7 DIY Guitar Speaker Cabinet Plans You Can Build Today (with Pictures)

If you are a guitar player, nothing is more fun than building your rig. It’s a way to personalize your tone in ways you can’t do when purchasing your equipment. Learning how to build a guitar speaker cabinet is a great place to start because building it isn’t hard but can dramatically improve your tone. We’ve rounded up as many plans as we could find to help you get started with something that interests you. We’ve included pictures as well as a short description for each one, so you’ll know what you’re getting into before you start.

The 7 DIY Guitar Speaker Cabinet Plans

1. Practice Amp

The Practice Amp project walks you through creating a practice-sized speaker cabinet that will also house the electronics section. There is enough room for a 12-inch speaker, great for a basement or attic rehearsal rooms. It’s not hard to build and results in a durable and attractive amplifier.

2. TRM Guitar Cabinet

The TRM Guitar Cabinet is like the last design but removes the slanted face in favor of a straight face design that’s easier to build and resembles traditional house speakers. This design also utilizes large handles for easy transportation.

3. Angled Rehearsal Amp

The Angled Rehearsal Amp is similar to our last example, but it increases the two speakers to 12 inches. This design results in a squarer shape than is possible with the side by side or top and bottom plans.

4. Eminence Cabinet

The Eminence Cabinet is a four-speaker cabinet similar to the Marshall Bottom Cabinet we mentioned earlier but is slightly more complex to build. It features a center port for better bass response and large side handles.

5. Ashen Custom

The Ashen Custom amp features a vertical speaker design similar to others on this list but uses advanced woodworking techniques to create a composite material to make the cabinet. The composite of different woods is extremely attractive and will look great in the home or studio.

6. Combo Package

The Combo Package is a combination speaker cabinet and amp head. The speaker cabinet houses a single 12-inch speaker, while the head will support most class A and B tube amplifiers, as well as most solid-state amps.

7. Studio Amp

The Studio Amp is an attractive speaker cabinet that will require a little extra skill due to the fancy finish and composite design. This cabinet uses a 10-inch speaker that’s ideal for recording because it lets you crank up the amp while staying within manageable volume levels.

Essential Features of a Guitar Speaker Cabinet

Size and Shape of Cabinet

The size and shape of your guitar speaker cabinet can vary considerably. Most amps are square or rectangle and are generally wider than they are tall, though there are several exceptions on our list. It can be a simple box but will often sound better if you spend some time learning about wood bracing and ports to tune the amp to reproduce guitar tones better.

Size and Number of Speakers

Most guitar speakers are 12 inches wide. However, plenty of brands use smaller 10-inch or 8-inch speakers on studio or bedroom practice amps. You can even find smaller speakers on battery-powered portable amplifiers like the Pignose.

If you use your speaker cabinet in the recording studio or for practice, we recommend a single 10-inch or 12-inch speaker for most people. If you use your amp at rehearsal or for live performances, you will want one or more 12-inch speakers, depending on how much space you need to fill.

Many two-speaker amplifiers have built-in digital effects processors that create a stereo image. This effect can make your sound much fuller and wider than is possible from a single speaker.

Other Components

Most speaker cabinets will require you to attach a “head.” This component is responsible for amplifying the guitar signal and contains the electronics to do so. Combo amps have the electronics built into the speaker cabinet. Most professionals prefer the two-piece design because it allows them to mix and match for more tonal variety. However, if you are only building one cabinet, you might choose to make one that combines the electronics into the design.

Summary

If this is the first guitar speaker cabinet you will build, we recommend something easy with a single speaker and does not contain onboard electronics. Once you have some practice, the larger cabinets will provide you with a lot more volume, and experimenting with wood bracing, insulation, and bass ports will help you tune the sound.

We hope you have enjoyed reading and learned something new and found some ideas for a project you want to create. If we have helped you learn how to build a guitar speaker cabinet that you love, please share these 7 guitar speaker cabinet plans you can build today on Facebook and Twitter.

Featured image credit: Aleisha Kalina, Unsplash