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The Acoustic Club

#3,322
I played my Trace Elliot AH250 (12-band SMX) into the 301 last night. I don't know what it is, but the impression I get from it comes, I think, from a kind of pressure I feel in the middle of my sinuses. The tone of the amplification is accompanied by this kind of pressure in the front of my head, and sometimes I find it a little disturbing.

Weird, yes, but wait- this helps impart a tone and feel that is very characteristic of the Acoustic stuff, it seems to me. At any rate, it certainly is its own vibe and flavor! And I really like the tone of it. The head 370 is still not working, this blurb here was prompted after playing through only the cab through a different head. Now I know that Trace Elliot also has its 'color', but this was different. I remember the 370 as having a particular flavor as well.

I just think it's an interesting thing that speakers, boxes, and circuits impart such a tonal 'motive'. And does anyone else get that sinus-pressure from the spl- or maybe even the suggestion of it- from the sound of their amp? Or is it just my own personal 'trigger' from some PTSD thing?... :unsure:
 
#3,323
Count Bassie said:
I just think it's an interesting thing that speakers, boxes, and circuits impart such a tonal 'motive'. And does anyone else get that sinus-pressure from the spl- or maybe even the suggestion of it- from the sound of their amp? Or is it just my own personal 'trigger' from some PTSD thing?... :unsure:
Click to expand...


I know exactly what you're trying to describe, it's what I love about the 301 cabinet vs. the much beloved 361PP. It isn't that I don't also love the fat, warm, and punchy sound of a 360/361 (I definitely DO!!!), but I think there must be something unique in the way the Cerwin-Vega AC188L 18" speaker couples with the horn throat of the HA-series (first version) 301 cabinet that causes some kind of compressed overdriven sound -- possibly some nonlinear cone breakup -- like nothing I've ever heard in any other cabinet. The AC188L's unique ribbed cone also adds an edgy forward presence that IMHO kept the 301 from sounding muddy.

I know that coloration is a dirty word for a lot of people when describing speaker cabinets.... they want ultra clean and to dial in their color from somewhere else farther up the effects chain. I'm from the opposite religion, I've never gone for a full range hi-fi or scooped sound and prefer amp/cabinet combinations with a certain characteristic sound like what a 370 head and first-version 301 cabinet together can do. It's a unique character that I've never gotten with any other rig.
 
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#3,324
JacklegBass said:
I know exactly what you're trying to describe, it's what I love about the 301 cabinet...I think there must be something unique in the way the Cerwin-Vega AC188L 18" speaker couples with the horn throat of the HA-series (first version) 301 cabinet that causes some kind of compressed overdriven sound...
Click to expand...

Thanks for the repsponse there, JackiegBass. Glad I'm not the only one!

I understand there is a version of the 301 with a removable back, and one without- mine's the one without. Is that the only difference? I'm kind of presuming that 'without' is the earlier version...
 
#3,326
skulletwhip said:
Alright dudes,

The top 15 in my 406 took a dump.

Any suggestions for a replacement?
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Is the lower 15 still the original 130040 driver? If so, someone (not me) has the "D" version for sale at a popular on-line auction site with about 7 hours to go. Search on "Vintage Eminence".


Mods: I don't think this runs afoul of the rules, but if so please delete and accept my mea culpa.
 
#3,327
JacklegBass said:
Is the lower 15 still the original 130040 driver? If so, someone (not me) has the "D" version for sale at a popular on-line auction site with about 7 hours to go. Search on "Vintage Eminence"





Mods: I don't think this runs afoul of the rules, but if so please delete and accept my mea culpa.
Click to expand...



Not sure. I'd rather just replace the speakers with something that isn't 40 years old. I gig a lot and play fairly hard and loud music.

I'm leaning towards some Kappa's.
 
#3,334
skulletwhip said:
Its still intact. I'm doing a bad job of explaining methinks. It is smashed in pretty good. I could take a photo later when I'm off work.

I've never had this issue, so I'm a bit crap at explaining it. Hahaha.
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Try removing it- and I now risk enticing you to ruin it! But all I mean is that maybe there's something like a broken-off scrap of glue bouncing around in there. Stuff like glue, etc tends to get brittle over a long stretch of time, so maybe you can (get some help and) remove the dust cover.

Annnnd maybe you should ignore this one. :smug:
 
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#3,335
Count Bassie said:
Try removing it- and I now risk enticing you to ruin it! But all I mean is that maybe there's something like a broken-off scrap of glue bouncing around in there. Stuff like glue, etc tends to get brittle over a long stretch of time, so maybe you can (get some help and) remove the dust cover.

Annnnd maybe you should ignore this one. :smug:
Click to expand...

So do I just cut the dust cap off?
 
#3,336
skulletwhip said:
So do I just cut the dust cap off?
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I'm thinking you might try taking a sharp blade and gently working at the glue joint, see if it comes off easily- the way a ready-to-let-go scab does when it's no longer sticking to you... you want it to separate without taking any paper from the cone with it. If it resists significantly, stop... you could also look up a local re-cone guy and get some less tentative advice! Lol.
 
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#3,340
skulletwhip said:
So do I just cut the dust cap off?
Click to expand...


If the dust cap doesn't appear loose, then it's probably not the source of the rattle. More likely the voice coil is about baked. I'd make sure the bolts holding the speaker are tight (not overly tight) to make sure the frame isn't rattling against the baffle board, otherwise a recone may be in order.

If you really want to operate to see what's under there, you could slice through the dust cap all around about 1/8" from the cap's edge. Or very gingerly use a heat gun to loosen up the glue holding the dust cap down. Fire the speaker up without the dust cap and see if the rattle is still there. With the cutting method you would just need to find a slightly larger new dust cap to glue over the old cap's remnants. I wouldn't suggest any of this if you hadn't said the old cap was smashed in and isn't salvageable. I love the look of an original aged white cap.
 

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