Cabinet ID request (Ampeg content)

[BioWeapon]

Hey folks,

I've had this cabinet for sale in my local classifieds for a little while now and recently somebody asked what drivers are in it. To my surprise, when I pulled a speaker I found out it was a 1974 CTS square back driver!

And here's some shots of the cab in question:


Now I have no idea what to make of this, so I'm deferring to the experts on TB. I've seen some posts on TB related to the drivers themselves and what cabs they may have been in, but no reference or images of something like this.

On one hand it could be a DIY rehouse with the parts from an old wrecked cabinet, which is what I'm thinking based on the quality of the workmanship. On the other hand, it could be a cut down 810 or something like that. It's 3/4" ply all over and quite sturdy, or so my back tells me every time I try to lift it. Another detail of note is the drivers are held in by what look to be period correct (for the drivers) 1/4" hex-head screws.

Anybody have any ideas? For what it's worth, it sounds real good despite not being particularly attractive! I may keep it a while longer given how hard it is to sell music gear right now.

 

[Jim Carr]

Looks homemade. Howzit sound?

oops, you answered that. Not sure about the badge, but those drivers look beefy for their era.

 

[BioWeapon]

Looks homemade. Howzit sound?

Mighty good in my opinion! Really balanced, pleasant midrange, but maybe a wee bit light on the lows. Mind you that's an inside-the-house-volume assessment

 

[coreyfyfe]

Looks like someone built road case edges onto a B40 cab. Could be home built, but I’ve had a few B40s and one did have 74/75 dated CTS drivers with these part numbers.

The speakers appear about the same but did have different part numbers (1/2 anyways) than the speakers in my 72 flatback 8x10 (below).

 

[BioWeapon]

Looks like someone built road case edges onto a B40 cab. Could be home built, but I’ve had a few B40s and one did have 74/75 dated CTS drivers with these part numbers.

View attachment 3823895

The speakers appear about the same but did have different part numbers (1/2 anyways) than the speakers in my 72 flatback 8x10 (below).

View attachment 3823896

I did find the B40 when digging around on my initial search, in fact I'd seen some of your driver pics in other threads. Thanks for chiming in!

Though, I don't think this is a B40 cab based on the fact that it's smaller than a B40. I only noticed that by looking at how the drivers are spaced. Of course, I can't eliminate the possibility that the speakers came out of a B40, so there's that.

 

[BioWeapon]

For reference, box dimensions are:
24.75" tall, 26.25" wide, 16" deep.

 

[BioWeapon]

Bump - anybody else?

 

[PraiseBassing]

Also vote home made. Wood screws on the bottom of the badge that attach to nothing. Caster cutouts in line with the baffle instead of either side of it. This doesn't seem to be thought out enough to be a production cabinet. There might be a cool story behind it tho.

 

[BioWeapon]

Also vote home made. Wood screws on the bottom of the badge that attach to nothing. Caster cutouts in line with the baffle instead of either side of it. This doesn't seem to be thought out enough to be a production cabinet. There might be a cool story behind it tho.

The casters actually look like a post-build addition. I would assume the plywood slats their mounted on would be painted and there wouldn't be redundant metal feet if they were there in the first place.

I would personally love to track down whoever built it or some previous owners, but I'm not sure that's possible at this point! Maybe if I dig through my old facebook marketplace messages I can find the couple I bought it from...

 

[PraiseBassing]

The casters actually look like a post-build addition. I would assume the plywood slats their mounted on would be painted and there wouldn't be redundant metal feet if they were there in the first place.

I would personally love to track down whoever built it or some previous owners, but I'm not sure that's possible at this point! Maybe if I dig through my old facebook marketplace messages I can find the couple I bought it from...

Would be interesting to hear how it came about.

 

[JimmyM]

Folks did cut down 810's back in the day to make 410's.

 

[BioWeapon]

Folks did cut down 810's back in the day to make 410's.

Was it pretty common...? I can see it being a relatively difficult thing to do well. Wish I had a list of 810 dimensions to compare with!

 

[JimmyM]

Was it pretty common...? I can see it being a relatively difficult thing to do well. Wish I had a list of 810 dimensions to compare with!

Wouldn't say common, but it did happen. By far not the first cutdown I would have seen. I'll try to get to mine and measure it tonight if nobody else comes through.

 

[BioWeapon]

Wouldn't say common, but it did happen. By far not the first cutdown I would have seen. I'll try to get to mine and measure it tonight if nobody else comes through.

Thanks Jimmy

 

[JimmyM]

Thanks Jimmy

Due to where it's packed, all I can give you is width and depth. 26 1/4" W x 16" D.

Therefore I'm sure it's a cutdown, and all the trim was added to disguise it.

 

[BioWeapon]

Due to where it's packed, all I can give you is width and depth. 26 1/4" W x 16" D.

Therefore I'm sure it's a cutdown, and all the trim was added to disguise it.

Hah! Same dimensions! Would you look at that! Is your 810 a vintage unit as well?

 

[JimmyM]

Hah! Same dimensions! Would you look at that! Is your 810 a vintage unit as well?

1973 flatback.

 

[coreyfyfe]

A cut down flatback wouldn’t surprise me either. Have seen it before.

My 72 flatback with the grill off -

The B40 with the grill off -

As you mentioned the B40 speakers sit slightly wider apart than the flatback. Both were about 16” deep but I believe the B40 was 27” wide. My V4 overhung the flatback by about 1/2” on either side but fit the B40 perfectly.

The dimensions of the 8x10 are listed here

 

[BioWeapon]

Thanks folks. That's exactly the kind of info I was hoping for!