Ampro 2x12 all vintage

basscooker · #1 11-16-2011, 10:38 AM

so i threw together some creative ebay purchases and have a cutle tubey now. i posted a pic in a different post and had some compliments, so i thought i'd share it with you as a new thread.

i bought one of these speakers just because i thought it looked cool. turns out it sounded awesome with my Lead 12 guitar amp. being 16 ohms i figured ok i'll get another one b/c the lead 12 will operate at 8 ohms (and i think sounds better). after i got it wooo hoo sounded great. a few weeks later another one popped up, but this one had a little tube amp inside,too, so i got it. i picked the best two of the three speakers, and sold the third, keeping the empty box. i "converted" the empty box into a head cab, and added acouple 1/4" jacks to the cabs, put some really tall feet on there to accomodate the bakelight handles, and did a little patchwork to try and cover some seams. any way here it is! it has 1 12ax7, and two 6v6's. the drivers are the oroginal jensen p 12n speakers. i plug right in from my soungear -1991 sr800 p/j with loud actives and turn everything all the way up. solid. way loud enough for anything i'll ever ask her to do here! (she isn't going to travel), and my wife doesn't think it's too ugly for the living room---BONUS.

Kirk Bryant · #2 11-16-2011, 03:15 PM

Congratulations! My hat is off to you sir. You have a created a little bit of Antique Awesomeness!

I salute you!

peace Kirk

JimmyM · #3 11-16-2011, 04:26 PM

Already complimented you before.

RASHOSS · #4 11-16-2011, 05:32 PM

Ha, very cool, creative work my friend.

Crabby · #5 01-10-2012, 08:14 PM

There is a cab exactly like these at a pawn shop near by. They are asking about $250 which seems high but no idea if these are collectable or not. Opinions?

basscooker · #6 01-11-2012, 10:10 AM

250 is huge. i paid (after shipping) on ebay 90 for the one with the amp in it. the other two were 45 and 81 (bid war ensued) i've seen them in the 35-75 range there recently.

now if this particular one looks, feels like it's never been used, and you can confirm the speaker is mint/nos condition, that the latches, rivets, corners and hinges show well with very little to no rust or pitting, that the covering is not smudged or torn, stained, etc. a truely nice one of these for the right collector or museum 250 isn't out of the ballpark, but definately at the top. search for "ampro", "bell howell", "jensen" and such in vintage electronics you'll find these ampro cabinets were anything but rare in their time. the bell and howell metal 1x12 projector speakers in the red bottom, beige top with red grill cloth and emblem grill is a great living room cabinet.

basscooker · #7 01-11-2012, 10:17 AM

here, check this out. maybe pricey. looks cool.

1940's Bell & Howell 6L6 Amplifier + Case + 12" Jensen AlNiCo SH-1 Speaker Nice! | eBay

mc_muench · #8 01-11-2012, 10:28 AM

this has to be one of the coolest rigs I've ever seen...

GrowlerBox · #9 01-11-2012, 02:13 PM

Never get tired of seeing that setup.

elarrick · #10 02-02-2012, 01:27 PM

Hey! I got a chassis out of a ampro that I'm wanting to use to make a Fender Tweed 5e3.

I don't know what I got here but it sounds just like what you have. It has 2-6v6, 1-5y3, 1-12ax7 tubes

what I need to find out is what Ohm of 12" speaker I buy for the Fender combo project.? From what I gather you are saying that the Output tranny from this Ampro is for 16 ohm? Is that right?

sorry to hijack your thread.

elarrick · #11 02-02-2012, 06:25 PM

took a closer look at the head you made. btw, that's a killer setup. The chassis I found is exactly the one you're using as the head.

do you have a model # or anything?

basscooker · #12 02-03-2012, 03:29 PM

yup thats it. the 16 ohm speaker in the cab it came from has a 1/4" jack as its connector terminal, and the cable coming up through the chassis plugs in. notice the external out on the front gives you another 16 ohm out. 8 ohm minimum. i took an hour or so and used some NEVR-DULL wadding on the outside and got it polished up and shiny. man yours looks nicer than mine did. does it work?

elarrick · #13 02-04-2012, 07:37 AM

Quote:

yup thats it. the 16 ohm speaker in the cab it came from has a 1/4" jack as its connector terminal, and the cable coming up through the chassis plugs in. notice the external out on the front gives you another 16 ohm out. 8 ohm minimum. i took an hour or so and used some NEVR-DULL wadding on the outside and got it polished up and shiny. man yours looks nicer than mine did. does it work?

I think it all works, I'm just using it for parts. It is a hell of a find for a Fender Deluxe 5e3 build with 4 of the 5 tubes needed along with the trannys you've got yourself half an old tweed. Not that you would want to change the killer setup you have now. I'm super curious to how yours sounds as is. post a vid, lets hear that tone.

Thanks a billion