# Alipors 2019 Chevy Silverado High Country Semi-Stealth System



## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

Hey everyone, it's been a while since I've done a build log. I've been extremely busy with a couple of long term builds as well as getting my new sound damping brand, ResoNix Sound Solutions ResoNix Sound Solutions – Just another WordPress site ready to launch, but that's for a different post. For this post, we're going to be focusing on this 2019 Chevy Silverado High Country that came in for a pretty sweet sound system. This time it consisted of the following..

. Helix DSP Pro Mk2 with Director & HEC Bluetooth Card
. Mosconi Pro 4|10
. Mosconi Pro 5|30
. Audiofrog GB10
. Audiofrog GB25
. Audiofrog GB60
. Audiofrog GS62
. (2) JL Audio 10TW3 in an MTI Acoustics Stage 2 Enclosure




Hey Andrew, while you may have not been able to get some ResoNix on your car, you can still count yourself lucky that you were able to get the last of my supply of SDS. Front door outer door skin with approximately 85% coverage & Black Hole Tiles, and inner door skin with all holes sealed and deadened. Not pictured was the prototype polyester fiber batting material i have previously mentioned.















The Audiofrog GB60's mounted on a 3 layer PVC baffle that matches the OEM shape. What you can't tell from the photo is something that Chevy has been doing with their 6x9 baffles for years.. making them "slide" in and have one screw holding it in. We obviously couldn't mimic that so we used four extra stainless machine screws with riv nuts for easy servicing and a not-so damaging solution. After the GB60's were mounted, we used half inch closed cell foam to create a ring that seals them to the door panel and "couples" them to the cabin of the vehicle.

Side note.. while we didn't make an A/B comparison, this build has made me even more of a believer in the Black Hole Tiles. When I was demoing the car for Andrew and sitting in the passenger seat, I put my head down near the midbass and have never heard these things pounding away like they were but having no sort of coloration from the door. I can't attribute it to them, but I'm not sure what else it could be. Maybe coincidence, maybe the poly fiber mat? But both of those don't make much sense to me since we used *many* of the tiles in this build. Over 45 if I remember correctly.















The rear door got the same treatment, even though I told Matei to only "spot treat" the rear doors. I guess he translates the saying "spot treat" into "leave no spot uncovered" lol. After this, it also got more deadener and full coverage of closed cell foam, as well as CCF rings.















Heres what makes this build "100 lbs into nothing" and where Matei really shined. If you are familiar with the Mosconi Pro 5|30 you will know that it is by no means a small amp. Couple that with the fact that there is zero space available from the factory to put these behind the seats. We found a way without cutting anything permanently, and without cutting any wires using welded racks, OEM hardware, and stainless machine screws with riv nuts.















For starters, the rear seats do not fold down in these trucks. Why? Because who the hell knows why. What I do know is that the guys at GM don't want to make our lives easy. Here is the rear wall as it comes from the factory. This is a photo from my friend John Brettle down at Car Tunes Atlanta. I forgot to get my own picture.















We relocated the DC/AC converter to the drivers side and used the welded amp rack to hold the 5|30. The 5|30 is secured to the frame via tapped threads and stainless machine screws in the right angle stock we used. The rack was held in at OEM mounting points as well as a few riv nuts with machine screws.

ps, ignore the blue protective film on the one strip of the amp.
























You can see the converter relocated to the driver side with a bracket and secured down with some OEM hardware, tapped threads in the custom bracket, and riv nuts.
























Here is the top of the enclosure that MTI Acoustics makes for this vehicle which features a small pocket in which we housed the Mosconi Pro 4|10 and the Helix DSP Pro Mk2. The DSP was mounted to a bracket that was built around and over the amp. 

Side note, if you do this combo, we were able to do the "DSP direct" feature with the amps which bypasses all preamp circuitry, including gain. The voltage out of the Helix was more than enough to get the volume we knew was possible from this setup.

Since no pre-amp solutions have been released for this vehicle yet we had to use post amp signal for Andrew to have use of his OEM radio. Here is a copy/paste of a post I made in an OEM integration group about what we did for this specific vehicle with this particular audio package (Bose from the factory).

"2019 Chevy Silverado with Bose (or GMC Sierra). Since nothing is available for integration yet, we used the high-level outputs of the factory amp. Sub woofer and midbass received front door signal, midrange and tweeter received dash speaker signal. There is low end roll off which was easily fixed with input eq, and some other minor things that needed to be corrected with input eq but nothing crazy. The only thing to worry about was what seemed to be an all-pass filter on one of the front midbass signals. Wasn't much of an issue since we low passed those at 250hz though. Sorry, no pics but I can post a screenshot later of the input eq we used to correct the OEM signal to match a direct input signal :/ "
























I also forgot to get a pic of the enclosure, so heres one from MTI Acoustics before they shipped it to me.















The start of what puts the semi in "semi-stealth." We had initially planned on OEM midrange locations for the GB25's and sail panels for the GB10's, but after having the car finally in front of us, we decided it was best to come up with another solution to meet Andrews needs. We needed it to look pretty much OEM, and not block his vision while driving, as well as still having access to his inspection and registration stickers. Yes, these pods can be entirely removed in less than 2 minutes. This is what we came up with for the pods. First, we started with the OEM dash grill panel and made a template that is the exact shape of the midrange grill. Copied that shape onto a piece of acrylic to use as the baffle, and used low temp PVC to create the lip to flush mount the grill. After that, standard fiberglassing procedure. Stretch, resin, glass, resin, body filler, sand, wrap.















Heres my favorite part.. the grills. My goal for them was to mimic the color and side profile shape as the OEM aluminum trim that's around various parts of the car, like the HVAC vents. I'm missing a few photos from the process but here's a pic of me making the template for the grill trim rings and pressed grill.















Check fitment.. all good.















I then copied that shape onto 3/8" acrylic, then did a tiny round over on the outside, and small bevel on the inside. From there, I hand sanded to get the profile I wanted. After that, they were painted to match. We were going to wrap them with matte chrome vinyl, but it had zero stretch. Even with heat and it just wasn't happening. In hindsight, it was better this way anyway since the matte chrome would have reflected sunlight and may have been annoying. I opted for a chrome paint with a low luster clear coat.















5|30 in all its glory. This thing is a freakin beast.
























Dash pods finished and installed.

































The Helix Director was installed directly into the headliner using the Helix DMP (Director Mounting Panel). The Director, in this case, is controlling master volume, subwoofer volume, HEC BT volume, BT Track control, tone controls (parametric bass and treble adjustments). It can also function as preset storage and selection, but isn't needed most of the time since the Helix DSP's can do automatic source switching, as well as different input EQ/TA settings to correct any signal on AUX and Analog inputs to get them all to match by the time it gets to the outputs. I have noticed that with many other processors you will have to use another preset or just press *something* to use a different input. Not on the Helix. All automatic and set up to switch how and when you want.










































In the end, this truck kicked some serious ass. The amount of output these little midranges and unassuming midbass can shell out without breaking a sweat is always surprising. Couple that with no hint of distortion, and a great tune to bring it all together. I loved it, apparently so did Andrew.

Shout out to john Brettle and Carlos Carr for the info before I got my hands on the truck.


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## Bluenote (Aug 29, 2008)

So clean... damn. How were the Amps distributed to the Drivers?


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

Bluenote said:


> So clean... damn. How were the Amps distributed to the Drivers?


Thanks! So with the 5|30 we did channels 1/2 on the tweeters since its 80 watts per channel and high biased class A/B, then 3/4 on the midbass since those are 180 per channel. 5th channel on the sub. The 4|10 was for midrange and rears and are 120 watts per channel.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

*Golden Ears* used a NavTV jobbie in his 2017-2018 truck, I don’t know what factory radio he had though. From there, optical into a helix.

Different again for 2019?


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

nadams5755 said:


> *Golden Ears* used a NavTV jobbie in his 2017-2018 truck, I don’t know what factory radio he had though. From there, optical into a helix.
> 
> 
> 
> Different again for 2019?


Different for 2019, but there should be something available soon. 

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## ToNasty (Jan 23, 2013)

Did you have an issue with loud chimes?


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

ToNasty said:


> Did you have an issue with loud chimes?


I did not surprisingly. But if i did, all i would need to do is use a notch filter on the input eq for the chimes frequency.


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## ToNasty (Jan 23, 2013)

SkizeR said:


> I did not surprisingly. But if i did, all i would need to do is use a notch filter on the input eq for the chimes frequency.


Explain that to me i have a 6to8

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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

ToNasty said:


> Explain that to me i have a 6to8
> 
> Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk


swap it to a helix and use their extremely flexible input processing and i can walk you through it 

Im not familiar with that part of the Mosconi.


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## ToNasty (Jan 23, 2013)

SkizeR said:


> swap it to a helix and use their extremely flexible input processing and i can walk you through it
> 
> 
> 
> Im not familiar with that part of the Mosconi.


The dsp 2? Thats it?

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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

ToNasty said:


> The dsp 2? Thats it?
> 
> Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk


I'm not sure i understand your question.


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## ToNasty (Jan 23, 2013)

SkizeR said:


> I'm not sure i understand your question.


The newest helix 8ch out version is what im asking. I do have a first version one from about 4 or 5 years ago laying around but nkt sure if they have the same internals or anything as the newest version

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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

ToNasty said:


> The newest helix 8ch out version is what im asking. I do have a first version one from about 4 or 5 years ago laying around but nkt sure if they have the same internals or anything as the newest version
> 
> Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk


Oh, then you have a Helix DSP or DSP.2. Probably Helix DSP. That specific model does not have input eq. For models that do, you go into the I/O tab and click the little eq slider icon top right. that'll bring you to the input eq menu.


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## ToNasty (Jan 23, 2013)

SkizeR said:


> Oh, then you have a Helix DSP or DSP.2. Probably Helix DSP. That specific model does not have input eq. For models that do, you go into the I/O tab and click the little eq slider icon top right. that'll bring you to the input eq menu.


Right sp what model helix would i purchase? Sorry to clutter up the thread. This has been ongoing for about a year and a half me trying to find something for the chime issues

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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

ToNasty said:


> Right sp what model helix would i purchase? Sorry to clutter up the thread. This has been ongoing for about a year and a half me trying to find something for the chime issues
> 
> Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk


any of the models with input eq. DSP.2 or newer at minimum.


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## ToNasty (Jan 23, 2013)

Question. How is the reflection off glass?


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

ToNasty said:


> Question. How is the reflection off glass?


uhh, reflective I guess lol. I'm not sure how to answer that or what kind of answer your looking for. As far as how the car sounds, the center image is about the size of a softball directly in the middle of the dash, there is nothing that sounds harsh or peaky, there are no nasty unfixable dips, etc.. aka, it's fine.


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## ToNasty (Jan 23, 2013)

Pretty much my question haha. Just wondered because in my past experiences off the glass created harshness even with tweeter attenuation way down


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

ToNasty said:


> Pretty much my question haha. Just wondered because in my past experiences off the glass created harshness even with tweeter attenuation way down


Tune it properly and it's not the case. 

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## Alipor (Sep 9, 2012)

SkizeR said:


> uhh, reflective I guess lol. I'm not sure how to answer that or what kind of answer your looking for. As far as how the car sounds, the center image is about the size of a softball directly in the middle of the dash, there is nothing that sounds harsh or peaky, there are no nasty unfixable dips, etc.. aka, it's fine.



This is so much the case, I spent over an hour with a friend of mine and had him in the drivers seat having him put the system through its paces, he kept pointing out the imaging location.

I'm blown away on how this truck sounds, I find myself leaving my apartment to go out side and listen to a few songs. Nick really killed it with this system, and will be freshing up my other cars system soon.


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

Alipor said:


> This is so much the case, I spent over an hour with a friend of mine and had him in the drivers seat having him put the system through its paces, he kept pointing out the imaging location.
> 
> 
> 
> I'm blown away on how this truck sounds, I find myself leaving my apartment to go out side and listen to a few songs. Nick really killed it with this system, and will be freshing up my other cars system soon.


Haha awesome. As said many times before, I'm stoked you are happy with it. Is that q7 up next? 

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## Alipor (Sep 9, 2012)

SkizeR said:


> Haha awesome. As said many times before, I'm stoked you are happy with it. Is that q7 up next?
> 
> Sent from my SM-G950U1 using Tapatalk


I almost sent you a video of my buddy listening to it yesterday, he has a nice home system with golden ears, and he said he didn't want to go home and listen to it cause the truck was so much better. He has a project around the corner for me, so I'm sure i'll find him in my tuck for an hour or two a day listening.

Allroad is next, then the Q7, if I can hold out that long.


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

Alipor said:


> I almost sent you a video of my buddy listening to it yesterday, he has a nice home system with golden ears, and he said he didn't want to go home and listen to it cause the truck was so much better. He has a project around the corner for me, so I'm sure i'll find him in my tuck for an hour or two a day listening.
> 
> 
> 
> Allroad is next, then the Q7, if I can hold out that long.


Ha! Give him my number lol

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## Chris12 (Sep 20, 2018)

Awesome work as always. What type of chrome paint did you use on the pods?

Looking forward to resonix!


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

Chris12 said:


> Awesome work as always. What type of chrome paint did you use on the pods?
> 
> Looking forward to resonix!


For this i used a dupicolor chrome (I have 2 different ones by them but one is a glorified silver but one pretty God damn chrome) and used a sem low luster clear. It wasnt a perfect match but like Andrew pointed out to me later, it's better than way in his opinion because of glare. I found I could match the OEM chrome trim perfectly if I wrapped in chrome vinyl and sprayed it with sem low luster clear. I offered to hold the girls until I could get the right vinyl that would stretch but he preffered them as is. 

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## ToNasty (Jan 23, 2013)

SkizeR said:


> For this i used a dupicolor chrome (I have 2 different ones by them but one is a glorified silver but one pretty God damn chrome) and used a sem low luster clear. It wasnt a perfect match but like Andrew pointed out to me later, it's better than way in his opinion because of glare. I found I could match the OEM chrome trim perfectly if I wrapped in chrome vinyl and sprayed it with sem low luster clear. I offered to hold the girls until I could get the right vinyl that would stretch but he preffered them as is.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G950U1 using Tapatalk


What is the color or number of the chrome looking one? Id like to try some if it

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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

ToNasty said:


> What is the color or number of the chrome looking one? Id like to try some if it
> 
> Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk


This one. As with all things paint related, prep is going to be extremely important.









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## ToNasty (Jan 23, 2013)

Perfect thank you.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Killer work, as usual. 

You *could* make the speaker pods slide in like factory, but I think think bolting them in is be better.

But, my first thought was to take another piece of PVC/Acrylic/ABS/whatever, router a rabbet about the thickness of the door skin (and deadener, etc.) and bolt it to the back with stainless screws. But that's a lot of work for not much return.

What did you use to bond the PVC to Acrylic?

And to Alipor, nice truck. Can't wait to see the All Road and Q.

Jay


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

JayinMI said:


> Killer work, as usual.


Thanks, Jay




JayinMI said:


> What did you use to bond the PVC to Acrylic?
> 
> Jay


CA glue and eventually fiberglass


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## Chris12 (Sep 20, 2018)

SkizeR said:


> For this i used a dupicolor chrome (I have 2 different ones by them but one is a glorified silver but one pretty God damn chrome) and used a sem low luster clear. It wasnt a perfect match but like Andrew pointed out to me later, it's better than way in his opinion because of glare. I found I could match the OEM chrome trim perfectly if I wrapped in chrome vinyl and sprayed it with sem low luster clear. I offered to hold the girls until I could get the right vinyl that would stretch but he preffered them as is.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G950U1 using Tapatalk


Thanks Nick. Another guy in the pillar pods thread did something similar, and I really like how the chrome trim sets these pods off.

One more question- could you link the matching chrome vinyl that you would have used (with the Low Luster Clear)?


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

Chris12 said:


> Thanks Nick. Another guy in the pillar pods thread did something similar, and I really like how the chrome trim sets these pods off.
> 
> 
> 
> One more question- could you link the matching chrome vinyl that you would have used (with the Low Luster Clear)?


It's just regular chrome vinyl by avery dennison. Can probably find it on Amazon. The stuff my local vinyl guy gave me was impossible to stretch and was almost like wrapping with deadener foil lol

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## Chris12 (Sep 20, 2018)

SkizeR said:


> It's just regular chrome vinyl by avery dennison. Can probably find it on Amazon. The stuff my local vinyl guy gave me was impossible to stretch and was almost like wrapping with deadener foil lol
> 
> Sent from my SM-G950U1 using Tapatalk


Got it, thanks. I appreciate you taking the time to put the build thread together. It’s always nice to see what you pros are up to and exactly how you make it all work.

Thanks again!


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

Chris12 said:


> Got it, thanks. I appreciate you taking the time to put the build thread together. It’s always nice to see what you pros are up to and exactly how you make it all work.
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks again!


No worries. I was going to do it out of real aluminum, but that would have taken to long and I only had 1.5 days until pickup when I started the grills and didnt even have the right size aluminum. Would have been sweet though

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## OCD66 (Apr 2, 2017)

Total pro work. Thanks for taking the time to share.


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

OCD66 said:


> Total pro work. Thanks for taking the time to share.


Thanks man, and my pleasure


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## Alipor (Sep 9, 2012)

JayinMI said:


> Killer work, as usual.
> 
> You *could* make the speaker pods slide in like factory, but I think think bolting them in is be better.
> 
> ...


Jay, thank you. The allroad already has a full focal system, but could use Nicks magic on a tune and some issues sorted from the previous shops install.


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

Alipor said:


> and some issues sorted from the previous shops install.


seems like im doing a lot of fixes on these lately. im going to make #highendhackjobs trend on twitter


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## nadroj81 (Jul 27, 2012)

Owner of the truck is a friend, i had a listen to it.....Truck sounds amazing. The acoustic treatment on the doors is terrific! Loved the sound, helix processor controller mounting and the pods. Craftsmanship looked incredibly clean.


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## mondo (Oct 31, 2013)

Nice looking build!


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

nadroj81 said:


> Owner of the truck is a friend, i had a listen to it.....Truck sounds amazing. The acoustic treatment on the doors is terrific! Loved the sound, helix processor controller mounting and the pods. Craftsmanship looked incredibly clean.





mondo said:


> Nice looking build!


Thanks guys!

Nadroj81, was that you that drove up with him?


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## Alipor (Sep 9, 2012)

SkizeR said:


> Thanks guys!
> 
> Nadroj81, was that you that drove up with him?


It wasn't him, I stopped at his place on my way home. I took down an employee, gave him an easy day in the car.


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## ribrown (May 2, 2012)

Gorgeous work Nick. I'd absolutely love to take a listen if I lived nearby, to see what a highly professional high end system sounds like in a truck similar to mine. Unfortunately I'm in DC and not very close. Great job.


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

ribrown said:


> Gorgeous work Nick. I'd absolutely love to take a listen if I lived nearby, to see what a highly professional high end system sounds like in a truck similar to mine. Unfortunately I'm in DC and not very close. Great job.


Thank you! I actually have a customer in the DC area. Maybe i can link you two up to hear his car. Its the 2014 Honda Accord with the AD speakers.


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## MrSavageTim (Feb 3, 2020)

Sorry to bring up an old post, what location did you use for the ground in this vehicle, currently installing a similar system with different equipment in my truck


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

MrSavageTim said:


> Sorry to bring up an old post, what location did you use for the ground in this vehicle, currently installing a similar system with different equipment in my truck


unfortunately i do not remember.


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## MrSavageTim (Feb 3, 2020)

SkizeR said:


> unfortunately i do not remember.


Not a problem, I appreciate the response !


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## oabeieo (Feb 22, 2015)

Dang , your a dope installer nick. 

That looks awesome, such a cool build , the masconi stiff sure is nice huh. 

Anyway, lookin nice man!


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

oabeieo said:


> Dang , your a dope installer nick.
> 
> That looks awesome, such a cool build , the masconi stiff sure is nice huh.
> 
> Anyway, lookin nice man!


Thank you

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## CowTown (Jan 30, 2017)

It looks like you clued some of those pieces of ABS plastic together holding the amp rack. What "clue" did you use?


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

CowTown said:


> It looks like you clued some of those pieces of ABS plastic together holding the amp rack. What "clue" did you use?


 Do you mean "glue"? Can you post what picture you're talking about? The whole alp rack and all of the pieces that are holding the relocated pieces are made out of steel and are welded. 

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## RickWilson (Nov 11, 2021)

God damn this is beautiful. Amazing work. I’m heavily leaning towards a Director and this seems like the only logical mounting location for it. It’s gorgeous. (2021 GMC Sierra AT4)

I assume you used the Helix mounting plate? I am curious how you mounted the back plate to the roof/upholstery. 

Also would love to find someone to make a black cover for it when I eventually trade the truck. 

Thanks!


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

RickWilson said:


> God damn this is beautiful. Amazing work. I’m heavily leaning towards a Director and this seems like the only logical mounting location for it. It’s gorgeous. (2021 GMC Sierra AT4)
> 
> I assume you used the Helix mounting plate? I am curious how you mounted the back plate to the roof/upholstery.
> 
> ...


Yes, we used the mounting plate. That said, if using a newer Helix processor I'd suggest the Conductor.


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## RickWilson (Nov 11, 2021)

SkizeR said:


> Yes, we used the mounting plate. That said, if using a newer Helix processor I'd suggest the Conductor.


Sadly have the P Six which isn’t supported by the Conductor/ACO (to my understanding) Otherwise, I’d have one on the way already and replace my JL bass knob location haha. The conductor looks damn amazing.


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