My quest to build the $25k Dumble double baffle 4x12

[LeftyStrat]

James knows tone

ROTFL!

[amplifiednation]

So I've been trying to learn more about Luan, Philippine Mahogany. I called my plywood distributor and they have sheets of this for $37. He was questioning why I would even want it...as it's an "industrial panel". I gotta do some more digging...I figured this was going to be more expensive than premium birch.

I pulled this from the 'wood database'

There is an abundance of variety between the difference species: each with different working properties, appearances, and mechanical strength values.

The five main groupings for Philippine Mahogany (Meranti/Lauan) are: Light Red Meranti, Dark Red Meranti, White Meranti, Yellow Meranti, and Balau.

[bluesfendermanblues]

Don't know why you want to build from that material. In my country its called eastern plywood. It's very heavy and IMO dull sounding. I used it for a 4x10 cabinet 20 years ago- our bass player likes a lot - but for guitar its sounds stiff and a little sterile.

Sorry for the derail this treat, but am I the only only one who like more resonant cabinets with dumble amps. I use cheap pine (spruce) plywood. Its still very strong and can easily handle ceramic speakers - both Celestions and Altec or EV's.

I've even found that a Dumble clone played through a Fender Tweed combos speaker(s) sound pretty good. They are build from solid pine with thin free floating baffle boards and alnico speakers. However, going in that direction the speaker cabinet becomes a more integral part of the sound.

Sorry to derail - I know this is about Dumble's 4x12 and not whether you like resonant speakers cabs.

[dreric]

So I've been trying to learn more about Luan, Philippine Mahogany. I called my plywood distributor and they have sheets of this for $37. He was questioning why I would even want it...as it's an "industrial panel". I gotta do some more digging...I figured this was going to be more expensive than premium birch.

I pulled this from the 'wood database'

There is an abundance of variety between the difference species: each with different working properties, appearances, and mechanical strength values.

The five main groupings for Philippine Mahogany (Meranti/Lauan) are: Light Red Meranti, Dark Red Meranti, White Meranti, Yellow Meranti, and Balau.

Taylor,

What HAD used twenty years ago is most likely not available. As I'm sure you are aware, the standards, availability and quality of wood and wood based products has changes a lot since the known 4-12" were made.

I've always wondered if HAD made the cabinets and chassis himself or contracted someone else. I'd imagine anyone doing the work would be bound by one of his confidentiality agreements.

The question I'd like to know the answer to is what is he building with today?

Eric

[amplifiednation]

Yeah I agree with you Eric. Dumble talks about kiln dried Luan to be very brittle and difficult to work with, but provides a good acoustic resonance vs a 'dead' Baltic birch cab.

I like both the pine cabs and birch cabs I've built. The better the wood, usually the better the cab sounds. I also really enjoy working with the 13 ply marine birch. Its always flat, true, never chips out, its predictable and consistant.

I don't like working with pine. It gums up my tools, makes my eyes itch, and even the best pine I've found chips out and needs to be filled and sanded.

Dumbles probably building cabs with 24k gold carbon fiber these days,

[LeftyStrat]

Dumbles probably building cabs with 24k gold carbon fiber these days,

I briefly toyed with the idea of using a Carbon Fiber/Kevlar hybrid. I even ordered samples from here:

http://compositeenvisions.com/raw-fabri ... th0lb4t4v2

Carbon Fiber for rigidity, and Kevlar for impact resistance. But the cost of the fabric, epoxy, and vacuum bagging equipment would make it cost-prohibitive. You could use a foam core and it would be really light-weight.

The samples are beautiful, very 3D.

[amplifiednation]

I hear the carbon fiber acoustics are supposed to be great, Rain song makes them. Pretty cool never worrying about humidity.

So maybe the luan in 2013 is better left for doll houses and hobbys. I'll probably grab a sheet of it next time I order wood...maybe build the new Dumble 1x12 in the file section. From the way my guy sounded it is not highly desirable...and not pretty.

Dumble also like said he liked Redwood for cabs! (Dumble book)

I hear there is some lightweight ply....might try that too. Especially for headshell.

[LeftyStrat]

I know you mentioned how much working with pine sucks (and I agree). But I thought I would mention one other experiment I tried with good results sound wise, but not so good in the cosmetics department.

I had someone else make me a pine 1x12 cab, and then I used a coating popular in the racing boat industry. It's a mix of powdered graphite with epoxy. Pine sounds wonderful raw, but it's not very road-worthy. Tolex tends to kill some of the liveliness of the pine, so I tried coating the pine in the graphite/epoxy mix. It sounds really good, and very durable, but I could never get the mix to a consistency where it would go on with a even finish that wouldn't require heavy sanding.

And sanding it was like sanding gummy bears. Perhaps a longer cure time, but then again, that increases cost.

[Scumback Speakers]

I can't help but think in a alternate universe somewhere, a poor roadie works for a guitarist named James Dumble Townshend, who insists on using 3 8x12 cabinets, loaded with EVM 12L's.

If that were the case, I'd pity the poor bastid.

[Reeltarded]

Try quads of SROs. Cabs stripped and coated in paddle varnish. 90000,000000,0000000 pounds. And that is a lot!

[Scumback Speakers]

I've got an SRO and an EVM 12L here. I have yet to load them into anything, just because they're so freaking heavy.

Jeez I'm old. LOL

[Reeltarded]

Oh yeah. Back when I was half our age.. ok, or less, I had a pair of PRS cabs that had SROs without warning, and a pair with whatever came in there.

I would pick up a normal one and ask if someone could grab another.

Felt like the handles were going to break out of the cabs.

[M Fowler]

Oh so you wimps got the light stuff (speaker cabs) us poor bastards were stuck with the piano's and Hammond organ moving from floor to stage and back again. I'm having back strain just typing this.

[Scumback Speakers]

Don't get me started on moving band gear. My bass player had an SVT and the keyboard player had a Hammond B3 w/matching Leslie cab on top of his other stuff. I hated moving that Leslie and the B3.

Jeez to be young again.

[vibratoking]

It's all about perspective. I don't mind carrying the heavy stuff, cause it's usually the good stuff. Hauling B3s and Leslies never bothered me cause I new what was about to happen. Soloing over that big fat throbbing Leslie pad is the shit. The only times moving it sucked was when we discovered that the fucking thing was broken for some reason, but we already loaded it in.