Homemade Avatar 810 Project

BassManMike73 · #1 12-03-2011, 05:00 PM

I got a great deal from a friend at work on an old Peavey 810. This thing is in rough shape, missing all of the carpet that had been covering it at one point, the metal grill is bent, the wheels are broken, and the speakers need replaced. This cabinet is a simple 6 sided rectangle rather than the tilt-back design like the Ampeg 610 and 810 use.

So right now I'm doing some research on speakers to buy and where to get all of the materials to restore this cab. What I've decided to do with this cab is to turn it into an "Avatar" since they dont make an 810, I'm hoping it'll be a nice one of a kind cabinet I can really be proud of.

Here's my shopping list:
Black Tolex for the outside of the cabinet
I'd like to make a black cloth grill with white piping
Avatar logo
New 10" speakers
New tweeter
New crossover
New wheels and handles

Anyone with any suggestions of internals or websites where I can find hardware and the other materials would be greatly appreciated.

This is going to be a slow project since I'm paying off other gear and an iPad right now, but I plan on documenting the whole thing right here in this thread. Stay tuned!

P.S. I'm assuming this wouldnt fall in LC, but if it would, my apologies, and I would appreciate a mod moving it =]

PersonalTraynor · #2 12-04-2011, 12:46 AM

Making your own cab and then badging it "Avatar" is not cool...

Why not get a cool badge of your own design and rename your custom creation?

1n3 · #3 12-04-2011, 01:46 AM

If that thing is made from particle board - as many Peavey cabs are - I'd add a new plywood cabinet to the shopping list.

wonderjosh · #4 12-04-2011, 01:51 AM

Good 10" drivers are like $100 a piece... and the other supplies you need probably add up to $300+... Why not just buy good used 8x10 cab?

BassManMike73 · #5 12-04-2011, 07:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PersonalTraynor

Making your own cab and then badging it "Avatar" is not cool...

Why not get a cool badge of your own design and rename your custom creation?

I'm a huge fan of Avatar, and thought this would be kind of a "tribute" to them. And I realize it would probably be equal cost to buy a whole new cab, but where's the fun in that? It is made of plywood, its a very sturdy well built cabinet.

Not quite the responses I expected. I suppose I might as well not waste my time posting updates.

cjmatt · #6 12-04-2011, 07:33 AM

With the exception of the avatar badge thingy, I love these kind of rebuilds. I would really like to see how the process goes for you. And, the avatar site has tens on sale for a lot less than $100 right now.

pie_man_25 · #7 12-04-2011, 08:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cjmatt

With the exception of the avatar badge thingy, I love these kind of rebuilds. I would really like to see how the process goes for you. And, the avatar site has tens on sale for a lot less than $100 right now.

I agree, I can understand why you like Avatar - and they have some celestion bass 10" speakers on sale for much less than 100$ per cone. I'm not really understanding the desire for the Avatar nameplate, but other than that and even so, I'm still subscribing!

basslinejam · #8 12-04-2011, 08:44 AM

I'd skip the horn/crossover, add three pieces of plywood to the internals to make four chambers, go to fliptops.net for
these: Eminence Legend 32ohm tens

And some of this: Blue sparkle grill cloth

and maybe some of this:
Tolex

Add some fill --> Flatback SVT!

ric3xrt · #9 12-04-2011, 08:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BassManMike73

I'm a huge fan of Avatar, and thought this would be kind of a "tribute" to them. And I realize it would probably be equal cost to buy a whole new cab, but where's the fun in that? It is made of plywood, its a very sturdy well built cabinet.

Not quite the responses I expected. I suppose I might as well not waste my time posting updates.

FWIW I'd like updates, most people who tell you to buy a cab, don't waste your time building one...can't or won't take the time try and tackle this, some have learned from thier mistakes, some just think everyone other then them are idiots.

"add three pieces of plywood to the internals to make four chambers"

This is what I did to my old 8x10 Peavey but I used ,
Eminence Delta 10B instead of the legends
No horn , and I wired mine to be used as pair of 4x10s.
as for particle board...there are plenty of old Ampegs 8x10s out there that haven't fallen apart.

jumbodbassman · #10 12-04-2011, 09:10 AM

Dave sellls the 10" celestions on ebay so you can usually get them between 25-32 each. i have bought 2 for an average of 26...

BassManMike73 · #11 12-04-2011, 09:15 AM

I love the idea of making it into 4 chanbers, ill add that to my plan.

The problem I had with the celestions on avatars site is they are 8 or 16 ohms. How would I wire 8 of them into 4 ohms total?

And as for the tweeter and crossover, the cab already had it, and I like the little extra that it adds. So I'm definitely stuck on keeping those.

And thanks for the kind words guys, I've been getting a lot of harsh comments around the amps board lately, glad to know not everyone is like that!

coreyfyfe · #12 12-04-2011, 09:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ric3xrt

as for particle board...there are plenty of old Ampegs 8x10s out there that haven't fallen apart.

because they only used osb for 10 years or so - plywood before and after. That said, I have seen plenty of 8x10 and other cabs that have started to fall apart (especially on the bottom) after getting wet or suffering hard bumps. It's not a very sturdy material.

BassManMike73 · #13 12-04-2011, 09:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by basslinejam

I'd skip the horn/crossover, add three pieces of plywood to the internals to make four chambers, go to fliptops.net for
these: Eminence Legend 32ohm tens

And some of this: Blue sparkle grill cloth

and maybe some of this:
Tolex

Add some fill --> Flatback SVT!

That grill cloth is sweet! I'm thinking I might try to find some black with silver sparkle like the heritage series though.

And for everyoneagainst the Avatar logo, any advice on how I could go about having my own logo made? I'm decent with design software, I just don't have the first idea where to look to have a badge made.

Bassmec · #14 12-04-2011, 09:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BassManMike73

I'm a huge fan of Avatar, and thought this would be kind of a "tribute" to them. And I realize it would probably be equal cost to buy a whole new cab, but where's the fun in that? It is made of plywood, its a very sturdy well built cabinet.

Not quite the responses I expected. I suppose I might as well not waste my time posting updates.

While imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. The Genuine article is still however the genuine article and any attempt at passing off a fake as the genuine article is of course deeply dishonest.
Any further questions M'lud.

wcriley · #15 12-04-2011, 09:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BassManMike73

The problem I had with the celestions on avatars site is they are 8 or 16 ohms. How would I wire 8 of them into 4 ohms total?

Buy 8 ohm drivers. Wire four of them in series/parallel like a 4x10 cab (= 8 ohms). Do the same with the other four. (Again= 8 ohms.) Wire the 2 sets of 4 in parallel. (= 4 ohms.)

will33 · #16 12-04-2011, 09:59 AM

The drivers Avatar is dumping cheap are really not very good drivers at all....that's why they're so cheap. wcrileys wiring example is how to do it. Depending on the drivers you choose, consider blocking off the port for a sealed cab if shooting for the Ampeg thing. If you want to keep it sort of an "Avatar", leave it ported and buy replacement drivers from them, just not the cheapies.

mophead · #17 12-04-2011, 10:06 AM

This is what I did to my first cabinet I bought in a pawn shop. It was an old Ampeg V4B folded horn cab.

Skip the Tolex. Sand down the plywood to smooth and then stain it with a golden oak stain and then put 8 coats of polyurethane on it with proper preparation between coats then grill as you choose.

I had pictures of this at one time but have long since deleted.

Looked great as the plywood had a very nice grain to it. and the poly made it look very deep.

Just a thought

JLS · #18 12-04-2011, 10:43 AM

Consider Duratex, rather than Tolex.

1n3 · #19 12-04-2011, 11:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BassManMike73

It is made of plywood, its a very sturdy well built cabinet.

The entire cab, not just the baffle? I haven't seen many like that, not that they aren't out there. Sorry for raining on your parade. It's good that you know the score on cost, and I understand the appeal of a hobby project. But I'd hate to see you invest this kind of time and money on a chipboard cab.

BassManMike73 · #20 12-04-2011, 12:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1n3

The entire cab, not just the baffle? I haven't seen many like that, not that they aren't out there. Sorry for raining on your parade. It's good that you know the score on cost, and I understand the appeal of a hobby project. But I'd hate to see you invest this kind of time and money on a chipboard cab.

He told me it was all plywood. I haven't picked it up yet, so when I do ill examine it further. And ill post some "before" pictures.

I used to have a couple of jbl pa cabs that were natural wood finish and had poly on them. It looked cool, but not really the look I'm going for here.

Ill check out duratex. Haven't heard of it before.

Anybody have a suggestion of a good crossover?

I've been checking out the Legend B810. 150 watts, 32 ohm. $74.99 most places. Any better suggestions for the same price range (up to $100 each).