Need help for 70's vintage ampeg svt 810 cab restauration

[Gabriel L'Heureux]

Hi bass addicts,
I recently purchased for peanuts a svt 810 cab (late 70's I think) for my vintage early-70's v4-b.
Nice little project to work on for holidays but it's my first time doing this and I need your help.
Someone in the 80's or 90's decided to put carpet with some awful glue all over it. Took the carpet out and started sanding the beast.
Here are some photos of the parts and restauration process. Any hints on how I should proceed ? Here are some questions and choices :

1. I kinda like the wood finish, should I put some original tolex or just dye and/or vernish the wood ?

2. The speakers seem in good shape. One is buzzing a little but is not busted. One was completly bypassed and replaced with 6 resistances (***) Two of them are different than the rest. How can I thouroughly test them and know which one should I keep, repair, replace, etc. (and if I replace, what should I buy?)

3. Any hints on what I should get or make as a cover for transportation ?

Voila, thanks in advance !

Gab

 

[Gabriel L'Heureux]

Here are the rest of the photos :

 

[Gabriel L'Heureux]

 

[beans-on-toast]

The cab looks very nice.

I know that it's a lot of work to remove the old coverings. Your cab has good quality plywood. Tolex, corners, foot cups and any other parts that you may want to buy are available from http://www.fliptops.net. I prefer to use Marshall Black Levant tolex from Invalid Link Removed on cabs like this. Fliptops also sells vinyl but I prefer the Marshall product. There are different ways to wrap these cabs which can use different amounts on vinyl. It depends on how many seams you want. There are some good 810 recovering threads here so it is worth checking them out. Using Link Removed or a similar product is a good option. A natural finish as you mentioned is the most cost effective approach and it is easy to touch up any dings down the road.

The speaker that was bypassed with the resistors (they way they are connected will give you about 32 ohms which is the DC resistance of each speaker used in your cab) needs to be fixed. I would look for a local re-coner. You should have them check out the other speakers. They can rebuild the speaker and make it as good as new. If you want new speakers, the eminence B810 is an option. There are other possibilities.

 

[Gabriel L'Heureux]

The cab looks very nice.

I know that it's a lot of work to remove the old coverings. Your cab has good quality plywood. Tolex, corners, foot cups and any other parts that you may want to buy are available from http://www.fliptops.net. I prefer to use Marshall Black Levant tolex from Invalid Link Removed one cabs like this. Fliptops also sells vinyl but I prefer the Marshall product. There are different ways to wrap these cabs which can use different amounts on vinyl. It depends on how many seams you want. There are some good 810 recovering threads here so it is worth checking them out. Using Link Removed or a similar product is a good option. A natural finish as you mentioned is the most cost effective approach and it is easy to touch up any dings down the road.

The speaker that was bypassed with the resistors (they way they are connected will give you about 32 ohms which is the DC resistance of each speaker used in your cab) needs to be fixed. I would look for a local re-coner. You should have them check out the other speakers. They can rebuild the speaker and make it as good as new. If you want new speakers, the eminence B810 is an option. There are other possibilities.

Thanks for the reply, for the natural finish, how do you think I should dye and/or vernish it ?

 

[JimmyM]

What's that one oddball speaker? Shame you don't have all CTS alnicos (the ones with the number starting with 127 are the CTS's). If I were you, I'd hold out for a replacement. They pop up fairly often on Ebay, and they are amazing sounding speakers.

 

[beans-on-toast]

Thanks for the reply, for the natural finish, how do you think I should dye and/or vernish it ?

I've used different oils, varnishes and polyurethanes depending on the wood. For a cab that you want a harder finish, polyurethane is probably best. Some minwax products are poly with a stain built in. They stands up well. Try it on a test piece to ensure that the color is what you like. I think that a semi-gloss looks good.

 

[Oren Hudson]

What my fellow Ampeg buds say. If it were me and the cab is prepped like yours appears to be, I'd do the tolex etc. Of course, I'm a vintage/original type guy, but they don't make '74 8-10's anymore. Based on the correct speaker dates, cab is from about January 1974. BTW - I just got a roll of the correct cloth for the early 70s from Antique Electronic Supply a/k/a Tubes and More - Invalid Link Removed . It looks just like the original and is priced a little less than Fliptops. Have fun.

 

[Gabriel L'Heureux]

What my fellow Ampeg buds say. If it were me and the cab is prepped like yours appears to be, I'd do the tolex etc. Of course, I'm a vintage/original type guy, but they don't make '74 8-10's anymore. Based on the correct speaker dates, cab is from about January 1974. BTW - I just got a roll of the correct cloth for the early 70s from Antique Electronic Supply a/k/a Tubes and More - Invalid Link Removed . It looks just like the original and is priced a little less than Fliptops. Have fun.

How much tolex do I need if it's 50 inch wide and sold by the yard ? Any good patterns out there that I can follow ? Thx !

 

[Oren Hudson]

Sorry Gabriel, I don't have an idea on tolex. I bought some years ago to do an 8x10 but I don't recall how much I got or from where. Fliptops or other type places could probably tell you. Check here or on Google for installation help. The one that I did still had a good bit of the original tolex on it. I carefully removed it and used it for a pattern. Worked great. Take your time and measure twice and give yourself some extra material. Always easier to trim than add on.