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Building Speaker Cabs


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First off if this is in the wrong area I apologize, I wasn't sure where to put it.

Anyways, so I built a 4x12 cab a while back out of a mahogany plywood sheet I had lying around and I don't really care for the sound of it. Prostheta suggested I should use baltic birch and I have heard of using that for wood before from companies like Mesa Boogie and Marshall but I can't afford it. My question is whether paper or yellow birch would be just as good or close to baltic birch. I have a ton of it sawn up but it's not being used and I don't want to waste it.

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No, most plywood's plys have spaces, or "voids" in them. You can usually see where the manufacturer plugged the outer plys, they're football-shaped. They won't go through the trouble of plugging/filling/fixing any of the internal plys since they won't be seen. Baltic birch ply's are all solid.

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No, most plywood's plys have spaces, or "voids" in them. You can usually see where the manufacturer plugged the outer plys, they're football-shaped. They won't go through the trouble of plugging/filling/fixing any of the internal plys since they won't be seen. Baltic birch ply's are all solid.

Ok so does the wood even affect the sound of the cab? I have read about people saying cabs from different years sound different and I wasn't sure if it was just how they were made or what.

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MDF is one of the worst choices for a cab that you're going to use live and haul around. They tend to crumble after a while and they don't like humidity/water.

A good void free plywood cab is the best IMO. Birch Ply is most commonly used but there's what they call Apple Ply.

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MDF is one of the worst choices for a cab that you're going to use live and haul around. They tend to crumble after a while and they don't like humidity/water.

A good void free plywood cab is the best IMO. Birch Ply is most commonly used but there's what they call Apple Ply.

What if I just used Birch lumber though and glued it into panels that I could make a cab out of.

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MDF is one of the worst choices for a cab that you're going to use live and haul around. They tend to crumble after a while and they don't like humidity/water.

A good void free plywood cab is the best IMO. Birch Ply is most commonly used but there's what they call Apple Ply.

Good point. I forgot about the humidity/water thing. The stereo speaker cabs I've made are A)veneered and sealed B)sitting inside on a shelf. MDF soaks up water like a sponge and is never the same again. Exposure to the elements would be bad.

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