Poll- Should I box design again?

[Buck 5,000+ posts]

I may be designing again. Work in progress. No more sharing of my excel sheet.

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[Buck 5,000+ posts]

Change of plans

 

[Buck 5,000+ posts]

Change of plans

 

[Buck 5,000+ posts]

Change of plans

 

[jrouter76 10+ year member]

I have kept my secret sauce of how I do some of my box stuff hidden. I've teased it some in the past. Specifically with very precise volume calculations, I use my own developed excel spreadsheets. I have quite a few excel spreadsheets for different styles of boxes. I'm not really designing competitively anymore. I'm not trying to have an edge on anyone, so I don't mind sharing this now. If you email me, I will send you my Excel Speadsheets that I use for box designing.

I have about 50 different sheets on this one save, for various boxes.

Some of the sheets are tailored for specific people's boxes, like some crazy series 6th orders and stuff.

Some sheets have weird calculations, I'd have to change the formulas sometimes, depending on each individual design. So there may be some minor calculations that are a little off because I was using it in a different way than usual. A lot of it is good though, it'll give you an idea how to really be accurate with box cubic feet calculations. This spreadsheet is why I used to be able to crank out 5 designs in a few hours if i needed to. I think my record was designing for CT Sounds. I did a bunch of simple ones for him, including the cut sheets. I think I did 30 pre-fab designs in a single day once.

There's also a sealed box Fc/Frc and EBP calculator that you can used for sealed boxes or you can use for 4th orders.

I even have a converter for your tire sizes into inches, for you dudes doing after market wheels and tires.

No strings attached, I'm sharing this for the love of audio. I've attached some examples of a few pages of differing variety. If you email me, I will email you the entire Excel file. Idk if the file is too big, so first one to want this, we'll find out if I can email the whole thing at once or if I have to upload it another way.

I sent you a private conversation

 

[Firewalker]

Just curious when you decided to stop designing as even though I just did a new box with plans from Shredder which were awesome,! I am thinking of next summer doing another box but going to either 2 12" or a 15" this time.

 

[Buck 5,000+ posts]

I sent you a private conversation

replied

 

[Buck 5,000+ posts]

Just curious when you decided to stop designing as even though I just did a new box with plans from Shredder which were awesome,! I am thinking of next summer doing another box but going to either 2 12" or a 15" this time.

I think it was mid 2018. I've been designing since 2008-9, basically when I started driving. Box designing is just kind of funky. Most designers fade off. I think Shredder talked about this recently, it's just kind of difficult to maintain with the way it's done. i'll give props to Shredder, i think i remember when he sort of started doing boxes and he's really refined it and his info seems solid. like if i could design for a local shop or something like that, i probably would. Ram designs was a pretty good box designer too, he faded off too i think even before i did. idk if he's active or not, he and i would get info from each other every now and then, back in the day.

You know like i undercharged for a long time with boxes. part of that was just in case i messed up a design when i first started, i'd be like well, it was only $5. you know? but i got to the point where i was doing stupid loud walls and stuff. I mean those things take a lot of tedious back and forth work. I feel like some of these walls, I could charge like $150-200 for designing, but i just couldn't bring myself to do that. i genuinely love sound and audio and music, so there's a sort of brotherhood a designer and a competitor or just a car audio fan with a wild imagination.

And often times the designer has way more knowledge than who they're helping. so if you really want people's systems to work the best, you really gotta talk to them. a good bit of the time, people don't even know what they want. it's not their fault or anything, but as a designer, i felt obligated to basically probe their personal tastes of music and style and make a box accordingly. so it just gets difficult sometimes. and me, with my personal health, i just couldn't be consistent. that was the biggest factor in me just chilling out with it. i may design some here and there in the future or if someone has a very serious build, but i'd almost rather teach people how to do it themselves than actually do it right now.

i'm sure i'd have an easier time if i actually bought real modeling software, where you can actually put the cabin as part of the enclosure, look at how it's position in the vehicle causes changes. that software is expensive though, i'm pretty sure PWK designs made his own software to do his designs. He was a large inspiration to me, i was able to talk to him some when i was a teenager via email, that was really cool for a teenager. i guess pwk is still doing boxes and stuff, he's a pretty smart dude it seems. like i say, if i could design for locals and actually be socially involved in person, it would be a way different ball game for me.

 

[Buck 5,000+ posts]

Change of plans

 

[Buck 5,000+ posts]

Change of plans

 

[Firewalker]

Nope I totally get it. I personally am not good at box building and I did this last box but it had been 25 years since I had done one until this fall. Next time I am just going to go to Home Depot and have them cut the wood to the specifications I need and buy it from them. I know the cabinet factory a block away will do it as well for me for a fee. Being in Northern Wisconsin I can get away with MDF and well being disabled for life I have to save up anyways to do this stuff. I have a lot to do already with changing out 6x8s to 6.5s and adding in a new 2,200 watt mono block amplifier to the American Bass TNT-1044s I have now. But I think in the long run I will end up with dual 12s or said 15". I have a '03 Ford Explorer so I have room but yet I also need room for grocery runs in case the parental units are not around and have their mini-van. Plus with a cargo cover I like having everything covered up since everything is tinted so between those 2 things no one can see in. Plus the amplifiers are hidden anyways underneath a cover in back where a 3rd seat would have gone. Shockingly they don't get hot at all.

But yeah I get what you are saying. It is the same thing with computer building or helping someone. What would get me mad is someone who I hadn't heard from in months or a couple years would call and expect me to troubleshoot over the phone...sorry it don't work that way. Or they would get mad if I said hey you know it would be nice if you would at least kick me back a little something 15 bucks 20 bucks something. Some would have no issues some would throw a fit saying I should help for nothing as it is a friend...my response was yeah well I only hear from you when you want something like this so either kick me back something or pay Geek Squad 100 bucks! lol

I have no issues paying someone for a box design as the time, effort that goes into it can be tedious...just like computer help. Plus I was never good at figuring that stuff out yet accounting I passed with all 100s throughout high school and college,lol.

 

[Buck 5,000+ posts]

Change of plans

 

[Buck 5,000+ posts]

change of plans. vote in the poll

 

[shredder2]

Its the prevalence of extended cab trucks and people's expectations that chased me away from designing. They all want 4 8s stuffed into small airspace, no seat lift or bed cuts. Then expect flex videos in their futures. Explaining what works and the back and forth while blowing up my phone or email makes it not worth it. I'd rather help when I decide, keep it simple and be able to measure space myself.
I've got a library of designs to choose from all ready to forward from the last 3yr if needed.
Idk how many but its a 60sec scroll in the folder to hit the end.
But it's becoming hard to find people who want anything other than a truck box with walled results locally.
I was stressed and for me thats really bad.
I say do it if your happier designing.

 

[Buck 5,000+ posts]

Its the prevalence of extended cab trucks and people's expectations that chased me away from designing. They all want 4 8s stuffed into small airspace, no seat lift or bed cuts. Then expect flex videos in their futures. Explaining what works and the back and forth while blowing up my phone or email makes it not worth it. I'd rather help when I decide, keep it simple and be able to measure space myself.
I've got a library of designs to choose from all ready to forward from the last 3yr if needed.
Idk how many but its a 60sec scroll in the folder to hit the end.
But it's becoming hard to find people who want anything other than a truck box with walled results locally.
I was stressed and for me thats really bad.
I say do it if your happier designing.

I mean I can't do much but sit on my ass anyways. might as well design. i also have some business connections that would solely use me if i was designing. that's really the way to do it well is just design for shops or individuals that do whole systems. those type of people will really work with you and you can actually get **** done and make it badass