stevie

I agree with Dan. It looks like wool felt, which is very good for wadding cabs.

They've done a nice job on the styling. It really does look like Trace brought into the present decade.

Huh?

Why is that?

A non-flat response instrument?

I had trigger thumb about five years ago. It was painful and really uncomfortable. The doctor suggested a steroid injection, which did the trick and it hasn't come back.

On 08/09/2022 at 18:59, fleabag said:

Yeah i've heard that Stevie but that's mostly rubbish. I suppose if the sellotape had lots of folds / ridges / too many wraps, maybe.

I wouldn't claim from my limited experience that all or even many scanners are fooled by sellotape, or that this was even a problem in your case, @fleabag, but it certainly happened to me a few times that a scanner couldn't read the QR code when there was sellotape over it and reprinting the label fixed the problem. YMMV, as they say on the internet.

Send Eich an email and ask them if they supply spares and what driver it is. [email protected]

Alternatively, post a photo on here showing relevant markings, such as model no. and so on. Someone might recognise it so that you can buy one from a specialist speaker supplier near you.

On the scanning problem, I've noted that carrier scanners cannot read QR or barcodes when there's sellotape over them, or even over part of them. Which may or may not be relevant, but perhaps worth mentioning.

That's weird. I get the same as @uk_lefty . The volume increases the more compression you dial in. It's actually a bit annoying. I'm using an RM500.

26 minutes ago, chris_b said:

A flat sounding amp is like cooking without salt. Boring.

 

Find the amp that sounds good with the controls at 12 0'clock. Congratulations, you've found the amp for you.

Cooking without salt isn't boring. It's healthy. Add the salt to afterwards. Same with bass amps - season to taste.

The 'flat is sterile' mantra seems to be some kind of internet wisdom. There are lots of great sounding amps that are flat response with the controls at noon. They can't all be boring, surely?🙂

9 hours ago, Dan Dare said:

 

That's the point some of us are trying to make. A truly flat frequency response is not achievable by any bass rig.

I take your point about bass rigs, but the original question was not about bass rigs but a bass amp. There are plenty of bass guitar amps with a flat frequency response. If you check out the technical reviews at Bass Gear Magazine, you'll find them. From memory, the Markbass LMIII is flat with the controls at 12 o'clock.

Knowing that your amp is flat response with the controls at noon doesn't stop you from using your tone controls to get the sound you're looking for. But at least you know what the starting point is.

53 minutes ago, Beedster said:

 

Which means that you love it's baked in tone, which is why we choose the gear we choose. But it's not flat, if it was flat why would you love Handbox flat more than Ashdown or Ampeg flat? 

Flat isn't a baked-in tone. It's a flat frequency response. If you don't want a flat frequency response in an amp, what response do you want?

Some of this duplicates what Phil has said, but here goes...

1. Crossover

For anyone who has assembled an electronic kit, etc. in the past, the crossover is fairly straightforward to build, although doing point-to-point wiring is time-consuming. I do appreciate it's a step too far for most people, which is why I offered ready-built crossovers as part of the kit. Building one-off hardwired crossovers is out of the question now (it's half a day's work), but I've recently acquired a PCB facility, which means I could assemble one on a PCB without too much problem at a reasonable cost.

2. Ply

15mm poplar was chosen as a reasonable compromise between weight and stiffness, but there's nothing to stop you using 12mm or 18m. 12mm will be more resonant but lighter; 18mm will be less resonant but heavier. I'm happy that 15mm poplar was the right choice for that size of cab. The quality of the plywood is probably more important than the thickness. Go for the best quality you can get. The plywood offered by most local timber merchants is normally not good enough. If you can't get 15mm, you're probably shopping in the wrong place.

3. Back plate

The input connectors are Speakons. In the first prototype I built, I mounted a Speakon on a small piece of plywood, cut a hole in the back panel, and then glued the piece of plywood with the Speakon behind it. Then I rounded off the hole for cosmetic purposes. It worked fine and looked neat.

I wonder if you're referring to the input panel arrangement in the kit. That was CNC'd and would be difficult to replicate any other way. You could just fit one of the standard backplates available from the usual suppliers.

4. Wire

I suggest you use 1.5mm colour-coded twin core speaker cable. Avoid the copper coated aluminium stuff.

5. CNC and glue

PU glue is great if you want something that sets quickly. I have a tube in my workshop and wouldn't be without it. I suspect Bill recommends it because it expands and helps fill the gaps in the angled joints. But it is messy stuff. It sometimes sets too fast for comfort and oozes out all over the place. I think you'll find PVA easier to use.

Yes, the drawing was just intended to show the port design.

If I were designing this (which I'm not), I'd use this port layout:

It offers several benefits. It helps brace the speaker where it needs it most - in the centre (rather at the bottom where the bracing is not needed). It helps with standing waves within the cabinet, which would likely be quite audible in a box this size. It would also make it easier to build a cab with a slanted top baffle if you wanted to do that.

To add to what @Chienmortbb said, there are several reasons why you can't use the BC12v3 crossover. The main one is that we are dealing with a 4-ohm system here, whereas the crossover was designed for an 8-ohm system.

10 hours ago, warwickhunt said:

@Phil Starr would you know without me taking my driver out what was OE in the TKS H115?  

 

https://www.tks.se/tks.se/_h115.htm

The few specs provided by TKS coincide with the specs of the Eminence Kappalite (non-LF version).

Some makers offer foam bungs for doing this but you can use anything that works. I've used small towels or similar in the past. You don't have to get a 100% seal. I'm sure you realise the power handling at low frequencies will be reduced if you do this. Keeping the ports and using tone controls to cut the bass, as Bill suggests, will increase power handling.

The diagrams are all still valid as long as you use the specified drivers and horn.

There are quite a few builders on here who will be happy to advise you if you get stuck. Don't worry.

The LNT12 is a fine cab and ideal as a reference.

7 hours ago, RichardH said:

Blimey!

Indeed. It would weigh over 10kg if it had a ferrite magnet.

On 23/07/2022 at 08:38, RichardH said:

 

No, it's actually a non-neo driver - I don't know the exact driver - though he did say it's a discontinued driver (it's not a Beyma) so it's kind of academic. 4" voice coil on it though - a real beast.

Despite the weight, it is actually a neo driver, Richard.

How does protection work on an amp like this? I've always assumed that they all have some kind of protection against sub-optimal loads or short circuits. Am I wrong?

Just bought a bass from Mike. It was really well packed, despatched promptly and communication was excellent. A perfect deal. Thanks!

I was in the same position. the SR500 is really nice to play and very lightweight. But I wasn't too keen on the sound. I upgraded to a (used) Premium Ibanez bass with Nord Big Something pickups. It probably worked out cheaper than just buying the pickups and fitting them to the SR500.