what plywood for lightweight speaker cabinets, like Quilter

Lynn Kasdorf · From: Waterford Virginia, USA

I recently acquired a Quilter TT12 and love it. I am also borrowing a Quilter 10" block dock.

I really like how lightweight and seemingly strong these speaker cabinets are. I am a woodworker and have some speaker and amp cabinet projects in mind and I would like to know what kind of wood they are using.

I'm guessing it is a nice cabinet grade 1/2 birch plywood? Or is it something more exotic/lighter? I think I saw some company using carbon fiber for speaker cabinets that were crazy lightweight.

I have some old poplar barn boards that I was thinking I could plane down to 1/2" and make cabinets out of- I think this would be very light. Of course, plywood would be a lot easier to work with.
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Roger Crawford · From: Griffin, GA USA

Do a search on Tommy Huff. He builds his cabinets out of Birch plywood, and does an amazing job.

Bill A. Moore · From: Silver City, New Mexico, USA

I too have thought about using 1/2" material for speaker cabs. That popular sounds like a good idea, any plywood adds weight in exchange for strength.

ajm · From: Los Angeles

Years ago Buzz Feiten was building speaker cabs that were supposed to be noticeably lighter.
I don't know if he still does.
I don't know what they were made of.

There was a review of them in Guitar Player Magazine.
At some point after that they were licensed by Fuchs amplifiers.

Try doing some internet searches and see what comes up.

Bobby D. Jones · From: West Virginia, USA

Here is a picture of a speaker cabinet I built for a 15" Eminence EPS-15C speaker, It is made of 1/2" Birch plywood. It has a back of 1/2" plywood with 3" full width opening top and bottom. With handle, Corners, Grill. Rubber feet and covered with car trunk liner material. It weighs 21 lb., With a Tone Block 202 amp., My amp. combo weighs 25lb.

The cut out was used to install a Evans amp. unit, Till I got the TB202.

Larry Dering · From: Missouri, USA

Bobby that looks great, but is that weight correct? I would think the cabinet heavier not counting the speaker weight. I put the speaker jack on the back on the few I built.

Bobby D. Jones · From: West Virginia, USA

Larry, When I pulled the Evans amp. out of the cabinet, I weighed the cabinet with speaker. It weighed 21 lb. By adding the jack, Speaker wire and the filler plate and attachments in the amp. hole, It now weighs 22lb.

2 reasons I put the jack on the front, 1 so I can see it. I had a Wantabee Sound Man, Pull the speaker cable out, With my Evan AH 200 on. The stage lit up like an arc welder flash. The amp had fell off my cart getting it on stage. They had removed the ramp when COVID hit, Was our first show back. My insurance company covered the 700.00 to rebuild it.

Also I sit and look at that space between the top of the cabinet and the speaker. Could I cut a hole out and fit the TB 202 in the cabinet with tie down bar. One less piece to carry.

Steve Hinson · From: Hendersonville Tn USA

I have a Sho~Bud single channel made out of pine...assembled with chassis and Weber neo speaker,it weighs about the same as a Deluxe Reverb...stil too heavy for me to carry anymore,but light enough I could use it if I had to...I was dead set against not using plywood like the original, but the pine is definitely lighter than the plywood and sounds fine...I've been told that pine cabs are more"resonant"than plywood, but I was afraid it would change the sound of the amp...can't tell any difference!

RIck Johnson is a Forum member and I think he still builds them...I used a cat in town here and he didn't do some stuff I asked him to do, soI won't recommend him.

All this to say that pine is an option for amp cabs...

SH

Rick Contino · From: Brattleboro, Vermont

Plus one for pine… its lighter/better/cheaper
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Larry Dering · From: Missouri, USA

Bobby, thanks for the info and explanation.

John Haspert · From: Illinois, USA

Being a lifelong woodworker and having built a great number of cabs, I would offer the following observations- back in the 60’s and 70’s, several of the major amp manufacturers used 1 x 12 pine because it was available, fairly straight and flat with relatively few knots. The trend toward using jointed or glued-up boards came into vogue to be able to get flatter boards, control costs and guarantee availability for the manufacturing plants. On another front, plywood manufacture and laminated wood products were developed with higher strength, but sometimes with greater weight compared to pine. In the later 70’s and 80’s, the Finland or Baltic Birch Plywoods became available here in the US. For the residential cabinet makers, it was a godsend since it was strong, straight, easily machined and finished. The extra advantage was that you could use the 1/2” thick material in place of the 3/4” stock and still get the strength and lighter finished products. I still use the Baltic Birch ply today for many projects. Like a Timex, it can take a beating and still stay ticking, easy to cover with Tolex, Vinyl, Carpet etc. Easy to Finger joint or place dovetail joints. So, can you tell that I am a fan of good, high quality plywood for speaker cabs?
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Pedal Steel Guitar is "Music from Heaven"

Gary Meixner · From: New York, USA

Lynn,

I am not sure what plywood Quilter uses, but by far the cheapest, easiest to construct, and best sounding speaker enclosure that I have used I made from a pine, deep honey super. You can order an unassembled deep super from any beekeeping supply house.

The premium boxes cost about $25.00 plus shipping. They are machined with standard box joints and can be glued and screwed together in no time.

There is a 3/4" rebate machined into the top edge of the shorter sides that you need deal with - I put a piece of 1 X 4 pine in the rebate on each side and secure the speaker baffle to them from the inside.

It makes a nice, retro looking speaker box particularly if you use a funky piece of old grill cloth like I did. Fill the screw holes, rout, sand and paint - I use Hammertone enamel which holds up well, don't bother with covering the thing.

Load it with your favorite 12" speaker. I used a 4 ohm SICA neo and power it with a Milkman "The amp". Together, amp and speaker weigh 19.5 lbs. Super light weight and great sounding - my band mates call it the Milk and Honey.

G. Meixner

Samuel Phillippe · From: Douglas Michigan, USA

Back around 1955 I built an amplifier from the guts of an old Philco floor radio, the cabinet was 3/4 plywood. With speakers and everything included it weighed about 35 pounds. At that time my transportation was a Trolley car and bus but being young I could handle it going to gigs.
Forget the good old days......LOL
Sam

David Ball · From: North Carolina High Country

You might try something like this too: https://avatarspeakers.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/29793539_1851259081585189_7550896707281461809_n.jpg
Just routed slots--keeps the strength, but cuts the weight into just a fraction of what a solid piece of birch ply would weigh.

Dave

Lynn Kasdorf · From: Waterford Virginia, USA

David Ball · From: North Carolina High Country

Dave Zirbel · From: Sebastopol, CA USA

I’ve been using a cabinet I bought from Bobby Lee…real heavy, well built and solid. I think it’s plywood. It’s sounds decent with the k130 JBL. Just today I put another JBL k130 in a Milkman cabinet made of pine with a plywood baffle. I was blown away to how much better it sounded. It was warmer and the mids and highs were just so pleasing…I want to say it was more organic sounding. I was powering it with a Quilter Mach 2 Micropro.

The basic tone doesn’t change much it’s mostly the feel and resonance/response. Just smooth and balanced overall.
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Dave Zirbel-
Sierra S-10 (Built by Ross Shafer),ZB, Fender 400 guitars, various tube and SS amps

John Swain · From: Winchester, Va

If you can find one, check the Marrs speaker cabinet like PF used. I believe they're 3/8" ply with internal 1x Pine ribs for support. Very light. I've made cabinets and cases out of Lowe's 1/2" finish plywood that's primed white on one side. 7 ply and light,was $30 but now about $60!

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