******Tommy Custom Cabinets Experiment......Nashville 400***

[Tommy Huff]

Hello forum friends. In the ongoing search for lighter equipment without sacrificing quality and tone I thought I would try this.....Nashville 400 cab built of 1/2" birch. I offset the speaker position so your precious speakers are not in danger when changing them. The complete empty cab weighs 10 1/2 lbs. Ron Sikes is going to be doing a trial for me. He will be posting updates on this thread. Ron installed his nash 400 chassis and a 1501-4 black widow NEO speaker and a mod 3 spring reverb pan Ron's amp weighs 42 lbs with the 11 1/2 lb black widow NEO....thanx for looking......Tommy

[Ronald Sikes]

Hello fellow forumites ,

First let me say that the quality and workmanship of this cabinet is of the greatest quality as you can see in the pics. These were taken with my iPhone 6, not the greatest camera. I’ve been friends with Tommy for many years and I use his cabinets with my stereo steel rig.

We’re always discussing gear , weight , speakers and etc. He approached me with the idea of a cabinet built using 1/2” birch plywood , and we both agreed it’d be a great idea to try one.

I’ve installed a new BW 1501-4 Neo speaker. Total weight with this speaker is 42 lbs.
I used it on my first job last night , using only a Wampler Faux Analog Delay and the amps Reverb. Part of the night only Reverb. While I am not in the same category as a player as many of you on here I do know good sound , lol. The amp in this cabinet still maintained the clarity needed. Nice lush low end , mid range is clear and the highs are crystal clear and not piercing to the ear. I didn’t notice any loss with this cabinet versus the original , it was clean and crystal clear. The only loss of course is the weight. Cabinet alone is 10.5 lbs lighter , and looks amazing.

I also have an EPS-15C I may try. This would weigh in at 38lbs. It’d be lighter than a NV112.

I’m also going to try the original 1501-4 in it. This will weigh in at 48 lbs. Still not bad for a NV400.

Thanks for reading,
Ron

[Lee Baucum]

Beautiful. Such an improvement, visually, over the stock cabinet.

[Glenn Demichele]

That's a really good idea

[Tommy Huff]

thanx Lee and Glenn for the good comments .....trying to help our aging backs.... this cab will also work with many other Peavey amps Bandits,Reno, Artist,130 specials ,La,Jazz classic.Triumph 60 and 120.etc.....I am also building a lite cabinet for the Nashville 112......thanx Tommy

[Dale Foreman]

If you want to lighten it up, installed the Eminence TT 15 (7.7 lbs) in that baby. It's going to take a while to break in but you will love it. Also, the 3 spring Mod reverb tank is da caca!
Dale

[David Biggers]

Here's mine.

[Tommy Huff]

hi David.....the chicken head knobs look great........Tommy

[Dennis Ellerbee]

What do you charge for one of the cabinets? How long does it take to get one built?

[Tommy Huff]

hi Dennis, sent you a PM

[Ronald Sikes]

I used my NV400 Ultralight for the second time last night. I played with a different band and while I was setting up I was getting compliments on the looks of the amp from the other band members.

I’m extremely pleased with how clean this amp sounds. It still maintains all of the clarity in this new cab as it did in the old original cabinet , and I’m loving the reduced weight of it. I know it’s going to sound even better once I get the speaker broke in.
As mentioned earlier, I have the chip upgrade which I got from Ken Fox here on the Forum , the Mod 3 Spring Reverb and the BW 1501-4 Neo speaker. I also sent the chassis to Peavey for service. Mostly cleaning and resoldering. Kudos to Peavey for great customer service and very fair prices. Now I have the confidence it won’t crap out on me at a gig.

If you want to reduce the weight, and upgrade the appearance of your amp get in touch with Tommy Huff here on the Forum.

Thx for your time,
Ron

[Glenn Demichele]

I've got an NV400 that I haven't modified because it is my reference amp I use to evaluate my hare-brained schemes for newer/lighter equipment. I am very intrigued by the concept of getting weight out of the NV400 without messing with the sound, and Tommy has a good idea (let alone giving me a chance to remove the cabinet's battle scars).
This may be a bit outside the thread - but it is about weight :has anyone replaced an NV400 power transformer and caps with a switchmode power supply. This would take the transformer weight out of it (I'm not sure that would be significant). I have been intrigued by the concept, and I don't think anyone makes a solid state linear amp with a SMPS for power. All the lightweight manufacturers went straight to Class D. Yeah, Class D is more efficient, but that only saves you heat and not weight (aluminum heat sinks are pretty light).

[Steven Paris]

This may be a bit outside the thread - but it is about weight :has anyone replaced an NV400 power transformer and caps with a switchmode power supply. This would take the transformer weight out of it (I'm not sure that would be significant). Yeah, Class D is more efficient, but that only saves you heat and not weight (aluminum heat sinks are pretty light).

I am planning on putting an IcePower Class-D power amplifier into an NV400 chassis---this will eliminate the big heavy transformer as well as the heat sink. Will still put out the 200 watts into 4Ω, and have the sound of the Peavey front end (Fox-modified, of course). I am guessing the weight savings at ~ 20 pounds; maybe more. This, combined with a Neo speaker and a Huff cabinet will make the NV400 a VERY manageable load!!

[David Biggers]

Please Keep me updated on your progress.
I’m willing to spend more money to save more weight
on my NV 400.
If this works for you and is just as dependable you could
stay pretty busy.

[Jack Stanton]

Tommy builds great cabs! One of these is in my near future.

[Dennis Ellerbee]

I ordered one last week. Looking foward to getting it home.

[Billy Carr]

Wondering if anyone's tried the PF-350 12" speaker with this yet?

[Finis Spier]

i have a pair of speakers in tommys cabinets they are superb built and worth every penny you pay

[J R Rose]

Hey Tommy, Your cabinets look wonderful. I may have to talk to you about my Blue Knob LTD 400 and put a Eminence 15-C in it. I think that would be a great combination. J.R.

[Danny Harrell]

I have two of Tommy's cabinets with Peavey 1501-4 Black Widows. They sound great! His craftsmanship is second to none. Tommy signs his cabs to guarantee personal quality. His cabinets are lightweight, very well built, and look really good on stage. Tommy is a great guy to deal with. After hearing my cabs, our lead player bought two, and another steel player here also bought two. When you see and hear them and see how light they are.... game over! You will want a pair. Here is a link to a video of my wife Brenda singing and me using my Tommy Huff cabinets.

https://youtu.be/BVlK3Ce1Fho

[Dennis Ellerbee]

Here are pictures of my new Tommy Huff Nashville 400 cabinet in brown western tolex. The cabinet sounds great. No loss of sound, but about 15 pounds loss of weight. Can't wait to play it on stage.

[Ronald Sikes]

That’s a great looking cabinet Dennis. I’m loving mine.

[Dennis Ellerbee]

Thanks Ronald. I love this cabinet, and the quality is great. Tommy does great work, and is a very good guy. Everything went together perfect.