The Terrible Smell of Electronic Death!

So, anyone that's seen the FB page will know that last Saturday night, midway through the last song of the main set, my amp/speakers gave up the ghost amid smoke and the acrid stench of melted insulation. Now, I don't have to tell you how much of a pain that is. Two weeks on the Rock and no chance to look into what caused the problem in the first place.

Fortunately my neighbour is an electronics guru so Dr Mike now has the amp to check that all is well and that there are no nasties happening at the output end like DC currents etc. I've ordered a pair of replacement drivers but given that I love Ashdown amps but really, really detest their speakers, I've gone for Eminence Legends. So, next Friday, it'll be the rush home, wire up the new speakers, get the amp off Dr Mike, test and then off to rehearsals; no pressure then!

There is another reason for ordering the Eminence drivers; my new project. Having delved into the murky underworld of bass cabs and having test driven more than a few, I came rapidly to the conclusion that a) I can't find that elusive tone that I'm looking for and b) They're all hideously overpriced! That being the case I took the decision to build my own cab to my spec. The first stage is there, cutting the parts and assembling to make sure it's all a tight fit before glueing and screwing. It'll be a 6 x 10 and should handle somewhere in the region of 1200W at peak. I reckon that should do it. The top two speakers will work as a closed cab for punch and the bottom four are vented to get some weight behind the sound. Add a HF supertweeter or two possibly, all attenuated with the filter set to around 3.5Khz it should sound bloody immense! We shall see.

So the coming weekend will involve stripping the component parts, glueing and screwing it all back together, sealing all the joints, filling the holes, sanding it down, spraying the baffle and covering the body in tolex. Oh, and changing the port from a slot to four round reflex ports 'cos I've decided the slot looks pants. Not much to do then! I'll update you in a week or so as to how it all progresses; there may be more photos and possibly a video!

TTFN

Dunc