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Post subject: I built this today
Posted: Thu Feb 25, 2016 11:42 pm
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I have never even seen one of these before, much less tried one but I have heard of them once or twice and I decided today to build one and try it.
(Boredom can be a useful thing when exploited correctly. LOL)
I have no idea or comprehension if I have done it correctly or to the right scale/ratio but here goes anyway.
I had the time and the plywood, so ....

I read several years back (OK, maybe more like 7 or 8 years ago) on some other (unknown?) forum about someone who built an L-shaped box out of plywood for resting an open backed Fender style amplifier upon. The theory was, you redirect the open backed air space, channelling it to the front ... but doing so along a long enough air path that cancellation of frequencies does not occur due to air rushing back and forth from front to back.

Well, that's the theory anyway.

The objective is to obtain a little more SPL and more specifically, in the low frequencies.

My curiosity with this design has been persistent ever since I first heard of it years ago. It has always been on the back burner, simmering away, waiting to be given a green light. Being the sort of man who takes a considerable amount of time to consider ramifications ... I finally decided that the gamble of several hours of work and a little bit of material was justifiable.

This pic, taken in my messy basement, after the first coat of paint, shows the general idea. The unit is laying on its back so you have to envision it rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise. I used my little Mesa Boogie .50 Caliber as a template for the measurements since that is the amp I will very likely use for rehearsals in a new band I sort of think I may have joined. That part is all still up in the air.

I am off to bed after this coat of paint and the requisite cleaning of the brushes but tomorrow I plan to give the box a try and will report my findings.

If nothing else, even if there are no gains in tone or volume levels, the little amp will be raised by about 10" and tilted back a bit so stooping over to see and adjust the knobs/controls should prove to be easier.

Or maybe it was a complete waste of time.

We shall see tomorrow.

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Post subject: Re: I built this today
Posted: Fri Feb 26, 2016 12:23 am
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Looking very good Matt ! 8)

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Post subject: Re: I built this today
Posted: Fri Feb 26, 2016 12:30 am
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Solid Body Love Songs wrote:
Looking very good Matt ! 8)

Thanks, Roland!
Have you ever heard of such a device?
I'm kinda wondering if this is sort of a pioneer project ... or what have you.

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Post subject: Re: I built this today
Posted: Fri Feb 26, 2016 1:43 am
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New to me Matt. Your explanation of how it works makes perfect sense so I'm looking forward to your update. 8)

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Post subject: Re: I built this today
Posted: Fri Feb 26, 2016 3:20 am
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It should work as theorized IMO. To tart it up a bit you might consider covering it with Tolex or other amp-related product.

We'll expect a full operational report in the morning of course......

8)

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: I built this today
Posted: Fri Feb 26, 2016 3:30 am
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Very cool. Nice job on the construction (lots of work in that). Looking forward to the rest of your experience, and how the volumes work out. Great project. :D
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Post subject: Re: I built this today
Posted: Fri Feb 26, 2016 6:10 am
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This is a really cool idea, and l agree with Arjay that some Tolex or Tweed would be an amazing cover...

While reading this thread, I knew I had seen something like this before...

https://reverb.com/item/646629-sound-enhancer-e-sm-guitar-amp-stand

Yours looks cooler, though...I've always loved it when somebody makes something (guitar, guitar stand, amp stand, pedal board, etc.) instead of buying a mass-produced item that everyone already owns.

Unfortunately, my woodworking skills and the ability to build the things I dream up don't measure up to one another. :(
I can build things out of metal, but they generally end up weighing more that 2.5 sisters-in-law (a unit of measure recognized in Texas), so they're not practical.

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Post subject: Re: I built this today
Posted: Fri Feb 26, 2016 8:40 am
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Vely intelesting!
A with and without sound clip will be mandatory, of course!
That will give everyone a chance to decide how you can tune it with tone woods. :D

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Post subject: Re: I built this today
Posted: Fri Feb 26, 2016 9:34 am
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very cool idea will be waiting for the sound clip
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Post subject: Re: I built this today
Posted: Fri Feb 26, 2016 9:41 am
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OK, so I tried the amp on its own and then up on the box. Took it off and then put it back on. Did that again. So that's three times on its own and three times on the box. Here's what I found. There is more low frequency content. There's no mistaking it. It's not like it's a ton more but it's enough that it is noticeable. I am less convinced of an overall SPL increase. I sense there might be but it's hard to say since the amp now points directly in my face due to the slight tilt-back. I have a pair of the smaller sized Weber Beam-Blockers on hand which I bought for a different project that never materialized. I can't remember if I've ever actually tried them before but I do hear good things about them, particularly for stage use. I may install one of them this evening. The idea there would be to determine if there is an overall SPL increase by eliminating any beaming that might be taking place.

Overall, I would say this project was a success. I do appreciate the extra beefiness. My little half-power Boogie now sounds a little closer to a full sized Boogie. I am also quite pleased with the amp controls being much easier to see and access.

A couple other things I still want to do before I call the project done:

- I failed to anticipate routing the power cord. I haven't decided what I'm going to do about that yet but I imagine drilling or cutting will be involved. My first thought was a hole in the back near the bottom to run the cord through but that seems like maybe it might become a hassle during setups and tear-downs. Another thought is a small horseshoe shaped relief cut into the side. I am unsure about how important it might be to preserve the "seal" of the airspace. A hole large enough for the plug end of the power cord to pass through would leave a bigger gap around the sheathing of the cord once in place. Perhaps it is not important at all since I did notice a difference even with a power-cord-wide gap all down the one side.

- I want to find a carpet remnant and glue it to the bottom of the box to prevent any sliding around from scratching my flooring. I may also put a piece on the shelf surface for the amp to sit on as well. Still pondering that part. I may also stick some weather stripping along the edges on the back part to prevent any rubbing that might occur from wearing the tolex.

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Post subject: Re: I built this today
Posted: Fri Feb 26, 2016 9:51 am
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BMW-KTM wrote:
I want to find a carpet remnant and glue it to the bottom of the box to prevent any sliding around from scratching my flooring.


You might find commercial-grade nylon furniture glides useful here, Matt. They'll do the same job but look a bit more professional than a piece of raggedyassed rug.

BMW-KTM wrote:
I may also put a piece on the shelf surface for the amp to sit on as well. Still pondering that part.


A small, piece of industrial rubber matting would work well here. Trim it close for a precise fit then affix with contact cement or Gorilla Glue.

What a super job your idea turned out to be!

8)

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: I built this today
Posted: Fri Feb 26, 2016 11:02 am
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I really like this idea.

Excellent craft work on it too!

keep us posted on your progress.

dude, you perhaps have just invented something that could be an actual, usable product.
(and... we could say we knew you when you were still unknown..)

seriously, we'll thought out and executed.. nice work!!


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Post subject: Re: I built this today
Posted: Fri Feb 26, 2016 11:08 am
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Thanks, guys.
Like I said in my OP, I have heard of these things before and I'm pretty sure I have a pic somewhere of one I found on that other forum years ago ... so I did have something to go on. It wasn't actually my idea. When i said I'd never seen one before, I meant like, in person.

I guess you could say it was my spin on somebody's idea. The one I built bears only a slight resemblance to the one I saw a picture of. That one was quite a bit larger than mine and very much heavier. The back upright section was at least 4 times as deep. I recall there was a 45 degree bevel/recess built into the back bottom corner of the thing, presumably to direct air around the corner as well as provide space to run cords and cables and such. It was built using ½" ply all around and it had an extra structural support inside the bottom part of the box. It looked like it weighed around 30 or 35 pounds or so. I used ⅜" ply for the sides and shelf and ¼" for everything else. It weighs 10 pounds. I weighed myself alone and then holding it a couple of times each since my scale won't read that low.

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Post subject: Re: I built this today
Posted: Fri Feb 26, 2016 11:42 am
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Ten pounds is eminently manageable and such construction could easily be expected to handle the heft of amps up to and including a Deluxe Reverb.

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: I built this today
Posted: Fri Feb 26, 2016 12:53 pm
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It took me a while but I found the pic(s) I had saved. I renamed them just now to make it easier to find them again. I am so very bad for that. I'll see something that interests me and save a copy to look at later but I don't change the filename. I must have thousands of pics all named with a long string of numbers; all stored in a single folder named "From Inet". It makes finding things pretty slow.

Anyway, now that I'm looking at it I guess maybe it's not quite as heavy as I remember thinking it must be. I'm not sure why the guy used a centre support web. With the four rubber feet of his Vibrolux contacting the shelf at the edges I don't see where the centre of the shelf will see any load to speak of. Also, that shelf looks like it might be exactly that; a piece of particle board melamine shelving like you might find in a hardware store. OK, maybe it is heavy after all. It looks like gobs and gobs of overkill to me. LOL

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