I could no longer resist the urge to build an....

M

MicFarlow

Experienced
Vendor
FRFR 4x12

So, I went ahead and did it!

Yup, an FRFR 4x12, based on the 1960a!

019B31D9-D938-4B3F-BC1F-D06015E297AD-893-000000FF4C048908_zpsdba9018d.jpg


This is built super solid with the motor board glued in with dados and the drivers are front loaded so the back is solid to the cab. The grille will be cloth rather than steel for a slightly different look for a XiTone.

It is wired mono and sounds amazing!!!!!! We'll be getting some audio and video in the next few days and posting it! Will also post more pics as well!

Specs so far...

It's big... roughly 30x30x14.5 (not including casters)
It's heavy... between 90-100lbs... a few pounds heavier than a standard 1960a
It's a 1000w RMS and 2000w Program.
Mono @8ohm
Top drivers angled back 11 degrees
Not wired for stereo presently.. not sure if I will on this one as I'd also want to modify the interior of the cab and this one is already well past that point.
4 nice casters to make getting it around easier.

It's a little less than a foot front to back on the top so I am going to engineer an idea I have to make it easier to place a rack on top and have it supported very well. If it works like I envision, it'll be a removable, collapsible shelf about 23" wide by 6" deep. Just big enough to provide most any rack on the market with the support it needs.

Thoughts and comments always welcome! :)

Thanks,

Mick
 
And I thought most guys bought AXE-FX to scale down in size and weight of their rig ;)

Cool build, Amps and cabs still LOOK way cooler than rack products. Please share some sound clips
 
MrGuitarabuse said:
And I thought most guys bought AXE-FX to scale down in size and weight of their rig ;)

Cool build, Amps and cabs still LOOK way cooler than rack products. Please share some sound clips
Click to expand...

This is true, however, while some are into the weight economy (for good reason), some of us still prefer that real cabinet "punch". So I applauded MicFarlow's effort. There really is a market for this audience of player (the best of both worlds, hey, why not?).

Not to fire up the rumor mill, but I have it on good authority that a particular company has also built a prototype 4x12 FRFRF cabinet, which I am really elated to hear. I don't know if this is public information yet, so out of respect I will withhold the name of the company for now. Maybe they will read this and confirm for me. =:·)

It's a very exciting time to be a guitar player.
 
is this powered or passive?
interesting ....I wonder if having multiple FRFR speakers in this type of cab will get more of that "real cab" thingy some people miss?
can't wait to hear some clips
 
MicFarlow said:
FRFR 4x12 So, I went ahead and did it! Yup, an FRFR 4x12, based on the 1960a! This is built super solid with the motor board glued in with dados and the drivers are front loaded so the back is solid to the cab. The grille will be cloth rather than steel for a slightly different look for a XiTone. It is wired mono and sounds amazing!!!!!! We'll be getting some audio and video in the next few days and posting it! Will also post more pics as well! Specs so far... It's big... roughly 30x30x14.5 (not including casters) It's heavy... between 90-100lbs... a few pounds heavier than a standard 1960a It's a 1000w RMS and 2000w Program. Mono @8ohm Top drivers angled back 11 degrees Not wired for stereo presently.. not sure if I will on this one as I'd also want to modify the interior of the cab and this one is already well past that point. 4 nice casters to make getting it around easier. It's a little less than a foot front to back on the top so I am going to engineer an idea I have to make it easier to place a rack on top and have it supported very well. If it works like I envision, it'll be a removable, collapsible shelf about 23" wide by 6" deep. Just big enough to provide most any rack on the market with the support it needs. Thoughts and comments always welcome! :) Thanks, Mick
Click to expand...

Mick you are one mad SOB! Awesome!!!
 
kmanick said:
is this powered or passive?
interesting ....I wonder if having multiple FRFR speakers in this type of cab will get more of that "real cab" thingy some people miss?
can't wait to hear some clips
Click to expand...

I'm thinking the same thing....

One of these things may be cool as hell for the basement!

Mick, you determine a price point?
 
Thanks all for the comments!

MrGuitarabuse said:
And I thought most guys bought AXE-FX to scale down in size and weight of their rig ;)

Cool build, Amps and cabs still LOOK way cooler than rack products. Please share some sound clips
Click to expand...

Correct on both points as far as I'm concerned.. I know I got my Axe to get away from the weight of the big rigs, but DANG... a 4x12 is still way too cool!

Sharka said:
This is true, however, while some are into the weight economy (for good reason), some of us still prefer that real cabinet "punch". So I applauded MicFarlow's effort. There really is a market for this audience of player (the best of both worlds, hey, why not?).

Not to fire up the rumor mill, but I have it on good authority that a particular company has also built a prototype 4x12 FRFRF cabinet, which I am really elated to hear. I don't know if this is public information yet, so out of respect I will withhold the name of the company for now. Maybe they will read this and confirm for me. =:·)

It's a very exciting time to be a guitar player.
Click to expand...

If there is a market for these types of cabs, I'm sure it's on the smaller side so from a XiTone perspective, it'll probably always be a boutique item.

kmanick said:
is this powered or passive?
interesting ....I wonder if having multiple FRFR speakers in this type of cab will get more of that "real cab" thingy some people miss?
can't wait to hear some clips
Click to expand...

This one is passive kmanick. It's an awesome sounding cab for sure! It's also quite punchy. So far I haven't noticed any nastiness in the dispersion nor any phasing type issues. I hope I can get some video that will accurately (as much as is possible) capture the essence of this cab.

karmakarmakarma said:
I live about 150 miles from Xitone. This would explain the percussive thumping between 80 and 110 Hz I've been hearing... :)
Click to expand...

Would also explain the sag on the power grid so if your lights dim, now you know why!

Tremonti said:
Mick you are one mad SOB! Awesome!!!
Click to expand...

Thanks Tremonti! I try real hard! :)

Side story... I used to work for a sign company and they had a salesman who had a penchant for selling stuff we had never built. It often fell to me to engineer what he sold so he used to introduce me to customers as his Mad Scientist! The name stuck and I've used it in various ways ever since! Heck, they even made me a name plate...

e33e411f-8b7f-4182-a08d-07dc780fe752_zpsc8e6a3be.jpg


As I always tell my son after finding some unique way to embarrass myself or him... being a little crazy helps keep me sane!!!!

BBN said:
I'm thinking the same thing....

One of these things may be cool as hell for the basement!

Mick, you determine a price point?
Click to expand...

Not yet BBN. It'll be affordable for what it is but it won't be cheap. The cost of them drivers adds up quick.

Thanks,

Mick
 
Stadanko said:
One thing that doesn't make sense is the frequency response. 66-3000hz. Planning on using an HF driver?
Click to expand...

Using 4 tweeters actually.... They are screwed into the back of the woofers. Likewise, there are 4 crossovers located in the cab as well.
 
As promised, some videos.

We used Dave's II to capture an IR of the 1960a shown in the vids. I used a reference mic for the capture so no coloring from a microphone. Nothing scientific on the capture... just plopped the mic down about 18" off the floor about 4ft away. We captured the IR in Ultra Res I think. (Not sure if it's possible to do it any other way.)

Popped the IR into a user slot and into the cab block in the chain then into one side of the FRFR amp. Then we placed an fxloop block right off the amp and into the other side of the amp. Everything after the cab block was bypassed so no further processing for the direct comparison videos. I think for the last solo one with the cab by itself I added in the delay and reverb just for the heck of it.

Due to the lack of personnel I had to place my iPad on a stool while I switched sides of the amp. During each of the comparison videos you can hear short bits where both cabs are going at the same time so bear that in mind.

YES, I know.. I used an iPad! To be quite honest, it ain't that far off and due to both cabs being recorded at the same time, using the same amp and filmed from the same angle with the same camera, it's quite easy to hear how they compare, if not the exact representation of what was going on in the room at the time.

The vids with just the FRFR 4x12 were shot with the exact same amp volume settings so nothing was changed.

There will be a time for a much more sophisticated recording setup later. I'll also want to do a little research to get the best possible IR captured.

One thing of note... The FRFR 4x12 had a tad more bottom end than the 1960a. It was awesome bottom end too... nice and tight. We actually preferred the FRFR 4x12 to the actual cab. But my job is not to produce what I like but FRFR specs for all my cabs and that means capturing an IR accurately and then repeating it exactly.

I have not had a chance to do measurements to see exactly why... It could be a number of things so I'll scope the cab next to see if that needs adjusted and if not then we'll work on the capture side of things.

For the vids, all we did was adjust the low frequency roll off in the cab block a little to match. Nothing drastic and that was the only change or tweak.

Simple walk around!


The 1960a is first and then they alternate back and forth.


I think this one starts with the FRFR first.




 
Vids sound great by the way.
The 1960 has more high end, but different IRs or Eq will get them closer.
Seems like this gives as much pant flapping as the 1960, which I'm sure some folks are going to love.
 
BBN said:
Mick, is this the same coax speaker in your 1x12?
Click to expand...

Yep, exact same setup!

BBN said:
Vids sound great by the way.
The 1960 has more high end, but different IRs or Eq will get them closer.
Seems like this gives as much pant flapping as the 1960, which I'm sure some folks are going to love.
Click to expand...

The high end that the 1960 had was more brittle and sharp to us so it was easier to notice. In comparison, the top end of the FRFR was much smoother. The FRFR cab did not seem dull or dry in that sense.

The FRFR one does 'move air' though. Nice cab all the way around!
 
To be fair Mick it would be cool to do the same walk around infront of the guitar cab to hear what's going on as you walk by the front of the cab.
 
Sixstring said:
To be fair Mick it would be cool to do the same walk around infront of the guitar cab to hear what's going on as you walk by the front of the cab.
Click to expand...

Excellent idea! I have easy access to the 1960 so that won't be hard to do. I'll want to do it with a better recording setup though!
 
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