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Official Ampeg Portaflex Club

#162
Sorry for all the questions guys, but yesterday I attempted to but the original speaker back in my amp only to discover that the studs that the speaker bolts to that the bolts could be loosened by hand, when I took the replacement speaker out, I discovered that the stunds had prettymuch stripped out the wood, they were pretty wobbly and could be pulled pretty much right out of the baffle, my question is is how do I fix it? I thought about drilling the holes a little bigger and using a 6-32 screw and washer on the front side of the baffle and a washer lock washer and nut on the speaker side to hold it a little tighter. Also at first I thought the grill and baffle were all one piece, I was planning on replacing it anyway as the bar that runs accross the speaker has been broken off, but Im discovering through pics here that its not, how does all this stuff disassemble? Ive never seen a cab like this before. Thanks for all the help and education!

John
 
#164
Aragorn35016 said:
Also at first I thought the grill and baffle were all one piece, I was planning on replacing it anyway as the bar that runs accross the speaker has been broken off, but Im discovering through pics here that its not, how does all this stuff disassemble?

John
Click to expand...

Would it be possible for you to post a photo showing an interior shot of the cabinet, showing the backside of the baffle? The photos you posted earlier appear to be a single baffle cabinet, but in your most recent post it sounds as if you are describing a double baffle cabinet.
 
#165
Possibly, theres not alot of room in there but Ill see what I can do when I get home from work! I hope its ok that the replacement speaker is back in it. I got it snug enough to hold it in but now because I cant fully tighten it for fear of really messing the baffle up I get a slight rattle. Im afraid if I remove it again that I wont be able to get it to mount up. I can tell you that it looks like its one piece, other than the studs that the speaker mount/bolts to there are 4 other bolts (with those wierd headed screw heads) that appear to be what bolts the grill in. One of the reasons that it makes me think that its one piece is that the grill looks as if it would have to be taken out from the inside. The serial for the amp is 020xxx which makes me think its a 66, though I dont know what year single/double baffle change took place.

John
 
#166
pics as requested, I gave it my best shot, hope they're good enough.

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#167
You do have a single baffle cabinet. You are correct about the baffle having to push into the cabinet so it can be removed through the top opening. After looking at your photos, though, it appears to me that your baffle was replaced at some time. All of the single baffle cabinets I have seen mount differently than the one in your cabinet. They normally had the same #8-32 threaded 'spikes' installed in the face frame as were used in the baffle to mount the speaker. There would be 3 on each side and 2 on the bottom. The baffle had counter-bored holes and would mount on to those studs using nuts and washers. There would also be 2 screws used at the top. You can see the 2 notches in the underside of the gasket frame that provided access to those screws. Also, it looks as if someone was experimenting with porting by drilling 4 holes on each side of the speaker. The good news is that a new baffle would be relatively easy to make, if that's what you wanted to do. It would also give you the chance to go back to the correct grille cloth.
 

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#168
Vintage-Blue said:
You do have a single baffle cabinet. You are correct about the baffle having to push into the cabinet so it can be removed through the top opening. After looking at your photos, though, it appears to me that your baffle was replaced at some time. All of the single baffle cabinets I have seen mount differently than the one in your cabinet. They normally had the same #8-32 threaded 'spikes' installed in the face frame as were used in the baffle to mount the speaker. There would be 3 on each side and 2 on the bottom. The baffle had counter-bored holes and would mount on to those studs using nuts and washers. There would also be 2 screws used at the top. You can see the 2 notches in the underside of the gasket frame that provided access to those screws. Also, it looks as if someone was experimenting with porting by drilling 4 holes on each side of the speaker. The good news is that a new baffle would be relatively easy to make, if that's what you wanted to do. It would also give you the chance to go back to the correct grille cloth.
Click to expand...

Wow that sucks, the electronics stuff I have no problem with but I have zero wood working skills, fliptops.net sells a speaker baffle with the cloth already on it (link below) but the description is a little vague. Would this be all I need to take the cabinet back to stock?

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Also can you tell me if its normal for the stock speaker to have this stripping stuff on it?

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#169
Actually on second look mine actually has all the mounting holes you describe, there are two of those (ampeg screws) on the top in those notches you describe, 2 on the bottom and 2 on each side. I cant explain the middle side holes missing other than maybe they were destroyed when someone attempted to port the baffle with those 8 holes. I do know at one time it did have the bar that ran accross the speaker, somewhat making me think it was original. You can tell when the speaker is out that it was snapped off. The 8-32 stud thing I cant explain other than that maybe why the current ones arent holding the speaker tightly against the baffle as they may be to small for the holes and as far as the 8-32 spikes being used to bolt the baffle to the outer frame, again there are those funky headed ampeg screws that look like they may run through the baffle into the outer frame of the cabinet, there are what looks like black rubberized or plastic spacers between the grill cloth and the outer frame. Regardless do you think the link I sent above on the baffle from fliptops will do the job as a replacement?

Again thanks for all the education guys!!

John
 
#171
Aragorn35016 said:
Regardless do you think the link I sent above on the baffle from fliptops will do the job as a replacement?
Click to expand...

I would think the Fliptops baffle would work fine in your cabinet. You may want to see if Bruce would make it without the counter bores, since you would be using screws to attach it from the inside. That would get you back pretty close to stock, although the single baffle cabinets used 1/4" spacers to set the baffle off of the back of the face frame. That's how they acheived their porting. It doesn't appear that your cabinet still has those spacers.
 
#172
The 1/4 inch spacers, would they be the spacers I was describing that are currently sitting between the grill and the outerframe, maybe just installed in the wrong place? I cant believe my camera pulled off showing this.

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Those spacers correspond with everyone of those ampeg screws in the baffle.
 
#174
Wow my maintenance lists is growing! New Power transformer, new caps for power section, (any other caps I should replace?) new tubes, and now new baffle. Im still good, when all is said and done (if nothing else pops up) Ill have right at 1050-1150 in it purchase and all to be fully restored. Cant wait to get started!!
 
#175
Greetings!

I picked up my Portaflex last spring, 70's model with original square-back speaker - $700. S/N 128282 - photos to come. It's missing 1 knob, and has a too-small fixed wheel coaster bolted on the bottom by original owner, and original owners name spraypainted in bad hand-lettering, there is some tolex lifting. Only repair: 30MF/600V cap was loose in unit, HW holding the cap bracket to the chassis missing, but the nut was inside - alas the anode end pad lifted of the circuit board - so I lap soldered it to adjacent common lands. I've been using it lately on a 3-piece gig at smaller bars, and the sound is great, but breaks up at higher volumes.
I'm planning to re-cap, do the rectifier trick and replace the speaker with a 4-ohm driver - looking for speaker recommendations, considering the Basslite C2515, or Kappa 15C. Any suggestions / hints / tips appreciated.

Jimbo
 
#176
#34 jimbobv

Aragorn, geez, I'm a dunce...why I thought that was a double baffle cab, I don't know. Anyway, listen to VB, he'll set you straight, and he does terrific woodwork as well...as for the speaker, that stuff around it is a new one on me. I thought you were talking about the white sealing stuff around the perimeter before. But that's really odd...my CTS doesn't have it, and I've never seen it before. What you'll have into it isn't bad, actually.

Sedan Dad, is that the head you were talking about in your PM? It's not hideous, but that power tranny looks a bit amiss, to say the least. And the chassis tray needs some black cloth tape around it. Have no idea what it's worth, though.

Jimbob, you may want to get a second opinion before doing the rec trick. I think it was Psycho Bass Guy who said it can screw up your amp, but I don't know why. The 4 ohm trick might be cool to try, though. Fliptops recommends using the Beta 15 or the Delta 15A to get the most B-15 like sound in a modern speaker. My Fliptops cab has a Delta, and it sounds almost exactly like the CTS in my 64.
 
#177
JimmyM said:
Reverb and trem are pretty much the only differences between Ampeg guitar amps and bass heads back then.
Click to expand...

I read an interview with Jess Oliver, in which he said that any amp with a "B" designation (like the B-15) was a bass amp, even if it had "guitar" features like reverb and tremolo, and even those designated "A" (for Accordion) were the same circuit as the "B" ones, with the "Accordion" designation being for marketing purposes only.
 

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