bertbass

Pickup placement plays a big part in the Ric sound. Copy the placement and use single coil pickups and you're mostly there. I've done it with jazz pickups, roundwounds and a pick. That's for my version of the Ric sound anyway.

Go for it. I've had a couple and they're great.

I like the sound of the Duncan Antiquity ll myself.

I could make one of those for you. PM me if you're interested.

https://www.rapidonline.com/trupower-sbh-421-2a-enclosed-battery-box-2-x-aaa-18-2903

Bought the Kindle version. Not going on holiday but I've just started a new series of 4 but I've got something to read when I've finished them.

Brilliant!

Ashdown mag 4x10 in Hastings. 8 ohm though.

I'd get one of these, http://www.fishman.com/products/series/fx/fissionbasspowerchordfxpedal.php It does this, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0DGzL4nFKU A mixed output or 2 separate outputs one for bass the other for the effect so you run 2 amps. It's brilliant!

Excellent piece of work. Well done!

Old coat hanger wrapped round anything that protrudes from the wall. Seriously. It works well.

Mrs Bert always wanted to play bagpipes so no expense spared, I bought her a set for Christmas one year, they cost about £60. Totally useless. Mrs Bert thought it was her not being able to get much of a sound out of them but it turns out that the cheap bagpipes are rubbish and no one can play them. You have to spend a lot of cash to get bagpipes that can actually be played. The cheap ones look good hanging on the wall as an ornament though.

Here's a photo of the Jacks on stands being used for P.A. Pay special attention to our 'very happy' crew, our Tim sat on the front of the stage. He loves the Jack 12 Lites because they're so light! So easy to put on the stands he said. [attachment=223884:JACKS-IN-USE.gif] If you look carefully you can see Wedgehorns 6s on the front of the stage. Foldback has never been so good!

I remember it well and your second. I remember my 2 Jack 15 cabs as well, truly mega but a bit on the heavy side and awkward. I suppose in retrospect, I could have used just one of them but then what's the point of having 2. What really brings home how good the Jacks actually are is when you go walkabouts on wireless and hear 'your sound' from the audience, it's everywhere you go. The same sound everywhere. No treble missing 'cause you're not in front of the cab and no diminishing of quality of sound over distance. They have to be heard and used to be believed. A true leap of faith but well worth taking that leap!

The kit of laser cut parts for a Jack 12 Lite is now available to order. If you've never built a speaker cabinet before or think you haven't got the DIY ability to build a cab, if you want a superb sounding, top of the range cab at a fraction of the cost, if you need a cab in a hurry and haven't got time to source the materials and cut it all to size, if you can assemble Lego, if you want a cab that's not only easy to build but is so light that a 4 year old can carry it, then P.M. me for prices and options.

Well, the weekend has been and gone and I'm a very happy bunny, well nearly anyway. Saturday night, was that hot or what! Used the Jacks for bass instead of my normal 6x10. I'm normally pretty happy with my sound but suddenly I'm not. The Jacks were just tremendous. My sound was just bigger, fuller and more audible everywhere. The other guys commented, yes they actually noticed, that my sound was way better than normal and that they could actually hear what I was playing for a change. Even our crew noticed a difference and that's saying something. The Jacks take a bit of EQing to get right but that didn't take that long and they're so much more efficient. On to Sunday afternoon, was that hot or what! The Jacks are now being used for P.A. I EQed them flat from the frequency response graphs using my trusty graphic and used the channel EQs to get the mics right. They sounded mighty. Vocals clear and prominent and in-between sets music sounded superb. We received many unsolicited compliments on the sound of the P.A. The good news is that the Pyle drivers are excellent, no complaints at all. They're not as efficient as some drivers but they easily kept up with the 12s so no messing around trying to balance the 12s to the horns. Our crew is chuffed to bits with the cabs as well. They're so light they're a joy to carry. These cabs truly are a Jack of all trades but also a master at everything. Why am I only nearly a happy bunny? Because I've only built one pair and these were for P.A. use, These will also replace the Otop 12s when we use the 'BIG' P.A. so I'll have to save hard and build another pair for bass.

Slam aplenty for sure!

Thanks for that Mark, You're right, the Jacks truly are amazing cabs. I had 2 x Jack 15s before I bought my 69er and the certainly filled the room and sounded the same wherever you were. Even the rest of the banded commented on how good they were, and they don't notice anything normally. Should we say that heft is certainly present and that they're great for metal as well? If you think that young Tom looks like me, how about this: [attachment=223587:tom-or-me.gif]

Apologies for for being late posting this next thrilling installment. We celebrated Mrs Bert's Dad's 80th yesterday with a family meal at the Star in Normans Bay. I'm sure some of you will be familiar with it. As there were over 20 of us we had the 3 course meal for £10 a head. Most excellent as well and recommended. Everyone chipped in and bought him personalised number plates and he was speechless. A magic moment. Still I digress. On with the thread. Yesterday I set the Jacks up with the Rumble 500 head on top. I didn't use the horns as the Jacks are plenty bright enough on their own and they sound just like Jacks. I'm sure others can chip in here and help me out with their opinions of what Jacks sound like. They are certainly full range clean and clear and with every note being in balance. They are initially quite mid prominent but that can be eqed out. They can't do a deep rumbling bass but they let you be heard in the mix and they are pretty efficient. No vibration at all either. Next test is with music. From my iphone, Into my spare Spirit mixer, then crossed over electronically and into the T-amp mentioned above. They sound most excellent! What more can I say. Loud, clear, precise. Everything that they should be. Tom thought that Smoke on the Water, his favourite song, sounded fantastic and wanted it turned up while Amy, my 10 year old Grandaughter, and her friend, Paige, came running into the workshop demanding that I turned it down, it's too loud Grandad, everyone can hear it. They were playing at the other end of the Garden, but when I plugged a mic in and they started singing songs, they wanted it turned up. This has only been an initial test in my workshop / shed / man cave and as wee all know, cabs can sound totally different when used on their own compared to with the band. Tonight I'll be gigging the Jacks for bass at a private party and tomorrow I shall use them for P.A. at a Hastings Pirate Day gig. I shall report back Monday. Here's a photo of my able assistant, Tom, my 4 year old Grandson, proving that he can lift a Jack on his own. [attachment=223578:TOM-LIFTING-CAB.gif] And another photo of him helping Grandad carry the 'new cabs' from the workshop to the house, about 35 yards. [attachment=223579:TOM-CARRYING-CAB.gif] He refused all offers of help. "I can do it on my own Grandad" and he did.

On with the build now the horns. I'd really like to try Bill's melded array but with the price of peizo horns here in the UK being silly prices I've gone for the horn design. All the parts are cut out and the angles cut. Assembly is a bit fiddly but easy enough and there's nowhere to put tabs so it's glue on fingers time to align all the pieces. The staple gun really is your friend here. [attachment=223481:HORN 2.jpg] The recommended compression horns are Eminence ASD 1001 x 2. I've been using Selenium DH200 compression drivers but they're not that light and as I want these cabs to be as light as possible, I've gone a different route and bought some of these, Pyle PDS111 Titanium Horn Screw On Type Compression Driver Tweeter 8 Ohm 200w. Have I tried them before? No, do I know if they're any good, also no, but if they are then I'm on a winner. To mount them I've come up with a cunning plan. As they weigh next to nothing, I've cut another ring of 1/4" ply and using an old compression driver, forced a thread through it, and it works. I've used a couple more rings as spacers. All this to save a couple of quid on couple horn adaptors and weight of course. The horn adaptors are £4.24 each from Blue Aran. [attachment=223482:HORN 1.jpg] Out again with the paint. I'm not using the filters as I'm using an electronic xover, a new one that I've had sitting around for a few years. From the crossover into one of these. [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/the_tamp_d4500.htm?ref=search_rslt_t-amp_218916_16."]http://www.thomann.d...-amp_218916_16.[/url] I've been using 2 of these for a few years now and I have to say that they are pretty good. I've wired the Pyle drivers in series and mounted the horn in the cabinet with a couple of screws top and bottom and it looks like this. [attachment=223483:ONE CAB FINISHED FINISHED.jpg] As if by magic another one appears and I've got a pair! [attachment=223484:BOTH CABS FINISHED.jpg] It's getting a bit late now and don't want to annoy the neighbours so I'll put them to the test tomorrow. I'll report again tomorrow.

And that's without the HF horn.

That was delicious and I'm more full up than a full up person who's really full up! Ok. The cab painted but unloaded weighs 5.2 kg that's just 11lbs 42 ozs. With the speaker mounted it weighs 8.6kg, 18lbs 15oz. I've made the horns and mounted the drivers. The horn on its own weighs 476 grams, with compression drivers it weighs 714 grams. The total weight of the cab with horn, wadding, handle, 2 sets of feet and sockets is 10kg, 22lbs. More on the horn, compression drivers and assembly later.

That's right. You'll have to wait!

Hi, it's me, I'm back! I've been a busy bee since my last post but first I forgot to mention that when fitting the top hat, I added a spacer to make a 1/2" bit of ply to screw into. I thing that screwing into 1/4" ply is pushing it a bit. [attachment=223413:TOP HAT SPACER.jpg] I've being bold and using the 5 minute glue from now on. Right, cab on its front and glue and staple the first phase plug extension and woofer spacer in place rapidly followed by the second phase plug extension and woofer spacer and last but not least, the foam phase plug extension. I've cunningly engraved a circle the same size as the woofer extension cutout on the back of the baffle to make gluing the woofer extensions error free and cut 2mm pilot holes for the speaker screws. I could at this point have put some speaker cloth / grill between the baffle and woofer spacers but I do actually prefer no cloth at all, I'm weird like that, and as I'm mounting horns in the cabs, hope that will be enough, should be. [attachment=223414:SPEAKER SPACERS & POLYBIT.jpg] Next, the bits that hold the back on, or as Bill calls them, the back flanges. These are cut out of 1/4" ply and as the flanges need to be 1/2", just glue and staple 2 together. Remove the squeeze out with the chisel and glue them in. The tabs just fit in the slots and line up perfectly. I used the tin of Tuff Cab as a weight again but I could have stapled through from the outside as well. [attachment=223416:SPEAKER SPACERS & POLYBIT2.jpg] Next is to glue the back braces to the back. Staples, glue and the tin of paint again as a weight and that's done. [attachment=223417:BACK BRACES.jpg] Now some more sanding. Sanded all the sides smooth and rounded over the corners and edges so they're not sharp. 1st and 2nd coat of Tuff Cab. I'm getting excited now!! Mount the speaker. I've used 1 1/2" x 10s but 12s may be better. The speaker is incredibly light so it should be fine. [attachment=223418:SPEAKER MOUNTED.jpg] Now for the wadding. I wasn't quite sure what to use but then remembered that Mrs Bert had thrown out an old quilt the other week, it's the middle tog, is that about 11 tog? Anyway, I dragged it off the bonfire and as the sun had been shining for a few days, not continuously, as obviously night gets in the way, I cut the covering off and was left with a very usable sheet of hollow fibre filling. Doesn't look hollow though! Stuffed it everywhere and stapled it to the back and it looks like this. [attachment=223419:SPEAKER LOADED + WADDING.jpg] Screwed the back in place and here's what it looks like so far. [attachment=223421:FINISHED CAB.jpg] I've been keeping a note of the weight as I've been going along and for our mate Mark, the weight is, I've just been called for my dinner by Mrs Bert, Spaghetti Bolognese, so I shall continue later.

That's one of the reason that Barefaced cabs are so expensive. Premium drivers equal premium price. The recommended speakers for the Jack 12 Lite are the Eminence Beta 12, the entry level speaker and costs about £60. The Delta Pro 12 costs about £130. The Eminence Basslite 2012 is around £88 and the Deltalite II 2512 is about £124.