Thoughts on first cab build

[GroovePuppy]

Hoping to take delivery of a '68 Bassman soon to replace my HR Deville and I'm looking around at cabinet options. It's tough to find something used that meets my requirements so I figure it might be more satisfying and probably cheaper to build my own. Checked some of the threads on here and read through the article on this site http://www.duncanamps.com/technical/speaker_cab.html which was quite informative.

So I know a little about construction techniques, material selection choices, etc. I would tolex the cab and throw a cloth/mesh grill on the front, but here's some specs I was thinking of.

- 4ohm, as dictated by the Bassman output specs obviously.

- 2x12" seems somewhat sensible. I don't want to haul a 4x12" around with my back.

- Vertical slanted to get some height to the thing, although I do have an amp stand I could use.

- Open/closed. Was thinking an open back top and closed bottom might give me the best of both worlds; spread and projection.

- Speaker selection. Different for the open/closed halves? 25W each? Are higher powered speakers a bad choice? I know they won't damage anything but I assume they are optimized for their power rating.

I was really hoping someone might have some plans I could use. I suppose using plans for a closed 1x12 and "extending" the height to add an open on top would be doable since the dimensions of an open cab are less critical.

I like fender clean tones in my amp. Of course I like to throw gobs of overdrive and fuzz in there too when the mood takes me. I plan to jumper the Bassman inputs if that matters.

Opinions gratefully received. :D

[muchxs]

Originally Posted by GroovePuppy

- 2x12" seems somewhat sensible. I don't want to haul a 4x12" around with my back.

I like 2x10". Super easy to carry. Ten inch speakers are perfectly suited to guitar.

Originally Posted by GroovePuppy

- Vertical slanted to get some height to the thing, although I do have an amp stand I could use.

Suit yourself. You're probably making it more complicated than it needs to be.

Originally Posted by GroovePuppy

- - Open/closed. Was thinking an open back top and closed bottom might give me the best of both worlds; spread and projection.

You say "no 4x12" " but this will get real heavy real quick. Take a basic 30 pound cabinet and double it. Then add speakers.

BTW I can buy Marshall 4x12"s for as low as $300 here. They're easy to wire for 4 ohms.

Originally Posted by GroovePuppy

- Speaker selection. Different for the open/closed halves? 25W each? Are higher powered speakers a bad choice? I know they won't damage anything but I assume they are optimized for their power rating.

25 watt speakers are for people who are into the speaker breakup thing.

It used to be we had 25 watt Celestions in our stacks because that's what they came with. We cranked 'em because it kicked ass. Blew some speakers, too.

Eventually we got 75 watt and even 100 watt Celestions. Cranked 'em because it kicks ass. Didn't blow speakers as often.


Eminence makes lots of great 75 watt speakers. You want to at least double what your amp puts out, anyway. Unless you like buyin' new speakers all the time...

Originally Posted by GroovePuppy

I was really hoping someone might have some plans I could use. I suppose using plans for a closed 1x12 and "extending" the height to add an open on top would be doable since the dimensions of an open cab are less critical.

It's a box. It needs to be big enough to hold a couple speakers and wide enough that your Bassman doesn't look silly.

[jh45gun]

I would go with the 2x10 suggestion that is what I use with my 100 watt PA 100 head and it is loaded with EV speakers it works great and is easier to carry because of the size. It is a heavy cab those EV speakers have massive magnets on them and can handle a lot of power 300 watts each but they sound great. I have a cab with 2 12s too but it collects dust for now I much prefer the 2x10.

[GroovePuppy]

Originally Posted by muchxs

I like 2x10". Super easy to carry. Ten inch speakers are perfectly suited to guitar.

Seems like 2x10" wouldn't have the surface area for moving air (I probably don't know what I'm talking about) but 4x10" gets back to the weight issue.

Originally Posted by muchxs

You say "no 4x12" " but this will get real heavy real quick. Take a basic 30 pound cabinet and double it. Then add speakers.

Hmm, I figure a 2x12" with one half open will be much the same weight as a 2x12" completely closed.

Originally Posted by muchxs

You want to at least double what your amp puts out, anyway. Unless you like buyin' new speakers all the time...

So I guess I'll look for two 50W speakers in parallel for a 50W head.

Originally Posted by muchxs

It's a box. It needs to be big enough to hold a couple speakers and wide enough that your Bassman doesn't look silly.

+1 on the head can't be wider than the cab!

[muchxs]

Originally Posted by muchxs

It's a box. It needs to be big enough to hold a couple speakers and wide enough that your Bassman doesn't look silly.

Originally Posted by GroovePuppy

+1 on the head can't be wider than the cab!

Unless you think everything should look like a mushroom.

[birddog01]

Listen to Muchx he is a smart man.

Here's the way I set up my Bassman head. First off I wanted something manageable for easy transport.
Did some research, decided on a 210 Coyote slant cab befor I started building my own. 2 75w Ragin Cajun's fit the bill nicely, 8ohm speakers wired for 4 ohms.


Then after joining this forum and starting to build my own cabs and getting an earful of 15" speaker running through my viens that I just had to try I built a 1 15 cab and got a decent deal on a Weber Michigan and love it.
Then I had a stack, if I go out with it I only take the slant cab though. The more I look at it though I got to recover it to match.

[GroovePuppy]

Nice, but how do you get 4ohms with both configurations? Are they open or closed?

[birddog01]

Well I don't get 4 ohms, there is a slight mis-match but not that much and if you read up on it, most Fender amps can handle it.
The Coyote slant cab is a "convertible" you can leave the center back panel out and run it as an open cab, put put it in and run as a closed cab.
I chose to run it open, when I first put the speakers in it sounded better open but the speakers weren't broken in. Been running it open ever since, but now after 3 years I think I'll play around and run it closed again and see how it sounds.
Took the 210 out off the loop just recently and running just the 115 lately.
I built that cab 14" deep and built it with an open back and like it alone. Suppose I could make a panel and run it closed but I like it the way it is.
Playing it last night with my Tele, run a minimalist pedal board, tuner, wah/volume pedal, blues driver, reverb pedal and compressor. Most of the time just a little verb and I'm good, my favorite amp I've ever had but its not stock. (And my 5E3 is not done yet)

[GroovePuppy]

Originally Posted by birddog01

I think this image has decided my course of action. Since I was planning on a half and half cab configuration I'll just make two completely seperate cabs for a mini stack. More weight overall but each item is lighter so it solves the weight concerns for lifting. I'm thinking now of a 2x10" top and a 1x12" bottom.

If I make the closed back cab with a removable rear panel I can reconfig it to open back without a scratch rebuild. If I make the speaker baffles the same size I can convert the 2x10" to a second 1x12". I may even consider making the cabs large enough for a 1x15" or a 2x12".

Great picture. Thanks for the inspiration.