Bill Fitzmaurice Cabinets - Jack 10 & Jack 12

[beagle]

Harley has very kindly dropped off some of his Bill Fitzmaurice designed demo cabs for me to try for a week. I'm pretty excited to be able muck around with these as they are VERY different to my cabs which follow the conventional front port design.
He's given me 2 x Jack 110s (1x 10" + loads of horns) and 2 x Jack 112s (1x 12" + loads of horns).
So far I'm pretty impressed with their light weight and high output.
They handle the range of my 6 string very well. Good bottom end but not muddy. Excellent clarity right the way through the range. The tone / colour of the middle / upper registers is quite different to what I'm used to. Possibly because of the use of horns?
The horns have an on / off switch which I would prefer to be controlled with an attenuator.
The jack10s are sound quite different to the jack12s. For some reason the 12s are surprisingly brighter in the top end and Harley did say that might be the case. Probibly too much so for some players but that's why there's a switch for the horns. The 12's have more output and bottom end range but are physically larger as well. Weighing in at 19kgs still makes it a very easy cab to carry.
For me so far the Jack 10 is a standout for small gigs or as an on stage monitor. It's small and weights only 12kgs (my 6 yr old can lift it!) . I think Harley said it's rated for 250watts? Has a little leg that kicks out to angle it up for monitor use which I love. A 4ohm version would be an excellent match for my little GK 400RB head (or one of those other little markbass, Genz benz or ashdown tiny digital amps). Bag with leads and amp on one shoulder bass in one hand and cab in the other. nice.
Oh and Harleys workmanship looks great. Nice finishing and attention to detail. If you're not the type of person to try and build these cabinets off the plans yourself then he is the guy to talk to.
Some pics to follow.

[beagle]

Jack 10 with leg

Jack12, Jack10

2x Jack 10 Stack

[beagle]

Harley's just sent me through the actual specs on these.

J110 (Jack 10)
Eminence DLII2510 Driver 8ohm 250 watts ( 500 watts music programme )
12 Goldwood 1016 Piezos cut into a melded array, wired series/parallel
Crossover filter system
500 wide, 280 high, 400 deep.
12kgs
$700 each

J112 (Jack 12)
Eminence DLII2512 8 ohm 250 watts ( 500 watts music programme ) - cab can be upgraded to 3012LF ( 500 watts )
14 Goldwood 1016 Piezos cut into a melded array, wired series/parallel
Crossover filter system
535 wide, 430 high, 450 deep
19kgs
$950 each

[Harley]

Harley's just sent me through the actual specs on these.

I screwed up on the weights'

J110 = 11kg

J112 = 14kg

[GrowlerBox]

Hi y'all -- Harley's just left my house with his pair of Jack 10s after a trial. Fantastic "little" cabs -- certainly light, good sized cabinet, and pack a punch. I tried them out through my Markbass F1, first with the Steinberger C4RM EUB, and then Harley played my G&L Tribute L2000. We didn't really have the time to fiddle with the eq for the Steiny, and down low it may frankly have been a bit too much for the smaller drivers. In the middle and higher registers, the clarity was excellent, and seriously loud -- I'm not sure the windows would have survived turing the volume up past 50%. On the G&L, these cabinets really took off (I hope it wasn't just a reflection of Harley's playing vs. mine!) -- if you know the bass, it is very versatile (passive, 2 active modes, each humbucker can be run in series or parallel, and the usual 3-way switching between pickups), and these cabinets expressed every nuance of each setting. I had imagined on reading the description of the piezo array that it could be overwhelmingly "tweety", but switching them in really just adds clarity without a hint of scratchiness. My only comparitor is a Warwick 211 (i.e. 2 x 10" cab), but there is really no comparison. I second Beagle's comments regarding the build quality, and on top of it all, Harley's a great guy!

I suspect that I'll be going with a 12" driver to better accommodate the EUB, but I would not hesitate to recommend the J110s singly or as a pair for the horizontal (or oblique, anyway) bass, and no doubt for a wired acoustic bass without the huge low end of the Steinberger. The only downside is that I'm going to have to wait for Harley to build me one!

[GrowlerBox]

I've ordered the Jack 12, and because Harley's got a bit on at the moment, he's lent me one of his while I wait, no doubt one that Beagle spent some time with -- she gets around, the dirty little stop-out! As expected, the 12-inch driver handles the EUB better than the 10, but I think I would still go with 10-inch for the G&L 4-string.

This cabinet is exquisitely sensitive, letting neither you nor your amp, or your effects, or your cables get away with a damn thing! Of course, this means that everything you do want to hear is there in technicolour. The mid-boost is noticeable but easily dealt with by means of some EQ twiddling, assuming you don't want it for your fretless mwah and are going for a more amped-acoustic sound. I'm still experimenting with switching the piezo array in and out, and haven't quite decided which I prefer; the one being built has the option of switching half the array in, which I suspect will be ideal.

As for the build, it's every bit as solid as the 10s. It's reasonably big, giving the driver plenty of room to do its thing -- slightly bigger than my Warwick 211 pro (which doubtless has something to do with why it sounds so much bigger), but about half the weight.

If you're in the market for a hi-fi cabinet, all I can suggest is give one a try -- Harley's very generous with his time, knowledge and gear.