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Topic: What size should I build speaker cabinets? |
George Kimery
From:
Limestone, TN, USA
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Posted 26 Sep 2013 7:13 am |
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I am going to be building a couple of speaker cabinets for 15 inch speakers. I know in a recording studio, there are certain relationships between the height, length, and width of the room for optimum sound. In closed back PA cabinets, certain rules or formula's apply and also baffles and insulation inside the cabinets make a difference, besides the size of the cabinets. On an open backed cabinet for running my steel with Mesa Boogie Studio Preamp, does the size of the cabinets make much difference? For transporting, obviously the smallest cabinet possible would be best. I plan on making the cabinets out of 3/4 inch birch ply. Would some place like Telonics or Peavey have plans for building cabinet's for their speakers?
Thanks for any input.
George |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 26 Sep 2013 7:44 am
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| In general, a larger cabinet will give more bass and a smoother sound. Most all cabinets, however, are a compromise, mostly for portability reasons. |
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Dave Grafe
From:
Hudson River Valley NY
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John RJ Wilson
From:
United Kingdom
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Posted 26 Sep 2013 10:52 am
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Hi,
What speakers are you using? All you said is correct, but I use a rule of thumb, the bigger the magnet the bigger the cabinet required. For instance a Fane Crescendo 15 needs the same internal volume as two fane Crescendo 12A.
_________________
Guyatone HG-91, Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, Ernie Ball Jr volume pedal. |
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Dave Grafe
From:
Hudson River Valley NY
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Posted 26 Sep 2013 1:27 pm
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George Kimery
From:
Limestone, TN, USA
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Posted 26 Sep 2013 1:33 pm What size should I build speaker cabinets?
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John, I was going to address the speaker issue at a later date, but now that you have brought up the subject, here is what I am thinking:
I have two Peavy BW 1501's but I have been considering getting a Telonics Neo. These speakers would be lighter in weight. I am wondering if both cabinets must have the same speakers in them. If there are peaks and valleys in the speaker's response, I am wondering if the short comings of one speaker might be made up by the strengths of the other speaker. Plus, if I have two cabinets with different speakers in them, then I can do a comparison. Maybe take the one that sounds the best when I might only use one cabinet.
If I like the Telonics better than the BW, then I could always order a 2nd Telonics for the other cabinet. If I liked the BW's the best, then I could put the Telonics in my Nashville 1000 or Evans FET 500. I have several options, but since I already have the BW's, I will probably go with them initially to keep the costs down. Then later, maybe give one of the Telonics a try. |
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Jack Stoner
From:
Kansas City, MO
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Posted 26 Sep 2013 1:59 pm
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I built a speaker cabinet the same size as a Peavey Nashville 112, except 1" taller for my Eminence EPS-15C speaker. The cabinet had to be 1" taller to accommodate the 15" speaker.
The cabinet size was so I could use the Danny Bentley hard (drum case material) cover I have for my Nashville 112. The cover is also used as an amp stand.
I'm using a GK MB200 amp and I can get as much bass as I want. |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 26 Sep 2013 3:38 pm Re: What size should I build speaker cabinets?
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| George Kimery wrote: |
I am wondering if both cabinets must have the same speakers in them. If there are peaks and valleys in the speaker's response, I am wondering if the short comings of one speaker might be made up by the strengths of the other speaker. Plus, if I have two cabinets with different speakers in them, then I can do a comparison. Maybe take the one that sounds the best when I might only use one cabinet.
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No, both cabinets don't have to have the same speaker, or even be the same size. In fact, many players use two different speakers in the same cabinet for just the reasons you suggest. |
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George Kimery
From:
Limestone, TN, USA
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Posted 26 Sep 2013 7:38 pm What size should I build speaker cabinets?
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| I am sitting here looking at my Evans FET 500 with a Peavey 112 sitting on top of it. The Evans has a 15 inch BW in it and really looks about the right size for my eyes. So right now, I am leaning towards the size of the Evans, minus the electronic attic section. |
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John RJ Wilson
From:
United Kingdom
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Posted 27 Sep 2013 7:59 am
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No the speakers do not have to be the same make, hopefully the impedence of both of these is the same. 4 Ohms I presume.
I was thinking that H/W/D 19x18x10 internal might be a good size. Semi open or closed to taste, or build with a removable partial back panel and experiment with various sizes of open say 1/3 open or 1/2 open etc. I do not know if the telonics speakers are front or back mounting. Weight wise I would think about 30 lbs if you use 15-18mm ply. Heavier for the Peavey.
I would look at the Telonics and Peavey websites and see what sizes their cabs are that have 15 inch Speakers in them, and make a compromise decision, based on the info from both sites.
If I was having a pair made for me I would consult with Jeff Swanson before I made a decision, but this is a self build.
_________________
Guyatone HG-91, Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, Ernie Ball Jr volume pedal. |
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John RJ Wilson
From:
United Kingdom
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Posted 27 Sep 2013 12:27 pm
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Sorry 2 posts together. I thought I would explain my magnet statement.Sounds a bit strange reading back. My main knowledge of speakers comes from Hi Fi in the 70s and 80s, and from a deep interest in WEM guitar cabinets and Fane speakers. A large magnet in conjunction with a large speaker cabinet creates a low Q. A low Q makes for nice tight and controlled speaker response. A smaller cabinet will thus be less well controlled. I notice that speaker cabinets for steel seem relatively small, but I assume the tone produced is better than expected, because in the main they are not being deliberately overdriven. There are of course many other factors involved in a good cab design. I noticed that WEM and other manufacturers use/used the same cabinet for several sized speakers,and some 15 inch speakers have huge magnets. hence how I came up with that blanket statement.
_________________
Guyatone HG-91, Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, Ernie Ball Jr volume pedal. |
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George Kimery
From:
Limestone, TN, USA
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Posted 7 Oct 2013 11:56 am What size should I build speaker cabinets?
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I am still undecided about the size of a couple of speaker cabinets that I am going to be building soon. I want them as small as possible without sacrificing sound. I am thinking about the size of a Nashville 400 or even a 112. I will be using 15 inch speakers and the 112 has plenty of room for a 15 inch speaker if it does not have the elecronic's in it.
I want vinyl covers for the cabinets and I have the sewing machine and know how to make them. I have made plenty of them in the past, but I plain don't like to do it and don't even want to make them for myself. I may or may not make cabinets for sale, depending on how I feel about it after I have made the cabinets for myself. If I make the cabinets the size of a 400 or 112, then myself, or anybody in the future that would want covers, I would say "Order them from Peavey."
Does anybody have a 400 sitting around that you can get me the outside dimensions? I would like to compare the dimensions with the 112 and my Evans FET 500.
Also, a question about the speaker jacks in the cabinets. I am assuming that they need to be two jacks in each speaker, like in a PA cabinet, so that you can run either one by itself, run them both in stereo, or run mono and simply go from the out jack on one speaker to the in jack on the other speaker. Is this the way that two speaker cabinets are normally done?
Thanks,
George |
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Bill Moore
From:
Manchester, Michigan
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Posted 7 Oct 2013 4:40 pm
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| Just my personal opinion, based on building about a dozen speaker cabs; with open back cabinets, I don't think size matters very much. Build them just large enough to fit the speakers, or make them slightly larger, I don't hear any noticeable difference. Similar size closed back cabinets always seem to produce more bass than open back cabinets. I have a couple of small closed back cabs with a narrow full width port on the bottom edge, these produce a lot of low tones. Some bass amps use this style of speaker cabinet. For steel guitar, I don't think you really need to produce the lows you would get with bass cabinets. But all this is only my opinion, based on my experience, others may not agree. If your cabinet has a single speaker, you only need a single jack for that speaker. So I'd say, pick a size that you are comfortable with, and build them. |
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Paddy Long
From:
Christchurch, New Zealand
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Posted 7 Oct 2013 7:04 pm
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....and build them LIGHT !! 
_________________
14'Zumsteel Hybrid D10 9+9
08'Zumsteel Hybrid D10 9+9
94' Franklin Stereo D10 9+8
Telonics, Peterson, Steelers Choice, Benado, Lexicon, Red Dirt Cases. |
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George Kimery
From:
Limestone, TN, USA
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Posted 9 Oct 2013 5:37 pm What size speaker cabinets should I build?
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| Is the Nashville 400 still in production? Vinyl covers for them may not be available any more from Peavey. Maybe they have other amps that are in production now that have the same cabinet size. |
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