Need Official Year Ampeg Switched To The Better Speakers in 810e Cabinet

PolkaHero · #1 07-06-2011, 02:19 PM

Title says it all. I have an opportunity to purchase a newer used one for a good price and want to know the year they switched to the brighter Eminence speakers. Let me guess, 2008?

PolkaHero · #2 07-06-2011, 06:25 PM

I'm checking this cabinet out tomorrow, need an answer ASAP!

Darn it, you guys are going to make me do a search aren't you?

will33 · #3 07-06-2011, 06:33 PM

Didn't Jimmy already answer this in some other thread you had?

It's easy to identify the bad years.....they sound like they have a blanket over them.

PolkaHero · #4 07-06-2011, 06:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by will33

Didn't Jimmy already answer this in some other thread you had?

It's easy to identify the bad years.....they sound like they have a blanket over them.

He probably did, guess I'll have to find that thread again. I plan on bringing mine (2006 USA model) and doing an A-B comparison. I really am interested in hearing the difference!

will33 · #5 07-06-2011, 06:58 PM

IIRC it was sometime around 06, your cab may be a tossup. Depending on how long it took them to use up the old inventory 07 should be better, 08 for sure but don't bet the farm on my estimates.

will33 · #6 07-06-2011, 07:01 PM

The differences will really stand out in a band mix even soloed it's easy to tell.

JimmyM · #7 07-06-2011, 07:21 PM

Just look and see if it's made in Vietnam, China, or S Korea...if so, it's got newer speakers.

PolkaHero · #8 07-06-2011, 07:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyM

Just look and see if it's made in Vietnam, China, or S Korea...if so, it's got newer speakers.

The seller said he purchased it new from GC last year so I'm assuming it's an Asian model. So do these come with the acclaimed Eminence Legend B810 speakers or something else?

JimmyM · #9 07-06-2011, 07:41 PM

Something else made for Ampeg by Eminence China. Don't know how they compare to the B810's, but I think they sound great. And yes, it would have the newer speakers if bought last year.

PolkaHero · #10 07-06-2011, 07:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyM

Something else made for Ampeg by Eminence China. Don't know how they compare to the B810's, but I think they sound great. And yes, it would have the newer speakers if bought last year.

Thanks for that information. It should be an interesting comparison tomorrow as I'm pretty confident mine has the darker speakers in it. If the tolex is still in decent shape, the tone of the cabinet will probably sway me to buy it and then sell mine.

billfitzmaurice · #11 07-06-2011, 08:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyM

Something else made for Ampeg by Eminence China. Don't know how they compare to the B810's, but I think they sound great. And yes, it would have the newer speakers if bought last year.

I doubt that there's any significant difference between USA and Chinese made OEM drivers, especially as the parts for the USA drivers pretty much all come from China in the first place. AFAIK the Ampeg driver currently used dates back to 2001. The B810 has very similar, but not identical, specs.

JimmyM · #12 07-06-2011, 10:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by billfitzmaurice

I doubt that there's any significant difference between USA and Chinese made OEM drivers, especially as the parts for the USA drivers pretty much all come from China in the first place. AFAIK the Ampeg driver currently used dates back to 2001. The B810 has very similar, but not identical, specs.

I notice a lot more high end on them now than I get out of the old USA cabs since 2001. There's been a definite change for the better in the newer cabs. Even my band's drummer could hear it when I did an AB with them

coreyfyfe · #13 07-07-2011, 06:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyM

I notice a lot more high end on them now than I get out of the old USA cabs since 2001. There's been a definite change for the better in the newer cabs. Even my band's drummer could hear it when I did an AB with them

Jimmy it would be interesting to see if we could add to this thread. You guys found that between the late 90s and early 2000s the cone material codes had been changed while keeping the part numbers the same. I wonder what they look like on the newer overseas models and if there was another change or not.

JimmyM · #14 07-07-2011, 07:20 AM

Anthony Lucas from Eminence once wrote me and said they changed the cones out in 2000. Don't know what the deal is with the cone numbers now, but I imagine it's a whole different system in China.

PolkaHero · #15 07-07-2011, 02:18 PM

Met the seller and tried the cabinet today. It's in pretty rough shape, lots of tolex torn off which immediately put me off. Then I looked in the back and saw that it was made by SLM Electronics. Great! It's probably going to sound exactly like mine (dark and muddy).

Well, I plugged in my Fender Roscoe Beck with my Markbass LMII and from the first note I could tell this one was different. Much brighter, more note clarity, etc. yet with all the huge bottom end. I didn't even really have to plug mine in to know that this one is better.

I ended up buying it on the tone alone and have checked the serial number. It's a January 2006 model, whereas mine is a March 2006 model. ***? Now, mine is an AV model whereas this one is the standard 810e model. Did they put the darker speakers only in the AV models that year? I'm confused. Not sure if I should retolex this one and sell mine or just swap the speakers and grill out and keep mine. What do you guys think?

Jimmy, this is a stumper. . .

beans-on-toast · #16 07-07-2011, 02:32 PM

Maybe it would be a good idea to pull one speaker from each cab and compare them. See if the speakers are the same as this one: Orange County Speaker Repair - GLS Audio Wholesale: 10" Ampeg SVT Speaker 86-032-01 32 ohm

At the same time you can look inside and see if the new cab's walls and back are made of particle board.

PolkaHero · #17 07-07-2011, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beans-on-toast

Maybe it would be a good idea to pull one speaker from each cab and compare them. See if the speakers are the same as this one: Orange County Speaker Repair - GLS Audio Wholesale: 10" Ampeg SVT Speaker 86-032-01 32 ohm

At the same time you can look inside and see if the new cab's walls and back are made of particle board.

I pulled a speaker from the "new" cab. It has 67-0543D on it compared to 67-0609A to mine. The 86-032-01 identifier is the same for both. Both cabinets are constructed the same: plywood front baffle with particle board inside.

JimmyM · #18 07-07-2011, 02:58 PM

Hmmm...well bear in mind that all we have to work with are approximate dates, not exact dates

If you got a better sounding cab, that's all that matters, though. Maybe you caught them in a state of flux since that was right around the time LOUD took over.

PolkaHero · #19 07-07-2011, 06:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyM

Hmmm...well bear in mind that all we have to work with are approximate dates, not exact dates

If you got a better sounding cab, that's all that matters, though. Maybe you caught them in a state of flux since that was right around the time LOUD took over.

Yeah, what's really strange is my SVT-VR is stamped LOUD (Made in USA) on the back whereas the 810AV cab is stamped SLM Electronics even though they were made the same year.

So what should I do, switch out the speakers and grill? How much would it cost me to retolex the one I just bought? I'd imagine it's not an easy job to do well either.

Heck, maybe I should just keep both and use them together as Ampeg originally intended!

beans-on-toast · #20 07-07-2011, 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PolkaHero

I pulled a speaker from the "new" cab. It has 67-0543D on it compared to 67-0609A to mine. The 86-032-01 identifier is the same for both. Both cabinets are constructed the same: plywood front baffle with particle board inside.

86-032-01 is the Loud part number

67-0543D => eminence driver manufactured in the 43rd week of 2005

67-0609A => eminence driver manufactured in the 9th week of 2006

If you carefully swapped the sets of drivers in each cab, it might help you narrow down if it is the drivers that are making the difference.

Re-tolexing a cab is not too difficult if you take the time to think it out and are patient. Depending on your layout, it can turn out looking even better than new. It is a bit expensive. The tolex is about $30 per yard (Marshall black Levant, 50" wide from Antique Electronics, the original blue Ampeg grille cloth is $20 per yard). If you aren't comfortable doing the work yourself, a good upholsterer can do the recovering for you. You can save money if you prep the cabinet by stripping the tolex, and patching and sanding the wood in advance.