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I spent a period of time to perfect my Jazz guitar rig. On the subject of Guitar cabinet, I want to experiment with 8", 10" and 12" speakers with ported and sealed design. Buying all of them is out of questions. So, I found a way. And the results are more than pleasing. I will share them one by one.
Design goal: Call me Mr. Cheap. Low cost high quality is my goal. One driver only - don't want to deal with phase cancellation.
I went on to craigslist to look for used subwoofer - for HiFi or Computers. Many of them are very cheap and their cabinet might be good looking too. Speaker has to be front facing...it is a guitar cab I am building. I found a logitech 2.1 computer desktop speakers set with an 8" subwoofer. Sealed cabinet. More than affordable.
For actual speaker, I listened to a lot of demos on Youtube and manufacturers website and selected Eminence Alpha 8", a PA speaker. I read somewhere this unit is used on the Razer's Edge Twin 8 cabinet.
It took some effort to remove the speaker and power transformer from the logitech subwoofer. Also removed the built in amp but retaining the back plate to cover up the hole. I installed two 1/4" jacks to the back plate, no drilling required, some holes already existed. Both 1/4" connectors connect in parallel to the speaker, screw in the Eminence Alpha, and screw in the original logitech grill on top of the speaker. I didn't put any sound absorption material in the cabinet. Feel free to do so if you feel like it.
Resulted cab looks pretty good from far and sound very good. Great for home practice and recording!!! I am driving it with a simple Stewart Audio 50W PA Amp. Front end is a Zoom B3 pedal. Sometime I use a ART Tube MP. EQ only come from the tone knob on my guitar (I am a minimalist). I also tried it with Acoustic image clarus and Carvin BX micro bass amp. All sounded great. Total cost is less than $80US.
I will try to post picture and sound sample later.
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07-24-2014 12:36 AM
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I understand what you did, and it's informative and meets your 8" design needs. What do you plan for your 10 and 12" experiments? Pictures eagerly awaited, sounds sweet.
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Pictures:
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Funnily, I came up with a very similar idea very recently.
So here's my version: this is an Eminence Alpha-8A in a Randall RG8 enclosure.
Not quite as inexpensive as yours, but still very affordable.
I actually have two of these enclosures, the other one fitted with an Eminence 820H:
This leaves me with two spare Randall speakers, which I am probably going to use with my TV set, in a crude stereo configuration without enclosures.
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nice folkes!
I did an 8" version, too.
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How does it sound with no port and sealed back?
Originally Posted by palindrome
Funnily, I came up with a very similar idea very recently.
So here's my version: this is an Eminence Alpha-8A in a Randall RG8 enclosure.
Not quite as inexpensive as yours, but still very affordable.
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You mean, in the state shown? Originally Posted by docbop
I'm wary of passing any judgments here for various reasons: first I only play at low volumes, and second my idea has been to give those configurations much more time to arrive at fair statements.
But going by preliminary impressions, I would say that of the three speakers I have used in this enclosure, this one strikes me as the most balanced in terms of lows and highs. The original Randall speaker sounded clear and bright (not boxy at all) but with an almost nonexistent bass response. The Eminence 820H strikes me as the fullest sounding of the three by far but doesn't give me quite enough highs by default (i.e. without EQ'ing). The Alpha-8A strikes me as less loud (OK, sensitivy is 94 versus 96 dB) and more linear, including a satisfying bass response without being boomy, and more subtle (or less in-your-face) than the 820H. Perhaps I'm not quite as sure as to its "guitaristic character" if you will, although I cannot rule out that I'm subconsciously prejudiced about this (since this is not a dedicated guitar speaker).
As I said, I'll really need to give all of these substantially more time.
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Nice, Hans! What speaker did you use? Originally Posted by hans halmackenreuter
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Eminence beta 8
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Hmm... most interesting. From what I read, this seems to be even less of a guitar-specific speaker than the Alpha. Originally Posted by hans halmackenreuter
Eminence beta 8
Obviously you like it, but I wonder what led you to choose it.
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FWIW, that's what Raezer's Edge uses in their New York single 8 cab. Originally Posted by palindrome
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without enclosures you'll get no bass Originally Posted by palindrome
Funnily, I came up with a very similar idea very recently.
So here's my version: this is an Eminence Alpha-8A in a Randall RG8 enclosure.
Not quite as inexpensive as yours, but still very affordable.
I actually have two of these enclosures, the other one fitted with an Eminence 820H:
This leaves me with two spare Randall speakers, which I am probably going to use with my TV set, in a crude stereo configuration without enclosures.
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I have a Beta 8 in an Earcandy 8" ported cab that I picked up for $100 CDN (about $70). It's just a great sounding little cab Originally Posted by hans halmackenreuter
Eminence beta 8
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Which is why I bought it. I loved my NY8. I never should have sold it. Originally Posted by marcwhy
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I've just bought an Randall RG6 cab and am planning on installing a Celestion tf0818 speaker in it. This particular driver is used by Quilter in their 8" combo amps in a sealed cabinet.
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In a closed cabinet, the speaker parameters should match the enclosure size for smooth bass, not peaky or rolled off.
Crap shoot to just throw a speaker in a box as to what' you'll get; the same speaker will sound very different in another cab.
And drivers are designed to be used in open back or closed cabs.
See Thiele/Small parameters for more......
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"Crap shoot to just throw a speaker in a box as to what' you'll get; the same speaker will sound very different in another cab."
Too bad we're not talking Rocket Science here. We're not making a precisely calculated reference instrument here: it's a guitar cab on the cheap.
And you're making some assumptions that none of us looked into this before we did it. We didn't just throw any speaker into any cab. Quilter labs uses the Celestion TF0818 in a sealed enclosure of a similar size and the end result of my little project sounds quite similar to my ear. Eminence also states a range of cabinet sizes for it's drivers, and this cab is only slightly smaller than what they recommend for a sealed cab.
The same speaker will also sound very different if you: set it in a corner, or on a stand, or put it on the floor near a wall.
You'll also probably have a tone control on your amp.......Last edited by fauxsuper; 03-17-2016 at 06:22 AM.
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Sorry RoyaleT,What do you plan for your 10 and 12" experiments?
Long overdue...
For 10", I found this subwoofer cabinet (came with a speaker, no amp or crossover)
The original speaker is a double magnet subwoofer driver. I tried it with guitar and it is not the sound I am looking for.
I replaced the speaker with Eminence Alpha 10...sound which sounded too ringy.
Then I tried a Eminence Delta 10A, which sound ok, but produce very little bass compare to the 8 inch.
There are very little absorptive material in the cabinet. I believe adding more will balance the spectrum a bit more.
I do want to try a Eminence Beta 10 but decided to sell the cabinet and speakers since I am happy with the 8 inch.
For 12", this is the cabinet I chose MCM Custom Audio 12'' PA / DJ Speaker Subwoofer 600W.
The subwoofer came with speaker, cross over, and very minimal sound absorptive material.
I took off the cross over, tried the original speaker. Not the sound I was looking for.
First tried, a polytone 12" speaker. A more recent version which is made in China I picked up from ebay.
Sounded good. I always like Polytone.
My intend was not to use the Polytone in this cabinet. I enjoyed it for a while and started my experiment.
First tried is a Eminence Deltalite 12 inch 2512.
Mid is a little pronounce. So, I stuff some left over dry wall insulation fiberglass into the cab.
Does exactly what I expected, sound much better.
Lots of bass. And I get a very good jazz guitar sound.
Compare to the 8", the 8" exhibits more of the archtop acoustic characteristic.
The 12" is a bit more bury.
I like a dark sound, ala Pat Martino. It s perfectly ok for me.
Later on, I tried an Eminence Delta-12A.
It sounded very similar to the Deltalite. With comparison, the Deltalite sounded a bit more ringy.
I continue using the Delta-12A for a long time.
All the cabinets are taking to much space. I sold the 12".
Overall, I like the 8" most and keep using it.
If I play with an amp with huge bass emphasis (YAMAHA DG stomp CL-1 + Stewart PA-100B) , the 10" came handy.
The 12" works well overall. Sound better than the 10".
For Jazz Guitar, I concluded close cabinet is the sound I prefer.
With a lot of jazz amp using the Beta 8, 10, 12. I would like to try those out when I have a chance.
Enjoy!
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While this is an old item, I thought I’d share my Beta-8A based cabinet. The port is tuned to around 60Hz.
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What prompted you toward a rear-facing port?
How did that work out on the bandstand?
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Only a year late in replying, but anyway.... The choice was based on ease of construction. As the sound coming out of the port is all very low frequency, it’s completely nondirectional, so placement isn’t an issue. Originally Posted by Sam Sherry
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I've used that same enclosure for an 8" speaker. Nice. For a 10" I found a Marshall "Mini-Stack" cab and replaced the speaker with the 10" of my choice. It's been my go-to cab. for anything that will take a 4 Ohm Speaker. Originally Posted by palindrome
Funnily, I came up with a very similar idea very recently.
So here's my version: this is an Eminence Alpha-8A in a Randall RG8 enclosure.
Not quite as inexpensive as yours, but still very affordable.
I actually have two of these enclosures, the other one fitted with an Eminence 820H:
This leaves me with two spare Randall speakers, which I am probably going to use with my TV set, in a crude stereo configuration without enclosures.
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I just ordered one of these. I plan to put a 1/4" jack in the back and mount a speaker I've had in a drawer--a Yamaha JA2515.
Subwoofer Cabinet
Here's the speaker:
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I had picked up one of these Orange 1x8 cabs when they were being sold off around $55. The speaker that was in it was not very good, but i found a Celestion TF0818 PA speaker rated up to 200w at 8ohms that I put in it. Because of its size, it still sounds a little boxy, but when I put my MB200 on it, it is not bad.
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For speaker cabs, I think Speakon connectors are far better than 1/4". You can get Speakon jacks on ebay for about the same price as 1/4", and the cable connectors are about the same as 1/4" plugs, but the connections are much safer and more reliable than 1/4". No chance of shorting out if connected or disconnected while in use. If I get a cab that has only a 1/4" jack I change it immediately.
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