Modding 4x12 Cabs

  • Thread starter Thread starter BeZo
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My late Godfather gave me an old carpet covered custom 412 he used on tour, detuned. I stripped the carpet and had it stained, mounted GB/V30s like a Friedman, added batting to the back and 10 ga wire like Bogner, and a S/P-P/S switch per the Aiken diagram. It’s a beast and like fine furniture!
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That is pretty.

The ones I've done the most are newer Marshall cabs. Aside from the wiring (and ditching the PC board switch), sealing the seams really matters to them. The back panels especially don't always fit tight, and making gaskets around the the back with electrical tape to seal them up makes then sound a lot tighter.
 
I remember your original post because I was going to have you work on a Marshall cab for me! Never got that far though because I landed a new job back then and my free time to get the cab over to you on the other side of town dried up.

However, I now have some time and still have the cab and would love to upgrade the wiring and get rid of the stereo input jack. Interested?
 
fek said:
I remember your original post because I was going to have you work on a Marshall cab for me! Never got that far though because I landed a new job back then and my free time to get the cab over to you on the other side of town dried up.

However, I now have some time and still have the cab and would love to upgrade the wiring and get rid of the stereo input jack. Interested?
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I don't have much free time these days. My guitarist has a dead Marshall cab that needs fixed though. Maybe I can hit you up when I do that and do both. Not sure when that will happen, but I'll let you know.
 
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fek said:
I remember your original post because I was going to have you work on a Marshall cab for me! Never got that far though because I landed a new job back then and my free time to get the cab over to you on the other side of town dried up.

However, I now have some time and still have the cab and would love to upgrade the wiring and get rid of the stereo input jack. Interested?
Click to expand...
Maybe we can meet at that sketchy gas station in east Cleveland next to the Wendy's they remodeled to take care of the bullet holes again. Pretty sure that was exactly half way between us.
 
BeZo said:
Maybe we can meet at that sketchy gas station in east Cleveland next to the Wendy's they remodeled to take care of the bullet holes again. Pretty sure that was exactly half way between us.
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Uh. No! I will come to you.

We should have our heads examined for using that spot later at night.
 
Plugged in my Mesa OS, and ghat-damn, though I love my custom cab with 1993 V30's and 2010 Chiner GB's, the 2003 Mesa smokes it all day long.
 
Mesa's secret sauce was how they make gaskets for all of the plates and panels on their cabs to make them air tight. I've even seen plugs that cover the unused jacks on the back. Making them air tight make them punchier due to the internal pressure. That's why some of the best cabs hold tight tolerances.

That doesn't mean you can't improve on a cheap cab. I once had an Avatar Traditional 4x12 that was front loaded. It was as though they just fastened the back panel of a normal build from the inside and made a removable grille. I unloaded it and tightened all the fasteners, and silicone sealed the seams. After that, that cab was great. I believe I had the V30 H30 cross in the X pattern.
 
BeZo said:
Mesa's secret sauce was how they make gaskets for all of the plates and panels on their cabs to make them air tight. I've even seen plugs that cover the unused jacks on the back. Making them air tight make them punchier due to the internal pressure. That's why some of the best cabs hold tight tolerances.

That doesn't mean you can't improve on a cheap cab. I once had an Avatar Traditional 4x12 that was front loaded. It was as though they just fastened the back panel of a normal build from the inside and made a removable grille. I unloaded it and tightened all the fasteners, and silicone sealed the seams. After that, that cab was great. I believe I had the V30 H30 cross in the X pattern.
Click to expand...
You can caulk all the inner joints, tighten the screws, add batting, change the back panel to ply, remove all the tolex(never tried this though but some say it improves Ala Emperor cabs), change the wiring to mono with bigger wire(if it's a stereo Marshall, this works as I've done this).
These are all the things that I know of...but sometimes a cab is just a dead sounding cab no matter what you try.
 
I had a run at building, and modding a few cabs. This is what I learned:

1. The more dry/cured the materials are, the better the cab sounds. This includes the wood, any adhesive, and finish. This allows the cab to resonate with with the sound, rather than dampen.

2. Stiff baffle = punchy

3. The center brace can be used to fine tune the cab, add/remove shims to it.

4. The back can be used to fine tune, try different materials, ply, mdf, etc..

Never been a fan of any of that poly fill, I removed it from my bogner 4x12, and it sounds way better.
 
CrazyNutz said:
I had a run at building, and modding a few cabs. This is what I learned:

1. The more dry/cured the materials are, the better the cab sounds. This includes the wood, any adhesive, and finish. This allows the cab to resonate with with the sound, rather than dampen.

2. Stiff baffle = punchy

3. The center brace can be used to fine tune the cab, add/remove shims to it.

4. The back can be used to fine tune, try different materials, ply, mdf, etc..

Never been a fan of any of that poly fill, I removed it from my bogner 4x12, and it sounds way better.
Click to expand...

Please elaborate more what you found tuning cabs, building em, etc.
 
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