GlamBass74 Posted May 14, 2023 Share Posted May 14, 2023 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 12 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparky Mark Posted May 14, 2023 Share Posted May 14, 2023 We need photos, please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlamBass74 Posted May 14, 2023 Author Share Posted May 14, 2023 This is all I have at present 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparky Mark Posted May 14, 2023 Share Posted May 14, 2023 7 minutes ago, GlamBass74 said: This is all I have at present Impressive! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlamBass74 Posted May 14, 2023 Author Share Posted May 14, 2023 Naked shots 😁 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pea Turgh Posted May 15, 2023 Share Posted May 15, 2023 16 hours ago, GlamBass74 said: This is all I have at present They look great! Stick them on your living room hifi too!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chienmortbb Posted May 15, 2023 Share Posted May 15, 2023 2 hours ago, Pea Turgh said: They look great! Stick them on your living room hifi too!! They sound pretty damn good with music, and standing in front of those ports really makes your trousers flap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevie Posted May 15, 2023 Share Posted May 15, 2023 Nice job, Jon. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassybert Posted May 15, 2023 Share Posted May 15, 2023 These look immense well done Jon! When you have them landscape do the hf horns need rotating as well so they’re both vertically aligned or are they ok as per the photos? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlamBass74 Posted May 15, 2023 Author Share Posted May 15, 2023 In an ideal world I guess they probably would. I've opted to have them portrait as I'll probably use one most of the time. There's plenty of mid/high regardless of orientation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chienmortbb Posted May 15, 2023 Share Posted May 15, 2023 I used mine that way for some time before rotating it to the new way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevie Posted May 16, 2023 Share Posted May 16, 2023 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. 😊 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebenezer Posted May 20, 2023 Share Posted May 20, 2023 Love the recessed handle and looks not to be too much of a dust trap ( nothing a dry paint brush couldn't fix )....cabs look great btw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlamBass74 Posted May 20, 2023 Author Share Posted May 20, 2023 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.... 😁 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chyc Posted May 21, 2023 Share Posted May 21, 2023 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. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlamBass74 Posted May 29, 2023 Author Share Posted May 29, 2023 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. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrDinsdale Posted May 30, 2023 Share Posted May 30, 2023 Out of curiosity how much did they cost to build? What kind of weight? Looks like a fun project! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrDinsdale Posted May 30, 2023 Share Posted May 30, 2023 Ahhh just priced up with the price list and looks to be around £275-300ish. Just reading through the plans, no time now but on my list of things to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlamBass74 Posted May 30, 2023 Author Share Posted May 30, 2023 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) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrDinsdale Posted May 30, 2023 Share Posted May 30, 2023 Well it'll be lighter than the backup ampeg 610 I'm sure 😂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrDinsdale Posted May 30, 2023 Share Posted May 30, 2023 Yeah pretty fortunate I have access to all the tools and stuff so it's really just materials etc. I imagine sourcing the speakers is the most costly and tricky to find. Might have a proper look tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Starr Posted May 30, 2023 Share Posted May 30, 2023 Remember that these are only a small step down from the LFSys Silverstone which is a £600 speaker and which outperforms the Barefaced BB2 in our Bass Chat shootouts. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrDinsdale Posted May 30, 2023 Share Posted May 30, 2023 Nice, a leopard print 112 that rivals a BB2 for £300 is worth the blood and sweat! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted June 7, 2023 Share Posted June 7, 2023 (edited) My people are here. LEOPARD PRINT FTW! Edited June 7, 2023 by Owen 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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