Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

My first outing with my BC112 MK3's


FirstBass

Recommended Posts

I've recently completed a pair of Basschat 12" MK3 cabs. 

 

I took them out for their first try last night complete with the sweatshirt covers I posted about recently :)

 

I play in a moderately loud glam rock band. 

 

We had a "charidee" gig in a hall around 80 x 40 feet with a high ceiling last night.

 

I used the cabs in "landscape mode" with my trusty old TC BH800 perched on top looking a bit lost. The temporary stage was a bit lively, otherwise I would've opted for portrait mode. I was afraid they'd topple over - especially whilst watching the support band's singer leap around like he had a bum full of mustard. 

 

When I built the cabs, I mirrored the baffles, so that the HF horns could be kept in alignment

 

The amp was barely breaking a sweat and the bass control of the 4 band eq was reduced by maybe a third. Bottom end was plentiful 

 

My setup was Yamaha BB734A, lead, amp. Tone print compressor used in the amp. That's it. I'm very simple.... :)

 

The tone was everything I want from a cab. Clear, defined without mush or muddiness that I normal get from my older home brew cabs in large halls. 

 

Felt good knowing I had oodles of power on tap if required. 

 

Bass filled the room without overpowering. Mids were strong and the wonderful HF section barks a great deal of clarity towards my moulded ear plugged lugholes. 

 

I could "feel" as well as hear my playing whilst stood in front of my cabs. Rather nice. 

 

Yep - the parts involved aren't cheap, (and all the little bits do add up when you begin building) but my oh my the performance is worth it. I own a couple of well respected manufacturer's cabs and these are making me wonder why I bothered!!! One is for sale as I type. 

 

If you're a liability with power tools, then you can buy a mildly supercharged version of the mk3 in the form of the LFSys Silverstone. If you can measure, use a few tools and enjoy a challenge, then you can still obtain the mk3 plans on this 'ere forum. I really would recommend it if you're thinking of having a go. 

 

Pub gigs will be easily taken care of with one of the pair. Outdoor or BIG rooms will be dealt with by the pair running together for sure. Any more required would be a PA job....

 

I've built them with top hats in the bottom, so we have a get out of jail PA system should ours cr*p out on us (its a pretty shonky setup that I hate with a passion, but my band mates are too tight to invest in upgrades) I look forward to trying the cabs in a PA role soon. I also recessed the handle on the top. 

 

I promised myself i'd take a few pictures, but as usual forgot. 

 

If you're near Norwich and interested, then i'm more than happy to let you come and try one/them

 

Again... Big thanks to Stevie, Phil Starr and the crew for making this great resource available for us all. 

 

Cheers all

 

Jon

 

 

 

  • Like 12
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The horns have a nominal 90 x 60 degree dispersion. The idea of using them vertically is to send more of the high frequency information to the player's ears.  I've AB'd the two options and you can definitely hear the difference, as the low crossover frequency means that quite a lot of the sound of the bass comes through the horn. The orientation of the horn doesn't affect the sound in the far field (i.e., the audience).

 

The idea behind all of this is to allow players to easily hear what they're playing. Even when you stack two cabs the way @GlamBass74 has done, a vertically aligned horn makes a difference to audibility - so if it were my rig, I'd rotate the top horn and leave the bottom one - best of both worlds. 😊

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks all. I do enjoy making cabs and would recommend it to anyone thinking of having a go. @chyc and I chat regularly about "home brew" cabs. His builds are looking really good. He's got the bug 😂

 

The sheer joy of hearing something you've built come to life is very rewarding

 

I'm still not 100 percent happy with the grille (picky s*d), but sonically they're bang on. 

 

I think my other very expensive cabs could be gathering dust from now on.... 😁

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Can confirm it's a lot of fun, and thoroughly educational. I'm not on the same level as @GlamBass74, so if you're starting out I'd probably look at what I'm turning out in terms of what you can achieve from a standing start.

 

Here's my BC112. I want to build another but some of the parts are still out of stock unless you build it without a tweeter. In terms of colour, I know you can customize to a certain extent with certain cabinet manufacturers, but there's something rather satisfying about either browsing the shelves of Wilko, or using up the tins of paint in your shed.

 

 

photo_2023-05-21_13-55-47.thumb.jpg.c702c6248358722a4fb94f66c1fc8a71.jpg

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Took both cabs to a show on the back of a trailer in Aylsham, Norfolk on Sunday. 

 

Playing to a pub courtyard about 60' x 40'

 

Coupled to a TC BH800 

 

Yamaha BB734A in passive mode

 

No PA support. Just my cabs and amp. 

 

Did the job well. I was very pleased. 

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I daren't calculate it in total, but the painful bits are the LF and HF driver. I dare say if I calculate all other hardware, paint, grille material, wadding, etc etc etc it'd shock me, but I know for sure it'd be a darn sight cheaper than some of the daylight robbers out there (and perform as well, if not better!)  

 

I guess the project can be as cheap or expensive as you want really. 

 

Not sure on weight. They're no featherweights as they're braced well inside and made from 15mm ply, but the shape and handle positioning make carrying easy. I managed one in each hand for 100 ish yards dash to a car park (probably looked like a poor attempt at a world's strongest man challenge) 

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...