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1978 Ampeg 810 Rehab Project

#24
Bergerman said:
A recycling company for building materials had this show up in their store a few weeks ago…couldn’t resist the chance to tinker around with it. It had all the original ‘78 Eminence speakers in it and they were all in great shape. The rest of the cab looked like it was brought up from the Titanic. Gutted it, stripped all the tolex (what was left, anyway) and refinished it with Behr Deckover textured finish, which seems very similar to Duratex, but much less expensive. Also installed new cab corners and grill cloth…also added non-original slide rails on the back. Finally completed and fired her up today and she sounds great! Wife thought it was hideous when I dragged it home, but now she says it’s beautiful 😀

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That looks better, and more road-ready than it ever was.
 
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#26
Bergerman said:
A recycling company for building materials had this show up in their store a few weeks ago…couldn’t resist the chance to tinker around with it. It had all the original ‘78 Eminence speakers in it and they were all in great shape. The rest of the cab looked like it was brought up from the Titanic. Gutted it, stripped all the tolex (what was left, anyway) and refinished it with Behr Deckover textured finish, which seems very similar to Duratex, but much less expensive. Also installed new cab corners and grill cloth…also added non-original slide rails on the back. Finally completed and fired her up today and she sounds great! Wife thought it was hideous when I dragged it home, but now she says it’s beautiful 😀

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Wow!
 
#27
Jhass said:
Thanks for the explanation.
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I think they're less for worrying about the amp vibrating off of the cabs, so much as making sure that it's nicely aligned and looking good. Plus, the SVT could power 2 of these, so you'd sometimes see the head sitting in the middle of two cabs instead of on top of just one, hence the extra foot cups in the middle of the cab.
 
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#28
The cab had its first weekend of battle this weekend…it sounded fabulous and looked great. I love the iconic look on stage almost as much as the sound. I found the Ampeg PF-500 on Craigslist a few days ago for $100, so I tried it instead of the GK mentioned earlier in this thread. It is one of the more recent ones, so it should hopefully be trouble free. Sounded and performed perfectly for 2 high volume gigs…no issues so far…plenty of muscle for the cab. I do have a brand new main board for the head inbound just to have as a spare because I really love how the head sounds and would like to be able keep it going!

IMG_4854.jpeg
 
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#30
Balog said:
Looks awesome!

How did you apply the finish? How’s it holding up so far compared to duratex?
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I used the roller that Behr recommends and manufactures, but I cut a 12” roller down to three 4” pieces so I could use a mini roller instead of the big one. Gives a real nice texture. I don’t have any experience with Duratex, but the Behr has taken some good bumps, rubs and abuse and shows no wear whatsoever so far…I gig with it 4 or 5 nights a month on the average…seems tough as nails so far! I’m very pleased with the product…it is very easy to use. If it does ever get chipped or messed up, it would be super easy to touch up and nobody would ever know…
 
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#31
Bergerman said:
A recycling company for building materials had this show up in their store a few weeks ago…couldn’t resist the chance to tinker around with it. It had all the original ‘78 Eminence speakers in it and they were all in great shape. The rest of the cab looked like it was brought up from the Titanic. Gutted it, stripped all the tolex (what was left, anyway) and refinished it with Behr Deckover textured finish, which seems very similar to Duratex, but much less expensive. Also installed new cab corners and grill cloth…also added non-original slide rails on the back. Finally completed and fired her up today and she sounds great! Wife thought it was hideous when I dragged it home, but now she says it’s beautiful 😀

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Looks good! Any issues after several months? Thinking about using this in the squareback and SVT I got. Is it durable or easy to chip?? Looks good up close?
 
#33
sleepy_monkey said:
Looks good! Any issues after several months? Thinking about using this in the squareback and SVT I got. Is it durable or easy to chip?? Looks good up close?
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It is holding up extremely well. I am now using a cover from the LeCover company when transporting, but probably used it for at least a dozen gigs before acquiring that. It has taken a few hits and bumps so far, but no chipping has occurred…it still looks just like the day I finished it. Even if it did get chipped, you could touch it up with a small brush and never be able to tell that it happened. I’m very happy with the product! It looks great up close as well…I have since refinished a SVT-15E cabinet the same way, and it too is holding up great.

P.S.

I used two coats on my cabinets…one would have not built up enough in my opinion.
 
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#34
Really nice job! Makes me kinda wish I was still in shape to move an 810 cab like that. Well, kinda….😁

If it were my rig, I would replace the 1/4” connector on the cab with a Speakon connector to match the Speakon connector on the amp. For all the usual reasons already written about here that I subscribe to and adhere to.
 
#35
Geri O said:
Really nice job! Makes me kinda wish I was still in shape to move an 810 cab like that. Well, kinda….😁

If it were my rig, I would replace the 1/4” connector on the cab with a Speakon connector to match the Speakon connector on the amp. For all the usual reasons already written about here that I subscribe to and adhere to.
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I thought of that originally, but now I’m using a V4B Reissue head with it, and doesn’t have Speakons…just 1/4” jacks, so now it all kinda goes together in a vintage way. 😊
 
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#36
Bergerman said:
It is holding up extremely well. I am now using a cover from the LeCover company when transporting, but probably used it for at least a dozen gigs before acquiring that. It has taken a few hits and bumps so far, but no chipping has occurred…it still looks just like the day I finished it. Even if it did get chipped, you could touch it up with a small brush and never be able to tell that it happened. I’m very happy with the product! It looks great up close as well…I have since refinished a SVT-15E cabinet the same way, and it too is holding up great.

P.S.

I used two coats on my cabinets…one would have not built up enough in my opinion.
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Thanks for that feedback. Mine won’t be moved as I don’t play out but want it to look better than what it does right now….and I am cheap. Haha.
 

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