A stereo 2x10 upright cabinet?

[ferenc_in_bp]

Hi everybody, newbie here!

I've build myself a guitar amp in a pedal. I am more than happy with it. It is a clean-only, solid state, battery powered amp that can do about 2x50W. It has an effects unit which is based around Spin Semi's FV-1 chip, so it can do all sorts of reverbs, choruses and delays. The amp is mono-in but stereo-out, since some of the effects can have a full stereo output.

Later I will post some pictures of my precious

What I would like to do now is build a cabinet for it. I know nothing of woodworking, and don't even have the tools, so I want to turn to a professional. But I need ideas.

I already have two Jensen CH 10" 50W speakers for it, and I would like the speakers to be one on top of the other in the cabinet, so that it does not take too much space. Maybe make the upper speaker a bit slanted to have better vertical sound dispersion.

I was thinking that being that the cabinet should be true stereo, the two chambers should be separated. Or maybe it will not be a problem if it is not?

Thanks for any ideas you might have!

 

[printer2]

There is no downside in putting a baffle between them, might as well do it. Does not have to be too thick.

 

[James Knox]

Welcome!

Love your idea. Sounds like a perfect “play for enjoyment” rig. Looking forward to seeing pics and maybe hearing some sound samples!

 

[chris m.]

My suggestion would be to build two cabinets. That way you can separate them widely on stage and get a true stereo effect in the audience. If the two speakers are in the same cabinet then once you are more than about 10 feet away it really won't sound stereo at all, IMO. This also allows you to stack them vertically, angle them in various ways, put them side by side, etc... or even just use one and go mono, depending on the situation.

 

[memorex]

Agree with chris m. I used to use a dual 12" vertical cab wired for stereo, and the stereo effect was basically non-existent if you're actually going for stereo sound.

 

[VintageSG]

I built a 2x10" mono cab. It sounds superb. I can install the drivers in a matter of minutes. I can ( and have ) run it as stereo, or rather, run two amps, one per driver by simple dint of a wiring change.

I currently have those drivers in a pair of 1x10" cabs. Far more flexible in use.

 

[ferenc_in_bp]

Thanks everyone for the replies!

I agree that separate cabinets bring more versatility. But I would like to keep the compactness of a single box, so maybe a way to attach the two cabinets to each other?

Does anyone have ideas about the size of the cabinets? What is a good cabinet size for a 10" speaker? Or rather, what is the smallest size I can get away with that will give me decent sound. I am mostly playing jazz.

I've attached some pictures of my pedal-amp. The amp is modular, with three separate PCBs: the preamp, the effects and the power section.

The preamp is based around Elliott Sound Product's project 27. I've reduced the gain of the distortion stage to just clip in case the input is too loud, so it doesn't clip at all when the volume on the guitar and the preamp is at full. It has a typical treble/mid/bass tone control and a volume control. I've changed the tone circuit a bit so that it sounds the way I like it when all three pots are in the middle. I've kept the bright switch. And I've also changed the rail-splitter from a discrete Zener based one to a TLE2426: much better for a battery powered circuit.

Then there's the effects unit which is the most complex part of the amp. I run the preamp output to both inputs of the FV-1 chip, and I have a AVR based microcontroller which feeds FV-1 with programs with effect programs. There is a rotary encoder selector which selects the current program and 6 LEDs that show which program is active. I use most of AVR's flash memory to store the effect programs I found on github. Currently, it can store 50 external effects plus the 8 build-in ones. I mostly use 2 or 3, so, yeah, overkill . And it also has a dry/wet mixer, and an output volume control.

The power stage is based around Texas Instrument's TPA3220. It is a Class-D stereo audio amplifier that I have used before for audio amplifiers. I love it.

I've put it all into a 119 x 93.5 x 56.5mm box. I've commissioned my sister to draw me something for the top of the box, but that project is still ongoing

On one of the images right next to the battery plug, there is a hole which was supposed to hold the on/off switch. Well, there is no switch because I learned about in-rush current and its effect on switches the hard way: the spark welded together the contacts of the switch, so I decided to leave it out. I will have a switch and decent in-rush current protection in the next version of the circuit which will go into the cabinet.

I've attached images of the finished amp, and the schematics for the three PCBs.

Thanks for reading!

 

[Lowerleftcoast]

As mentioned, for true stereo the cabinets cannot be stacked. We have ears on each side of our head so the sound sources need to come from different places on a horizontal plane for us to notice. That said, the vertical stack could still be used as an *effect enhancement* by using differently voiced speakers for the different audio produced from the two amplifiers.

If you decide to build the stacked 2x10, the higher frequencies will be separated *some* by placing a divider in between the speakers. The low frequencies would benefit by having no divider. Imo, the best of both worlds would have the divider but have a vent in it so, the low frequencies can develop using the entire volume of the enclosure. Place the vent holes of the divider near the front baffle. Our ears distinguish high frequencies better than low so, the direction of lows are not perceived well... even in true stereo. Hence, the *mono sub speaker* in high end stereo applications.

Also, there is nothing wrong in having a mono source on the stage. The listener can find you easier when they hear where you are.

 

[Tonewolf_Amps]

Stack em vertically but always play your guitar laying on your side or head tilted?

 

[Wally]

Can you imagine some of the great moments in stereo Recording if the results were played with the speakers for each side of the soundstage stacked on top of each other? The beginning of “Livin’ in the USA” would have a dragster accelerating in a vertical path instead of from stage right across the room to stage left. I guess that would work if the sound were that of a rocket taking off….maybe the song’s title could be changed for Elon Musk….‘leaving’ the USA’????? Or…all of those pans in Led Zepellin’s early recording would be vertically active…instead of across the stage.
or…how about Al Dimeola, Paco de Lucia and John MacLaughlin…
one would be on top, one on the bottom and one in the middle???? How many times have you seen guitarists sitting in a vertical stack?
or just imagine a mono guitar running through a synthetic stereo pedal that yielded two signals. Instead of hearing the signal pan from left to right and back again, one would hear the signal jumping up and down.

Stereo is more than a six letter word….
Fyi, a 2x stacked speaker with a mono signal is the way mono should be handled.
Enjoy…

 

[Wally]

Space concerns onstage? eminence builds a great 8” speaker.…820H. A good speaker cab could be built to house one of those. Two of them could then be positioned without taking up a great deal of room

 

[ferenc_in_bp]

The thing is that I am really reluctant to give up on the single cabinet idea. How about this: I have a single cabinet which can stand upright to not take up space, but can also be placed horizontally for optimal stereo effect? Maybe it can have feet on two sides. Best of both worlds.

And I am a bedroom guitarist, so the stage is not really a concern for me.

 

[Bob M]

I had a BF Tremolux for many years. The 2 x 10 cabs that they came with were a perfect dimension IMHO. I had a cab (open back) made to those dimensions and put a couple of sc-64s in there. Probably the best sounding cab I’ve ever owned. Forget the stereo single cab idea. 2 individual cabs spread out would be better, but I’m not sure how effective stereo is in a band situation. Just one man’s opinion.

 

[Beebe]

Use directional horns and face them in opposite directions. The reflections off the walls will give you some stereo effect.

Edit: searching "60 x 40 speaker horn" turns up some results.

 

[Beebe]

You could also do two cabinets that attach to form one.

Or one cabinet with a speaker module that can be pulled out and placed across the room.

 

[arlum]

My suggestion would be to build two cabinets. That way you can separate them widely on stage and get a true stereo effect in the audience. If the two speakers are in the same cabinet then once you are more than about 10 feet away it really won't sound stereo at all, IMO. This also allows you to stack them vertically, angle them in various ways, put them side by side, etc... or even just use one and go mono, depending on the situation.

chris m., I couldn't agree with you more. When I read stereo 2 X 10" cabinet my first thought was to suggest building two 1 X 10" cabinets and enjoy stereo the way it's meant to be. Those effects being talked about will go from noticeable to huge. Believe me. I run a pair of amps with 2 X 12" cabs in stereo and position one cabinet in eack corner of the studio wall behind me. Roughly ten to 12 feet of cabinet separation. Stereo Delay, Panning Tremolo and Stereo Chorus make my studio sound like I'm wearing headphones listening to a professional mix with all the studio magic added in.

 

[radiocaster]

You could try this idea.

 

[Wally]

I use two Super Champs that can be spread far apart for use with my ES-345TDC Stereo. Or…with the same guitar, they can be stacked. You would not believe the difference in the sound.

 

[Snfoilhat]

@ferenc_in_bp I'm going to take a swing at it (vertical 2X mono, that is) in a Champ width combo cab. Prototyping it with offcuts to keep the cost down. I'll make a thread when I finish it. Thanks for the inspiration!

 

[ferenc_in_bp]

@ferenc_in_bp I'm going to take a swing at it (vertical 2X mono, that is) in a Champ width combo cab. Prototyping it with offcuts to keep the cost down. I'll make a thread when I finish it. Thanks for the inspiration!

Ok, that's it: I love this forum!

I've found a carpenter who will do the job, and I have to provide measurements for my cabinet. I am still undecided between a single upright 2x10 and two 1x10 cabinets. Another argument for two 1x10s is that it will be easier to sell them if I don't like them. Choices, choices...

Thanks everybody!