making a cheap 2x12 cab

hi
i am planning to make a 2x12 cab for an amp head i'm about to buy..

any idea on how good the speakers from 'Ahuja' would be ?
i don't intend to spend a lot more than 5k on the cab (if that's even possible!)

plus any ideas on where i can get vacuum tubes at kolkata ?
i know you get 'em around chandni chowk...so please have a little bit more resolution to your replies

thanks a lot

 

They don't make guitar speakers.

The cheapest & worst sounding 12" Celestion would be the Rocket 50's. Those will cost about 5k for just one.

 

Which amp head are you buying?

 

We had a lot of Ahujas in our school...

Was used for PA equipment.. Never for guitar... They cane in readymade cabinets if I am not wrong... Do you plan to tear them open and remove the speakers for your own cab or do they (Ahuja) sell speakers exclusively too?

What I'd really suggest is visiting the Stranger workshop (since you live in Kolkata, it's a great opportunity), which is also based in central Kolkata... Since they specialize in making guitar amps, their speakers will definitely suit you much more than the Ahujas and should come in a similar price mark.. They might also build you a 2x12 cab if you ask them, who knows...

I'd personally like to go for indian speakers instead of a chinese one... My stranger 80 Watt equipped with a 12 inch speaker has never disappointed me... Would say that they are definitely better than the Marshall MG series or the Peavy Vypyr 12 inch speakers (personal opinion, I might get some hate on this)...

Besides, what matters, as I have learnt over the course of the past few months, partly thanks to IGT, is that cabs don't really matter a lot when it comes to tonal quality (unless of course the speakers are absolutely shite)... What does matter is the head/preamp....

Besides, what amp are you buying?

 

to tirtha2chester and rickkkyrich:

i am planning on a blackheart BH5H head
+
i intend on making a valve amp too (just an amateur effort)

to henrynh: what differentiates a guitar speaker from another speaker having similar specs?
and any cheaper alternatives apart from celestions ?

to tirtha2chester: although i am not a huge fan of strangers i intend to pay them a visit...where exactly is the workshop?
are you talking about this address at 17 & 18 Brindaban Basak Street ?

 

Brilliant... I first checked out the amp in Saptaswara and came to know... Is the amp available in Kolkata? I am more than interested in buying the head too but with the BH112 cab... Heard it goes great with it... To be very honest this amp is among the things i have been really researching a lot since the past month... Where are you buying it from? Do give me a review on how the amp after you buy...

And about the Stranger workshop, maybe or maybe not... I can give you their number and you can call them up and ask yourself if you want...

 

The frequency response is different. Guitar speakers are meant specifically for guitars only.
WGS speakers are cheaper alternative to Celestion, but importing them through air shipping is expensive due to the weight. Should cost about 7.5-8k for one.

The dimensions of the cab matter, the material of the wood doesn't unless you are gigging then you'll need sturdy thick plywood in there to take the abuse of regular transportation. Try to stick with good quality ply, cheaper ones will wear out or crack & start causing vibrations after a few years.

 

to henrynh: ahh thanks a lot man

i guess speakers are not available at bajaao or at furtados..so probably i'm gonna need to export them. what about the celestion rocket 50's? there seems to be mixed reviews about them on the net. are they available anywhere in india ? online dealings preferable

to tirtha2chester: i know a guy at guitar center (deshpran shasmal rd) who says that he could bring it down for me if i pay him an advance of 5 k....not 100 percent reliable though..i am checking for other options too (to get the head)..will let you know.

 

Yeah you need to import WGS speakers, there are no dealers for those in India.

Rocket 50's have lower efficiency & sensitivity rating & come stock in most low wattage SS practice amps out there. They are used in the Laney LV cabs too. I've found they just sound muffled. The Seventy/80 is a step up from it if you use it in a closed back cab, but in an open back cab it just sounds plain & boring. However for the price they sell both of those new they are a big waste of money unless you buy them used. It's much better to invest a little more & get something entirely different.

About that amp, I don't think it has a switch to change between 120V & 240V mains input. If you get it from US, you will need a step down transformer to use it or you will damage the amp on the first test run itself.

 

I would suggest using the best quality plywood you can to build the cabinet, 3/4th of an inch would be good.....a little thicker, even better......Ensure the front panel of the cabinet is removable.....that way you could use any speaker now and later if you plan on changing to another speaker, you could do that easily by just replacing the baffle......Ensure that both the baffles, front and back are thicker than the others used on the cabinet......

 

I don't think compromising on a speaker makes sense. You can get 1x12 cab done with just single speaker for now. But use a good speaker else you'll end up spending more than less.

 

+1 ^^^ - I would suggest an Eminence Governor, A V30 clone you could say, but sounds great......

 

a 1x12 cab seems like a better option to me right at this point of time

and how do i get an eminence governor? and how much might i have to shell out ?

as for the cab...i'm planning to make it out of teak. we have an old cupboard lying around at my uncle's place. the wood is in pretty good condition..plus the whole thing was pretty big and that = a probable abundance of building material

btw i checked the blackheart site and there's this pdf over there

https://www.blackhearteng.com/pdf/BH5H_OM.pdf

and it says that the power requirement is 220/240 VAC, 50/60 Hz, 45 VA ...so i guess it should work ok

 

Hey can anyone answer me this? Is there any difference between between an 12'' speaker and a 12'' driver?

In every single online deal on a Laney Cub 12R, I see that it is equipped with a celestion driver... Are they any different from normal 12'' speakers?

 

I would stay away from that shop if I were you... They'll rob you of every bit of cash you have....

 

nah..there is no difference

btw i know about the roland guys...and I'm being careful..don't worry

you know a place in the city where i could test a cub 10 or a cub 12 ? can't find any

 

You'll find a cub 10 in virtually every store here... It's one of the most sold tube amps after all... Don't know about the cub 12r.... I suggest you go to the braganzas in the marquis street... they have got an excellent stock for everything...

 

A speaker is also called a driver, just another word really, just as a tube is also called a valve.

 

exactly

and the (probable) reason is that speakers lie in a special class of electric motors called linear motors..hence the name driver

@aryasridhar: man i was just trolling through some of the posts in IGT and i found out that you make pedals
respect !
ever dealt with vacuum tubes ? i need to know where i can get them..y;knw...kinda cheap

@tirtha: man i have searched almost every shop at kolkata barring j.reynolds, music messe, and those shops at lal bazar...but ar kono dokan e nei can you tell me a place where i can get it for sure ?

 

Nope. The power requirements for most electronic product are mentioned for all regions in the manual. If there is a possibility to switch to a different regional mains supply then they specifically mention it or advertise it. In this case there are two models, whichever you get will have the requirement circled/tick marked & the other one striked out on the rear panel where you plug the power cable in.

I assumed you knew a guy that worked in Guitar Center US that would bring the amp along when he/she came down to India lol
Turns out there is a local store in Kolkata near you by that name. So I wouldn't worry about it at all, they'll be given the one by the distributor that would work in the 220/240 region. Even if they do get the wrong model, it will die in the store when turned ON, so you are safe anyways.

You'll need to import Eminence as well. Most of their Patriot & Red Coat series would cost between 8-10k to import one these days.
Celestions can be ordered from BE3 amps in Navi Mumbai, the Classic Series would cost around 12k-18k for one. Not worth spending that much on them these days. This is your source for tubes in India as well. Otherwise you need to import those as well.