Jess Oliver's legacy - AMPEG PORTAFLEX CLUB part 10

[Apex_speed]

Originally Posted by beans-on-toast

Could be that he only had one spacer that wasn't broken.

As for the caps. They turn up on ebay from time to time but anything will do in a pinch. The original greenie Cornell-Doublier PM caps seem to hold up so well because of they way that they were encased. They were a mylar cap coated with a CDE product called Dykanol Y. Fender had blue caps, others had black cat caps. They looked similar in that they were tubular and encased. I don't think that they are the same though. Although they are all sought ofter. Here is a link to the spec sheet.

Thanks for the detailed cap info.

Ha, I never thought that they had broken and that might have been why they were removed. Good possibility! That decides it then, I will order the aluminum spacers so they outlast the amp.

[stiles72]

Originally Posted by beans-on-toast

I've never seen a B-15 with a tin plate.

I recall that the 1960 models where the jewel light is on the panel with the knobs, had the script logo on the cab. I also recall a '59 835 with a thinner looking script logo. The script was thinner and not as blocky looking as the later ones.

The only tin plate B15 I've seen is in some of the original old product literature. It's featured in the Ampeg book on page 56, and here's a crappy pic from the old Ampeg website. Looks like it had NRF tolex and a swilry grill, and hard to see - but in the book it looks like it also had the thicker tube cage with larger sized holes.

[TheDialog]

In honor of meeting Jess's daughter at NAMM today:

My '61


New Heritage (I am trying to buy one of the two prototypes from NAMM):

[Bass 45]

Originally Posted by beans-on-toast

Most of the tin logo plates, like the Fender ones, had nails to mount the plate. I had a couple of amps that were made in the 60's that had tin plates that were glued on. They were quite easy to pull off without any trace. I was told that some retailers wanted to put their own brand on so they were sold without any identifiers. I don't know if Ampeg ever did this sort of thing.

Here is a retailer's ad from 1966 in Detroit. There is nothing unusual about the amp but I thought you might like to see it. The price is higher then all of the Gibson's it shared the page with

[Bass 45]

Originally Posted by stiles72

The only tin plate B15 I've seen is in some of the original old product literature. It's featured in the Ampeg book on page 56, and here's a crappy pic from the old Ampeg website. Looks like it had NRF tolex and a swilry grill, and hard to see - but in the book it looks like it also had the thicker tube cage with larger sized holes.

That ad shows how the amp can face backwards on the cabinet so the musician can adjust the controls while the B15 stood in front of them - for the the audience to hear.

When I first started playing gigs, I wished I could stand behind my SVT sometimes

[beans-on-toast]

Originally Posted by Bass 45

I would love to see the labels in those cabs.

This is the inside of the second 1960 cab from above. All that can be seen is the removable panels, no serial number. The removable side panels are in keeping with the 1960 manufacturing date.

[beans-on-toast]

Originally Posted by Bass 45

Here is a retailer's ad from 1966 in Detroit. There is nothing unusual about the amp but I thought you might like to see it. The price is higher then all of the Gibson's it shared the page with

Ampeg was always the small guy trying to challenge the larger companies like Fender. At the same time, their prices were always up there. You went with Ampeg because they offered something different.

[beans-on-toast]

Originally Posted by TheDialog

New Heritage (I am trying to buy one of the two prototypes from NAMM).

Hope that you can pull the deal off.

Did you have a chance to hear or play through the new amp?

[ddbassGA]

Heads up! Oliver Power Flex on EBay in Connecticut.

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item...d=170979846741

[beans-on-toast]

Must have been a fast sale. It is no longer listed. There are some Oliver B-200 faceplates.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lot-of-4-B-2...item4d09068103

[Bass 45]

Originally Posted by beans-on-toast

Must have been a fast sale. It is no longer listed. There are some Oliver B-200 faceplates.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lot-of-4-B-2...item4d09068103

Found it. Hopefully this link will work.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/170979846741...84.m1438.l2649

[beans-on-toast]

Thanks. It looks very nice. It will be interesting to see how far it gets.

[jnewmark]

My tech guy is trying to make the switch to the larger cap ( 40 ), but can't seem to find a source. He says he needs a 40 mFd @ 600 vdc. He said the largest he can find is a 25. Anybody got a source ?

[Apex_speed]

Originally Posted by Bass 45

Found it. Hopefully this link will work.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/170979846741...84.m1438.l2649

I'm going after it so we will see if I'm successful. I'm willing to get a bit nuts but not stupid.

My hope is that it will be a much better B-15 and a cool bit of history.

[Bass 45]

Originally Posted by Apex_speed

I'm going after it so we will see if I'm successful. I'm willing to get a bit nuts but not stupid.

My hope is that it will be a much better B-15 and a cool bit of history.

Good luck. It would great to hear how it sounds.

[Apex_speed]

Indeed! Anyone care to take a stab at what it's worth? The obvious answer is what someone is willing to pay but I wonder what is reasonable.

[guitarle]

Originally Posted by jnewmark

My tech guy is trying to make the switch to the larger cap ( 40 ), but can't seem to find a source. He says he needs a 40 mFd @ 600 vdc. He said the largest he can find is a 25. Anybody got a source ?

Weber VST carries a 40u 600v axial cap.

[ddbassGA]

Originally Posted by Apex_speed

Indeed! Anyone care to take a stab at what it's worth? The obvious answer is what someone is willing to pay but I wonder what is reasonable.

$1200-2000?

[kuratacus]

hey Guys any idea what type of speaker this is?

[Apex_speed]

Originally Posted by ddbassGA

$1200-2000?

It will be interesting to see where it goes. I have some detailed pics of the unit and frankly, a 60's B15 is built better in most ways except for the cool electric lift. So if it does sound "better", my guess is that it is only due to the added power. The preamp tubes are 12AX7's which doesn't help the cause. The B-15 is an icon and there are probably few who have any idea what the Oliver PF is but all it takes is a few that really want it (like me) for bidding to go nuts so we will see.