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ampeg b18

#2
Here are the dimensions I got a couple of years ago from a friend with a '65 B18:

24" x 24" x 15.25"

The cabinet is ported much like a double-baffle B15 cabinet, except the ports are smaller, .5" x 2.5". (some B15's were also made with the smaller ports)
 
#3
great! thanks! i ASS U ME that these are outside dimensions? and the port--- you mean 2.5" x 0.5" deep, i presume? 1/2 inch baffle? wonder if the whole cab was 1/2"? seems like that would make for a nice flexy rattle box.

i have them in front of me now. they are CTS BG-80 (137-745; 45th week of 67, i guess). smooth paper cone with light doping on the surround only, and about a 2.5" voice coil with a cloth dustcap. 5.8 dc resistance.

seems like i could work up something that would be cool with my bassman 100. for the truly old-school sound......
 
#5
toobalicious said:
great! thanks! i ASS U ME that these are outside dimensions? and the port--- you mean 2.5" x 0.5" deep, i presume?
Click to expand...

Yes, those are the outside dimensions. The 8 ports were oblong - .5" wide by 2.5" long. They are similar to those in the attached B15 photo, just smaller.

The cabinet case and the inner baffle were made from 3/4" plywood. I believe the grille baffle was 1/2" plywood, just as on the B15, but I'm not 100% sure.
 

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#6
ahhh, i see... shouldve looked a little harder at what you were saying. these look just like that one, except 18" obviously.

your dimensions work out to about 122L or 4.3 cubic feet, not counting driver displacement. this provided my math was correct. i guesstimated that the baffle is inset by 3/4" in those figures.

i guess having the vents all of the way around like that make them sort of similar in a way to the fender tone-ring cabs. seems like a pretty un-scientific way doing things. then again, things arent always as simple as they appear. wonder what frequency that works out to?

thanks for the info, folks. not sure if this one is ready for the front burner yet. still, it seems that a pair of these driven by a 100 watt tube amp might be pretty cool indeed. a pretty romantic idea, at least.
 
#7
To my fellow Tar Heel - toobalicious - :D FYI - I think you're groupings of numbers is a little backwards for dating the CTS
speakers. I have not looked lately, but I'm pretty sure the numbers are broken down like this - first 2 are the last 2 digits for the year of manufacture with the last digit(s) being the week. So your number would indicate being manfactured the 5th week of 1974. :cool:
 
#8
hello, mr hudson. i think you are mistaken. see this site, which the stuff below was taken from.

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So, the speaker in the image above would have been made by Jensen (220) during the 27th week of 1951 or 1961. The year is confusing because it is only a single digit. In later years, the EIA converted to a 4 digit date code so the year could be easily identified. There are 2 acceptable methods of displaying the EIA date code, with or without a hyphen between the manufacture code and the year/week code. Some manufacturers also attached other letters to the end of the date code to indicate day of the week, work shift, serial number, lot number, etc. The EIA only specifies manufacturer and year/week code. Anything else is at the discretion of the manufacturer.
Click to expand...

maybe i am missing something? it only has three numbers (well, six if you count the mfr code).
 
#9
Hey - thanks for the easy cite to the speaker site. Like I said, I haven't looked at it in a while and I guess some of my remembrance was the fact that, as they stated, the numbering did change somewhere in the early 60s to avoid year confusion. I guess the oldest ones I've checked on for any of my gear was some mid to late 60s Fender & Kustom, and by then, the 2 digits were used. Good luck with your project. BTW - if you find you don't need one or both of the 18s, let me know. :cool:
 
#10
vintageampeg said:
note -there's the B-18 and the B-18x. The B-18x is a larger cab (don't have the dimensions handy however). actually that's a B-18x in my avatar!
Click to expand...

hey man, any chance in hades you could pull a tape on your B18x?

i found these pics, though it seems to have the component locations reversed from the one in your avatar :confused: :
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pretty different than the B15 above. i am such a fliptop newb!

also, if anyone could confirm that the BG-80 did indeed come in a B18, that would be awesome. got a little conflicting info, and the internet isnt much help. the pics above obviously show a different speaker.

from the www, but identical to mine, down to the date code! :confused::
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BTW, for s&g's i inquired about shredz' custom cabinets.... the quote for a sealed 1x18 with the measurements listed by vintage-blue is $70 plus shipping--- no covering (good bedliner candidates, i think), inset baffle (to accommodate a fender-style grillcloth frame), all hardware (dish and jacks, corners, rubber feet, metal bar handles), and with "braced" 3/4" 13-ply birch. seems like i could barely build one for this amount? i know there are at least a few folks that are less than fond of shredz, OSB bass cabs notwithstanding :eek:.
 
#11
I realize this is an OLD thread but I would like to add some additional info for anyone that comes across it.

In post #2 I mentioned that the port slots were .5" x 2.5". That size slot showed up on later B18 cabinets. Earlier cabinets used the same size slots as the earlier double baffle B15 cabinets, .75" x 6".
 
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