OK - Forget - is this chapter 4 or 5?
At the club the grill is flopping about on the corner since the plastic “Velcro like” piece is missing. The old “Wedge It with a Piece of Bar Coaster” trick worked great. Sadly no gig shots – that would have been nice. Lending out a camera phone never works – don’t even try now
The job went well. People had fun and so did the Ziggy. The club was a place that requires you to be on the quiet side. On top of that the room has an odd shape and some areas along the right side get a lot of bass while the rest of the room is fairly even with less. You would never know unless you have a wireless. (If you get compulsive on tone – a wireless is required) It did explain customer comments (too quiet or too loud). So – how did it sound? Great if I was standing next to it. A quick summary is that there was a mid range presence that was evenly dispersed across the room in both tone and volume. But the low end quake was limited to only in certain areas. Despite the massive port this was not an earthquake machine. On the other hand it moved enough air that I could be at a reasonable volume on stage and be heard anywhere across the room. Part of this is the tuning of the cab – which some feel is about 60 HZ, maybe down to 45. The tone may not be perfect but I was heard. So, you need to decide how many people can tell the difference.
But this is just one room and that alone a test does not make. I have plans to try this a few more times. The vintage speaker is only rated at 100 watts and was at its limit and edged farting. Considering this is a quiet room I need something that can get a bit more dominent. I have no intention of blowing the vintage Sunn speaker so while gigging the cab I will pop something else in.
If you have any ideas – there is a speaker thread going at
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f15/get-eminence-gamma-vs-delta-vs-legend-15s-743350/
OK – now back to work. Off comes the grill and out the speakers. First I attack the 5 ugly screws. They need to be recessed further so that I can putty over them. A Dremel with a router bit deepens the holes and the screws then replaced.
The old gaskets are shot and range from gone to full thickness. They are surely leaking and possibly rattle prone. Also – ugly and though the speaker covers them I hate just knowing they are there.
It takes a lot of work to get these things off! And a mess – I start to wonder if I should have just left them alone. Leave sleeping doges … Curse you Mr. Speaker Gaskets! Eventually after trying chisels and sand paper – the trusty X-Acto blade works the best. What is interesting is that traces remain. This is because residual parts of the gasket filled sunken areas in the wood and helped smooth it all out.
Now to fill the holes – I tried a couple of types of putty and this stuff worked best. Very fast drying and really easy to sand. I also go after little dents, some ripped up wood, holes from the staple gun that put this together. I found that both the X-Acto blade and a stiff guitar pick do well in forming the stuff. OK – also a shameless plug
All sanded down and ready for the paint. The cab was originally sprayed and that of course has a different look and feel from brushed paint. So, I decide to go the spray route. This was a bit scary as there is the oil over latex or latex over oil based thing going. A search of a really good primer (can pictured) was the answer. I used less than half a can and I really hosed it up good. Needless the say I wanted to do no harm. I taped over all the internal parts and wires. Plastic bagged the long wires. Painter taped that cab from every angle. And now – we have “The Mummy” of bass cabs.
It was an odd day – the Bass Gods smiled upon me and granted 70 degree weather in February so I could paint outside. Carried the cab out (light w/o speakers!) and set to work. Of course that was when the 50 MPH winds expected that night to bring in the coming cold front started. My spray can becomes increasingly disobedient. Curse You Mr. Wind!!!!!!
The primer dries in 15 minutes and I take it to the garage to finish with the overcoat. A couple of days later I pull off the half a roll of tape used and – here she is!!
OK - sorry that is all for now. I am currently caught up in a speaker thing. Also some soul searching on which feet to use. After all - why risk pristine vintage parts to the rigors of club stuff. That just aint right.
Oh - by the way - word of warning. If you painter tape over the white lettering of the Sunn cab - cover it with paper first. The painters tape removed just a hint of white paint. Not enough to do damage - but it did adhere. The red seemed OK - but may as well cover that to. My lesson learned and future advice to you!!!
Best to all,
- Ziggy -
