Axewield31
Well-Known Member
A fair while back (probably about a year or two ago now) I threw together an ultra cheap cab with some 18mm MDF I had lying around, a couple of V30s I got reasonably cheap and the cheapest possible hardware I could find as I had like $350 and needed an okay sounding 2x12.
I have no idea why, but I made the thing absolutely huge. Like, this thing was so much bigger than it needed to be and, as it was made from 18mm MDF, it weighed about as much as a small mountain. And to top it off, it was all covered in some heavy duty black carpet that I found for cheap at Bunnings (Straya Home Depot equivalent) that would just catch any dust within a mile and be impossible to clean out.
So this thing was big, super heavy and perpetually filthy.
It sounded alright though, so it wasn't all bad.
Aaaaaanyway, it needed some attention. The cheap plastic corners I'd bought for like a dollar a pop were all broken and I was dead sick of lugging it around. Even with castors, this thing was a pain to manage. I'm also moving to Sydney for uni next year hopefully and will be living on campus in a share apartment, so I wanted something that wouldn't fill up the entirety of my tiny little bedroom when I move and wouldn't look like I was going to vibrate the whole building routinely each night at the call of 2am. The old cab was a bit imposing (being f*cking ginormous) and would look a bit suss as I lugged it in to meet the neighbours.
So I decided to build a new cab! To do it right this time. I already had the speakers, which are the most expensive part, I had some feet, jack plate and some grille cloth leftover or salvaged from the old cab that were fine, had a pretty nifty (ie. cheap shortcut) idea for some handles using stuff I already had laying around home and had the experience of one sh*tty cab build so it should be pretty cheap and easy, right? All I had to buy was the wood to build it and something to finish the thing.
So I got in and bought some solid pine laminate for the top, bottom and sides with the intention of having something a bit prettier than ply so i could put a stain finish over it and it'd look alright and some 9mm ply for the speaker baffle and the back. Chucked it together in a box (sorry, don't have any progress pics), cut some holes for the speakers, ran a router around the whole thing to round off the edges nicely, made up a grille with some cloth I still had about from the old build, rubbed on a nice dark stain (thanks again Bunnings) over the whole thing, put some handles on it* (this is the nifty idea, tell ya later) and screwed it all up and she was good to go!
Don't worry, I took a bit more care with it than it might sound. It wasn't exactly thrown together this time.
Now, the handles story! My family recently redid our kitchen and had some big square cupboard door handles leftover. I thought it might be cool to put them on the top of it, sort like a retro rack gear kinda vibe. I was a little worried they wouldn't be able to hold the weight but. They seem fine for now so I'll stick to them. Can always sort out something a bit more substantial if theres issues with them in future.
Sound wise I don't have a whole lot to compare it to. I didn't really think too much about the dimensions as I was building it in comparison to anything else, just made it so it was a manageable size but didn't seem so small that it'd sound super boxy and one dimensional. After looking up specs, it ended up about the same size as a Mesa Recto Compact 212. The width and heights are a bit bigger, but it isn't as deep, but I'd say the volume is pretty much the same. Like I said, I haven't played through many different cabs so I can't really say it sounds like X or Y cab but it does sound nice. The mids are a fair bit smoother than my old monstrosity and the the highs and lows seem a fair bit more defined. The note separation on this one is quite a bit better than the old one too, which surprised me. I expected it to have a lot less low end and be much more mid focussed and cute harder, but it's really not like that at all.
The weight and manageability of this one is worlds ahead of the old one too. It's still pretty heavy because of the pine, but the dimensions are much less awkward, which is niiiiiice.
Anyway, thanks for looking!
TL;DR: Made a sh*it, cheap cab ages ago, decided to make it right. Made a new cab. Much happier.
Sorry for the lack of pics. I just snapped a couple while I was trying it out this arvo with my Tweaker 88 and Framus straight in. It's pretty dark now so I'll try and take some pictures of the wood tomorrow and chuck them up here.
I have no idea why, but I made the thing absolutely huge. Like, this thing was so much bigger than it needed to be and, as it was made from 18mm MDF, it weighed about as much as a small mountain. And to top it off, it was all covered in some heavy duty black carpet that I found for cheap at Bunnings (Straya Home Depot equivalent) that would just catch any dust within a mile and be impossible to clean out.
So this thing was big, super heavy and perpetually filthy.
It sounded alright though, so it wasn't all bad.
Aaaaaanyway, it needed some attention. The cheap plastic corners I'd bought for like a dollar a pop were all broken and I was dead sick of lugging it around. Even with castors, this thing was a pain to manage. I'm also moving to Sydney for uni next year hopefully and will be living on campus in a share apartment, so I wanted something that wouldn't fill up the entirety of my tiny little bedroom when I move and wouldn't look like I was going to vibrate the whole building routinely each night at the call of 2am. The old cab was a bit imposing (being f*cking ginormous) and would look a bit suss as I lugged it in to meet the neighbours.
So I decided to build a new cab! To do it right this time. I already had the speakers, which are the most expensive part, I had some feet, jack plate and some grille cloth leftover or salvaged from the old cab that were fine, had a pretty nifty (ie. cheap shortcut) idea for some handles using stuff I already had laying around home and had the experience of one sh*tty cab build so it should be pretty cheap and easy, right? All I had to buy was the wood to build it and something to finish the thing.
So I got in and bought some solid pine laminate for the top, bottom and sides with the intention of having something a bit prettier than ply so i could put a stain finish over it and it'd look alright and some 9mm ply for the speaker baffle and the back. Chucked it together in a box (sorry, don't have any progress pics), cut some holes for the speakers, ran a router around the whole thing to round off the edges nicely, made up a grille with some cloth I still had about from the old build, rubbed on a nice dark stain (thanks again Bunnings) over the whole thing, put some handles on it* (this is the nifty idea, tell ya later) and screwed it all up and she was good to go!
Don't worry, I took a bit more care with it than it might sound. It wasn't exactly thrown together this time.
Now, the handles story! My family recently redid our kitchen and had some big square cupboard door handles leftover. I thought it might be cool to put them on the top of it, sort like a retro rack gear kinda vibe. I was a little worried they wouldn't be able to hold the weight but. They seem fine for now so I'll stick to them. Can always sort out something a bit more substantial if theres issues with them in future.
Sound wise I don't have a whole lot to compare it to. I didn't really think too much about the dimensions as I was building it in comparison to anything else, just made it so it was a manageable size but didn't seem so small that it'd sound super boxy and one dimensional. After looking up specs, it ended up about the same size as a Mesa Recto Compact 212. The width and heights are a bit bigger, but it isn't as deep, but I'd say the volume is pretty much the same. Like I said, I haven't played through many different cabs so I can't really say it sounds like X or Y cab but it does sound nice. The mids are a fair bit smoother than my old monstrosity and the the highs and lows seem a fair bit more defined. The note separation on this one is quite a bit better than the old one too, which surprised me. I expected it to have a lot less low end and be much more mid focussed and cute harder, but it's really not like that at all.
The weight and manageability of this one is worlds ahead of the old one too. It's still pretty heavy because of the pine, but the dimensions are much less awkward, which is niiiiiice.
Anyway, thanks for looking!
TL;DR: Made a sh*it, cheap cab ages ago, decided to make it right. Made a new cab. Much happier.
Sorry for the lack of pics. I just snapped a couple while I was trying it out this arvo with my Tweaker 88 and Framus straight in. It's pretty dark now so I'll try and take some pictures of the wood tomorrow and chuck them up here.
