Jess Oliver's legacy - AMPEG PORTAFLEX CLUB part 9

[ddbassGA]

Originally Posted by beans-on-toast

worm powder ?

LOL

[johnnyt]

I know this has been brought up, but I'd like to hear some recent thoughts.
I finally have my '66 B-15 back from the shop. The speaker is an aftermarket, sounds lame. What should I put in it?
Options: (15"s I have)
Reconed Jensen C15 that came out of my '63 B-15
Reconed or original JBL D130F
Original JBL K140

I also need one in my B-15R cab. Not sure what's in it? Stock Eminence?

Thanks!

[spacebassed]

Originally Posted by johnnyt

I know this has been brought up, but I'd like to hear some recent thoughts.
I finally have my '66 B-15 back from the shop. The speaker is an aftermarket, sounds lame. What should I put in it?
Options: (15"s I have)
Reconed Jensen C15 that came out of my '63 B-15
Reconed or original JBL D130F
Original JBL K140

I also need one in my B-15R cab. Not sure what's in it? Stock Eminence?

Thanks!

You should put in the D130f, then the K140, then report back and tell me which one sounds better so I can buy one.

If you throw the D130f in let me know how it works out, I've been wanting to drop a 130 into one of my B15's, but I want to know how well they handle the low frequencies first.

[portaflexer]

D130. No question.

[Ric Vice]

Originally Posted by johnnyt

I know this has been brought up, but I'd like to hear some recent thoughts.
I finally have my '66 B-15 back from the shop. The speaker is an aftermarket, sounds lame. What should I put in it?
Options: (15"s I have)
Reconed Jensen C15 that came out of my '63 B-15
Reconed or original JBL D130F
Original JBL K140

I also need one in my B-15R cab. Not sure what's in it? Stock Eminence?

Thanks!

Johnny T,
Wow, you are fortunate to have so many excellent choices. Ampeg used the D-130 as a factory upgrade for that amplifier. They had a choice of using either the D-130F or the D-140F. The 130 was their choice. If I were lucky enough to have a D130, then that's what I'd use. The B-15R is a horse of a entirely different color, since it's a sealed box. I have no idea what would work best in that design.

Ric

[jnewmark]

Originally Posted by Vintage-Blue

Those were the good old days. The Diamond Blue tolex was so plentiful and cheap ($7.90/yd) you could put it on anything, even the overhead cabinets in your home office.

You need one of these in the corner.

[wessman]

Hi!

Good news - this morning I finally get that damn lid open. Yesterday I succeeded to draw my wife's credit card between the lid and cabinet (viewed from the top), but was unable to put the card between the bottom of the lid and top of the sides of the cabinet. But this morning I still gave another try to open it and slowly it opened while pulling like mad from one end at a time. After opening I inspected to see any trace of glue somewhere left but nothing - all looked perfect! So strange...and hey, this baby sounds GREAT!!!! 😎

Many thanks for your advice, friends!!!

BR: yeppe

[coreyfyfe]

Glad you got it open. Since I had my 65 retolexed it's been sticking much more than with the old tolex. Could just be that the new vinyl is a bit sticky at first. Give it some time.

[xoir]

Originally Posted by coreyfyfe

Glad you got it open. Since I had my 65 retolexed it's been sticking much more than with the old tolex. Could just be that the new vinyl is a bit sticky at first. Give it some time.

Many threats back, I have mentioned that if you are going to restore a portaflex, is important to reduce slightly the size of the lid before putting the tolex, the new tolex is thicker than the original, some sanding on the sides (horizontally) help prevent when inserting or removing the lid can pucker or create waves in the newly installed tolex.

Be careful, do not cut or sand too much, the last thing you want is a loose lid that moves while using the amplifier.

Tip,
A way to know how far stop sanding and ensure the lid enter fair but not so tight, is to superimpose the piece of tolex on the lid and try to put it in the cabinet with the superimposed tolex, I always leave the lid to the end, using this technique allows me to know when should I stop sanding.

[xoir]

Found one, this way...

[xoir]

I found this other picture, you can slightly view on the back of the amp there is a long piece of tolex between the lid and the cab, probably I was using it for adjust the a size of the lid, some times I like to leave the lid in the cabinet for a day (before sanding it) to stick the tolex tight in the cab.





Now I found myself a good reason to explain my wife, why I do take time to shoot the amp before finish it.

[beans-on-toast]

Originally Posted by wessman

Good news - this morning I finally get that damn lid open.

Good to hear. Enjoy the amp!

Now that the amp has sat for a day, the wood should have stabilized. If you try putting the amp back in the cab and it's still sticking, it might help if you put some lubricant on the tolex wherever it is binding. Something like Armor All or even an instrument polish would work. Try to keep it away from any seams where the glue is.

If the lid is simply too big, and you don't want to make a warranty claim, I've had some success by clamping a board along each long edge of the lid. Keep the pressure light, not so hard that it damages anything, and let it sit for a few hours. The board provides even pressure and crushes the wood and tolex inward a hair or two. It may be enough to resolve the problem.

[Vintage-Blue]

Originally Posted by jnewmark

You need one of these in the corner.

That's a great looking fridge! I don't have one of those yet but I did make this for a friend of mine:





I also came across this old email from Jess last night. Apparently you could even find that tolex in his shoes!


Eugene Kornblum wrote that paragraph, he was amused by some of the things I've done, like back at a trade show, maybe ten years ago, I had orthotics in my shoes; they were covered with Diamond Blue. Gene was very amused. He'd introduce me to somebody and next thing he'd say, "Jess, take your shoe off............".

[Vintage-Blue]

Originally Posted by wessman

Good news - this morning I finally get that damn lid open.

That's great to hear! Thanks for letting us know.

[stiles72]

Originally Posted by xoir

Many threats back, I have mentioned that if you are going to restore a portaflex, is important to reduce slightly the size of the lid before putting the tolex, the new tolex is thicker than the original,
.

+1 I used the modern tolex when I covered mine, and should have sanded the lid a bit more. I've never had a problem getting the lid off, but it's pretty snug.

[spellcaster]

In case anyone is looking for a Heritage B15. Came across one today at http://www.ludlowguitars.com/ . I'm not in the market but I do think I will go back down with my bass to give it a listen.

[lowend81]

Hey Jimmy!

I found this guy on the Montreal craigslist while on tour. The serial numbers date it to early 1965. The previous owner bought it off a guy in Philadelphia. It looked at little rough and the shockmounts had worn through, but it worked and it still had the original CTS speaker. I hadn't planned on buying an amp on tour but once I played it I knew I had to have it and the act I was touring with also encouraged me to buy it...she even paid me extra for the previous gig so I'd have no excuse not to buy it.



I used it at our gig that night and loved it. When I got it back home to Toronto I spent a few hours scrubbing the dirt out of the tolex and got on Fliptops.net to order a few parts (all cosmetic except for the shockmounts) to get the amp looking like her old self. Once everything was polished up and tightened I used it for a gig with a 4-piece rock band and it kept up just fine. I got a lot of compliments on my tone that night - the B-15N and my Eastwood Classic 4 are a killer combo!



Happiness Is A Warm Tone

[spacebassed]

Originally Posted by Ric Vice

Johnny T,
Wow, you are fortunate to have so many excellent choices. Ampeg used the D-130 as a factory upgrade for that amplifier. They had a choice of using either the D-130F or the D-140F. The 130 was their choice. If I were lucky enough to have a D130, then that's what I'd use. The B-15R is a horse of a entirely different color, since it's a sealed box. I have no idea what would work best in that design.

Ric

Actually, they may not have had that choice. Ampeg starting listing the D130f upgrade in '64 (I think), if you look at the JBL lierature from '64 you'll notice the only two musical instrument drivers available are the D130f and the D131f (predecessor to the D120f). I asked Harvey Gerst, who designed the D130f, and he said that even though the entire musical instrument line was proposed at the same time, it took a little longer for him to get the voicing of the D140f/D110f right. I'm not sure when the D140f became available (Harvey dosen't remember either), maybe someone with some date codes can shed some light? For what its worth, I still think the 130's may be a better choice for the B15, if for nothing more than their higher efficiency.

[ddbassGA]

Originally Posted by xoir

Many threats back...

I never felt threatened.

[spacebassed]

Originally Posted by ddbassGA

I never felt threatened.

maybe we should... we can't say we weren't warned.