OT: Replacement options for Ampeg grille

[Fuzzy Dustmite]

I have an Ampeg 610, whose front grille has been damaged for a while now. The cloth itself is intact, but the underlying frame is cracked, so it doesn't sit securely and pops out occasionally.

I'm interested in replacing the wood/cloth grille with a metal one like my SWR Goliath JR 210 has.

Anyone know a supplier for this, or if it's a matter of contacting some kind of local metal shop for the grate stuff and have them cut it to size?

Thanks!

 

[willhaven]

Unless it's a sort of custom option that people make replacements for (which I kind of doubt)... you'll probably have to take measurements and have someone cut and/or bend some metal for you locally.

The SWR stuff seems to be made from sheets and punched into the final shape. Something like that would likely be more expensive than if you just took some standardized speaker mesh metal and had them trim the edges with something.

Mounting something like this also has to be done really well and the metal you use is important. My old bassist had some crappy old Crate amp that had metal grilles. They sucked because the metal was so thin it flexed when he played and you could hear the metal wobbling and creaking. It was terrible.

Now he has one of those Ampeg pro series 8x10's with the metal grille. Basically, the metal has to be thick enough to never flex to the point of making any noise.

Also on the noise front, you'll probably want to mount it with a good number of screws that help isolate the grille and the cabinet. Big rubber grommet things between the metal and your cab could help make sure that the screws don't rattle if they start to get loose.

I would suggest first checking with the latest Ampeg pro cabs to see what size their grille is in comparison to your baffle board. It might be a fit, then you can just order a replacement from Ampeg with the associated mounting hardware and be done with it.

If that isn't an option, just find some nice thick speaker grille somewhere and have someone weld on some trim around it and drill the holes. Then have it anodized (if aluminum) or powder coated (probably a bit more expensive than spray paint, but it will be really tough).

Thats my advice anyway.

[edit] Also, I don't recall the old cabinet designs with the baffles, but there might not be much to screw the grille to in the middle of the box. This might cause metal flexing problems as well.

If your speakers are like this:
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You'll probably need some ahchor points at LEAST in these areas to keep the grille solid("+" is the mount point, the "-" are just visual spacers for me to place them in the middle of the cab. Spaces get deleted):
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-+
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-+
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Some heavy plastic or metal pipe cut to length to reach from your speaker box to the grille would do the trick there (also with good mounting to keep it from being noisy).

Good luck.