Jess Oliver's legacy - AMPEG PORTAFLEX CLUB part 9

[ddbassGA]

Originally Posted by Bass 45

If you search the recent Ampeg SB-12 completed listings on Ebay, one seller got lucky and sold one for $1199.00. The other six ranged from $460 - $678.

Keep looking

Heads up! Currently 2 good looking blue check 60's SB-12 on EBay for under $500. One looks near mint, the other looks quite good and has the dolly. Good buys.

Also a 90's B-15T with EV upgrade speaker for $199 and the B-15R cab for under $300. Portaflex deals for the New Year.

[beans-on-toast]

Originally Posted by kuratacus

i guess i just find the blue to be a different colour, i had a B100r and it seemed more sea blue than the dark navy of the old amps.

here's a pict of the 63 i have

The color does seem to vary. I think that they lighten. Like instruments, the pigments change as the amp ages. An amp that has had the benefit of being protected by a cover will look different than one that has been exposed to the sunlight and environmental contaminants.

Your '63 is in really nice condition.


David

[Vintage-Blue]

Originally Posted by kuratacus

i guess i just find the blue to be a different colour, i had a B100r and it seemed more sea blue than the dark navy of the old amps. maybe it's just me. never saw the old blue diamond next to the new stuff in a side by side comparison.

I don't know if it's a difference in modern photography or the age of the tolex or something else but I think most of the photos of new cabinets tend to look more blue and less navy blue. I've never had the opportunity to compare to a well-kept vintage Ampeg though. I'd be curious to see a side-by-side comparison.

BTW, your '63 looks beautiful. Is that the original tolex?

[Vintage-Blue]

Originally Posted by jnewmark

I don't know for sure, but it sounds like Vintage Blue makes one kind of B15 cab, and one kind only. He specifically states he does not do " custom " jobs, something that I would be interested in for my '71 B15N with black tolex. Fliptops is another story as they will do a custom B15 cab for you, along with other Ampeg cabs, IIRC.

Yep, that's definitely an advantage that Fliptops has. It can be tough building cabinets on top of having a full-time job. Early on it was kind of interesting doing other cabinets (except for the B12XT - that's a killer to do well). One of the cabinets I really enjoyed was the B12; the port 'covers' on the baffle made it kind of fun to do. I'm hoping to move within the next two years. A better place to work as well as a house that doesn't need constant maintenance might allow me to be more flexible again in the future.

[jnewmark]

I'm going to be taking my newly acquired, '71 B15N head into my tech for a checkup to see if anything needs service. It has the two prong AC plug, but it also has a ground switch. Is it still a good idea to get a 3 prong AC plug installed , or does the switch take care of that function ?

[ddbassGA]

3 prong!

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by jnewmark

I'm going to be taking my newly acquired, '71 B15N head into my tech for a checkup to see if anything needs service. It has the two prong AC plug, but it also has a ground switch. Is it still a good idea to get a 3 prong AC plug installed , or does the switch take care of that function ?

Absolutely get it updated to 3 prong. 3 prong is a much better guarantee that you won't get shocked. 2 prong with a ground switch isn't. The switch will become non-functional after that, but who needs it?

[beans-on-toast]

I like to install the three conductor power cord and leave the polarity switch disconnected.

It is true that the polarity switch isn't needed. Some people keep it wired in. If you look at the SVT-VR and SVT-CL for example (see the image below), they have a three conductor power cord and they have a three position polarity switch. In the middle position, it is the same as removing the polarity switch. In the + and - positions, a polarity capacitor is switched between the ground (G) and hot (L), or between the ground (G) and neutral (N). The manual says select whatever position is quietest. Many amps don't have a polarity switch. Some like my '59 Fender Bassman have the switch on the panel because the vintage amp had it. They want it to look the same. Inside the chassis it isn't wired to anything. It is just for show. I've seen this with other amps as well. I'm not sure why it is on the Ampeg amps. Maybe for historical reasons.

There are special capacitors that you can get for this type of application that makes things safer. They are often found in line filters and are called Type X and Type Y safety capacitors. If they were used in the SVT, C2 would be a type Y, C3 would be a type X. When they blow, they ensure that you won't get the line power on the chassis which could shock you. In the old days a cap could short and you could get a serious zap.

[kuratacus]

Originally Posted by Vintage-Blue

I don't know if it's a difference in modern photography or the age of the tolex or something else but I think most of the photos of new cabinets tend to look more blue and less navy blue. I've never had the opportunity to compare to a well-kept vintage Ampeg though. I'd be curious to see a side-by-side comparison.

BTW, your '63 looks beautiful. Is that the original tolex?

yes it is the original tolex. took me a few hours to scrub out the gunge when i got it, but underneath 50 years of nicotine it looked great. i'd like to clean up the grill cloth but i'm afraid i'd ruin it in the process.

[beans-on-toast]

Originally Posted by kuratacus

yes it is the original tolex. took me a few hours to scrub out the gunge when i got it, but underneath 50 years of nicotine it looked great. i'd like to clean up the grill cloth but i'm afraid i'd ruin it in the process.

I find that the best way to clean the grille cloth is to remove all the staples, take it off the baffle and clean it separately. There was originally a foam between the cloth and the baffle that has long disintegrated by now. Sometimes you see a powder when you remove the grille cloth. Mark glues a thin fabric store type felt onto the baffle in place of the foam. This is a great idea and works really well. The felt stops the cloth from flapping which can cause a buzz when playing. Then install the original grille cloth once it has been cleaned.

The grille cloths fade and change color with time so cleaning it will not return it to the original look. It turns a kind of brown color. I don't know why but the SVT cloth turns greenish. Even still, there is a lot of gunk that gets into these old grille cloths so it is nice to clean them. You can clean it with warm water and mild soap. If that doesn't work you can try a more dramatic cleaner. I usually start with a bathroom cleaner for mold and mildew that has an alkali base (slippery to the touch, non acidic). Another product is Easy-Off oven cleaner spray. It is a good idea to first test the cleaning product on a corner patch of the grille cloth that wraps around the back of the baffle before using it everywhere.

[kuratacus]

i'm thinking i'll stick to the dirty tan colour it settled into ahahahah or make a new top baffle and put new cloth on it.

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by kuratacus

i'm thinking i'll stick to the dirty tan colour it settled into ahahahah or make a new top baffle and put new cloth on it.

That's what I would do if I could build. I hate how discolored those old grills get because of the foam. And the smoke and the beer and the whatever else.

[beans-on-toast]

The spacing of the horizontal bands in the new cloth is a bit wider than the original. I prefer the narrower spacing of the original. It isn't that the new one is bad, it's just different. From a design perspective, I think that the original suits the scale of the amp better. They narrowed the spacing on the Heritage cloth. If you could get some of that, you'd have something closer to the original.

[JimmyM]

David, I believe Mark told me a while back that the wider spacing cloth was one batch and they went back to the narrower spacing after that. I haven't ever bought any, though, so I wouldn't know from personal experience.

[jnewmark]

Originally Posted by kuratacus

yes it is the original tolex. took me a few hours to scrub out the gunge when i got it, but underneath 50 years of nicotine it looked great. i'd like to clean up the grill cloth but i'm afraid i'd ruin it in the process.

Man, that's where all the FUNK be at !

[stiles72]

Originally Posted by beans-on-toast

The color does seem to vary. I think that they lighten. Like instruments, the pigments change as the amp ages. An amp that has had the benefit of being protected by a cover will look different than one that has been exposed to the sunlight and environmental contaminants.

David

My '66 cabinet has aged to an almost greenish / teal color with a brownish grill - no doubt from nicotine and bar funk. I had thought of giving it a good cleaning, but think it makes a good contrast to my '63 with fresh clean tolex and grill cloth. Even on the cab you can see variations in the color. It looks like the amp spent most of its life with the head exposed and the top of the lid protected from the environment inside the cab.

[xoir]

Speaking about protection, I been planning to made some covers for my amps, not sure of doing it with leather or plastic, but I'm sure it won't be using the original tolex$, I found this cloth with foam the other day and it seems to match a little bit, is rigid and elastic, I'll do some test next week to see how it works.

[beans-on-toast]

Originally Posted by xoir

Speaking about protection, I been planning to made some covers for my amps...

The pattern looks like a nice match for the amp. It would be nice to make one out of the blue check. I've seen some original ones made out of tolex. Was it Jess that covered the roof of his car with blue check? It looked cool.

I usually make mine out of thick fabric store vinyl that comes with a cloth backing. It can get expensive but really does make a difference in protecting the amp.

[beans-on-toast]

Originally Posted by stiles72

My '66 cabinet has aged to an almost greenish / teal color with a brownish grill - no doubt from nicotine and bar funk.

No question that the cover makes a difference. That one looks pretty good Clint. The four 45 degree lines on the face haven't pulled away like you see on so many of these amps. I like the brown look of the old grille cloths. I draw the line when they smell so that you notice it.

[beans-on-toast]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

David, I believe Mark told me a while back that the wider spacing cloth was one batch and they went back to the narrower spacing after that. I haven't ever bought any, though, so I wouldn't know from personal experience.

That's good to know Jimmy. I assume that what they are selling now is the same stuff that is on the current PF cabinets. It will be interesting to see what they use on the new B-15 cabs.