what ever happened to good scratchbuilding

noob2audio · 4th March 2012, 01:35 AM

hello everyone, i have just recently delved into the world of diy audio, i would be lying if i were to say because it is cheaper, but rather i like building things. i asked the question "what ever happened to good scratchbuilding" because i feel all the other hobbies have been too capitalize. a good example is rc crawling, before i deployed, i had a lot of fun building everything from the ground up and found resources and and good people to ask for help, now, it seems everytime you want to ask a question, you get the "why dont you just buy this...... and that and leave me alone" treatment.

i guess what i am trying to say is diy audio maybe the only hobby left where you can actually get involved in all the planning, building, testing stages and get the satisfaction of saying "YEAH I BUILT THAT" instead of "YEAH I BOUGHT THAT".

bear · 4th March 2012, 02:29 AM

ham radio too.

guitars.

woodworking.

metalworking...

etc...

but audio is a good one.

_-_-bear

BFNY · 4th March 2012, 02:50 AM

How broad do you want to take it?

I fix my own car, do woodworking/scratch build carpentry, plumbing, motorcycle/bicycle mods and repair, fix broken appliances, plant bare root trees and bushes, *and* build audio stuff from scratch. Not sure where you are looking, but I always find resources on the web to help in whatever I'm doing.
I see all kind of resources on the web to help people do everything, including building your own energy efficient house from homemade bricks or bales of straw.

When you do this stuff at a DIY level, you find it all comes down to tools, guides/manuals, and parts. And time. But no one is going to spoon feed you on how to do it step by step. There is a lot of tinkering, fill in the blanks, and trial and error involved. That's the FUN part.

This certainly is the right place for DIY Audio - welcome.

noob2audio · 4th March 2012, 04:22 AM

thanks for the welcome and inputs, i just needed a conversation starter, i have been a lurker here for some time and took some ideas. i felt awful just lurking and i felt atleast i could say hi.
yes there are a lot to do but music is just more rewarding.

noob2audio · 4th March 2012, 04:28 AM

thanks for the welcome guys, never tried posting at forums, and i felt this site has a very friendly atmosphere. i needed a conversation starter. yeah i know there are a lot of things to do but diy audio is just more rewarding, call it a journey to audio nirvana.

Silent Screamer · 4th March 2012, 10:48 AM

To a certain degree I think it comes down to convenience vs cost. While it would be great to know the thrill of fabricating our own drivers from scratch it is a joy very few people will ever realise, so for the rest of us the best we can hope for is specing the driver to our personal preference.

Some are happy to just assemble parts a get a sense of pride out of that, so really from scratch probably means different things to different people.

tvrgeek · 4th March 2012, 11:18 AM

Well, I am a woodworker, getting back to speaker building after playing with old British sports cars for years. Made a lot of parts for them. I have scratch built several preamps, crossovers and test equipment. Delving into amps now.

What is the problem? You can't buy what you need! Wire for hookup, 1000 foot put-ups. Half the semiconductors, 6 months lead & 50,000 minimum. Cost? Well above buying really good stuff. I wish one of those hobby suppliers would provide a variety of suitable wire in 10 foot lengths with reasonable costs. 1000% is a bit too much markup. My supplier for hot rods does not stock below 18 ga. (K-J) I have run out of old Honda wiring harnesses to get small gauge fine stranded wire.

noob2audio · 4th March 2012, 09:31 PM

on the note of scratch building drivers, i saw an episode of mybuster where they built a woofer inside a car, i was amazed of how they did it, and to top it all they were able to create 161 db at 16 cycles, not too shabby for a homemade speaker.

mickeymoose · 4th March 2012, 11:14 PM

16Hz, in a car. Hm...

noob2audio · 5th March 2012, 12:51 AM

yap 16 hz, and yes inside a car, they gutted the whole interior and built the speaker inside the cab, they used the car engine to move the cone so no voice coil. it looked and moved like junk, but hey, all in the name of science. Their goal was to prove or disprove if a big enough speaker could destroy a car.

4th March 2012, 01:35 AM	#1
noob2audio diyAudio Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: las vegas nevada	what ever happened to good scratchbuilding hello everyone, i have just recently delved into the world of diy audio, i would be lying if i were to say because it is cheaper, but rather i like building things. i asked the question "what ever happened to good scratchbuilding" because i feel all the other hobbies have been too capitalize. a good example is rc crawling, before i deployed, i had a lot of fun building everything from the ground up and found resources and and good people to ask for help, now, it seems everytime you want to ask a question, you get the "why dont you just buy this...... and that and leave me alone" treatment. i guess what i am trying to say is diy audio maybe the only hobby left where you can actually get involved in all the planning, building, testing stages and get the satisfaction of saying "YEAH I BUILT THAT" instead of "YEAH I BOUGHT THAT".

4th March 2012, 02:29 AM	#2
bear expert in tautology diyAudio Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: New York State USA	ham radio too. guitars. woodworking. metalworking... etc... but audio is a good one. _-_-bear __________________ _-_-bear http://www.bearlabs.com [...2SJ74 Toshiba bogus asian parts - beware! ] -- Btw, I don't actually know anything, FYI --

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4th March 2012, 02:50 AM	#3
BFNY diyAudio Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Saratoga NY	How broad do you want to take it? I fix my own car, do woodworking/scratch build carpentry, plumbing, motorcycle/bicycle mods and repair, fix broken appliances, plant bare root trees and bushes, and build audio stuff from scratch. Not sure where you are looking, but I always find resources on the web to help in whatever I'm doing. I see all kind of resources on the web to help people do everything, including building your own energy efficient house from homemade bricks or bales of straw. When you do this stuff at a DIY level, you find it all comes down to tools, guides/manuals, and parts. And time. But no one is going to spoon feed you on how to do it step by step. There is a lot of tinkering, fill in the blanks, and trial and error involved. That's the FUN part. This certainly is the right place for DIY Audio - welcome.

4th March 2012, 04:22 AM	#4
noob2audio diyAudio Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: las vegas nevada	thanks for the welcome and inputs, i just needed a conversation starter, i have been a lurker here for some time and took some ideas. i felt awful just lurking and i felt atleast i could say hi. yes there are a lot to do but music is just more rewarding.

4th March 2012, 04:28 AM	#5
noob2audio diyAudio Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: las vegas nevada	thanks for the welcome guys, never tried posting at forums, and i felt this site has a very friendly atmosphere. i needed a conversation starter. yeah i know there are a lot of things to do but diy audio is just more rewarding, call it a journey to audio nirvana.

4th March 2012, 10:48 AM	#6
Silent Screamer diyAudio Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Sydney	To a certain degree I think it comes down to convenience vs cost. While it would be great to know the thrill of fabricating our own drivers from scratch it is a joy very few people will ever realise, so for the rest of us the best we can hope for is specing the driver to our personal preference. Some are happy to just assemble parts a get a sense of pride out of that, so really from scratch probably means different things to different people.

4th March 2012, 11:18 AM	#7
tvrgeek diyAudio Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Md	Well, I am a woodworker, getting back to speaker building after playing with old British sports cars for years. Made a lot of parts for them. I have scratch built several preamps, crossovers and test equipment. Delving into amps now. What is the problem? You can't buy what you need! Wire for hookup, 1000 foot put-ups. Half the semiconductors, 6 months lead & 50,000 minimum. Cost? Well above buying really good stuff. I wish one of those hobby suppliers would provide a variety of suitable wire in 10 foot lengths with reasonable costs. 1000% is a bit too much markup. My supplier for hot rods does not stock below 18 ga. (K-J) I have run out of old Honda wiring harnesses to get small gauge fine stranded wire.

4th March 2012, 09:31 PM	#8
noob2audio diyAudio Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: las vegas nevada	on the note of scratch building drivers, i saw an episode of mybuster where they built a woofer inside a car, i was amazed of how they did it, and to top it all they were able to create 161 db at 16 cycles, not too shabby for a homemade speaker.

4th March 2012, 11:14 PM	#9
mickeymoose diyAudio Member Join Date: Nov 2008	16Hz, in a car. Hm...

5th March 2012, 12:51 AM	#10
noob2audio diyAudio Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: las vegas nevada	yap 16 hz, and yes inside a car, they gutted the whole interior and built the speaker inside the cab, they used the car engine to move the cone so no voice coil. it looked and moved like junk, but hey, all in the name of science. Their goal was to prove or disprove if a big enough speaker could destroy a car.