Cab Project for Peavey 260 standard (Guitar Head)

[Flypaper4Morons]

I love my peavey260 guitar amp and i think it deserves a nice custom built 4x12 cab. It saw 400 watts on the back and I understand that this may be peak output but it is also saying it is 4 ohms. I searched this site a little b4 i decided to post this but what im trying to do may not have been done here for this amp. I recently refurbed this monster with some detoxic spray and resoldered all loose connections and put a new power cord on it. She breathed back into life like i never imagined. I cant complain about the distortion because i always selct a good tone from clean and then run my pedals to it. Even at unity and a good eq pedal she competes with the lead players marshall neck and neck. I have a project im doing and i need some specific info in laymans terms that i couldnt quite understand elsewhere. Im building a 412 cab for a peavey 260 guitar head and need to know what celstion speakers to use and since its 4 ohms as marked on the back of the cab, how do I achieve the best output without damaging the head or sacrificing sound. now most would say go buy a brand name cab and be done ....i say nay im a diy guy. I needto know if series or parralell would bebest in wiring this project. Any help would be appreciated.

Jason

[J M Fahey]

Hi Jason.
It's really around 120W into 4 ohms, pretty loud anyway.
Really it would be easily mated to a 2x12" cabinet, where you have a *huge* selection of speakers to choose from.
If you like Celestions, a couple 8 ohm V30 in parallel would be bone crushing.
You can build a "large" 2x12" to get chest thumping bass.
If you insist on 4x12", you'll need 4 x 16 ohms Celestions in parallel, which are easily available.
Used 16 ohms G12T75 are easily available on EBay, for low prices.

[Enzo]

The 400 watts you saw was by the power cord.  That is how much power it draws from the wall outlet at peak times.   It has nothing to do with how much powr it sends to a speaker.   Die to efficiencies, it takes 400 watts from the wall to make 120 watts for a speaker, in other words.

[Flypaper4Morons]

Hey guys thanks for the input and help. Right now the cab is put together (unfinished, just a box) I built it 36"x36"x16" and I did something a little wierd i guess. I made it so the front panel the speakers mount to (baffle i believe you call it) recessed in about 3/4" and sealed the back instead of the front. i made it so the front panel could come off after taking out the screws. I figured I'm gonna be the one replacing the speakers or wiring so servicing this badboy would be as simple as pulling the font panel with all 4 speakers bolted to it, unplug or unsolder the 8 connections and replace the speaker(s) that nneed servicing should it ever come to that. The cabinet lumber is 3/4" Subflooring Plywood. Iknow i know you say get birch or mdf, im not complaining the lumber was free/given to me so i had to use what was available and im on tight budget. I'm not going cheap on the speakers so i hope that will not negate the material the cab is made out of. I also plan on using rubberized undercoating spray on the inside to give it a nice airtight seal after i glue the box frame together. I screwed everything together today so that the wood would not warp after it was cut. The biggest delima im having is trying to do the math on exactly how far apart the speaker should be from each other and the edgesfor optimum sound. I heard something about box resonance and qt's on Duncan amps webby. i have no idea what math is involved in that but my carpentry skills are decent. I sketched out with sharpie how far each speaker should sit in the cab and it came out to a 3 inch "bubble" around each one .Given the mass of the cab face that left 6 inches between each speaker side by side and top to bottom. Should i go closer in?

[J M Fahey]

Nice cabin in the woods !! Quite roomy for a family of 4 !!
He he, you won't be moving that 4x12" around, will you?
Hope you have a truck, or at least a van.
Definitely, it will give you a lot of gut kicking bass.
Don't worry so much about the speaker position, simply leave some even space around each, since you have the room.
Don't worry about sealants, just run a bead of glue along edges.
The wood you used is excellent.
The 13 ply baltic birch bit does not hurt, if available, but has more incidence on the marketing department than on the acoustic one.
FWIW I have seen Hartke and Peavey cabinets made out of humble OSB, yet sound good.
I gave it a try, and decided against it not on acoustic or strength problems but because of the pesky edge splintering , even with a new blade, and because it dulls my router bits quicker than I care for.
Post some pictures taken along the building process.

[Flypaper4Morons]

Nice cabin in the woods !! Quite roomy for a family of 4 !!
He he, you won't be moving that 4x12" around, will you?
Hope you have a truck, or at least a van.
Definitely, it will give you a lot of gut kicking bass.
Don't worry so much about the speaker position, simply leave some even space around each, since you have the room.
Don't worry about sealants, just run a bead of glue.
The wood you used is excellent.
The 13 ply baltic birch bit does not hurt, if available, but has more incidence on the marketing department than on the acoustic one.
FWIW I have seen Hartke and Peavey cabinets made out of humble OSB, yet sound good.
I gave it a try, and decided against it not on acoustic or strength problems but because of the pesky edge splintering , even with a new blade, and because it dulls my router bits quicker than I care for.
Post some pictures taken along the building process.

JM
Thanks for the support. I Figured the 3/4thickness would compensate for the OSB ply wood. I had read that gluing the edges together will help. I realized the cabin...lol will be a bit boomy. I want to yield a sound that has a tight bottom, scooped mids and punctual highs. I play alot of metal/numetal and favor Mick Thompson and Darrell "Dimebag" Abbot styles of playing. I play rythyum guitar mostly with lead accents and harmonies. In short i play aot of drop D and drop B/C modified. Now for the parts list.

corner guards (Chrome to match the head)
2) 150 lb rated handles (like on an SWR bass cab)
4) casters 35lb rated each with brakes
2) 1/4 inch Neutric Female Jacks or jack plate with installed already? is there a difference from guitar and speaker female ins? balanced maybe?
1) XlR female in Plate ( Plan on miking the inside of the cab for cleaner recordings)
4) Celestion GT75K 12" speakers in 16ohms (thanks guys for the info)
25') of 14 guage speaker wire (someone suggested  16 guage will 14 guage be better or rob power or overheat?)
1) 20 yard roll of covering material (excess is best and if i like my finish job im gonna redo the Peavey 260 head and Sunn 2x12 Cab)
4) Cans of 3M Spray adhesive to tack up the covering as well as stapling the hidden seams.
2-5) Cans or rubberized undercoating ( Not real sure how im gonna use this but i was thinking it would dampen any rattle or buzz from the wood).  I plan on treating the baffles and corners with this before I cover it.
1) 36x36 speaker cover not sure on the material but it will be heavy duty mesh and protect the speakers from damage.

Add custom authentic logo and project "Claymore" is done! Place Front Towards The Enemy, i mean Audience..lol (TM).

[J M Fahey]

Agree with everything except the 3M spray adhesive.
It's not bad, but too light for heavy use, it's more for decoration work around the house.
I'd use real Macho Man contact adhesive, a thick one applied with a serrated trowel.
If it can be spread with a brush or roller, or worse, with a spray gun, it's too light.
I regularly have to re-glue Marshall, Laney, etc. Tolex edges which unglue after some time.
In the old times they used hot hide adhesive applied with a Potdevin industrial applicator, but it's somewhat of an overkill (although I'd LOVE to have one) for any of us.

[Flypaper4Morons]

Cool thanks for the tip. i was gonna just gonna use some wallmart cloth stuff in the craft sectionlooks like carpet
or felt in a USMC camo pattern. wonder if i can glue that on or just wrap the frame pull it tight and staple the material on the inside of the cab before the front and back go on.

[J M Fahey]

Carpet is hardwearing, ask the guys for carpet contact adhesive, the strong kind (there's one that is meant to be pulled easily by effeminate decorators, you want the macho contractor type).
Camo pattern rules to hide everything.