Hardwood cabinets?

[Evol]

So I was wondering if anyone had any experience with custom made cabs.I knew a guy back in Texas who made them but didn't really check into it because the price was outrageous.I'm considering making my own (2x12's) but wanted to know if anyone had opinions on wood choices vs. tone etc.

[Black Mariah]

Re: Hardwood cabinets?

Don't have much time ATM so I'll post more later. I'm about to start building custom cabs so if you're interested shoot me an email or a PM.

[Black Mariah]

Re: Hardwood cabinets?

Didn't think I'd be back this quick...

The only hardwood cabinets I know of are the ones Mesa sometimes uses on its smaller combos. I'm not sure how hardwood effects the tone of a cabinet, but there are many reasons NOT to use it. First and most importantly is cost. I just did some checking and most places are not very forthcoming about their wood prices (dumbasses), but the few places I did manage to find listed mahogany that wasn't even wide enough, and the cost would be over $200 for a 2x12 cabinet. Compare that to the $50-60 it would cost for a sheet of plywood that would be good for a couple of 2x12's and maybe even a 1x12 if you fit it all right.

Then there's the question of tone. Sure it's going to make a difference, but what kind of difference? Is it worth that much more money?

At least to me there's no reason to use anything but birch ply. It's the perfect balance of strength, durability, and price. I don't see where building a cabinet out of hardwood would make THAT MUCH of a tonal difference, but I'd like to find out now that you bring it up. [img]graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[Outlander]

Re: Hardwood cabinets?

I believe that a high grade chipboard or particle board is actually better than most woods because it's so dense and doesn't color the sound so much. I have heard of guys making cabs of this and then making an outer shell of walnut or mahogany, you can imagine how heavy that must be!
It would work fine for home stereos
You could make guitar cabs and then cover with veneer and then attach tolex or fabric. Your internal bracing and sound board or speaker mount surface would probably still be pine or something like that spruce etc.

[Evol]

Re: Hardwood cabinets?

I'm not overly concerned about the cost so much,and I sure wouldn't build a 4x12 out of hardwood (who needs those disks in your spine anyway?)
I'm not doing it for the looks so much as an interest in tone,it has to make some difference,I just wonder how much,lots of factors though with different speakers,woods etc.

[raymo]

Re: Hardwood cabinets?

Originally posted by OUTLANDER:
You could make guitar cabs and then cover with veneer and then attach tolex or fabric.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Why would someone put tolex or fabric over a veneer? Just from my point of view if you're gonna put a veneer on it, it's for looks, so why go and cover it?

[Black Mariah]

Re: Hardwood cabinets?

Particle board is s**te for cabinets. It's too coarse and you can snap the crap in half with your bare hands. The difference between particle board and plywood may seem minute, but the difference in structural integrity is enormous.

[mm2002]

Re: Hardwood cabinets?

Birch or oak plywood are the only thing to use. Whoever thinks particle board is good for speaker cabs has obviously been visiting too many Korean mfg. plants!! [img]graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[Wayniac]

Re: Hardwood cabinets?

Dunno how much this helps, but last time we were in the studio, I brought in both my 1x12 ENGL Straight 100 and my 1x12 Boogie MKIIC+.
The ENGL is a plywood cabinet (marine birch I think) with a 75 watt Celestion in it, and the Boogie is an Imbuya w/ wicker grille and an EV in it (dunno the wattage offhand).
We dialed in the amp response I wanted (the tones were distinctly different to our ears), but when we mic'd them up... there wasn't as huge a difference as you'd think.
I don't know if it is just because the mic is so close to the speaker that it really doesn't pick up much of the cabinet resonance or what.
Mind you - in the room, they sounded like TOTALLY different amps. But on tape, playing back side by side (without changing EQ), they were damn close. The biggest difference (to my ears) was that the Celestion seemed slightly warmer.
Hope that helps.

[yabba]

Re: Hardwood cabinets?

hey Black Mariah, any tips on good resources for cab building info? (like links to sites with good info or that sort of thing?) I could send you a PM or email if that would be easier.