DIY Speaker Cabinet

**Jehu** · 04-27-2019, 10:10 PM

I recently acquired a Quilter 101 mini head, and it didn't take long for me to realise how great and truly tube-like this little guy is.

But playing through the speakers in my 2x12 combo wasn't going to cut it in the long run, so I decided to get out the chisels and dovetail saw and start hacking away at a new cabinet.

Here's the result: A cypress 1x12 cabinet housing a 150w Eminence Lil' Texas. I think it looks quite fetching with the oxblood grille cloth.
DIY Speaker Cabinet-cab-front-jpg

The cabinet, speaker included, comes in at a shade over 8kg and the head is less than 1kg, so the grand total is about 9kg (20lbs). Not too shabby for 100 tube watts of output!
DIY Speaker Cabinet-cab-head-jpg

Sadly, this little project may have put my actual tube amp out of business...

**marcwhy** · 04-27-2019, 11:46 PM

Fantastic! Looks great!
Did you build the cab and amp stands, too??

**gmek** · 04-28-2019, 01:30 AM

real nice cab! well done

**Rob MacKillop** · 04-28-2019, 01:47 AM

I love the minimalist vibe. Beautiful. I'm sure it sounds as good as it looks. And, being made of cypress, I imagine it smells nice too!

**Jehu** · 04-28-2019, 06:48 AM

Originally Posted by marcwhy

Fantastic! Looks great!
Did you build the cab and amp stands, too??

Indeedily-doodily. The top 'headstand' is a relatively recent development. The floorstand I made several years back; it has borne many a burden, some classier than others...

**Jehu** · 04-28-2019, 06:49 AM

Originally Posted by Rob MacKillop

I love the minimalist vibe. Beautiful. I'm sure it sounds as good as it looks. And, being made of cypress, I imagine it smells nice too!

Thanks, Rob. Oh yes, it smells divine!

**lawson-stone** · 04-28-2019, 07:52 AM

Now you need to build a matching enclosure for the head so they match!

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

**dot75** · 04-28-2019, 08:45 AM

Point Of Order -Incorrect use of the verb 'Hack'

Beautiful.

**Max405** · 04-28-2019, 09:01 AM

Jehu that is so incredibly cool. You did the dovetail like they did back in the 1800’s. That’s a lost art. Now, all that wood would be milled in less than 3 minutes on a machine.
You put your heart and soul into your rig and you will use the same heart and soul for the music that comes out of it.
it really doesn’t get any cooler than that!
i am major league impressed by what you did.
Joe D

**citizenk74** · 04-28-2019, 09:26 AM

Nice work, Jehu. Well done!

**73Fender** · 04-28-2019, 10:54 AM

Yeah Jehu, that is beautiful and sounds like it's a great rig and lightweight to boot. I wish I had those woodworking skills.

**Jehu** · 04-28-2019, 10:40 PM

Hey, thanks for the kind words, folks. It was a fun project.

Between this, my tele, and my Jazzica, if nice sounds aren't being made it ain't the equipment!

**Woody Sound** · 04-28-2019, 11:09 PM

Yeah baby!

**dickbanks** · 04-29-2019, 04:14 PM

Your skills are definitely not confined to JUST music....

**ptchristopher3** · 04-29-2019, 08:16 PM

Jehu,

I always assumed that if I ever ran extremely afoul of one country or another, I would hide in “Nuh-Zillun” for as long as the liver holds.

It is so great to know if that ever happens (which seems somewhat unlikely actually), there will be great woodwork to appreciate while I am in hiding there.

Great stuff man. Your contributions here have been a highlight for many years.

Chris

**Jehu** · 04-30-2019, 05:13 AM

Thanks Chris, and great to see you around these parts again. Hope all is well with you.

You are, of course, more than welcome to hide out down here anytime... though I certainly can't guarantee that it will do much for the longevity of your liver!

**Little Jay** · 04-30-2019, 06:05 AM

Looks great!

Really looking into doing something like that myself (although I doubt it would end up as good looking as your cab ;-) )

So you are enthusiastic about the Quilter 101 head?

**sbeishline** · 04-30-2019, 06:24 AM

Gorgeous cabinet!

What’d you use for the finish?

**ptchristopher3** · 04-30-2019, 08:30 AM

Originally Posted by Jehu

Thanks Chris, and great to see you around these parts again. Hope all is well with you.

You are, of course, more than welcome to hide out down here anytime... though I certainly can't guarantee that it will do much for the longevity of your liver!

Seriously great looking setup that you made. I wonder to what extent, if any, the cab wood affects overall sound.

The liver is fine, so I would expect quite a long and pleasant hide out. Lots of guitar, lots of fishing.

**FredC** · 04-30-2019, 09:48 AM

A true labor of love. Nicely done.

**Jehu** · 04-30-2019, 06:40 PM

Originally Posted by sbeishline

Gorgeous cabinet!

What’d you use for the finish?

Thanks, man. I used brush-on satin poly.

**Jehu** · 04-30-2019, 06:48 PM

Originally Posted by Little Jay

So you are enthusiastic about the Quilter 101 head?

I haven't had it for very long, but so far I am quite impressed with it. It does the blackface thing well, is very tube-like in its response, and seems to take pedals nicely.

It was really a solution to a problem for me; I haven't been playing out much and have a young daughter, and most of my playing happens after her bedtime. So the big ol' 60-watt tube amp isn't really practical at the moment. The Quilter sounds great at low volumes and also has a headphone jack. But it is also quite powerful (especially plugged into an efficient 150w speaker!), so if/when I do play out it should cut it in most of those situations as well.

I love tubes as much as the next guy, but the Quilter's flexibility is hard to beat.