twelvebears
30-05-2009, 11:15
Marco, wasn't sure the best place to post this as the company involved make stuff one-off stuff to order. Please move as you see fit.
So yesterday I made a trip up the visit John at Slate Age Ltd who is going to constructing my slate speaker cabs, which are currently made from white painted MDF and look like this:
http://i682.photobucket.com/albums/vv187/twelvebears/P1010202.jpg
Let me just start by saying what an absolute gent, amazing craftsman and all-round great guy John is.
After a long drive from London, I arrived early (8am) just as John was setting off on a local delivery run. As his parents live on site in a beautifully converted barn (his Father Peter started the company 37 years ago), rather than leave me hanging around, he took me into the house where his Mum made me breakfast and chatted to me about the company history and the local area while John made the delivery.
I'd brought one of my existing DIY cabs and drivers for discussion and to use as template for the slate versions, and John brought out a sample of a corner construction to demonstrate the joining and finishing he will use.
Susy's taken some snaps (below), but they just don't do it justice as John is a true craftsman and the quality of finish is breathtaking, with the pieces of the sample joined with such perfection that it looks like some alien stone monolith rather than 4 pieces of off-cut slate, knocked up to show to a customer. Having now seen the quality of the work he and his small team produce, I am so excited to see the finished versions that I'm going to find the next two weeks very, very painful.
http://i682.photobucket.com/albums/vv187/twelvebears/DSC_0727.jpghttp://i682.photobucket.com/albums/vv187/twelvebears/DSC_0717.jpg
His attention to detail is amazing and he stood and chatted for about 3hrs about both the cabs themselves and some of the ideas John has for other hi-fi related ventures.
I know that another AOS member has been to see John following another posting I made and has ordered a custom two-tier plinth for a Garrard I think, so hopefully he will follow this post with his own views and impressions.
Basically John and the company have a 'bread and butter' business consisting mostly of granite worktops, but they have access to a huge range of materials and love the chance to produce 'interesting' one-off items which appeal to his interest in engineering.
Apart from my cabs, he is also doing turntable plinths, speaker stands and pair of plinths for a customers B&M 801s.
In short, if there is anything you've ever thought about having made from granite, marble, slate or pretty much any other type of stone, including stands, racks etc, I would suggest just giving John a call and having a chat.
Also worth mentioning that John likes to do a 'proper job' and had already planned to supply matching stainless allen bolts for the drivers and is also having some little Slate Audio badges made up. Oh and on seeing the slightly nasty plastic bass port and tube, John decided to cut the tube out of solid rock using 80mm and 75mm core drills, and then drill and profile the hole in the baffle so the whole thing looks like it's been made from solid!
I'm a fussy git and not easily impressed, but absolutely everything yesterday filled my with complete confidence about him and my decision to splash out. That said, for the size and work involved, I still think they are great value for money.
Now I just need to hire Geoff Capes to move them when they arrive....
So yesterday I made a trip up the visit John at Slate Age Ltd who is going to constructing my slate speaker cabs, which are currently made from white painted MDF and look like this:
http://i682.photobucket.com/albums/vv187/twelvebears/P1010202.jpg
Let me just start by saying what an absolute gent, amazing craftsman and all-round great guy John is.
After a long drive from London, I arrived early (8am) just as John was setting off on a local delivery run. As his parents live on site in a beautifully converted barn (his Father Peter started the company 37 years ago), rather than leave me hanging around, he took me into the house where his Mum made me breakfast and chatted to me about the company history and the local area while John made the delivery.
I'd brought one of my existing DIY cabs and drivers for discussion and to use as template for the slate versions, and John brought out a sample of a corner construction to demonstrate the joining and finishing he will use.
Susy's taken some snaps (below), but they just don't do it justice as John is a true craftsman and the quality of finish is breathtaking, with the pieces of the sample joined with such perfection that it looks like some alien stone monolith rather than 4 pieces of off-cut slate, knocked up to show to a customer. Having now seen the quality of the work he and his small team produce, I am so excited to see the finished versions that I'm going to find the next two weeks very, very painful.
http://i682.photobucket.com/albums/vv187/twelvebears/DSC_0727.jpghttp://i682.photobucket.com/albums/vv187/twelvebears/DSC_0717.jpg
His attention to detail is amazing and he stood and chatted for about 3hrs about both the cabs themselves and some of the ideas John has for other hi-fi related ventures.
I know that another AOS member has been to see John following another posting I made and has ordered a custom two-tier plinth for a Garrard I think, so hopefully he will follow this post with his own views and impressions.
Basically John and the company have a 'bread and butter' business consisting mostly of granite worktops, but they have access to a huge range of materials and love the chance to produce 'interesting' one-off items which appeal to his interest in engineering.
Apart from my cabs, he is also doing turntable plinths, speaker stands and pair of plinths for a customers B&M 801s.
In short, if there is anything you've ever thought about having made from granite, marble, slate or pretty much any other type of stone, including stands, racks etc, I would suggest just giving John a call and having a chat.
Also worth mentioning that John likes to do a 'proper job' and had already planned to supply matching stainless allen bolts for the drivers and is also having some little Slate Audio badges made up. Oh and on seeing the slightly nasty plastic bass port and tube, John decided to cut the tube out of solid rock using 80mm and 75mm core drills, and then drill and profile the hole in the baffle so the whole thing looks like it's been made from solid!
I'm a fussy git and not easily impressed, but absolutely everything yesterday filled my with complete confidence about him and my decision to splash out. That said, for the size and work involved, I still think they are great value for money.
Now I just need to hire Geoff Capes to move them when they arrive....