goober
Joined: Jan 12, 2007
Posts: 317
California
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Posted on Apr 17 2011 07:44 PM
Just finished my latest project: A matching 2 x 12 Speaker cab in smooth blonde tolex/gold sparkle grill cloth for my '64 Bandmaster. The cab was in pretty rough shape: lots of tears, loose tolex, holes in the grill cloth, no speakers, damaged baffle board.
I bought the head off ebay for a good price and had Blackie at Tubesville do a cap job and all new tubes. I found out it's pretty hard to find a matching speaker cab for these transition Bandy's at a decent price, so I took a chance on a pretty "rough" cab I found on craigslist for $325. This was definitely a "players" cab--both had lots of dents, dings, stains and tears, but so was the head and the tolex matched perfectly. The grill cloth on the cab was full of holes and faded to the extent it had lost a lot of the gold "sparkle." I lucked into finding some reissue gold sparkle grill cloth, and bought a new plywood baffle board from JD Newell Amps. The new grill cloth not a perfect match for the head, but the grill cloth on the speaker didn't match the head anyway. I can always swap out the original baffle if I want that vintage "war horse" look. I have enough of the new gold sparkle cloth to do a matching baffle for the head if I want a perfect match.
I loaded the cab with two 60's Magnovox Alnico's. Just Sounds great.
Now I'm torn--should I sell the '64 or sell my '62? Cap and resistor jobs on both, and the '64 sounds really nice, and has a little less "buzz" than the '62. Goober
Last edited: May 08, 2011 21:20:22
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goober
Joined: Jan 12, 2007
Posts: 317
California
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Posted on Apr 17 2011 07:54 PM
action=view¤t=049.jpg
Last edited: May 08, 2011 21:22:33
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Sonichris
Joined: Mar 06, 2006
Posts: 1890
Wear gloves - I'm in the Rockies
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Posted on Apr 17 2011 08:23 PM
That looks great! Where did you get the sparkle grill cloth?
I think you should keep both.
— "You can't tell where you're going if you don't know where you've been"
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goober
Joined: Jan 12, 2007
Posts: 317
California
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Posted on Apr 17 2011 11:09 PM
http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb150/mikegeibel/052.jpg
Still struggling with "how to post a pic" thing.
Sonchris: Go the gold sparkle grillcloth from Mojo Supply. They list it a "Fender Style Beige with Gold Stripe." The weave is a little different than the original and the other reissue cloths I've seen, but close enough. Here is the link:http:
//www.mojotone.com/amp-parts/Grillcloth/Fender-Style-Beige-Brown-w-Gold-Stripe-Grill-Cloth-57-W
Goober
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goober
Joined: Jan 12, 2007
Posts: 317
California
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Posted on Apr 17 2011 11:11 PM
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spy
Joined: Mar 29, 2007
Posts: 815
Athens, Greece
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Posted on Apr 18 2011 02:25 AM
Nice grillcloth! It's very nice! There's oxblood with gold stripes, it's my favourite but this is awesome, too!
— Every word is like an unecessary stain on silence and nothingness.
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goober
Joined: Jan 12, 2007
Posts: 317
California
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Posted on Apr 18 2011 02:12 PM
Thanks to a little RR4TI [Remedial Reading for the Technologically Impaired] courtesy of Brian, here is my final effort to post the pics of the '64 Bandy project:
The last pic shows the original speaker baffle and cloth, which I can swap out if I want the "relic" look.
Reissue gold sparkle grill cloth had been impossible to find, until I stumbled across the Mojo Supply website. The new gold sparkle grillcloth is not an exact match to the original weave, but it came in 36" x 57" length, so more than enough to cover a new head baffle if I want an exact match.
Goob
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elreydlp
Joined: Sep 04, 2009
Posts: 1800
Temecula, CA
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Posted on Apr 18 2011 03:06 PM
That looks nice. I still consider the '63 I bought in 65 to be the prettiest amp I've ever owned. I have enough of the old gold sparle cloth to do a head baffle and was saving it for my Showman. I think I'll check out the Mojo material. Thanks!
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Sonichris
Joined: Mar 06, 2006
Posts: 1890
Wear gloves - I'm in the Rockies
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Posted on Apr 18 2011 04:32 PM
http://www.mojotone.com/amp-parts/Grillcloth/Fender-Style-Beige-Brown-w-Gold-Stripe-Grill-Cloth-57-W
Does it look like this close up?
— "You can't tell where you're going if you don't know where you've been"
Last edited: Apr 18, 2011 16:32:45
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goober
Joined: Jan 12, 2007
Posts: 317
California
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Posted on Apr 18 2011 06:21 PM
Sonichris wrote "Does it look like this close up?"
Not really. I think it looks better than the catalogue photo which is zoomed in too closely. I can try to get a close up pic--or send you a small piece if you are thinking about ordering some.
The primary difference between this and original, is that this cloth has a darker brown thread all across the length of the grill cloth, whereas the original grill cloth has a lighter shade of brown thread making it look "spaced" along the length of the grill face, if that makes any sense.
It is not as "bright yellow" as other reissue gold sparkle cloth that is now discontinued [I have a small piece about 26 x 20], and from a distance looks darker or more "gold" rather than yellow. But it has a lot of sparkle and would really reflect with stage lights. The second pic above was taken with a flash on the camera.
I think it was a better match for the original cloth on the Head I have, which had not faded as much as the speaker cab. I am thinking about putting a piece behind the faded grill cloth on the old speaker baffle since, by trial and error, it makes the old grill cloth look darker and the gold sparkles show through the old cloth.
goob
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Sonichris
Joined: Mar 06, 2006
Posts: 1890
Wear gloves - I'm in the Rockies
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Posted on Apr 18 2011 06:40 PM
If you could try to take a closer picture, that would be great!
— "You can't tell where you're going if you don't know where you've been"
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goober
Joined: Jan 12, 2007
Posts: 317
California
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Posted on Apr 18 2011 09:33 PM
Sonichris:
Here is a comparison of original gold sparkle to the reissue "beige with gold stripe."
Here is a comparison of original gold sparkle to the now discontinued "gold sparkle."
And here is a close up of the "beige with gold stripe"--the darker brown stripe shows up when you look close, but from a distance, you don't see it so much.
Goober
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SixStringSurfer
Joined: Sep 23, 2014
Posts: 1379
Memphis, TN
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Posted on Dec 13 2016 05:55 PM
Just curious, when did the gold sparkle grill cloth first appear on a Fender amp? Which amp was it?
— MooreLoud.com - A tribute to Dick Dale.
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