DIY Eminence 1x15 Bass Guitar Cabinet

[Reference1042]

I am going to start a project for a Diy 15" bass guitar cabinet using an Eminence driver.

The plan is to build something that i can use with my line6 Bass Pod XT Live, so think i will go for a power amp, rather than an amp head. As i see no need for any additional modelling options, and the general opinion seems to be they give better bang for buck.

At this stage i have a few points that i was hoping for some advice on...

Can anyone advise me which of the eminence drivers may give the best results in this scenario. Was considering the Eminence Delta 15LFA 8ohm 500w, available from Blue Aran for £69.99. Or am i better going for the Something like a Kappa Pro 15" 8ohm for £102.99?

My other concern was whether i would need to use a crossover, the eminence design specs for the LFA recommend a 35hz steep high pass filter. Whats my best DIY option for this? OR can i use the XT live safely through this driver amped with a power amp?

[SemperFi]

Arent the mentioned drivers PA drivers? they'll work, but a true bass guitar driver will probably work better. I think PA drivers are a bit too damped and wont sound off in the high end, they are meant to be crossed over to a HF driver. I dont play the bass, but I know Jensen NEO15s are pretty good, Weber may have a decent 15" also.

[Passinwind]

Originally Posted by Reference1042

My other concern was whether i would need to use a crossover, the eminence design specs for the LFA recommend a 35hz steep high pass filter. Whats my best DIY option for this? OR can i use the XT live safely through this driver amped with a power amp?

ESP (Elliot Sound) has a circuit board and schematic for a HPF on their website. This guy is a friend of mine and provides DIY plans for some as well: https://sites.google.com/site/hpftechllc/home. The MiniDSP boards also work well. Many pro sound oriented power amps already have adequate high pass filters built in though.

For a full range 15" bass cab, I like the Eminence Kappalite 3015 (not the LF version). The Faital 15PR400 is pretty nice too. You might want to take a look at Talkbass for the many DIY bass cab threads that are there.

[tinitus]

I would like to try Faital 18FH500...but I might suggest 4x 12"

[Passinwind]

Originally Posted by tinitus

I would like to try Faital 18FH500...but I might suggest 4x 12"

A 4-12 is a pretty huge jump from an economy 1-15, in a few different ways.

Thinking about it some more, the Delta 15 or the Legend CB15 would be my choices if cash is tight and a 15" Eminence is your preference. For a modeler front end I personally would really want decent frequency response to at least 4K or so, including at least somewhat off-axis, which is kind of pushing it for any full range 15 intended for bass guitar applications. As always, just depends on your particular wants and needs though.

[tinitus]

Im choosing the modular approach
as many you want to build, need, or bare to carry
but should definately fit in the trunk of a car, and/or on the back seat
means lightweight smallish box, with 12" woofer
my present choice is Fane Sovereign 12-300
cost like 100USD, in EU

[Passinwind]

Originally Posted by tinitus

Im choosing the modular approach
as many you want to build, need, or bare to carry
but should definately fit in the trunk of a car, and/or on the back seat
means lightweight smallish box, with 12" woofer
my present choice is Fane Sovereign 12-300
cost like 100USD, in EU

I have a van, but I still like 112 cabs a lot. One is all I ever need for nearly all my gigs, really. This is the last one I built, a fEARful 12/6:



This is a whole huge jump from an economy single 15 cab too though...

[tinitus]

nice one mr Passwind

forget the 'tweeters' ... suspect of causing 'pitch issues' in the same manner like EQ does...in worst case it really scew up your tuning
ofcourse with good care it can do the opposite...but its tricky, and not to be taken lightly

just a 12"...no tweeter, no crossover...sweet, with less 'pitch issues'
if some day you want more power handling, just build some more of the same
next step....2-channel setup

but I would avoid 'the usual' guitar woofer with peaked top
look for a PA woofer with rolloff around 4khz
average Fs ressonance, vas around 100liter, 4-5mm Xmax(one way)
Fane 12-300 may be hard to beat
but should be able to tell more soon

[Reference1042]

Thanks for all the input folks, really helpful as always.

After some thought and a few trips to my local shop to audition some different amp heads and cabs I decided to buy instead of build.

Bought a TC Electronic BH500 Head And a TC Electronic BC210 cabinet. Must say i am really impressed with the TC kit, custom Eminence drivers, solid build quality, really tight punchy bass from the 210 cab, nice mids and highs as well..And the BH500 head certainly doesn't lack power or definition. I also tried the peavey tour 450 amp head but found it very very noisy. Tried a 15" combo from TC with 300watts, but not in the same league as the 210 cab...not a very good comparison, but the shop only had a 210 or 410 cabinet..a 410 is a bit big for home use.

I may still build a 1x15 or 2x12 cab to add on, but I'm not really lacking bottom end at this time

[cyclecamper]

I definitely want to try some of the new lightweight bass guitar speakers with small neodymium magnets. I hear the magnets can lose strength if overheated, but they seem to have gotten that worked out as long as you have enough drivers. It definitely makes for a lighter load to lug, especially with aluminum frames. Anybody else tried them?

I have plenty of small 4X10 cabs, so I really want some 1x 15 cabs about the same size now. Sealed and stuffed.