I made the switch from Ampeg Portaflex gear to Mesa Subway last fall, picking up a used D800+ from another user here on Talkbass, and a new 115 from Sweetwater. My plan is to get a 112 in the spring to complete the stack before summer gig season kicks in here in Bend, Oregon.
I decided that I wanted to get a stand to elevate the amp and cab a little, making the amp controls easier to get to, until I add a 112 cab to the stack in the next few months. But then I decided I wanted to build a stand that matches the Mesa 115 closely to have a clean looking stack. Mesa sells all the hardware needed to do this on their website, so I decided to go for it.
I decided to basically clone the 115 cabinet and leave part of the back and top of it open for storage of cables and other gear. I’m very happy with the way this turned out but at the end of this post I’ll note a few things I’d change if I did this project again.
Here is how I did this and all the info you need if you want to try it. First, the finished product:
It’s pretty awesome, exactly what I was picturing in my mind before I started.
To start, you’ll need some plywood of some sort. Mesa uses Italian Poplar for their cabinets due to its combo of weight and strength. I had planned to pick up a sheet of plywood or OSB particle board from the home improvement warehouse, but I live on a street with houses being built, so I hit the wood scrap piles and was able to find some good size pieces of sub flooring, which is very strong 3/4” OSB, to use, saving me somewhere between $50-$75 in wood costs. Unfortunately it is not particularly light weight, but it worked well for the project. The measurements below are all based on using 3/4” thick wood.
You’ll need to cut 6 pieces of wood for the box. These dimensions will build you a box that exactly matches the 115 cabinet. Be sure to mark each piece as you cut it for future reference. I used a handheld circular saw, but a table saw or jig/saber saw would also work.
I measured where the feet were on my 115 cabinet, and decided the remove the bulk of the material from the top piece, for access to the items stored inside. So, measure 4” from the front, right, and left sides of the top piece, and cut away the rest, leaving a U shaped top piece that the cabinet will sit on.
I also decided to remove some material from the rear piece, so I could still access the cables and such inside the box when my cabinet was sitting on top of it. So, measure 4” from the left and right, and 5” from the top, and cut that piece away.
If you are planning to round the edges of the box as Mesa does with a router, this is a good time to rout the cutouts you just made on the top and rear pieces, as you won’t be able to do that once the box is assembled.
Once all of the pieces were cut, I grabbed some wood glue and 2” drywall screws and assembled everything. The dimensions are setup so the front, rear, and sides are assembled first, then the top and bottom glued and screwed to that box.
Next you’ll want to cut out holes on the sides for the handles. You can definitely skip this step and just carry the box from the bottom, but I wanted to match the 115 cabinet closely so I wanted the handles. Here are the cuts you’ll need for the handles. Be sure you have the box oriented correctly when laying these out. The hole is 5.75” wide x 3.75” tall. On the left and right sides:
I wanted to countersink my handles like Mesa does, so I used a handheld router to a 3/8” depth to rout out around the holes. I placed the handle in the hole, then traced around it with a pencil. When I routed, I went outside this line about 1/8” to leave room for the tolex to run under the handle.
I used the router then to round all the outside edges of the box as Mesa does. I didn’t have a router bit that would give me as much of a rounded edge, so I used the biggest one I had. It looks just fine. Rout all the edges, and don’t worry much about the corners, they will be sanded down later.
I took my handheld orbital sander and went over all the edges with 80 grit to generally get rid of roughness. You want to keep it rough so the glue for the tolex sticks best, but a quick sand of all the edges cleaned them up.
Next, get a can of black spray paint and paint the inside thoroughly. You can skip this step, but I didn’t want to see any wood on this thing when it was done.
Next up is tolex. I made a bunch of subwoofer boxes and DJ gear cases decades ago, so I have a little experience with applying carpeting to wood. This came in handy but it still was challenging to apply the tolex when it came to corners and seams. I didn’t do too bad but the next one will be better for sure. Watch some YouTube’s before you do it. You’ll need some spray adhesive by 3M or Gorilla brand, a utility knife tin a new blade, a staplegun, a long straight edge tool of some type, and a table or workbench to work on.
Unfortunately, I ordered the wrong tolex, what I got appears to match older Mesa cabinets. I ordered the Rhino tolex, but should have ordered the Bronco, I believe. Links at the bottom. But it looks good and is close enough for now. I ordered 2 yards of the tolex, which was just enough. You may want to order 3 yards if you are nervous about this part.
I did not use enough adhesive at the beginning, not wanting to run out by the end. I only used half the can, so I would definitely apply more on the front and sides, which were the first 3 sides I did, so that the tolex would stick better. So, be generous with the spray adhesive!
I did the front panel first, measuring so there was just enough material to fold over the top and into the cavity, and equal amounts on the left and right sides. Spray both the wood and the tolex, and apply pressure for a minute or two. Spray the next side, roll the box onto it, being sure to keep the material taut, and apply pressure. Wrap the entire thing then move to the top and use the knife to cut the tolex so it can be folded over into the opening and stapled. Cut away as necessary, etc. Do the bottom, then use scraps to patch any remaining areas. Again, next time I do this it will be way better based on what I learned. But I’m pretty happy with it.
Now you can cut in an X the 2 holes for the handles with your knife, and press the handles into the holes and screw them in. Pretty cool- lift up your box by the handles! Almost there!
Next, use some 60 grit on the orbital sander and sand down the corners, including the tolex. I took off a corner on my 115 cabinet and saw that this is how they did it. Sand the corner down into a rounded corner, using one of the corner pieces you bought to “feel” when it is sanded enough to sit right. Do each corner, and then screw the corner piece in. I used 1.5” drywall screws for these.
On the bottom, screw the feet on. They sit just inside the bottom corner pieces. Look at your Mesa cabinet for reference. I used 1.5” drywall screws again.
Finally, your Mesa badge. I put masking tape over the tolex in the area where I’d need to mark. I measured from the top of the 115 cabinet to the top of the badge and it was 3.25”. So measure that on the box and draw a line. Then find the center of your cabinet, and measure out from the center 2 5/16” inches to the left and right, and mark. Now place your badge along those lines. It should be centered and at the same height as the 115 badge. I predrilled these holes and used 2 small black round headed 1” screws to hold the badge in.
That’s it! Stack your cabinet and fill it with cables and anything else you want! I found the box itself to be light, certainly lighter than the cabinet, but once I filled it with my D800+ in its bag, my cables, bass stand, etc. it was definitely heavier.
What would I do different?
I decided that I wanted to get a stand to elevate the amp and cab a little, making the amp controls easier to get to, until I add a 112 cab to the stack in the next few months. But then I decided I wanted to build a stand that matches the Mesa 115 closely to have a clean looking stack. Mesa sells all the hardware needed to do this on their website, so I decided to go for it.
I decided to basically clone the 115 cabinet and leave part of the back and top of it open for storage of cables and other gear. I’m very happy with the way this turned out but at the end of this post I’ll note a few things I’d change if I did this project again.
Here is how I did this and all the info you need if you want to try it. First, the finished product:
It’s pretty awesome, exactly what I was picturing in my mind before I started.
To start, you’ll need some plywood of some sort. Mesa uses Italian Poplar for their cabinets due to its combo of weight and strength. I had planned to pick up a sheet of plywood or OSB particle board from the home improvement warehouse, but I live on a street with houses being built, so I hit the wood scrap piles and was able to find some good size pieces of sub flooring, which is very strong 3/4” OSB, to use, saving me somewhere between $50-$75 in wood costs. Unfortunately it is not particularly light weight, but it worked well for the project. The measurements below are all based on using 3/4” thick wood.
You’ll need to cut 6 pieces of wood for the box. These dimensions will build you a box that exactly matches the 115 cabinet. Be sure to mark each piece as you cut it for future reference. I used a handheld circular saw, but a table saw or jig/saber saw would also work.
- Top & Bottom: 19” x 18”
- Left & Right Sides: 16.5” x 17”
- Front & Rear: 19” x 17”
I measured where the feet were on my 115 cabinet, and decided the remove the bulk of the material from the top piece, for access to the items stored inside. So, measure 4” from the front, right, and left sides of the top piece, and cut away the rest, leaving a U shaped top piece that the cabinet will sit on.
I also decided to remove some material from the rear piece, so I could still access the cables and such inside the box when my cabinet was sitting on top of it. So, measure 4” from the left and right, and 5” from the top, and cut that piece away.
If you are planning to round the edges of the box as Mesa does with a router, this is a good time to rout the cutouts you just made on the top and rear pieces, as you won’t be able to do that once the box is assembled.
Once all of the pieces were cut, I grabbed some wood glue and 2” drywall screws and assembled everything. The dimensions are setup so the front, rear, and sides are assembled first, then the top and bottom glued and screwed to that box.
Next you’ll want to cut out holes on the sides for the handles. You can definitely skip this step and just carry the box from the bottom, but I wanted to match the 115 cabinet closely so I wanted the handles. Here are the cuts you’ll need for the handles. Be sure you have the box oriented correctly when laying these out. The hole is 5.75” wide x 3.75” tall. On the left and right sides:
- Measure 7.25” from the top of the box, then measure 3.75” down from that line
- Measure 6” from the front of the box, then measure 5.75” toward the rear from that line
I wanted to countersink my handles like Mesa does, so I used a handheld router to a 3/8” depth to rout out around the holes. I placed the handle in the hole, then traced around it with a pencil. When I routed, I went outside this line about 1/8” to leave room for the tolex to run under the handle.
I used the router then to round all the outside edges of the box as Mesa does. I didn’t have a router bit that would give me as much of a rounded edge, so I used the biggest one I had. It looks just fine. Rout all the edges, and don’t worry much about the corners, they will be sanded down later.
I took my handheld orbital sander and went over all the edges with 80 grit to generally get rid of roughness. You want to keep it rough so the glue for the tolex sticks best, but a quick sand of all the edges cleaned them up.
Next, get a can of black spray paint and paint the inside thoroughly. You can skip this step, but I didn’t want to see any wood on this thing when it was done.
Next up is tolex. I made a bunch of subwoofer boxes and DJ gear cases decades ago, so I have a little experience with applying carpeting to wood. This came in handy but it still was challenging to apply the tolex when it came to corners and seams. I didn’t do too bad but the next one will be better for sure. Watch some YouTube’s before you do it. You’ll need some spray adhesive by 3M or Gorilla brand, a utility knife tin a new blade, a staplegun, a long straight edge tool of some type, and a table or workbench to work on.
Unfortunately, I ordered the wrong tolex, what I got appears to match older Mesa cabinets. I ordered the Rhino tolex, but should have ordered the Bronco, I believe. Links at the bottom. But it looks good and is close enough for now. I ordered 2 yards of the tolex, which was just enough. You may want to order 3 yards if you are nervous about this part.
I did not use enough adhesive at the beginning, not wanting to run out by the end. I only used half the can, so I would definitely apply more on the front and sides, which were the first 3 sides I did, so that the tolex would stick better. So, be generous with the spray adhesive!
I did the front panel first, measuring so there was just enough material to fold over the top and into the cavity, and equal amounts on the left and right sides. Spray both the wood and the tolex, and apply pressure for a minute or two. Spray the next side, roll the box onto it, being sure to keep the material taut, and apply pressure. Wrap the entire thing then move to the top and use the knife to cut the tolex so it can be folded over into the opening and stapled. Cut away as necessary, etc. Do the bottom, then use scraps to patch any remaining areas. Again, next time I do this it will be way better based on what I learned. But I’m pretty happy with it.
Now you can cut in an X the 2 holes for the handles with your knife, and press the handles into the holes and screw them in. Pretty cool- lift up your box by the handles! Almost there!
Next, use some 60 grit on the orbital sander and sand down the corners, including the tolex. I took off a corner on my 115 cabinet and saw that this is how they did it. Sand the corner down into a rounded corner, using one of the corner pieces you bought to “feel” when it is sanded enough to sit right. Do each corner, and then screw the corner piece in. I used 1.5” drywall screws for these.
On the bottom, screw the feet on. They sit just inside the bottom corner pieces. Look at your Mesa cabinet for reference. I used 1.5” drywall screws again.
Finally, your Mesa badge. I put masking tape over the tolex in the area where I’d need to mark. I measured from the top of the 115 cabinet to the top of the badge and it was 3.25”. So measure that on the box and draw a line. Then find the center of your cabinet, and measure out from the center 2 5/16” inches to the left and right, and mark. Now place your badge along those lines. It should be centered and at the same height as the 115 badge. I predrilled these holes and used 2 small black round headed 1” screws to hold the badge in.
That’s it! Stack your cabinet and fill it with cables and anything else you want! I found the box itself to be light, certainly lighter than the cabinet, but once I filled it with my D800+ in its bag, my cables, bass stand, etc. it was definitely heavier.
What would I do different?
- It will be a little tall once I add a 112 on top. I’d make it the height of a 112 instead of 115. This would remove 4 1/8” from the height. It would probably also remove 3-4 lbs. which would be nice. I may get a bug up my bottom next year and order the correct covering, remove the top and bottom panels, and cut 2” off the top and bottom, reassemble and recover it. We will see.
- Get the right covering.
- No need to rout the inside of the cutout panels. Save a little time and effort. (But do rout the outside for sure).
- Use more adhesive spray on the earliest areas I applied tolex.
- Sheet of plywood
- 2 or 3 yards of tolex
- Right tolex (I think, can someone confirm in comments?)
- Wrong tolex that I bought
- 4 feet + 2- 1.5” drywall screws
- 8 corners + 16 - 1.5” drywall screws
- 2 handles + 28 screws from Mesa
- 1 black badge 4 5/8” wide + 2 small black round head screws (or get screws from Mesa)
- Table/circular/skill saw
- Wood glue
- Black drywall screws 2” length
- Black spray paint
- Router + 1/2” corner rounding bit + flat bit for handle countersink
- Power drill w/ Philips screw bit (and small drill bit if you want to pretrial plywood)
- Staple gun
- Spray adhesive
- Utility knife with new blade(s)
- Long straight edge tool
- #2 Philips screwdriver
- Clorox wipes and/or mineral spirits to remove excess adhesive spray
