How to tell if you Ampeg cab is plywood....

sleepy_monkey · #1 03-02-2013, 10:24 AM

Without taking any tolex off? I have an SVT410HLF I just picked up in great shape and want to know if it is plywood or not. I guess I can just pull a bit of tolex off the bottom.

Why? Bc I might untolex it and stain it. If it looks like furniture I can probably keep it in the room I want!

guy n. cognito · #2 03-02-2013, 10:34 AM

Even if it's plywood, it really won't look that good stained. If you want to check, just pull a driver.

Insomniac_AU · #3 03-02-2013, 10:38 AM

Taking the jack plate off is probably even easier. I have the same cab and now I'm curious too....

I'm assuming it's only plywood man. And not veneer grade stuff either. Probably plenty of glue stains and knots in the wood and stuff. Without seeing it, I'd say it's probably not worth staining. Stripping it and painting it could be cool though.

sleepy_monkey · #4 03-02-2013, 10:50 AM

Pull a driver....duh. Geez I am slow this morning.

I have seen stained Ampeg cabs that were plywood and they looked great.

Oobly · #5 03-02-2013, 01:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sleepy_monkey

Pull a driver....duh. Geez I am slow this morning.

I have seen stained Ampeg cabs that were plywood and they looked great.

Staining ply can look good if you prepare the surface properly. Most birch plys (not sure what type the Ampeg cabs use) absorb the dye/stain too quickly and result in patchiness / blotches.

One way to do it use a pre-stain wood conditioner. This makes the surface less absorbent. You can either sand the surface or use a cabinet scraper beforehand. Can look very nice. Be careful of the edge grain as this is the most absorbent.

Another way is to sand/scrape the surface, apply acrylic varnish and then a darkish wax.

Found a thread over at DIYaudio: http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/multi...finishing.html

oinkbanana · #6 03-02-2013, 02:59 PM

I noticed that the pressed chipboard (5/8") was thinner then the particle board (3/4"), they also used different metal corners accordingly. Since the outside dimensions of the cab were identical, the removable grill was NOT the same size and not interchangeable.

left (silver grill) particle board: right (black grill) pressed chipboard

pressed chipboard inside

particle board inside:

i'm not sure if the particle board qualifies as 'plywood', but from my experience the particle board cab sounded better - more body and oomph. this could have been because of a speaker difference though. ymmv.

JimmyM · #7 03-02-2013, 04:45 PM

If it's made any time between the early 90's and 2006, it's almost certainly some sort of boogerwood. I had heard they were all OSB, but that sure looks like particle board to me in that one cab. Ampeg didn't end using OSB until 2006, right before SLM sold to LOUD, and all Ampeg cabs are made out of plywood now with the possible exception of their inexpensive combos. I say possible because I know a couple are but not sure about a couple others.

Jerrold Tiers · #8 03-03-2013, 12:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyM

If it's made any time between the early 90's and 2006, it's almost certainly some sort of boogerwood. I had heard they were all OSB, but that sure looks like particle board to me in that one cab. Ampeg didn't end using OSB until 2006, right before SLM sold to LOUD, and all Ampeg cabs are made out of plywood now with the possible exception of their inexpensive combos. I say possible because I know a couple are but not sure about a couple others.

Naw, don't be confused..... The case is always OSB. You are looking at a section divider

You will notice that the baffle board is always plywood, that one looks like 13 ply stuff, the other pic is regular marine ply.

The differences are in the dividers..... the section dividers might have been made of anything we had.... whatever was available in offcuts at the time. WE and Peavey used offcuts for any non-critical internal parts.

I agree OSB sucks, and I was always ready and happy to tell everyone at SLM from top to bottom that it did suck, whenever there was a chance to say it. I was a bit of a bore about it, I am afraid.

JimmyM · #9 03-03-2013, 12:47 AM

Well not much you can do now, but most of them are still holding up pretty well from what I can see. There are puncture and wetness risks, but like my dad said, take care of your things and they take care of you.

sleepy_monkey · #10 03-03-2013, 01:48 AM

So Jerrold, you are saying none of the 410HLFs are plywood cabs? Not really a biggie for me....just was interested in staining but I can always find an 810 to stain.

guy n. cognito · #11 03-03-2013, 06:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sleepy_monkey

So Jerrold, you are saying none of the 410HLFs are plywood cabs? Not really a biggie for me....just was interested in staining but I can always find an 810 to stain.

You could strip your cabinet and veneer it.

Floyd Eye · #12 03-03-2013, 06:26 AM

Or you could not worry about how it looks and just play it.

sleepy_monkey · #13 03-03-2013, 07:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Floyd Eye

Or you could not worry about how it looks and just play it.

Great addition. Very intuitive. ;-)

beans-on-toast · #14 03-03-2013, 08:09 AM

I find that plywood stands up better than OSB and particle board. The latter two can be very heavy but the worst part is how they shatter and crack if they are bounced around too hard when being transported. High humidity can do particle board in. Casters can punch through the bottom. I find that plywood does much better.

Mileage can vary though. I have EV cabinets made out of what they called Road-Wood, a type of OSB, that have stood up to years of abuse. This is at the expense of a lot of weight. Each 115 cab weights 75 lbs! I've had other cabs fail after only a few years.

NYCbassist · #15 03-03-2013, 08:19 AM

Best bet would be a veneer. a Heat gun would be the way to go to remove tolex.

You could also go with a nice White Tolex or some other color to match the room.

Good Luck

seamonkey · #16 03-03-2013, 09:48 AM

Veneer would work, but to keep the cheap wood from below telescoping through the veneer you should put down a layers of hardboard or MDF. You can fake finish bad ply with gel stain. Beat the cab with chains to get the rustic look. It's proably not worth it to make a piece of furniture out of a cab.

sleepy_monkey · #17 03-03-2013, 10:36 AM

Yeah, unless it is already plywood with decent grain it probably isn't worth it....plus it would be hard to stain a SVT4-PRO to match. ;-)

NYCbassist · #18 03-03-2013, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sleepy_monkey

Yeah, unless it is already plywood with decent grain it probably isn't worth it....plus it would be hard to stain a SVT4-PRO to match. ;-)

Good Points, I would lean toward maybe a very nice White or off white Tolex. Something Classy. I mean if the You want to have something in a classy living room or something like that. It's not really clear what the exact goal is here.

Oobly · #19 03-03-2013, 11:38 AM

If it's at all relevant, I painted my fEARful white (with cream grillcloth) and it lives in our living room. Fits in nicely. The finish isn't as tough as Duratex or Tolex, but it doesn't get moved much, so it doesn't need to be.

White or coloured Duratex can look good, too.

justinellison3 · #20 03-03-2013, 11:43 AM

Hit it with a bat... if it breaks easy, its probably ply wood