Update on Ampeg B18N Restoration

[OldFenderPlayer]

I finally got around to installing the new logo and speaker grill cover on my 1960s Ampeg B-18 N.

The new logo required that one new hole be drilled (the placement of the mounting stud behind the "A" made it prone to breaking, so the on the reproductions the stud has been moved to a more solid location).

The speaker grill whet on easy, thanks to posts from Talkbass and a speaker cabinet bulletin board.

All that is left is to replace one tube, replace the 1/4 jack on the side of the cabinet, and flip the handles upside down.

Here are before and after pictures of the amp.

 

[fuzzy beard]

Nice! You should post a pic over at the portaflex club!

 

[anderbass]

Looking good man, I'm waiting to get my B18 back from my amp tech. I cant wait to start gigging mine too!

 

[OldFenderPlayer]

Im a member of the Portaflex club but I'm not certain how to post things there. I'm lucky to get this far!

 

[fuzzy beard]

Post it the same way you did here! It is amazing looking congratz!

 

[B-string]

Sweet work! Looks great again.

 

[Ric Vice]

I finally got around to installing the new logo and speaker grill cover on my 1960s Ampeg B-18 N.

The new logo required that one new hole be drilled (the placement of the mounting stud behind the "A" made it prone to breaking, so the on the reproductions the stud has been moved to a more solid location).

The speaker grill whet on easy, thanks to posts from Talkbass and a speaker cabinet bulletin board.

All that is left is to replace one tube, replace the 1/4 jack on the side of the cabinet, and flip the handles upside down.

Here are before and after pictures of the amp.

It looks great! I did notice that on the before picture the outer baffle board was installed wrong. The center strip is aligned horizontally, not vertically. Most likely it happened when whomever, did the roll and tuck pleated cover.
I can't see the stripe in the second picture. Did you have to remove and refit the outer baffle board? That must have been a PITA! I pretty sure that the original B-18's had a four pin cannon style connector on the side of the cabinet.
If the speaker plug is disconnected, and the head is accidentally turned on the amp is in the standby mode, just as if you'd flipped the standby switch. You might want to consider restoring that failsafe feature.

Ric

 

[OldFenderPlayer]

Unfortunately, when they put the tuck-n-roll on, they trimmed the speaker grill and the base that the head mounts to by about 1/2 inch. Its noticeable but I don't want to replace the pieces because of it.

 

[OldFenderPlayer]

The speaker cable was changed to a 1/4" jack, but it is mounted away from the cabinet, to account for the tuck-n-roll. I'm ordering a flush-mount plate from Fliptops. Before I started on the restoration I had an amp tech look at it. It had a full cap job a few years before I bought it, and my tech just did a few things, including something with the ground switch since the amp has been changed over to a three-prong electric plug.

 

[Ric Vice]

The speaker cable was changed to a 1/4" jack, but it is mounted away from the cabinet, to account for the tuck-n-roll. I'm ordering a flush-mount plate from Fliptops. Before I started on the restoration I had an amp tech look at it. It had a full cap job a few years before I bought it, and my tech just did a few things, including something with the ground switch since the amp has been changed over to a three-prong electric plug.

Old Fender Player,
Well, that will work fine. The three prong plug would replace the ground reverse switch. When Ampeg went to the grounded plug on the later B-15's I think they went to a three pin connector for the speaker, but I could be wrong. As long as the tech has serviced Ampegs' and expertise with the B-15's, the amp is good to go.

Ric