[hibuckhobby]

threads like this always make me wonder why there is always someone who needs to "redirect" the thread in their own non-linear direction rather than discusss the matter at hand.  The cosmetics of the AVA gear has nothing to do with how the Exotics sounded.  The quality of the design, however, either contributes or detracts.  The AVA seems to contribute.
Hibuck...

[mal]

Nope.  None.  In fact there are at least THREE of us knuckleheads here.  Doesn't that violate some statistical norm or somethin'?

Where were you during our big GTG's?  We needed another strong back to help push Jim Salk's trailer up the hill and pull his amps out of the gravel.   

I think must have I moved here after you guys got sick of each other. If you do another one, though, I'll be happy to show up and make excuses for why I'm too lazy to help.

[PMAT]

If anyone wants to upgrade the looks of Franks gear, I'd bet Jim Salk would be happy to dress it up.

Great idea. Like the Dodd face plates. Does Anyone have better photos of the sides and back of the Exoticas?

[audiotom]

Jesus Frank, that was blown out of proportion wasn't it? Just make some nice faceplates, everyone wants them. What is so hard about that? We all want nice looking stuff. Your Fetvalves are not cheap, they just look cheap. Hence, no fanfare. Quote

I couldn't disagree more. I'm also loving the looks of the Exotica 3, it's on my bucket list.

Franks stuff substandard?

My local electronics guru - that Richard Gray -  looked under the hood of my 600r and thought it had some of the most robust circuitry

especially the MOSFETS

[Big Red Machine]

Great idea. Like the Dodd face plates. Does Anyone have better photos of the sides and back of the Exoticas?

I have some at home on my camera stick.

[jsalk]

The cabinets...

Below are some pictures of the first pair of Exotica 3 cabinets.  Some background...

When we began work on the cabinets, we wanted to do something a little different.  We decided to use side panels with this design.  That offered a number of benefits.

First, we could build the basic cabinet with 3/4" walls to keep the weight down.  When we then put 1" panels on the sides, the area around the woofer section would have side walls that were 1 3/4" thick to minimize cabinet resonance. 

Our idea was to be able to build a basic satin black center cabinet (we could build these ahead of time) and have any type of veneer on the side panels.  So production time could be cut since we could have the actual cabinets built ahead of time. We could still customize the center cabinet as well if a customer wanted to wait longer for a custom finish on these.

The resulting design allows for what could be some very interesting combinations - various veneer combinations, veneer/automotive paint combinations, etc.

We wanted to chamfer the edge of the side panels.  In the first drawings, we simply angled the side panels straight back.  It would have been easy to veneer the edges on these.  But later, we decided to curve the side panels.  This made veneering much more complicated and our first test with this pair of cabinets did not work.  Since time was running out coming up to AXPONA, we simply painted the edges of these side panels.  Since then, we think we figured out how to veneer these curved, chamfered edges. So that should not be an issue going forward.

Since we were adding the side panels, we had to figure out what to do for the spikes.  Mounting them in a normal fashion would result in spikes being very close to the edges of the main cabinet.  In this pair, we actually wrapped the side panels partially under the bottom of the speaker so that we had a solid section to attach the spikes to.  So the side panels also serve as a plinth for the speaker itself.  As we take a second look at the entire design, this may change.

When we began work on these cabinets, I had just purchased a batch of some really interesting imbuya burl veneer (which I can't really capture in a photo here).  Since it was a dark color to begin with, we decided to use some automotive paint for the center cabinet.  We chose a gold color that picked up some of the highlights in the imbuya burl.  The combination worked out quite well.

Since this was the first pair of actual cabinets, there will probably be a few changes.  But here are some pictures of the Exoticas we displayed at AXPONA last weekend...



And a side shot...



- Jim

[sfox7076]

What are the general dimensions?

[Austin08]

Look very nice, Jim. I think with this new baby and the SS8, look like the SS10 and SS12 become less demanding. But I am sure the new Exotica is gonna make it up for the lost.

[jsalk]

What are the general dimensions?

They are 11" wide at the top and 13" wide at the bottom.  They are 16" deep and 42" tall.

- Jim

[Big Red Machine]

But heavier than an 8!

[charmerci]

Jim,


For what it's worth, I find those curved, chamfered side panels weird looking.


But then again, I won't be buying a pair anytime soon and I know you'd build a pair without that styling too.

[Vulcan00]

How would you think this veneer for the sides:

                  http://www.certainlywood.com/detail.cfm?ID=10565

or maybe this:

                 http://www.certainlywood.com/detail.cfm?ID=6212

Matched with a automotive PPG color shifting pearl paint!

[Gzerro]

Jim,

For what it's worth, I find those curved, chamfered side panels weird looking.

I am encouraged to see a new design that isn't just another strait box.

The match of the gold paint to the veneer looks fantastic, but I agree all of the sharp edges and especially the gap between the front baffle and bottom front of the side panel doesn't flow very well.

I am seriously considering these, although waiting to see future refinements. It doesn't sound like Jim really had time to perfect the cabinet design so I am hoping the final version has a more organic transition.

At least its not a painful wait - my SongTowers are still keeping me very happy.

[jsalk]

Jim,


For what it's worth, I find those curved, chamfered side panels weird looking.


But then again, I won't be buying a pair anytime soon and I know you'd build a pair without that styling too.

Sure, we can modify the build to suit anyone's taste.  No problem at all.  We just thought we'd try something new.  Now we'll refine it a bit.

- Jim

[jsalk]

How would you think this veneer for the sides:

                  http://www.certainlywood.com/detail.cfm?ID=10565

or maybe this:

                 http://www.certainlywood.com/detail.cfm?ID=6212

Matched with a automotive PPG color shifting pearl paint!

We have used both of those veneers before and they are both VERY nice.  The white ebony is very unique.  I had never seen any of that before it became available and we purchased some immediately.  The ziricote is quite a bit darker when finished, but is also among my all-time favorites.  Finding a nice pearl color to go with either of these would be quite easy as well.

- Jim

[Vulcan00]

Jim:

I have a question about applying a color tent to the veneer. I am not sure how to ask the question. I guess because I can not be specific about the color so how about just a general question. What generally happens to a veneer color,  use "white ebony" because it a great example.
1.When you apply a dark shade? Does the white areas stay relatively light? Do they darken from their original color drastically? Can you maintain a clear contrast between the dark areas and light?

2, How about when you apply a lighter shade? Can you change the  light color matrix to different lighter color ?

 If this is too general or crazy question don't worry about it. What I am thinking is how to apply color to the veneer to improve the match with the auto paint?

[charmerci]

How would you think this veneer for the sides:

                  http://www.certainlywood.com/detail.cfm?ID=10565

Wow!    That is so cool! 

[jsalk]

Jim:

I have a question about applying a color tent to the veneer. I am not sure how to ask the question. I guess because I can not be specific about the color so how about just a general question. What generally happens to a veneer color,  use "white ebony" because it a great example.
1.When you apply a dark shade? Does the white areas stay relatively light? Do they darken from their original color drastically? Can you maintain a clear contrast between the dark areas and light?

2, How about when you apply a lighter shade? Can you change the  light color matrix to different lighter color ?

 If this is too general or crazy question don't worry about it. What I am thinking is how to apply color to the veneer to improve the match with the auto paint?

There are ways to change the color of the light areas without making them darker.  This generally involves bleaching the wood first to make the light areas as white as possible.  That is what is typically done with automobile dashboards.  Even though they may not want to change the color, they do this so that can dye an entire batch exactly the same and achieve consistent results.  We have never used this technique.

Most often, applying any color will reduce the contrast and make the light areas darker.  But the dyes we use (not stains) are aniline dyes which are basically transparent.  So you can change the color quite dramatically and still maintain decent contrast.  You have to be somewhat careful however.  If you wanted light red for example, you would end up with pink.  So you have to go far enough so that you end up with the color you want.  This will reduce the contrast.  So you have to decide how important the contrast is in relation to the color you would prefer.  The darker the wood is to begin with, the more difficult it is to modify the color without things getting "muddy."  That is why you see maple in all of its forms used for electric guitars.  It is fairly close to white and takes dye very well.  So you can make it virtually any color you want.

- Jim

[jsalk]

Wow!    That is so cool! 

White ebony, when finished, is not exactly white.  Here is a picture of how that veneer looks on a finished speaker with no color added:



- Jim

[robcentola]

Loving this thread (well the middle was a little bumpy) and there's so much interest in this model. I'm really looking forward to the hearing impressions from the folks who are ready to jump in, seeing it on the site and looking at the stats and the final result of the design.