DIY guitar speaker cabinet made of wooden wine box

 

I am very novice to this DIY but I still did it. So, I got an old DIY guitar speaker cabinet that was already built when I bought on eBay. It's working and it's fine. I've gigged with it and used it many times during rehearsals. Until I ask ChatGPT about this particular speaker cab. So I gave the specs especially the measurement of the cabinet and the size of the speaker which is 10 inch. ChatGPT said that the cabinet is small or slim for the speaker size. And that's when I decided to build a different speaker cabinet. 

Now being new to this, I bought a battery powered cordless drill because I know I will be needing it for my planned speaker cabinet. Then because of the price, I had an idea of buying a used wine box on eBay which is really cheap to convert it into a guitar speaker cab. Sounds like a good plan isnt it?

I put everything into pieces using the old stuff from the old speaker cab that I got. And, it didnt take long, I managed to finish it. And to my excitement, I went and tested it. Then that's when the disappointment starts to kick in. It sounded different, boxy, thin, and trebly. I lost the low end and volume with this cabinet. 

So I asked ChatGPT for help. And immediately when I mentioned the wine box plus I uploaded a photo of the finished wine box speaker cab. ChatGPT said it's not a good idea for a speaker cabinet because first of all it is slim. Typical wine box is between 10-12 mm versus the thickness that's required for a guitar speaker cab is around 15-18 mm. Then there's some unnecessary holes that was seen on the photo. ChatGPT said it should be air-tight. But I didnt listen or get what it meant. I though it meant the tiny holes around the speaker front panel and then the winebox itself where it's been put together using small nails. 

So I asked chatGPT for solution and it was like an easy fix. To put bracing, damping material and seal the holes as well as the edges where the top, sides and back are joined. So I did what ChatGPT said. I ordered a wood glue and polyester damping material. Did my homework and start putting things together. I renovated the winebox speaker cabinet using my old cab and just used whatever wood and materials in there. Technically, I sort of disassembled the old cab and glued them inside the wine box.

Then after I finished, I tested it. It's better but not perfect. It's because I left the gap on top of the speaker front panel baffle which is about 2-3cm. I thought like guitar cab got semi open back or open back and this should work better because it's on the front. But no. ChatGPT said, it should be air tight or solid on the front panel. 

Now I had hardtime on what to cover it and what to do. Until the stripped the remaining leather cover of my old cab. And that's what I used to cover the gap plus I put damping material on that leather. And guess what, it made a unique effect to the sound of my cab. It sounded loud, tight and bassy. I can't explain it in words but I love it. It sounded great now. 

When you watch the video, watch til the end of even just skip and go towards the end of the video. That's where you can hear the sound of the speaker cab and the camera was up close to it and it's on the floor tilted using my folding guitar stand. 

Leave in the comments section and share your thoughts on this one. May be this could be another innovation in the speaker cabinet assembling. 

Rotosound JK-10 Jumbo King gauge 10 acoustic guitar string set sound test

 Rotosound JK-10 Jumbo King gauge 10 acoustic guitar string set, I think is an underrated acoustic guitar strings. I've been using mostly D' Addario and Earthwood string set for my Fender DG60CE. I've tried super light gauge, etc. But this gauge 10 by RotoSound is just the right fit. It's considered extra light but still sounds thick and crispy. 

The other thing I noticed is that after I installed it, it didnt take so much time to adjust the tuning. Mostly you need to stretch the strings. But this one it was fine as soon as I put it. May be just a little bit after I tuned it to standard tuning. Then usually the following day, the strings will be out of tune. But this one stayed in tune. 

I think Im loving the RotoSound strings at the moment and may be one day soon, they will sponsor me hahaha. 

Leave in the comments section guys your experience using this strings. Cheers!

Subzero G110 Unloaded speaker cab and HH Invader 10

 Before we head straight to the speaker cabinet, let me tell you a back story of why I ended up building this guitar speaker cabinet. 

So I have a Vox MV50AC mini amp head and it's obviously paired with the Vox BC108. It's a good mini amp combination. Does the job but the trouble was, it's too small to compete with a loud drummer. Now I bought a DIY speaker cabinet with 10 inch speaker and it's from a Laney HCM30R. The problem with this one is that the cabinet is too small. Almost just the size of the the speaker and no room for air movement. It's very good for myself as a commuting musician because it's super lightweight and portable. But again, the sound seems a bit thin when the whole band is playing and with our recent three gigs, there's always someone commenting to turn my guitar up.

So here we are now. I found a proper speaker cab for a 10 inch speaker. It's being sold on eBay as an unloaded speaker cab and it's from Gear4Music. The Subzero G110.  Looks brand new. Sold cheaper but obviously without the speaker, which is generic or one from Gear4Music. Then, I found on eBay as well a selling who's got the HH Invader 10 that he took out from his Laney LC15 amp. Selling it super cheap as well. So I said to myself this is the perfect combination. Just under £80 for the cab and speaker plus postage. Hence I bought it and assembled. 

I've already gigged with this setup and the sound is amazing. I will say though that it still needs a little bit more to compete with a very loud drummer. Coz on our soundcheck, I thought I was already loud with the volume on 12 o'clock and gain 9 o'clock on my Vox MV50AC but they were saying I need to push it some more coz my guitar is still not that loud from afar. So I pushed it around 1 o'clock and Im afraid that the speaker cab might not handle it if I push it some more. But Im also plugged in the mixer through the Vox MV50AC line out that's why I don't want to push it full volume. Although I did it before when we gigged in a small venue and I was using the 8 inch speaker cab which was the Vox BC108. On our last song, I put the volume full blast. It didn't explode. 

Right, so tone-wise it's really good it's a perfect tone match for the Vox MV50AC most especially if I use a single coil pickup like strat type guitar. The cab is not that super heavy but it's also got a bit of weight. When it was empty the seller said it's 8.9kg but when I put the HH Invader speaker probably it went to 10kg. It's portable for some people and for me as well but not ideal if you're a commuting musician. It's a bit bulky as well. Not massive but i think it's more of the depth/thickness of the cabinet. 

Will have more gigs with this speaker cabinet so will keep you posted. But, if you've had experience with either the Subzero G110 speaker cab or the actual speaker that I put which is the HH Invader 10, please let me know in the comment section what your thoughts are. 

Thanks for visiting my blog. 

Looking at selling your gear?

 Where to sell your gear in Southampton

Look no further, go to Powerhouse Music in Southampton. Very friendly and accommodating staff. Also not only about selling your gear but if you're looking to buy used or second hand gear like effects pedals, guitars, amps, speakers, etc. This is the place to go to. I actually struggled before buying musical instruments or gear and ended up buying online most of the time, but now there are at least 4 music stores around Southampton City Centre. 

The other one that's just opposite Powerhouse Music is Hobgoblin Music Shop. Another friendly music store to go to but they are more specialised store for acoustic/folk instruments.  They also buy, trade and do commission basis if you're interested in selling your old instruments. Lovely place to hang out as well to try instruments that you wanted to learn or to purchase.

There are two more shops near the train station and it's The Guitar Store and Becketts Music LTD. Let's start first with The Guitar Store. Don't go to this shop!  They got a culture there that says "we don't need you, you need us." They got an attitude of being a "snob." Although, the owner is lovely and accommodating, but the staff are worst to be working in a guitar store. I've been in the UK for nearly 17 years and I always go to Southampton but I've only entered this store about 5 times. And four times out of 5 were all bad experience. Only once, when I met the owner, where there's proper customer service happened. He asked me if he can help and if I needed something and even offered if I want to try out some instruments or gear. The first time I was there, nobody entertained or asked. They just look at me as if gauging if I got the money to buy or not, or if Im there to just annoy them and not buy. They don't know that for a person to buy any product, you need to interact and promote or market what you got. So after 5 mins or so, I left the store and went to Becketts Music LTD which is just around the corner past their store and that's where I bought my first guitar. The owner of the shop immediately asked me if he can help and if Im looking for a specific things. So I said Im looking to purchase an electric guitar. He then asked me what sort of budget I got. So I said, Im just looking for a budget friendly guitar, which is between £150-200. He then pointed to me three guitars that are within my budget and he offered for me to try. He took it and accompany me to the corner where there's an amp. I tried the first guitar and it's ok but I wanted to try the second one which was the Lyon by Washburn HSS. It sounded great and it feels great. Better than the first one. And then for comparison sake, I asked if it's ok to try the third one. And yeah he let me try the three guitars he suggested. But, the action and the sound of the third guitar wasn't to my liking. So I decided to purchase the Lyon by Washburn. He gave me a good deal where he paired it with a Stagg practice amp, 15 watts I think and then the guitar came with a gigbag, strap and lead. Ready for rehearsals. And in total, he only charged me £129. I left from The Guitar Store where nobody entertained me and came out from Becketts Music LTD with a brand new guitar. 

I lost track with our topic, so yeah The Guitar advertise that they are buying used gear but when I went there, they weren't interested. I gave them a list of the items and immediately they said to sell it privately. I mean may be perhaps it was in good faith so I can get more out of it. But in a business sense, they could've rip me off and buy my gear super cheap and sell it double or triple of the price. Coz anyways, Im already letting go of those gear. But no, in just a couple of seconds, immediately said to me that its better to sell it privately. I did ask about commission basis where I will just leave my stuff there and once they managed to sell it, they will just then give me commission. But no again, he said we only do commission for high end or expensive gear. That may be the case, but don't you feel insulted. It was like saying your gear are worth nothing. Anyways, so same scenario, I went to Becketts Music LTD and tried it there. 

The guy I spoke to at Becketts Music LTD was ok, very accommodating and said the same thing to sell it privately but was more of compassionate. He gave me his business card so that if ever I get stuck in selling my gear, I can email or call him and we can talk about it. 

That's when I ended up at Powerhouse Music and they bought all my gear. No fuzz, pure business. Now they're displaying my gear at their store and it's a potential income immediately for them. And a bonus, word of mouth or advert for them. Because I am now sharing my experience on where to sell your gear in Southampton. 

Share your thoughts guys on the comments section below. Cheers!