Converting an old cab to bass?
Question:
Oh and I forgot… I suppose you could get a book on cabinet building/tuning or some advice from someone who knows a good deal about it, but that wouldn’t be any fun at all.
Response:
Oh, definately! There’s always the fact that the speakers will come out of the places you put them, so go ahead, into the light, with new front baffle and 10 inch drivers raised high above your head!
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> I guess I have to confess- I’ve also made speaker cabinets that sounded > pretty awful in addition to ones that sounded decent. Chances are the cab > you make/modify yourself won’t sound great, but there is a good chance it > might sound decent. (notice the word "decent" being used over and over). > If you have the time and the tools to do the work, then why not? The > wood for a new front baffle won’t cost that much and if you don’t like the > results you can still salvage the speakers and put them in a premade cab. > It’s a lot of fun as well as a learning experience. You might even hang on > to the cab even if the sound is less than mediocre simply so you have a > trophy for your time and energy. > It might sound decent, but as someone said, yes there will be guys who > tell > you that it’s not tuned properly. Well, I’m one of those guys. It might > turn > out well, it might turn out crappy…. your gamble!
Response:
My experiments have shown that crappy is more likely.
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> It might sound decent, but as someone said, yes there will be guys who tell > you that it’s not tuned properly. Well, I’m one of those guys. It might turn > out well, it might turn out crappy…. your gamble! > Please, I’d like some ideas and feedback here…. > I have an old amp, 1960’s or 70’s > maybe. It’s a cheapie, I bought it years ago for $40/50 when I was first > getting into bass guitar. It’s separate cabinet has an 18" speaker with a > metallic "hubcap" in the middle. Amp model name is labeled "252" (that’s > all,) on the detachable head, and it was made by an outfit called Unicord, > in NY somewhere. Was okay for a while, with tone controls turned down low > it > gave sort of a clear hi-fi kind of bass sound, and never blew the speaker > even at small bar room gigs. > However, I’ve since moved on a little, and am wondering if I can convert > this cab to a 2×10 bass rig. (I like the cab because it’s so light; I > could > lift it way up onto a shelf over the bar piano with ease…) My > thinking is if I experiment a little with baffling (right now it has none) > I > might come up with something decent with a pair of, say Carvin, 10" bass > speakers? These would probably have to be 8ohms, wired in parallel, to > connect to my Hartke 140W, 4ohm head, right? > So, does anyone have a simple diagram or explanation, on how to internally > parallel wire two speakers to the cabinet’s input jack? > This cabinet is completely enclosed at back and sides, and measures > 25"x17", > which is wide and high enough, but it’s only 11+1/2" deep. Is this enough > breathing room? Would venting the back help here? > What do you think, is this a feasible project? (The biggest thing I’m > worrying about here is my old cabinet’s depth.) > Or should I just forget about it and buy myself a (heavier, more > expensive) > new 2×10 bass cab? (And maybe miss out on a great learning > experience…) > Greywoulf
Response:
I guess I have to confess- I’ve also made speaker cabinets that sounded pretty awful in addition to ones that sounded decent. Chances are the cab you make/modify yourself won’t sound great, but there is a good chance it might sound decent. (notice the word "decent" being used over and over). If you have the time and the tools to do the work, then why not? The wood for a new front baffle won’t cost that much and if you don’t like the results you can still salvage the speakers and put them in a premade cab. It’s a lot of fun as well as a learning experience. You might even hang on to the cab even if the sound is less than mediocre simply so you have a trophy for your time and energy.
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> It might sound decent, but as someone said, yes there will be guys who tell > you that it’s not tuned properly. Well, I’m one of those guys. It might turn > out well, it might turn out crappy…. your gamble!
Response:
It might sound decent, but as someone said, yes there will be guys who tell you that it’s not tuned properly. Well, I’m one of those guys. It might turn out well, it might turn out crappy…. your gamble!
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Please, I’d like some ideas and feedback here…. > I have an old amp, 1960’s or 70’s > maybe. It’s a cheapie, I bought it years ago for $40/50 when I was first > getting into bass guitar. It’s separate cabinet has an 18" speaker with a > metallic "hubcap" in the middle. Amp model name is labeled "252" (that’s > all,) on the detachable head, and it was made by an outfit called Unicord, > in NY somewhere. Was okay for a while, with tone controls turned down low it > gave sort of a clear hi-fi kind of bass sound, and never blew the speaker > even at small bar room gigs. > However, I’ve since moved on a little, and am wondering if I can convert > this cab to a 2×10 bass rig. (I like the cab because it’s so light; I could > lift it way up onto a shelf over the bar piano with ease…) My > thinking is if I experiment a little with baffling (right now it has none) I > might come up with something decent with a pair of, say Carvin, 10" bass > speakers? These would probably have to be 8ohms, wired in parallel, to > connect to my Hartke 140W, 4ohm head, right? > So, does anyone have a simple diagram or explanation, on how to internally > parallel wire two speakers to the cabinet’s input jack? > This cabinet is completely enclosed at back and sides, and measures 25"x17", > which is wide and high enough, but it’s only 11+1/2" deep. Is this enough > breathing room? Would venting the back help here? > What do you think, is this a feasible project? (The biggest thing I’m > worrying about here is my old cabinet’s depth.) > Or should I just forget about it and buy myself a (heavier, more expensive) > new 2×10 bass cab? (And maybe miss out on a great learning experience…) > Greywoulf
Response:
Please, I’d like some ideas and feedback here…. I have an old amp, 1960’s or 70’s maybe. It’s a cheapie, I bought it years ago for $40/50 when I was first getting into bass guitar. It’s separate cabinet has an 18" speaker with a metallic "hubcap" in the middle. Amp model name is labeled "252" (that’s all,) on the detachable head, and it was made by an outfit called Unicord, in NY somewhere. Was okay for a while, with tone controls turned down low it gave sort of a clear hi-fi kind of bass sound, and never blew the speaker even at small bar room gigs. However, I’ve since moved on a little, and am wondering if I can convert this cab to a 2×10 bass rig. (I like the cab because it’s so light; I could lift it way up onto a shelf over the bar piano with ease…) My thinking is if I experiment a little with baffling (right now it has none) I might come up with something decent with a pair of, say Carvin, 10" bass speakers? These would probably have to be 8ohms, wired in parallel, to connect to my Hartke 140W, 4ohm head, right? So, does anyone have a simple diagram or explanation, on how to internally parallel wire two speakers to the cabinet’s input jack? This cabinet is completely enclosed at back and sides, and measures 25"x17", which is wide and high enough, but it’s only 11+1/2" deep. Is this enough breathing room? Would venting the back help here? What do you think, is this a feasible project? (The biggest thing I’m worrying about here is my old cabinet’s depth.) Or should I just forget about it and buy myself a (heavier, more expensive) new 2×10 bass cab? (And maybe miss out on a great learning experience…) Greywoulf
Response:
I’d say go for it. You’ve really got nothing to lose since you bought the cab inexpesively years ago, and if it doesn’t work you can always get an empty 2×10 cab to put the speakers you bought in there. From what I understand you need the front baffle, which you would’ve had to remove anyway. I’d just get a peice of wood similar to the original baffle (usually particle board or some type of ply) and cut it to size. After you cut the speaker holes in, I’d also cut small holes for ports. Then just mount the new front baffle into the cabinet and wire it up. (I’d get some port tubing for the port(s) you cut as well) Carvin speakers are a good deal in my opinion. They’re much cheaper than their competitors and offer decent power handling and tone. If you have two tens at 8 ohms each and you want to wire them in parallel for 4 ohm operation, do this: take the postive and negative leads from the jack and connect it to the positive and negative tabs on the first speaker. Then take another pair of wires from the first speaker’s tabs and connect them to the positive and negative of the second speaker. There might be some guys out there that would sneer at the idea of cab conversion arguing that it has to be ‘tuned correctly’ and whatnot. While this is true to an extent, I’d go ahead with it anyway. I’ve built a couple whacko cabs from scratch with no plans whatsoever and they sounded pretty good. Maybe you should look around the net for examples of two ten cabs that fit your dimensions. If you don’t like the results when you’re done, gave me some prices on empty cabs. I think he’s the manager of a store or maybe an outlet for pegasus gear (they make bass and guitar cabs). He offered to sell me a 2×10 cab with hardware for like $75. Joe. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Please, I’d like some ideas and feedback here…. > I have an old amp, 1960’s or 70’s > maybe. It’s a cheapie, I bought it years ago for $40/50 when I was first > getting into bass guitar. It’s separate cabinet has an 18" speaker with a > metallic "hubcap" in the middle. Amp model name is labeled "252" (that’s > all,) on the detachable head, and it was made by an outfit called Unicord, > in NY somewhere. Was okay for a while, with tone controls turned down low it > gave sort of a clear hi-fi kind of bass sound, and never blew the speaker > even at small bar room gigs. > However, I’ve since moved on a little, and am wondering if I can convert > this cab to a 2×10 bass rig. (I like the cab because it’s so light; I could > lift it way up onto a shelf over the bar piano with ease…) My > thinking is if I experiment a little with baffling (right now it has none) I > might come up with something decent with a pair of, say Carvin, 10" bass > speakers? These would probably have to be 8ohms, wired in parallel, to > connect to my Hartke 140W, 4ohm head, right? > So, does anyone have a simple diagram or explanation, on how to internally > parallel wire two speakers to the cabinet’s input jack? > This cabinet is completely enclosed at back and sides, and measures 25"x17", > which is wide and high enough, but it’s only 11+1/2" deep. Is this enough > breathing room? Would venting the back help here? > What do you think, is this a feasible project? (The biggest thing I’m > worrying about here is my old cabinet’s depth.) > Or should I just forget about it and buy myself a (heavier, more expensive) > new 2×10 bass cab? (And maybe miss out on a great learning experience…) > Greywoulf
Response:
I’d like some ideas and feedback here. I have an old amp, 1960’s or 70’s maybe. It’s a cheapie, I bought it years ago for $40/50 when I was first getting into bass guitar. It’s separate cabinet has an 18" speaker with a metallic "hubcap" in the middle. Amp model name is labeled "252" (that’s all,) on the detachable head, and it was made by an outfit called Unicord, in NY somewhere. Was okay for a while, with tone controls turned down low it gave sort of a clear hi-fi kind of bass sound, and never blew the speaker even at small bar room gigs. However, I’ve since moved on a little, and am wondering if I can convert this cab to a 2×10 bass rig. (I like the cab because it’s so light; I used to lift it way up onto a shelf over the bar piano, with ease…) My thinking is if I experiment a little with baffling (right now it has none) I might come up with something decent with a pair of, say Carvin, 10" bass speakers? These would probably have to be 8ohms, wired in parallel, to connect to my Hartke 140W, 4ohm head, right? So, does anyone have a simple diagram or explanation, on how to internally parallel wire two speakers to the cabinet’s input jack? This cabinet is completely enclosed at back and sides, and measures 25"x17", which is wide and high enough, but it’s only 11+1/2" deep. Is this enough breathing room? Would venting the back help here? What do you think, is this a feasible project? Or should I just forget about it and buy myself a (heavier) 2×10 bass cabinet? Greywoulf
Response:
parallel is pretty simple in this case… i think… each speaker has two nubs, one +, and one -, just make sure both speakers -’s go to one side of jack, and both speakers +’s go to the other… otherwise your phase is reversed and you get bad sound/efficiency etc… the tough part will be sawing a new front panel w 10" openings etc… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> So, does anyone have a simple diagram or explanation, on how to > internally > parallel wire two speakers to the cabinet’s input jack? > This cabinet is completely enclosed at back and sides, and measures > 25"x17", > which is wide and high enough, but it’s only 11+1/2" deep. Is this enough > breathing room? Would venting the back help here? > What do you think, is this a feasible project? Or should I just forget > about > it and buy myself a (heavier) 2×10 bass cabinet? > Greywoulf
Response:
> > This cabinet is completely enclosed at back and sides, and measures > 25"x17", > which is wide and high enough, but it’s only 11+1/2" deep. Is this enough > breathing room?
Not very big for a bass cabinet. My 2×10 is ~ 25 x 16 x 19. Now, if you were running it with an active crossover, it might be perfect. If you do it, line opposite walls with fiberglass and stuff with about a pound per cubic foot with poly fill. I really think it would have a high F3 (F3 equals the lowest frequency that is reproduced at 3 dB down), and you’d probably end up with a mid bass peak that may or may not sound good (simple english: won’t reproduce the lowest frequencies well). > Would venting the back help here?
I would expect a properly tuned vented cabinet to be larger than yours. You can always guess the interal volume (subtract for bracing and back of speakers) and plug parameters from various speakers into the software at www.webervst and see what it predicts. > What do you think, is this a feasible project? Or should I just forget > about > it and buy myself a (heavier) 2×10 bass cabinet?
This may be your best bet. I didn’t see your original post, if this is a second cabinet matched with 15’s, you might get by. But not as the sole bass bin, IMHO. Look for a 2×10 with a horn.
Response:
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