DIY Powercab 212

[elholando]

So, I'm not very smart.  Keep that in mind.  I have a 112 now that I use with a Helix Floor.  I haven't seen any used 212's for under $1,000, but I did find this old empty Flextone cabinet on FB Marketplace.  What if I put something like Celestion FX12s in it and power with a PowerStage 200?  I guess the goal is a DIY 212 Powercab.  Dumb idea?  And how dumb, 10 being the highest? 

 

 

[rd2rk]

If all you want is a "stereo" FRFR 212 cab, any 212 cab will do.

The Powercab 212 has a lot more going on than that.

 

A regular 212 guitar cab wired for stereo doesn't allow for much "spread". At best you might get an enhanced sense of "motion" when using stereo modulation or "ping-pong" type delays.

The Powercab 212 does some sort of aural trickery that enhances the perception of stereo spread so that not only is that sense of motion greatly enhanced, but if you have one speaker set to emulate a V30 and the other set to a GB25 (a classic 212 cab setup) you get a perception of that split vs just a meld of the sounds.

This aural trickery is VERY effective. It sounds to me like the speakers are at least 6ft apart at 200% spread!

 

Powercab also allows you to have different speaker emulations which do not involve the HF Driver. Whether or not those emulations fully succeed in emulating a RW V30 or GB25 is debatable, but the idea is to provide a more AITR (cab in the room?) experience. The Celestions you mentioned have the HF Driver incorporated into the cone design and it (AFAIK) cannot be defeated. EQ only goes so far to ameliorate that situation. The Powercab speaker emulations are basically EQ but incorporated into the design. You would need an encyclopedic knowledge of the frequency/performance characteristics of 12 different speaker types to come near that.

 

Since the HF Driver is actually a separate driver, it also allows you to control the level of the HF Driver vs the LF Driver. This allows you another way to fine tune the FRFR sound when using cab sims and IRs, possibly removing "fizz" without applying EQ which generally affects a wider range frequencies around the center frequency than just turning down the component that's amplifying the undesirable HF noise. I'm pretty sure(?) that the Celestions you referenced have no such capability.

 

And then there's the user configurable Output options, on-board Hi/Lo cuts and MIC emulation for the XLR outs to FOH and USB recording.

 

Lastly, cost/practicality.

Celestion FX12-X200 = $200 x2 = $400

SD Powerstage 100 Stereo (100w/ch vs Powercab 250w/ch) = $600

You're already at $1000 w/o considering the cab cost, wiring and labor.

And what happens if the used cab you buy has a nasty vibration or resonance that you don't like?

A proper guitar cab is "tuned" (dimensions/porting) to the speakers it's designed for.

IIRC, Celestion even provides plans for building such a cab for its speakers. I doubt that would be cheap even if you can DIY.

And the weight factor? The Celestions weigh 9lbs each. Add that to the cab weight. An empty Seismic Audio 2x12 cab weighs 37lbs.

The PC212 is tuned for its speakers, weighs 48lbs, is very solid (wood construction) and has side and top handles.

 

So, to repeat, if all you want is a "stereo" FRFR 212 cab, any 212 cab will do.

The Powercab 212 has a lot more going on than that.

 

 

[elholando]

On 10/14/2023 at 1:37 PM, rd2rk said:

If all you want is a "stereo" FRFR 212 cab, any 212 cab will do.

The Powercab 212 has a lot more going on than that.

 

A regular 212 guitar cab wired for stereo doesn't allow for much "spread". At best you might get an enhanced sense of "motion" when using stereo modulation or "ping-pong" type delays.

The Powercab 212 does some sort of aural trickery that enhances the perception of stereo spread so that not only is that sense of motion greatly enhanced, but if you have one speaker set to emulate a V30 and the other set to a GB25 (a classic 212 cab setup) you get a perception of that split vs just a meld of the sounds.

This aural trickery is VERY effective. It sounds to me like the speakers are at least 6ft apart at 200% spread!

 

Powercab also allows you to have different speaker emulations which do not involve the HF Driver. Whether or not those emulations fully succeed in emulating a RW V30 or GB25 is debatable, but the idea is to provide a more AITR (cab in the room?) experience. The Celestions you mentioned have the HF Driver incorporated into the cone design and it (AFAIK) cannot be defeated. EQ only goes so far to ameliorate that situation. The Powercab speaker emulations are basically EQ but incorporated into the design. You would need an encyclopedic knowledge of the frequency/performance characteristics of 12 different speaker types to come near that.

 

Since the HF Driver is actually a separate driver, it also allows you to control the level of the HF Driver vs the LF Driver. This allows you another way to fine tune the FRFR sound when using cab sims and IRs, possibly removing "fizz" without applying EQ which generally affects a wider range frequencies around the center frequency than just turning down the component that's amplifying the undesirable HF noise. I'm pretty sure(?) that the Celestions you referenced have no such capability.

 

And then there's the user configurable Output options, on-board Hi/Lo cuts and MIC emulation for the XLR outs to FOH and USB recording.

 

Lastly, cost/practicality.

Celestion FX12-X200 = $200 x2 = $400

SD Powerstage 100 Stereo (100w/ch vs Powercab 250w/ch) = $600

You're already at $1000 w/o considering the cab cost, wiring and labor.

And what happens if the used cab you buy has a nasty vibration or resonance that you don't like?

A proper guitar cab is "tuned" (dimensions/porting) to the speakers it's designed for.

IIRC, Celestion even provides plans for building such a cab for its speakers. I doubt that would be cheap even if you can DIY.

And the weight factor? The Celestions weigh 9lbs each. Add that to the cab weight. An empty Seismic Audio 2x12 cab weighs 37lbs.

The PC212 is tuned for its speakers, weighs 48lbs, is very solid (wood construction) and has side and top handles.

 

So, to repeat, if all you want is a "stereo" FRFR 212 cab, any 212 cab will do.

The Powercab 212 has a lot more going on than that.

 

 

rd2rk, that's really good info!  I think the most sensible path is to just buy another 112.