Thinking about getting a custom cabinent built by a friend in town... advice?

[Matt42]

For about a year my go-to amp set-up has been either a Mesa DC-5 or a '68 Bassman run through the speaker on the DC-5. Well, we (my g/f and I) acquired a 62 Fender Champ and sold the DC-5. Without the DC-5 I don't have a cab I really like to play the Bassman through. We do have an oversized 2x12 Bandmaster cab that I like well enough, but it's so damn large, and a relatively cheap 1x15 cab that I'm not a fan of. The Champ is great, but there are a lot of situations where I need a really clean sound.

I haven't gigged since we got the Champ, but my plan is to run the Bassman and the Champ together with an A/B/Y box, that way I can use the Bassman for cleans and the Champ for awesome overdrive (which it obviously excels at). However, as noted, I'm not crazy about any of our current cab options.

I have a friend in town (he plays in a swing band with my g/f) and he has built a few cabs around town. They aren't super amazing to look at (no tolex, etc), but the ones I've seen are sturdy and sound good. I think I can get him to build me a basic 1x12 for not much more than the materials. I've never had a cab built, or even really thought about it until a few days ago, so I'm not sure about wood choice, or anything else really.

Anyone have any suggestions?

 

[Empty Pockets]

Re: Thinking about getting a custom cabinent built by a friend in town... advice?

In my opinion there are way too many good used cabs around to justify a custom build unless you wanted something very unique or specific.

I bet you could find a sweet 1x12 with a decent speaker for around $150 any day of the week.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Thinking about getting a custom cabinent built by a friend in town... advice?

ive made my own cabs before. I don't put tolex on them either. just nice pine finger jointed then coated with lacquer. its soft though so youll get dings and dents if you aren't careful. they sound great for what I do though.