Dave Holland’s almost cube-shaped SE-5a

Now here’s a very different approach to building a combo cabinet. “I am just sending an email to say that I finished the amp today. The amp build went like a dream and I found your instructions very clear. “When it came to the enclosure I wanted to get the absolute best sound I could from a single Celestion G12M in a combo layout. This meant an enclosed (actually ported) speaker cab design of precisely tuned dimensions with the amp in a separate compartment (to reduce microphonics caused by the valves vibrating).

“I note you have some designs like this on your gallery with a separate compartment for the amp on top of the speaker cab but my design has the amp in a separate compartment at the back. The main reason for this is stability. I don’t know if you heard but we have recently had a large number of severe earthquakes here in Christchurch and I thought that the over-tall ‘shelf’ design would be unstable in a tremor. The design I ended-up with provides optimal sound but the unit is almost cubic, meaning it won’t fall over!

“The combo sounds absolutely amazing with both my Ibanez H-H and my son’s Telecaster. The uncompromising optimal sound approach certainly paid off. The combo is probably 50% bigger than a conventional open-back design would be, but the sound is fantastic and worth the extra size.”

(Special thanks to Dave’s mum, who carried the kit in her luggage to New Zealand. :))