Acoustic 301 deal

[Doom]

I got a unique buy I'm interested in
A guy is selling this 301, well It looks like one.
Its all exact to acoustic specs, except there is no labels saying its an acoustic at all on it, because the whole thing is painted black, and the mesh grille is replaced with a metal one. Now I'm having the guy open it up and tell me exactly what speaker is in it.
Apparently this speaker was used in theaters showing the 1970's movie "earthquake" and its infamous sensurround system, that pumped 120db (remember the old warnings on the back of acoustic cabs, is this the reason for this?) of low bass frequency into the theater. This could easily explain the reason they stripped the blue and made it black, theaters got to be dark
I can grab it for $180, is this a deal, or shall i pass?

[Mr. Foxen]

Other people made cabs to the same sort of spec. The earthquake boxes were deeper front to back, so the horn was longer. I have a W horn cab and matching head made by STAK. If you want a cab like that, the price is ok, but for practical purposes not so much, and it won't have the collector value.

[Bill Whitehurst]

Not a bad price for that.
I'd almost bet it will have the same 118 as an Acoustic.
There weren't a lot of choices that could do that job and live, back then.

[bolophonic]

Does it sound cool? A good cab that gives you the sound you want should be worth $180, right?

[Doom]

Ill call him up tomorrow and ask him to measure a few dimensions. Yes I do agree that if it sounds good, its worth it, but if its not acoustic, it shouldn't hold an acoustic price tag!
If what Mr. Foxen says is right, and this guys story is true about this being an earthquake box, then it wont be 18" deep, as the 301's are

[seamonkey]

Are you looking to reproduce earthquakes?

Better do some research it's right on wikipedia. Cerwin Vega made the systems for earthquake. It was random noise.

If you want a good loud light accurate horn using modern drivers check out Bill Fitzmaurice site.

[Oren Hudson]

The 301 is a folded horn design that originally came with a Cerwin Vega 18" 300 watt 4 ohm rear facing speaker.

[rdpbass]

Originally Posted by Oren Hudson

The 301 is a folded horn design that originally came with a Cerwin Vega 18" 300 watt 4 ohm rear facing speaker.

Or a 18" 3 ohm Cerwin Vega, which is what mine has. Paired with the 370 head it's impressive.

[Oren Hudson]

Originally Posted by rdpbass

Or a 18" 3 ohm Cerwin Vega, which is what mine has. Paired with the 370 head it's impressive.

You're exactly right rdpbass - in fact have a 301 with the 3 ohm and a 370 head - and it is impressive. Thanks for pointing that out.

[staindbass]

those folded bins blow an svt cab right out the door.. ask if it is the original driver. the original cerwin vega speakers had very light cones and are pretty quick. johnny a.

[Doom]

To clarify, I am going to use this as a bass cabinet. I am just skeptical of it being a "real" Acoustic, because the back plate is missing and the front logo, the blue strip in the middle, and of course the original mesh grill. Looks wise, it looks like a 301, except for in the baffles. It is rounded and shaped like the 301's baffles, except there is no piece of wood in the middle splitting each of the 2 baffles in half like the 301's ive seen have. Could this have been removed? or is this a tell tale sign of it being a reproduction by some guy with some saws and plywood in his basement?

[Johnny Crab]

For $180 if it's the real deal(Acoustic with the Vega) AND the speaker is good(not sagging or voice coil rubbing), it's worth it if you like the sound or have a need for gut-punching, long-range bass.

I did reproductions(8 of them for a rock band) using the best parts of Vega's 1x18 and the 301 I had(with 370 top). I used the "middle splitting" piece as it tightened the cabinet up. New Orleans, 1980's. The band had me load them with some Vegas and some Gauss 18's. The ones I built with the Vega's were louder than all the others(even the factory cabs).
Hint: my cabs were painted inside with fiberglass resin(esp the ramp) and outside with fiberglass cloth & resin/gel coat followed with black epoxy paint. I also recall adding a couple of pieces of wood under the ramp(faces the speaker inside on the back panel). The back panel was bolted on with T-nuts inside the back frame. The main purposes: strength and NO energy lost vibrating the cabinets. Roadies were hating when they picked them up from me.

[Oren Hudson]

Originally Posted by Doom

To clarify, I am going to use this as a bass cabinet. I am just skeptical of it being a "real" Acoustic, because the back plate is missing and the front logo, the blue strip in the middle, and of course the original mesh grill. Looks wise, it looks like a 301, except for in the baffles. It is rounded and shaped like the 301's baffles, except there is no piece of wood in the middle splitting each of the 2 baffles in half like the 301's ive seen have. Could this have been removed? or is this a tell tale sign of it being a reproduction by some guy with some saws and plywood in his basement?

I bought a 301 years ago that a previous owner had cut that middle section out and made a mounting board and mounted the CV speaker forward facing. I made new sections for the middle housing and returned the speaker to rear facing. Worked great. This one was painted black, but it still had the emblems and grill cloths.

[KramerBassFan]

Is it one of these?

[Doom]

Got some info, heres what I know. Seems to be retrofitted. The outside covering is black felt/carpet stuff you find on some cabs, not tolex. Front grille is metal grate.
Either someone cleaned up their old cab with some new touches, or I have myself a phony here, still cautious but for the price im iffy right now

[lowend1]

Originally Posted by staindbass

those folded bins blow an svt cab right out the door.. ask if it is the original driver. the original cerwin vega speakers had very light cones and are pretty quick. johnny a.

...except you can't hear them up close. I had a 301 years ago - I would be turning up on stage because it didn't feel loud enough, but the damn thing was rearranging people's internal organs out in the club. I sold it to buy a squareback SVT, and have never looked back.