DIY speaker cabinets...?

S

Speedy VonTrapp

New member
I've searched the boards here, and found little on the subject, so I'm going to ask in this forum, as I hope this is the correct one to do so...

My band is looking into expanding our PA setup, and one of the options is going to be building our own speakers. Well, cabinets, anyway.

Is there a site out there, that can help out with this? Is it good enough to just emulate some existing speakers, like the Yamaha SE series, or something of the sort? We'd possibly like to look at mains, and maybe even 4x12 cabinets for guitars, too. Just so that the info is available should we decide that we'd like to try it.

We can get the materials cheap enough, and have a decent deal on some of the equipment like crossovers, so if there's something out there that can help us out, that would be a big help.

Thanks in advance to any suggestions.

-Speedy
 
I've been looking for some info on this stuff too, particularly concerning building guitar cabs. There most helpful site I've come across so far is www.diyaudio.com It's the do-it-yourself audio forum, and has a couple of threads on these topics. I still don't have a good handle on the theory behind this stuff though...I don't understand what should and should not be done when building a cab.

There's also some of this type of info on the homemade tube amp site www.ax84.com

Here's a Vox cabinet replica site: http://www.geofex.com/Article_Folders/voxamp/voxcab.htm

And there are some cab plans towards the bottom of this build-your-own amp site:
http://sound.westhost.com/project27b.htm

Does anyone else have good links? I found a bunch of places that sell cab speakers too (Celestions, Jensen, etc.). Has anyone dealt with any particular dealer they like more than others, or have the best prices?

I'm also wondering if it's worth building your own guitar cabs, after all, decent speakers run $80+ a piece! Add to that the cost of other materials and you're talking $350-400 to build a 4x12! It'd definitely be a fun project though.
 
is there nobody else who has anything to contribute to this thread????? Has no one here built their own PA's or cabs???
 
Fane published a book on cabinet design but I doubt that it's still available, however, just for the hell of it I did what I considered the logical thing and did a Google search on "speaker cabinet design"........there are at least 1700 answers..........I suggest starting there.

:cool:
 
Yes. I've built my own cabinet.

It's really not rocket science. I've built 6 cabinets. Both for PA equipment and car stereo equipment.

For PA: Go measure a PA cabinet that you like. Get a sheet of 3/4" MDF and build to suit. You can add a bass diffuser panel on the inside, but I found a backing of R-13 accomplishes roughly the same thing. As far as speakers, I've used whatever I can get my hands on for cheap. Ebay, boom box speakers, Radio shack, whatever. If it's got a good clean sound and doesn't distort I use it.
 
i would suggest using 3/4" plywood for any cab that will be producing bass frequencies. i just built 2 18" cerwin vega folded horn subs(36" x 36" x 24") and if i used mdf they would be twice the weight. 3/4 voidless ply is the best middle ground. a good place to buy parts , like handles ,corners,crossovers, jackplates and speakers is steelsound.com. i have always had good luck there and always good communication. there are a lot of sites that include links for cabinet building, but i cant remember any off hand.
 
Plywood is lighter than MDF. However, MDF is a recommended material for cabinet construction. But, lugging a MDF cabinet will make you fully appreciate the value of a dolly.
 
First of all, thanks for the replies, everyone!

I tried the "logical" google route, and yeah, there's thousands of hits there, but many are for $70 software packages that teach you much more than I want to know at this stage of the game. And the price tag kind of defeats the purpose that I've got here, anyway.

Even past those, I have found very few specific details for what I'm looking for. That's why I took the apparently "lazy man's" approach and asked people here. :rolleyes:

I've been checking out a bunch of the sites listed here, too, and perhaps my searching skills just aren't what they used to be, but I'm still coming up short.

All I'm looking for is a monitor for vocals. Nothing like a 4x10 cab or anything like that, so weight is a little bit less of an issue. Just a floor angled 2-way box. Right now, I'm thinking probably 12" speakers just to conserve on how much power I'll have to have for them. I guess the best suggestion that I've seen so far is to just measure some that I can find, and go with that. I'm just not sure about the insides that way.

Just something to hold a horn and a 12" speaker.

Thanks again for the help, everyone!

-Speedy
 
The insides are an empty box. Some will use a diffuser panel, which is nothing more than a wall in the middle of the box with various size holes cut in it. (Think swiss cheese) I found insulation yeilds the same results with less cost and effort. Backing affixed to the enclosure, fuzzy side up.
 
as i understand it, insulation tends to fool the speaker into behaving like its in a larger enclosure than it actually is. i dont know how this works ,but i have heard it numerous times. another thing i heard is to use synthetic isnsulation, like pillow stuffing or somthing along the same material , mainly because the glass fibres can become dislodged from the insulation ending up in the speaker internals somehow. re: mdf vs. 3/4 ply. mdf is better, but one other problem i have encountered besides weight, is that living in canada we tend to get some snow occasionally (2 weeks ago we had 31 cm ,almost june) when transporting our p.a to gigs we found that the mdf soaked up moisture through the carpet covering and tended to cause problems with the corners and such getting soggy and mushing into a type of sawdust paste. plus did i mention that they are heavy as hell.
 
If you're just trying to build a stage monitor like you said then I'm not sure it's going to be a savings building it yourself. You can get a cheap one for around $50, like this: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7...119890/g=home/search/detail/base_pid/630540X/

or there's this one: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7...119890/g=home/search/detail/base_pid/600811X/

I guess the only way it'd be worth building your own is if you intended to buy a really high-quality, expensive monitor...then it'd probably be a savings to build your own.
 
tomleblanc said:
If you're just trying to build a stage monitor like you said then I'm not sure it's going to be a savings building it yourself. You can get a cheap one for around $50, like this: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7...119890/g=home/search/detail/base_pid/630540X/

You would come out cheaper and better by buying the above monitor and reloading it with better drivers. A very good place to get supplies from is at http://www.partsexpress.com/webpage.cfm?&DID=7&WebPage_ID=27
Click to expand...
 
I never bothered building them myself - although (interestingly) I just started thinking about attacking this myself - and if i do I'll be happy to share with everyone else.......

But - here are some sites:

http://www.geocities.com/diyproac25/faq.htm

http://www.io.com/~patman/ls.html

I think the more promising is this:

By Kevin O'Connor, 2001, ISBN 0-9698-6087-0

78 pages, 48 figures, 5½ x 8½" soft-cover spiral-bound booklet
Price: $15 US, $19 CDN within Canada

http://www.londonpower.com/spkr.htm

Rod
 
shavano music online has a lot of information regarding p.a building. there is a section on how to build floor monitors showing all dimensions , angles and wiring. i cant remember my password that i use on my work computer so at home im zook125 at work im zook250 (zook is short for suzuki. RM's rule)
 
Well, I've built speakers before, I got the drivers from Jaycar Electronics (Australia). Their catalogue is very good, shows all the theile/small specs of the speakers and even gives typical cabinet dimensions for each speaker.

If you can't get a hold of cabinet dimensions then you will definatelly need the specs for the speaker. To make life easier there are a few tools you can use to help design the box.

http://www.loudspeakers101.com/Sound.htm

Here you can find javascripts that can calculate the box volume that you'll need for you speaker for sealed and ported enclosures. You need to know the total Q Factor (Qts), Equivalent Volume (Vas) and the resonant frequency (fs) of the speaker you are using.

Once you have the internal area required, you design a box that has that volume. To make life easier again you can download a program from car audio australia (http://www.caraudioaustralia.com) to help you work it out. If you decide to go ported then you will aslo need to work out the diameter and length of the port so that it is tuned to the right frequency. Both loudspeaker101 and the CAA calculator can help you with this. Then it's just a matter of building the box. If you go sealed, make sure it is really sealed, and sealed boxes also benefit from sound dampening in the box.
 
I'm still confused about the differences, if any, between building a PA type speaker and a guitar cab. I know the guitar cabs use different speakers, but is there anything fundamentally different in their design that makes them appropriately tuned for guitar amplification (dimensions, insulation, wiring, etc)? What is crucial for making a basic guitar cab that doesn't sound like crap?
 
It is mostly the speakers and preamp that shape the sound coming out of the guitar. I don't think the design principles would be any different..... But I'm not sure. PA speakers you are trying to get a full frequency response, guitar amps don't really need it.
 
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