and less amp channels. I understand the benefits but this is to be my Mini rig. I am willing to consider it in case I wanted to scale to larger more efficient scenario down the road.

Thanks again for folks that have chimed in. I am not rushing in to my build(s) going to take my time and do it right the first time for my needs. I am willing to listen to all suggestions.

[Bruce Weldy]

O top wide cabs.
Otop12 wide.

What is an OT12 wide? Pretty sure they only come in one width.

[kdrums]

Bruce, by wide I meant cross-fired melded arrays vs long throw.

[kdrums]

Chris, it seems the single 30 would be the most bang for the buck/setup. Not to mention saves on cost for initial build. Yes 1 big box, but then I could build another. Very tough considering I was trying to make the PA also look as small as possible for aesthetics in addition to pack space concerns. You know how venue owners can be.. Also considering sub placement/experimentation dependent on venue config is always a concern. There is always a trade off.

Decisions, decisions.......

[kdrums]

Welcome aboard!

Can you make your T39's 16"? That's the minimum width for the 3012LF or Lab12 which gives you the best output to size ratio.

Are you always going to use subs? If so, I would skip the Jacks and build OmniTops instead.

Ok for the subs, after some Cardboard tetris I think i can get away with 18-20" cabs. Now what driver 3012LF or Lab12? Is it just a weight difference? if so how much?

[Grant Bunter]

7ish pounds for the 3012lf, 22 ish pounds for the Lab12.

Since there's no difference in output between the 2, and about $10 in price difference, the only thing left to worry about is your back. You'll appreciate the lighter weight of the 3012lf, especially at the end of the night...

[Chris_Allen]

7ish pounds for the 3012lf, 22 ish pounds for the Lab12.

Since there's no difference in output between the 2, and about $10 in price difference, the only thing left to worry about is your back. You'll appreciate the lighter weight of the 3012lf, especially at the end of the night...

Would the 3012LF also generate less heat and have a lower risk of driver failure?