CL Cab, What did I just get? (Cetec/Gauss content)

[Bassmec]

Hard to tell what's going on exactly, but it looks close if the caption or whatever the white material is, is very carefully paired away a bit more and you use just the right amount of adhesive.

 

[snarebear]

You got a killer deal on two great speakers. Gauss sound great and are almost indestructible. They used to show their toughness by plugging one into a 110 v electric service. The only downsides are their weight, and recone kits are expensive if you can find one, and you have to modify your front mount cabs. I have one in a Fender Bassman 90's folded cab and it will rip you a new one no problem. Great score.

 

[B-string]

That cap is too small. I think the parts express 4 1/8" would be a better fit Invalid Link Removed.
The Cetec Gauss was most def an aftermarket upgrade. It is a shame Cetec corp. failed. The Gauss speaker line was amazing for its time. The patents and tooling was sold to University Sound, which was bought by Electro Voice. After EV killed the University line the patents were sold to McCaulley.

 

[Smurf_Byte]

I've been a little slow with this project, but I finally got a clean cut getting the old dust cap off. The new cap is a a tad smaller than I would like, but it just about fits perfectly on the inside of the old hole. I'm thinking I'll tack it into place with a dab of superglue and put a nice bead of the adhesive around the edge. Here's a pick of the date code I found on the inside:

 

[will33]

That could work if you have a really steady hand and good eyes.

I'd be inclined to go with B-strings 4-1/8th link.

Gauss--> EV--> McCauly----> mucho ass kickness.

 

[Fishheadjoe]

I have a Sunn Beta Bass combo amp I bought brand new in the 80's. I was driving home from a gig, the amp in the back of my pick up truck, when I turned a corner and the whole amp did a face plant into the bed of my truck.
The square magnet driver would not work after that fall. I figured the magnet had shifted from the fall.
I replaced that driver with a Gauss that has been indestructible ever since. I ran that amp dialed up to ten for many years, fighting two guitar stacks. Darn thing doesn't know any better than to thump!
Fishheadjoe

 

[Smurf_Byte]

This dust cap actually measured over 4" so I decided to go with it. The specs were really close to the others websites. A bit of a hack job, but it's in.

 

[INTP]

Looks like you'll be telling us how it sounds soon. I look forward to reading the update.

 

[B-string]

Too late to offer this tip but may help in the future for you or others. Go to a thrift store and buy an old "Lazy Susan" they used to use in kitchen cabinets. Place the speaker on that and slowly spin the speaker when applying the bead on the cap, helps to make a neat bead.

 

[agedhorse]

Indeed, but with a steady hand and the right experience a welll executed freehand application can look as good as an automated application too.

There are so many tricks and techniques that go along with profesisonal level reconing that to even attempt to explain would be misleading. So much of the important stuff is in the details, and to recone properly there are a lot of details. This is the difference between a profesional job and a job that works "ok". It's parts, prep, and installation labor that all contribute to a factory level recone.

Even tricks like using the proper shims can be taken out of context, as there may be different ways to accomplishusing different but proper shims depending on the conditions present, or even the materials being used. Then there's the whole issue of adapting non-factory parts where there are no factory options available. Sometimes parts become obsolete, for example a lot of early JBL products. There may be adapters, modification of parts or the addition of spacers to get more modern parts to fit, but you have to know what you are doing. That's part of what those of us who went through the JBL reconing school learned.

 

[Ric Vice]

So. I found an old beat up Peavey 215 cab on the relatively local Criagslist. It's not the deep version, but I was still under the impression that it had the Black Widows in it. I didn't pay much for it as one of the speakers has a damaged dust cap. I get it home and pull the damaged speaker to get to work. But what do I find? Something that's not a black widow. It's a Gauss model 5840. The dust cap is all but missing and there is some writing inside and a 1978 date on it.

So what did I get here? There was not too much info I could find with google on this speaker . It sounded okay the quick minute I played with it, but I didn't really put it through its paces with my bass or head. If anybody has any info or advise on this thing I would appreciate it. For now I'll just clean it up and rock it.

I owned a Gauss 15" similar to this one, I used it in my Ampeg B-15N(C) and a Bag End M15. They were state of the art when they were on the market in the 1970's. Gauss used a double basket spider assembly to keep the voice coil alined, and dissipate heat. I wish I had kept mine.

Ric

 

[Smurf_Byte]

Finished up the install this weekend. My three year old helped me clean the tolex up a bit and my six year old helped me install the speakers. Now that I see it with a flash camera I need to clean up the grille material some more. I also need to clean up my garage. This cab can definitely move some air. My wife cut the sound check short due to the fact that I was knocking stuff off the walls in the house. I didn't even get the MB200 past 11:00! Here she is:

 

[jeffmaxwell]

Indeed, but with a steady hand and the right experience a welll executed freehand application can look as good as an automated application too.

There are so many tricks and techniques that go along with profesisonal level reconing that to even attempt to explain would be misleading. So much of the important stuff is in the details, and to recone properly there are a lot of details. This is the difference between a profesional job and a job that works "ok". It's parts, prep, and installation labor that all contribute to a factory level recone.

Even tricks like using the proper shims can be taken out of context, as there may be different ways to accomplishusing different but proper shims depending on the conditions present, or even the materials being used. Then there's the whole issue of adapting non-factory parts where there are no factory options available. Sometimes parts become obsolete, for example a lot of early JBL products. There may be adapters, modification of parts or the addition of spacers to get more modern parts to fit, but you have to know what you are doing. That's part of what those of us who went through the JBL reconing school learned.

Agedhorse,
What year did you go through JBL's reconing school? I was there around 1981.
Jeff

 

[agedhorse]

I think it was either 1979 or 80. Great experience, and at that time a really great company too. Still the golden age of American manufacturing.

 

[INTP]

Thanks for following up. Glad it is working for you. How is the tone (volume aside)?

 

[Smurf_Byte]

I haven't really been able to find enough time to play through this thing yet. I only have one head, which stays at the practice space until gig time. I took this out live once so far. We went through a half working PA so this was mostly a monitor and I thought "the big amp" would look cool. I cleaned it up better before taking it out of course.
Man, this cab is heavy and not really all that fun to lug around. I used my carvin Neo 210 for the following weeks gig. Has anyone successfully cut a 215 in half to make 2 cabs? I'd like to use it more, but the 215 is not practical for our venues or practice space. The wife isn't too happy about it hanging around either. Hey, it was one of those Craigslist impulse buys... Or I could try and part this thing out. Anyone want some vintage speakers?
Last thing. Any thoughts on sealing this cab? I don't want to mess around with port tuning with the oddball triangle opening. I'm not sure what could be calculated if we don't have specs on the drivers themselves, but maybe the experts can chime in here.

Thanks.