Plans / Specs for building Guitar Cabs??

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WERNER 1

WERNER 1

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Does anybody out there have any plans or specs for building guitar speaker cabs?

I am going to be building a 2x12 cab here in the very near future and was looking for some direction on this. I've got pretty good wood working skills as well as access to a killer wood shop at my work. :)

I've already got 2 4x12 cabs and an EarCandy BuzzBomb 2x12, but I wanted to make something nice for my self with Vintage 30's.

Any info would be great.

Thanks in advance,

Rick

PS - I don't know if the same things apply to speaker design in guitar cabs as they do in hi-fi enclosures, but does anyone know what the cubic ft. requirment of a V30 is?
 
Go to the eminence website they have a link to it, are you looking at open back or closed? I use an open back that I made with 2 Eminence speakers and I'm happy as hell with it. I recently tried a closed 2x12 and didn't like it at all, far too bassy for me.
I based mine on the dimensions of my Fender Twin combo, it was approximate but it worked brilliantly as far as I'm concerned.
 
I suggest finding an existing cabinet that you like the way it sounds and then get the measurements. Parts Express is a good source for the hardware. Avatar Sound is a source for speakers, as is Mojo. I've built a number of cabinets over the years and the ears are the final critic. I've had a couple that I thought sounded just OK and bandmates and friends thought were killer!

What amp you're using will be a hugh factoras well as the how close the speakers power handling capacity is to the amp. I once made the mistake of buying 2-12" Gauss speakers for a cabinet built after a Fender Showman cabinet. The Gauss had 14 pound magnets and were rated at 250 watts. Talk about a clean sound, even witth a Fender Twin Reverb turned up to 7 -8! (which then made me way too loud). I sold 'em to a keyboard player who thought they were the absolute best sounding speakers he'd ever used.

MDF is considered by many to be the prefered material (but it's heavy), others like multi-ply birch, and others like the boutique look of solid hardwood (for the sides). If you use MDF, either use a birch (or mahogany would work) ply for the speaker board, or use a 1/8" or 1/4" ply backer glued to the MDF so T-nuts (for mounting the speakers) have something to hold into.

Also, front loaded speakers seem to sound a bit different from back loaded (mounted) speakers.

Not the most definitive answer but it should get you headed in the right direction.

Stainlessbrown
Sacramento
 
yup..

I've got the specs for an AC30 cab.... let me know if you're interested and I can email them to you
 
Is that the sealed cab? If so, yes I'm interested in that (AC30 cab specs.) One of our other guitarist used one of those, and man it sounds good! (I don't recall which speakers it has in it though.

I'm pretty much decided on Birch Plywood 3/4".

Speakers are Carvin GS12-75-16's (Basically a V30 - Very, VERY similar in sound and tone)

I've got 3 amps that I will potentially be using with this cab at any given time :) Carvin "V3", Carvin Legacy, and Carvin Quad X (4 channel all tube preamp w/ Boogie 50/50 power amp)

I currently have a Marshall TV (Tall Vintage ) 1960 4x12 w/Greenbacks and a Carvin 4x12 with V12's in it. I also have an Earcandy 2x12 w/ Legend (Eminence) GB12 and 125 in it...........I'm just looking for that V30 sound to round everything out.

Rick
 
WERNER 1 said:
Is that the sealed cab? If so, yes I'm interested in that (AC30 cab specs.) One of our other guitarist used one of those, and man it sounds good! (I don't recall which speakers it has in it though.

I'm pretty much decided on Birch Plywood 3/4".

Speakers are Carvin GS12-75-16's (Basically a V30 - Very, VERY similar in sound and tone)

I've got 3 amps that I will potentially be using with this cab at any given time :) Carvin "V3", Carvin Legacy, and Carvin Quad X (4 channel all tube preamp w/ Boogie 50/50 power amp)

I currently have a Marshall TV (Tall Vintage ) 1960 4x12 w/Greenbacks and a Carvin 4x12 with V12's in it. I also have an Earcandy 2x12 w/ Legend (Eminence) GB12 and 125 in it...........I'm just looking for that V30 sound to round everything out.

Rick
Click to expand...

If you have 'woodworking skills' as you said in the first post, you should hit up a woodworkers shop and get some actual wood. It will cost a bit more, but if you are serious about this, they why waste your time with plywood?
 
Well initially I was just going to "slap" something together, but now it may turn into a bit of a bigger project.

I was going to cover the cab with tolex anyway so I don't see where using hardwood would be cost effective. If I were going to build one with out being covered, then I'd go that way for sure.........In fact I would really like to do that some day.

I think 3/4 cabinet grade plywood would suffice for this project, and I'd only be into those materials for less than 50 bucks.

My biggest hold up right now is that I want to know more about why a manufacturer chose a certian size cab for their 2x12 cab. Did they just throw something together, or were the dimensions a highly calculated formula that was deririved from months of testing and research?

There are a couple of Speaker Design software packages out there that I know of right now. One is "Eminence Design" - Developed by Eminence, and then there's LEAP 5 (This one cost about 1500 bucks!) I can't justify even spending the 60 bucks on the eminence one ........at least not for just one speaker cab. :(

Anybody have either of those?

Rick
 
I was told that MDF or multi-layer plywood is the way to go...solid woods tend to ring or have resonance. I donno...it's just what I was told.
 
the best thing you can go for is marine birch ply. Ive built loads of cabs, mainly 2*12's since i cannot be bothered with the insane prices of boutique 2*12 prices. Make sure there is enough "breathing" space for the speakers inside the cab otherwise the will get damaged.
 
I've been considering taking a shot at building one myself. I've got dove tail jigs and have done a bit of cabinet making. Can you put up some plans? I'm thinking the most critical item is the baffle...locating it properly in the box and the material. I heard that if the baffle is too heavy the cab won't sound right...is that so?
 
density

I use 12-15mm ply throughout the cab, Im going to say dovetailing is essential, A few cabmakers in the 60's didn't use dovetails, the results are not that good.

Litterally, you can just take a look at a cab you want to rip off, measuring it would be a bonus, and draw up a plan of how it going to be built. Where the speakers are placed is important, thats why its important to rip off the cab properly :D

In all honesty, If you are building a compact cab, things like speaker placement, and dimentios relly become a neccesity. But dont build a cab thats tiny, Soldano are the only company I have come across that have made decent sounding compact cabs.

As i said Science and physics comes in when the cab gets small, and you want to start porting, open back, etc... making a closed back cab for celestions, fanes, and the like is not rocket science. Give space for the speakers to breath, Use marine birch ply, and gusset/glue the thing properly and you will have a better sounding cab than you be able to buy for less than your typical mortgage. I have spent time over making 2 cabs "properly" in my life, and the results were barely noticeable over my chuck it together and make sure its big and solid method.
 
Well I've priced up the wood - Birch 7 ply - and it's about 44 bucks for a 4x8 sheet.

I still need to decide where to get the tolex and other hardware and then I'm set.

I was able to find some free speaker design software programs, but I need to get the exact specs on my speakers to make everything work as it should.

Rick
 
I'm gonna have to get on this...been meaning to try it for some time now. Personally, I think a stained and clear coated bare wood cabinet with dove tails is very cool looking...you'd have to pay a little more for the better grade wood but if you're looking at a 2x12 or a 4x12 cabinet, the tolex ain't cheap either.
 
I am new to this and would definitely consider building myself another cabinet. I currently own a MESA 4x12 recto cabinet but would like to have another for backup or extra power. Can anyone show me to sites that would assist with building a cabinet. I've searched google but haven't come up with anything real concrete. I would like to make something similar to a MESA or a Marshall 4x12 cabinet.

Also, for the more experienced in this, how much money do these cabinets end up costing (with speakers (quality speakers)) alltogether?

Thanks,
Ryan
 
Yeah I've got that info from Duncan amp and a whole bunch of others, but after all this searching and price checking, I found a company on ebay selling 3/4 birch 2x12 cabs for 132 plus shipping. AND, they are now offering a 20% discount which takes it down to about 130 shipped.........I can't even buy the materials for that much.

As much as I'd love to build my own cab, I think I may just buy one that's all ready done and won't have the possibility of being "jacked up" (Like it might if I make it :( )

Rick
 
punkin said:
I'm thinking the most critical item is the baffle...locating it properly in the box and the material. I heard that if the baffle is too heavy the cab won't sound right...is that so?
Click to expand...
That's a baffling question...
 
I've built a Genzbenz 212 G-Flex like cab. I got to tell that it really bombs. I loaded it with a couple of Vintage 30 and I'm totally satisfied with its sound. I got pictures somewhere; I'll post them when found. :D
 
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