About Us
Who We Are
Happy Cabs is Larry Juniper, Damian Urquidi, Moshe Alvarez, Steven Zookzwad, and Michael Urquidi.
Everyone mentioned is a part of the build process, and Research and Development. We all lean on each other for their expertise in Wood Working, Electronics, Metal Fabrication, Audio Engineering, Music theory, Physics, Paleontology, Logistics, Camping Gear and Best Practices, Rock Climbing, Knot tying…reversed seared steaks……pizza…buffalo wings..etc.
How It Started
Happy Cabs came about when a young 24-year-old Damian Urquidi was working as a guitar tutor at a nearby City College. He was not making much money, and definitely not enough money to afford the traditional guitar cabinet that he wanted. This young man then had the idea to start researching cabinet designs to see if he could convince his parents to cover the cost of wood while he covered the cost of hardware and electronics.
Damian’s father had always instilled and nourished a “Do It Yourself” spirit in the family, so he agreed to help fund the project without hesitation. The only issue was he did not have the proper wood working tools needed to see the project through.
That is where Larry Juniper came in. Damian knew Larry through a close friend, who encouraged Damian to contact Larry. Being the awesome dude Larry is; he agreed to help Damian with his Cabinet build.
The Designs Damian came across included Birch plywood, dovetail joinery, and many other very complicated, and definitely beautiful, classic wood working techniques. Larry, being the expert woodworker that he is, suggested we ditch all of the materials and techniques the design called for. Instead, he suggested MDF (Medium Density Fiber). MDF is a wood composed mainly of epoxy and wood fiber.
The Designs Damian came across included Birch plywood, dovetail joinery, and many other very complicated, and definitely beautiful, classic wood working techniques. Larry, being the expert woodworker that he is, suggested we ditch all of the materials and techniques the design called for. Instead, he suggested MDF (Medium Density Fiber). MDF is a wood composed mainly of epoxy and wood fiber.
Larry was convinced that its dense nature would be perfect for keeping the Cabinet from resonating any unpleasant frequencies and project sound better than a solid wood could. Larry also suggested that instead of using dovetail joinery, we use dado joinery techniques. Although challenging to do for some, Dado joinery makes for a much stronger joint than dovetail joinery, and Larry is very good at executing dado joints. Damian was hesitant to stray away from what the design called for but trusted Larry and agreed to a compromise.
They would build a 4X12 using hardwood maple for the sides, MDF with a mahogany veneer for the front baffle, and a maple plywood for the rear baffle, all while using dado joinery. The design also called for a port not tuned to any specific frequency range. Instead, it should allow all frequencies to pass through it, allowing the Cabinet to maximize the amount of volume the speaker can produce.
The other benefit of having this type of port is that it allows the speaker to move freely and at large. When the speaker can carry as much as it needs to, it produces the lowest frequencies. Larry and Damian used this concept to build the 4X12 Cabinet. When the Cabinet was completed, they were both impressed and satisfied with the build results. It was a sound not experienced by them and, at the same time, a sound they had both imagined to exist.
Damian was pleased. He was so happy he felt the need to share his Cabinet with everyone he knew who played guitar