1x12 Guitar Speaker Cabinet Recommendation Please

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I want to make my own 1 x 12 guitar speaker cabinet (speaker only--not to enclose amp as well). I just bought a freshly re-coned vintage 8 ohm fender 12" guitar speaker (for $50 from local guitar & electronics shop) I want to use in it.

The source will be a Gibson GA-25 amplifier (which was pulled out of a GA-25 cabinet--I don't have the old cabinet or speakers). The GA-25 will act as a head now that I will sit on top of this DIY 1 x 12 cabinet. The GA-25 was customized including it's own step down transformer (wired for 8 ohms).

I was hoping for any recommendations for dimensions, positioning of speaker (mounted in front or back of the face board), and whether or not it should be enclosed or open in the back--this is a 1948 amplifier and looking to play jazz and blues from that era on it, so someone told me it would be best to leave it open in the back.

If there are any good DIY on the web, I'd really appreciate a link thanks!

Jennifer
 
Do you have access to a wood shop? If not, you may want to consider this guy:

Home


Otherwise, I'd suggest making the front and back baffles out of 1/2" plywood, and the sides from 3/4" solid pine. Put a round hole in the center of the rear baffle equal to just under 1/3 of it's total area. The size of the cabinet is somewhat arbitrary, basically the bigger the better. Make it 12 to 14 inches deep. Rear-loading the speaker is the simplest option, then you can make the grille permanent. I think you can find all the hardware you need at Parts Express.
 
Do you have access to a wood shop? If not, you may want to consider this guy:

Home


Otherwise, I'd suggest making the front and back baffles out of 1/2" plywood, and the sides from 3/4" solid pine. Put a round hole in the center of the rear baffle equal to just under 1/3 of it's total area. The size of the cabinet is somewhat arbitrary, basically the bigger the better. Make it 12 to 14 inches deep. Rear-loading the speaker is the simplest option, then you can make the grille permanent. I think you can find all the hardware you need at Parts Express.

Yeah I have my own little wood shop. Hand saws, planes, shooting board. Chisels for dovetails by hand, etc.. I can do it all by hand and have it looking pretty.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll go with 1/2" thick baffle and 1 foot deep (to save some money on the lumber). I'm thinking about a 18x15x1/2" baffle. That sound good?
 
I'll go with 1/2" thick baffle and 1 foot deep (to save some money on the lumber). I'm thinking about a 18x15x1/2" baffle. That sound good?
I'd go a bit bigger, say, 21 x 17. That'll give you an internal volume of roughly two cubic feet, which is still small considering a vintage Jensen has a small magnet. The trade-off here is the bass, but you'll want a nice, full sound for jazz.

Myself, I like the sound of bare wood, and the sound is the point of using pine (like the old Fender cabs). But you may want a covering, and I've been saving this link for a while:

BASTILLE Small Scale Design Fabric - DecorativeFabricsDirect.com

Not, you know, something most guys would be into, but I think it would be a nice change from the typical tweed or tolex. :cloud9:
 
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This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.