Ampeg grill colour in 70s - black and silver? ***?

[boroman]

Well. I have never found that answer. Why some SVTs, V4Bs etc. were in silver AND in black (I mean, grill cloth)? I think it happened after Magnavox took Ampeg (1972) that some of them had black grilles and some silver/blue (before that only s/b). Is it a random thing or they did it like one year or what?

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[waltdogg]

I always thought it was dirt/grime and age or that people pulled their grills and spray painted them black (probably around the time they started replacing grill cloth with metal grills). I know in the mid 80s Marshall got a bad batch of grill cloth that faded to brown fairly quickly now those cabs are coveted just for a supplier's mistake.

 

[Ben B]

As far as I know, Ampeg never used black grill cloth in the 70s. When Magnavox sold Ampeg to MTI in, I believe 1980, they started using black cloth and different paint on the face plate. If you've seen 70s Ampegs with black cloth, it was either replaced or as waltdogg mentioned, someone spray painted it.

 

[JimmyM]

Right, all 70's Ampeg grills were silver/blue. They're either replacements, spray paint jobs, or the previous owner smoked a lot and blew the smoke directly on the grill.

 

[SirMjac28]

I love the silver it just screams Ampeg.

 

[coreyfyfe]

Take the grill off and see if it's black all the way around. I've seen some that were replaced and some that were just painted.

My V4 was painted black.

Before any cleaning:

After some cleaning and in brighter light:

 

[beans-on-toast]

If you pop off the grille frame and look at the back, you can pull a staple and look at the back side of the cloth. It often is less faded and can be original looking. This will allow you to see that the original color was. You can't install a new grille on a frame and use the old staple holes. If you see staple holes in the frame, then the frame was recovered.

I think that this would be the best way to find out what is going on with your amp.

 

[beans-on-toast]

Ampeg did do custom skins on amps, Rod Stewart ordered all white SVT's for example. Loud does custom grills for artists. So it is possible to find examples of different colored grilles.