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New Project: Chop top LS with Double Stack ESS AMT-1


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2 minutes ago, Thaddeus Smith said:

It also depends on when paint happens - they won't be going anywhere but home once that's done.

Seems like an opportunity to bring them prepped for paint and then we can play them and get some cool colors and let the paint happen organically during the evening hours over at the Super 8. 

 

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I'm going to be getting serious about REW and measurements, so I've been sorting out my measuring rig. I've got no lack of computer options, but with my rack about 30ft away in a closet from the MLP I needed either a long hdmi cable or a longer usb cable for the UMIK. I decided to keep the computer closer to the rack and go with this usb over ethernet extension to reduce costs and trying to connect the big bulky hdmi cables to my laptop since those are the only options at those lengths.

 

25ft of caution red cat6 and usb 1.1 adapters.

 

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3 hours ago, Thaddeus Smith said:

I'm going to be getting serious about REW and measurements, so I've been sorting out my measuring rig.

 

Not knowing your exact location for music, computers and your preferences for working on a big monitor and keyboard vs laptop with small screen/keyboard. Consider where I started out and where I ended up. I know you are more than tech savvy and get this. Just telling you how I evolved and it is WAY better. You don't even need to now carve out time for measurements. You can just fit them in to free moments you have throughout the day.

 

Started out with:

  • High powered laptop on my lap in listening room
  • USB for mic into same laptop
  • Mini jack sound out of headphone from same laptop to stereo RCA ends to Preamp
  • Power cord to laptop because you get carried away and lost in what you are doing and laptop runs out of power

That is a lot of cords in your laptop sitting on your lap and you squirm in your chair a bit and either the USB or the Headphone out becomes disconnected. REW does not like it when the mic is removed. You are flipping back on a small laptop screen between Xilica and REW. Xilica does not do tiled windows all that well. Small screen, hunched over in listen chair is not conducive to typing. You are listening to 20-20,000 sweeps over and over. Eventually I said enough is enough.

 

Ended up with:

  • Old laptop you probably have sitting around unused
  • Install REW software only, not xilica
  • Tuck it away in same location your equipment is with mini jack and USB always connected to preamp
  • Ethernet cable to this laptop
  • Ethernet cable to Xilica
  • permanent power cord to laptop as the batter is probably shot 
  • Install Xilica software on your "good" laptop/computer with dual 24" monitors, full keyboard, mouse, desk, appropriate work chair etc. (mine work location is on a totally different floor)
  • RDP from work station to crappy laptop in listening area.
  • Run REW from the RDP session
  • Do all your Xilica tweaking on your work station 

Now you sit in a good work area (with good posture) controlling the entire mic/REW rig remotely. You are not listening to high pitched sweeps for hours on end - Huge bonus your ears will thank  you. You never move around and pull one of the many (mic/sound out/power) cables out or screw up the mic position. When you get around to the EQ wizard you will see that the low powered laptop may take actually minutes to optimize. If you have a wiz-bang-super-computer they take seconds. Jut pull the REW file via RDP to desktop of super computer and double click to open REW on your "real" computer. Now run your EQ optimization on the fast computer and transfer those settings to Xilica PEQs. Because you have real keyboard and mouse it is way easier because of dual monitors. One for REW and one for Xilica full screen. Your super computer will find actual Xilica box on the network. No need to be connected directly to it as long as Xilica, old laptop and good computer are all on the same network. I'm pretty sure you have to give Xilica a fixed IP, but it has been a while since I set it up, maybe not just need to know it so the Xilica Xconsole can be configured to find it.

 

Questions?

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10 minutes ago, rplace said:

Questions?

 

nope. this was one route I had considered taking, albeit with a spare desktop sitting near my rack with everything connected. i had almost abandoned it, thinking "geeze Michael, that's overkill for this need."

 

but with another human being in the world already doing it, I'll go forward with that plan. :)

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4 minutes ago, Thaddeus Smith said:

but with another human being in the world already doing it, I'll go forward with that plan

 

You can never have enough computers or audio equipment. All the better when you can combine them. I think you of all people are really going to enjoy the 2-way active thing.

 

Know anything about ffmpeg, MKV files and the like? I'm slogging through it but would like to jump to the front of the like you are doing by riding Rudy and my coattails with this process :biggrin:

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7 minutes ago, rplace said:

Know anything about ffmpeg, MKV files and the like? I'm slogging through it but would like to jump to the front of the like you are doing by riding Rudy and my coattails with this process :biggrin:

 

A tiny bit. I've played with handbrake over the years and almost all of my media is MKV format, but I acquire it that way. shoot me a PM if you've got detailed stuff you want to go through.

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Since I'm cladding the ends and sides with fresh plywood I'm thinking I may go with a two-tone approach - repaint the bass bin mount and front edges, back panel all black and then stain and/or oil the fresh panels. I think I've seen one or two custom jobs along this path but can't for the life of me find them again to show what I'm thinking.

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On 1/20/2020 at 11:24 AM, Thaddeus Smith said:

 

@CECAA850, this is my logic on the plywood sheathing path. I like having heavy, inert cabinets that aren't a tip risk for kids and those feet on my F-20 were perfect.

 

Probably going to abandon this. I guess I forgot how expensive plywood is and I can't seem to get the 8 panels I need without buying at least 3 sheets and having a ton of waste.

 

Top/bottoms are 24"x24.5" and the sides are 24.5"x25.5". Throw in kerf thickness of the blades and zero margin of error (I'd prefer to have excess that I can trim off with the router).

 

So back to the drawing board and figuring out priorities on these cabs. I may just fill in that front trim piece, patch the veneer issues and repaint, continuing to ignore any mouth resonance.

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20 minutes ago, Thaddeus Smith said:

 

Probably going to abandon this. I guess I forgot how expensive plywood is and I can't seem to get the 8 panels I need without buying at least 3 sheets and having a ton of waste.

 

Top/bottoms are 24"x24.5" and the sides are 24.5"x25.5". Throw in kerf thickness of the blades and zero margin of error (I'd prefer to have excess that I can trim off with the router).

 

So back to the drawing board and figuring out priorities on these cabs. I may just fill in that front trim piece, patch the veneer issues and repaint, continuing to ignore any mouth resonance.

 

I seem to remember some folks have placed horizontal bracing on the LaS bass bin to shore up that problem.  Have you tried that?

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Yeah, I've read through some of those threads. meh. Maybe I'll try and attack it through DSP instead. I had it in my head that birch plywood was around $30/sheet for some reason, not double that. So it made sense if I could cram all the panels I needed into a couple of sheets, but because of the bass bin size it's just too tight to try and do so and I'd rather spend those funds on amps and electronics.

 

I do still plan to open up that rear triangle void and install speakon connectors vs. top side screw terminals.

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23 minutes ago, Thaddeus Smith said:

Yeah, I've read through some of those threads. meh. Maybe I'll try and attack it through DSP instead. I had it in my head that birch plywood was around $30/sheet for some reason, not double that. So it made sense if I could cram all the panels I needed into a couple of sheets, but because of the bass bin size it's just too tight to try and do so and I'd rather spend those funds on amps and electronics.

 

I do still plan to open up that rear triangle void and install speakon connectors vs. top side screw terminals.

 

I suspect DSP won't solve the problem.  If it is a resonance issue, you will simply have to work on bracing as best you can. Baltic Birch around here runs between $75 and $125 a sheet depending on source and size spec.

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8 minutes ago, Rudy81 said:

 

I suspect DSP won't solve the problem.  If it is a resonance issue, you will simply have to work on bracing as best you can. Baltic Birch around here runs between $75 and $125 a sheet depending on source and size spec.

 

Then I'll just live with it as I have these past 2+ years without really even noticing it. :P

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On 1/22/2020 at 2:37 PM, Thaddeus Smith said:

 

nope. this was one route I had considered taking, albeit with a spare desktop sitting near my rack with everything connected. i had almost abandoned it, thinking "geeze Michael, that's overkill for this need."

 

but with another human being in the world already doing it, I'll go forward with that plan. :)

 

Makes a lot of sense to me as well. IT guys know how to do this..

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17 hours ago, Thaddeus Smith said:

 

Probably going to abandon this. I guess I forgot how expensive plywood is and I can't seem to get the 8 panels I need without buying at least 3 sheets and having a ton of waste.

 

Top/bottoms are 24"x24.5" and the sides are 24.5"x25.5". Throw in kerf thickness of the blades and zero margin of error (I'd prefer to have excess that I can trim off with the router).

 

So back to the drawing board and figuring out priorities on these cabs. I may just fill in that front trim piece, patch the veneer issues and repaint, continuing to ignore any mouth resonance.

Just an FYI for any future projects.  Typically, baltic birch is available in 5'x5' sheets and 4'x8' sheets and depending on the project and cut list, the 5x5's can work out much better.

 

Personally, if you just install the braces, like many others have done, you'll be good to go and as you stated, can spend that money elsewhere and maybe just do some great veneer on the exposed panels to get you that look that you are after.

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On 1/26/2020 at 4:46 PM, Thaddeus Smith said:

 

Top/bottoms are 24"x24.5" and the sides are 24.5"x25.5". Throw in kerf thickness of the blades and zero margin of error (I'd prefer to have excess that I can trim off with the router).

 

I didn't do the cyphering, but what if you skip the bottom, do the top in two pieces (will be covered by the ATM contraption) and make the sides in one piece?

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Regarding bracing the mouth, it doesn’t take much to achieve a big improvement.  When I refurbished beater bar La Scalas for the local high school band, the director called after a few days to report distortion on certain songs.  At first I blamed the CDs he was playing, but I quickly confirmed side wall resonance.

 

The confirming diagnostic tool was also the temporary fix.  I wedged sections of 3/4” dowel between the side walls and the “eaves” of the doghouse.  The impact was immediate and substantial. Those small dowels proved that panel resonance was real and that it could be easily tamed.  Eventually braces were installed but any improvement over the minimalist dowels is questionable.  

 

Another potential solution would be to run a threaded steel rod through the sides and the doghouse.  Naturally, it would be sealed at the doghouse. Aesthetically it has challenges, but it would be easier than cutting and fitting plywood braces.  I would place the rod slightly above, or below, the vertical mid-point of the bass horn to avoid just cutting the original resonance in half.

 

 

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