Well guys, I just finished my first tuba 30. Was a week from start to finish (we still need to roll duratex over the latex base coat), but I only did work on the weekends. This is number one of the pair, both being driven on a single channel with a crown xti 2000. I have to say I’m very happy with the build, the plans (http://www.billfitzmaurice.com/) were very good, and the forum over there is very helpful.
I can get this sub to a nauseating level in my room at about 40-50% power on the amp, with just a 30hz test tone. The walls start shaking pretty bad. At 90hz, 2-3 out of 20 clicks on the amp its almost unbearable
~99 for the driver (delta 12lf. Should have gone with the 3012… but it was double), this is after shipping (15 dollars)
~75 for the wood, and we have about half a tuba left over
~10 dollars for pl glue (stuff of the gods)
~15 dollars for plans
~15 for the corners, speakon jacks, screws and casters
~8 bucks for a quart of black matte latex, still 3/4 full after 2 coats here.
Then of course we spent about 40 bucks on cables. Bleh. and we already had the necessary tools (handheld circular saw, Drill, Jigsaw, clamps)
It brings the sub itself to around 215ish dollars, but since we have glue, and screws, and wood left over, I anticipate the next to come in at around 150.
Have an spl meter to test db with, at home (not at my apt). I’ll get it mailed to me I guess. My multimeter is messed up (measures 150 volts from all the wall outlets in my house) so I cant even accurately gauge what I’m putting into it for wattage. Thankfully, I’ll probably have my fluke mailed to me with the spl meter =]
If you want to know more about the design itself, you can check out their website. They have like a ton of frequency response graphs and comparisons.
No problem. I’m pretty confident in the design, although this is my first sub of any decent power or size. I am so ready to build the second one and v couple them.
We will be giving them the first real test on thursday (gotta go pick up the tops/get to a place where my neighbors wont kill me). We’ll run it wall loaded with the tops in a fairly large semi circle shaped room (radius of the semicircle is ~ 30 feet).
OOwwhh i’m lovin this site. Has anyone built anythin other than a sub from here. Those floor standers look amaaazin!!! Don’t think i could slip them past the wife though hahaa
I’ve not built anything other than this sub. But I plan on doing it. I’ll be building either omnitops or DR200s.
To be honest, I’m sure they are legit. The forum is awesomely helpful. Bill (the guy who designed the cabs) answers just about every question himself (he has 14k posts on the forums).
I was turned on to the site by the djforums thread (over 5k responses). Only good thing I got out of that website.
Their tuba home theatre and Table tuba both look great. The David looks sick as well I must say. Granted, your mileage may vary… I doubt if I built them they would look as sexy as the ones on the site hahaha.
WOW that is so sexy. i didnt even know it is possible to construct ones own subs.
what about combining some of these plans with a furniture designer = lucrative business? i mean who wouldn’t buy a sleek ass table that also doubles as a party machine
Definitely. Should finish the second one in about a week. Have a little bit of a party we hope to test them out at (100-200 people outside), so I’ll definitely tell how that goes as well.
I have to say… that running a 15hz test tone might be driving me insane. I forgot to break in the driver before mounting it in the enclosure… and I reallllly dont want to take it out, so I’ve been breaking it in for the last couple hours.
I cant hear anything, but its there. If I crank it up a bit shit starts shaking in my room. I keep it low (about 1/4" of play in the cone") cause It doesnt have to be too heavy to get that driver where it needs to be.
Now you went and made me buy the designs and a circular saw (Milwakee 6394-21, tool fans).
Came to the conclusion that I should stop failing to source those impossible-to-buy-in-the-US Ciare 12.00SW drivers and build something smaller than the dream subs I want in the future (Punisher). The Tuba30’s look straightforward to construct once you have the necessary Panel jig for the table saw and a few Angle jigs for the circular. The final paragraphs about adding foam and batting to dampen certain sections but not others lost me a bit but I’m sure it’ll all come clear.
The design for the DR200s is MENTAL hard to construct. Many, many steps to do including cutting 4inch PVC pipes in half and bending curves in 1/8th inch plywood by curling it with webbing clamps overnight. And then there’s the tweeter arrays that involves cutting the frames off perfectly good tweeters with your table saw, sawing off one side at a 45 degree angle and gluing them together into an angled grid using a jig you put together yourself taking care to keep the whole construction airtight. Mod extreme!
The best part about paying for the design and build instructions is that there’s no trawling through newgroups trying to find tips and help, it’s all right there in the instructions. $25 for two designs very well spent.
I’ll do the Tuba30s first. I’m aiming to get those together before the Makers Faire…
