Cost Advice ( Aaron Edge if you are reading this, help)

[n!k]

My fellow People of the Sunn:

 I have a 70's Coliseum Bass head and I am looking for a good cab for it. Help me make a decision.
I would like to spend no more than $600 - $700 dollars.

Option A:
 I can buy an empty Sunn 6x12 and have it shipped here for $200 total. Would it even be possible
to buy 6 good quality 12" speakers and have them pro installed and not cost an insane amount of money? The
Delta Bass speakers are $99 each.

Option B:
 I could buy a Marshall Bass 4x12 cabinet (400w / 4ohm) for $699.

Option C (Aaro))n help):
 I could try and have someone custom make me a cabinet. Aaron, you have that sweet 8x12 cabinet but
how much did it cost to have someone make the entire thing for you? I love the 6x12 setup and would
have one made to Sunn's specs (with the 90degree angled speakers) but how much should I expect
this to cost?

Thank you for your help guys.

[Isaac]

Why are you looking at what are basically guitar cabinets for bass?

[n!k]

For many reasons. I happen to really like the sounds you can get from a 12" speaker
on bass. Most of my favorite bassists have played through 12" speaker rigs. I also
like that it's not the 4x10 or 8x10 which is vastly overused in the bass world. I play
a lot of chords so I like the added clarity from guitar cabs.

[cromag]

that 8x12 is cool and all.   but seriously impractical.    not only would it be very heavy and cumbersome.  but, not easily transported either.    i have a sunn 6x12 that is a beast to haul.    if you are dead set on the 12 inch speakers for bass.   try TWO 4x12's for ease of all mentioned above. 

[cromag]

oh, and if you decide against having that sunn 6x12 shipped, pass the info on to me.   i would gladly mount some speakers in that and have a nice "full stack" with some sunn 6x12's.

[EdBass]

For many reasons. I happen to really like the sounds you can get from a 12" speaker
on bass. Most of my favorite bassists have played through 12" speaker rigs. I also
like that it's not the 4x10 or 8x10 which is vastly overused in the bass world. I play
a lot of chords so I like the added clarity from guitar cabs.

Currently 12's are very fashionable for bass, using one 12" speaker you can bridge the gap between a 10" and a 15" speaker, generally punchier than a 15, but with more bass response than a 10, which is why they are so popular in a portable (Portability is obviously not an issue with you since you seem interested in an 8X12 cabinet) 1x12, or 2X12 configuration. 
Several high end/boutique manufacturers build bass specific 12 inch cabs; Bergantino, Aguilar, Epifani, Schroeder, AccuGroove, etc., and they sound great for bass. Because they are bass cabinets loaded with bass drivers.

The reason 4x10's and 8X10's are "vastly overused" is because they can move a ton of air and still maintain the articulation a 10" driver can provide. It's not a conspiracy, since soon after the introduction of the SVT multiple 10's have been an icon for big bass rigs.
I'm a Sunn aficionado, but for most live applications it's real hard to beat an SVT with 8X10 cabs.   

As far as I know, a bass guitar has a substantially lower register than a guitar, particularly with current 5 and 6 string basses. I guess I just don't understand; If you play a lot of chordal stuff with a bass guitar, why you would expect a guitar tuned cab would provide clarity over a cabinet tuned to cleanly reproduce the frequency your instrument generates?

[JoeArthur]

The actual amount of "tuning" of a cabinet built for musical instrument use falls somewhere between slim and none and usually closer to the latter.

I don't know about the current models, but the original SVT's claim to fame was the 8-10" speakers, every two sharing a totally sealed sub enclosure.  This drastically reduced it's ability to reproduce the lowest octave of a bass, with a response that falls off drastically below 100hz. It is this reduction of bass that gives it it's legendary "tight bass" tone - the fundamental frequency is reduced and the second and third harmonics are emphasized.

Reduced bass has many benefits for the band stand - the sound is clearer without a lot of bass to muddy the waters and/or vibrating everything in reach.  Chordal work on a bass really comes through with harmonic emphasis.

[n!k]

No need to jump to conclusions here fellas. Aaron has an 8x12 but I was pondering having a 4x12 or 6x12 custom made. The thing is
the weird shape (length) of the Sunn Coliseum heads make them very goofy and impractical on regular sized cabs. I only state
the Marshall BASS cabinet because it's the same dimensions. You can have opinions on this but Ampeg cabs can be very muddy for chords.

As for the 8x10 thing: overused is overused. As someone said the 12" feels more like a 15" but is quick like a 10". Now I suppose you
guys have more technical reasons for these things but that's what I hear. So many people play their Fender basses into Ampeg so much no one thinks bass should sound different. Fashionable? It's a logical step to find a new sound somewhere. Seems logical.

The guitar cabs for guitar / bass cabs for bass comment is dead on, but I wasn't going to use guitar cabinets. The Sunn 612 is a sealed cab (which I would install it) with bass drivers. The Marshall VBC412 is a sealed BASS Cab with bass drivers. If I made a custom cab it would be designed for bass with bass drivers. Don't see where the confusion came up but I'm sure it was there somewhere.

Any bassists on here experiment with 12" cabs?

[n!k]

oh, and if you decide against having that sunn 6x12 shipped, pass the info on to me.   i would gladly mount some speakers in that and have a nice "full stack" with some sunn 6x12's.

Well if you are experienced with such things how much would that cost? If it was $200 to acquire the Sunn cab how much would it cost to buy the speakers and have them installed? Could you ballpark it for me?

[rick.heil]

Well, install costs depends on how good you are with your hands 

You can get good quality t-nuts from a local hardware store, they're relatively inexpensive.  Might want to use Locktite or something to keep the nuts from loosening over time.  (anybody else think so?)  There's two parts to a t-nut, one is the actual nut, the other part is just a regular machine screw.  The nut looks like this:



    BB
|>OO   (little clamps that bite into the mounting board, there are usually 4 per nut, I show 2 for clarity)
|  AA
|0000000000|)  (Screw threads in from the back.)
|  RR
|>DD



So yeah. I'm working on my ASCII drawing skillz, can you tell?

As far as building the whole cabinet, it all depends on the quality you want - probably at least good, right?  I would think this would vary from builder to builder.  I build some speaker cabs for home theater systems and car stereos on the side.  The materials aren't that expensive, its the labor that jacks it up.    Finding someone who knows what they're doing and can really build a SOLID cab is well worth the money though, you wouldn't want it shaking to pieces.

[cromag]

well, i am partial to celestion speakers.   so, that would be no less than 600 bucks right there.   
6 x $100(+/-).   i have never researched the price of some 12 inch bass speakers.   but i'm sure quality ones would range in the $100 and above price range.  so either way you do it you are looking at spending some cash.    now pass on the info about that sunn 6x12.   i have 600 bucks laying around i want to spend on speakers.

[n!k]

Sorry Cromag I just put the money down and I am buying 6 Eminence Delta Bass speakers.

Very excited to build up this beast!

Hey Cromag can I ask you a favor? What are the dimensions of the cabinet itself? If you could size up
the one you have I would really appreciate it.

[cromag]

n!k,

  that cab is 15 inches deep (front to back), 30 inches wide and 46.5 inches tall.

here is a pic (if i can post it right).   it's on the far left side.   kinda far away in this picture.   but you get the idea compared to a full stack of normal sized cabinets.

<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v241/apekillman/IMG_0734.jpg">

[cromag]

oops.   the pic didn't display in the post itself.  but, the link looks like it works.   so check it out.