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Photo Page 11

Bass Speaker Cabinets

B80

B140

B115E (Folded-Horn)

B118V (Folded-Horn)

F115 (Bass-Reflex)

F215 (Bass-Reflex)
1.1: Sound City B80 4x12 Cabinet Front View
A very fine example of an early Dallas Arbiter-era (mid-to-late late 60s) 4x12 bass cabinet. According to the owner, the 12-inch speakers are 20-watt Fanes.   Photos Home Page

1.2: Sound City B80 4x12 Cabinet Rear View
Note the smooth black covering and grey vein, which were indicative of the earlier DA era. Also note the removeable rear panel, which means rear-loaded speakers.   Photos Home Page

1.3: Sound City B80 4x12 Cabinet Right-Side View
Note the spring-loaded ("door-knocker") handles, which were also indicative of the earlier DA era: a close-up photo appears below.   Photos Home Page

1.4: Sound City B80 4x12 Cabinet Serial Number Label
Note how the serial number provides little to no indication of a date of manufacture, as the later Sound City serial numbers seem to do.   Photos Home Page

1.5: Sound City B80 4x12 Cabinet Logo Close-Up
Note the flat metal logo (white lettering, sans border), which is also seen on the some L/B100 and L/B200 Mark 2 heads.   Photos Home Page

2.1:  Sound City B80 4x12 Cabinet Front View
This cab bears SN F894596.    Photos Home Page

2.2:  B80 4x12 Cabinet Rear View w/o Rear Baffle
 This is the same cab as above and it contains four 22-watt Fanes: Model 12289, Flux 14000, 22w, and 15 ohms.   Photos Home Page

2.3:  Close-Up of Spring-Loaded Handle from B80 4x12 Cab
This is a great shot of the handle type that appeared only on the earliest Sound City cabinets. Wow... try finding a replacement for THIS thing!   Photos Home Page

1.1: Restored Sound City B140 4x12 Cabinet Front View
Pre-restoration view, 160W, later Dallas Arbiter-era, ~1973, front-loaded, two ports, solid back. As you can see, this one was a bit rough. Note the extra holes drilled in the top, presumably for amplifier feet. Definitely particle board, which further suggests the later Dallas Arbiter-era.   Photos Home Page

1.2: Restored Sound City B140 4x12 Cabinet Front View
This is the same cab as above, but after being fully restored (by Gregg Hopkins of Vintage-Amp Restoration), including black "basketweave" Tolex and new silver vein (both, just like on the original). The grill cloth is Fender "Wheat," which was a reasonable approximation of the Sound City grill cloth from this era. Also, a new grill frame had to be made, which was routed from a single piece of 5/8-inch Baltic Birch.   Photos Home Page
(Original handles have not been installed.)

1.3: Restored Sound City B140 4x12 Cabinet Front View
One more shot of the same cab, but with a replica small plastic logo (offset right) and silver, staple-edged piping added around the grill frame.   Photos Home Page

(Some might feel that restoration is a bad idea,; that it can ruin collector value. But if restoration can have such a dramatic effect, why not?)

1.4: Restored Sound City B140 4x12 Cabinet Front View
One final shot of the restored cab, but showing its four reconed Eminence 12-inch "Sound City Power Speakers." The original 12s were moth-eaten and essentially useless.   Photos Home Page

2.1: Sound City B140 4x12 Cabinet Front View
Presumably a Model B140, 160W, earlier Dallas Arbiter era, ~1968-1972 (although the lack of spring-loaded handles suggests this cab is from the latter portion of this range), with original grill cloth, black "basketweave" Tolex, silver vein, and gold trim. Note the added caster cups on the top; these are not original. Nonetheless, a good example of an earlier B140 4x12 cab.   Photos Home Page

2.2: Sound City B140 4x12 Cabinet Front View w/o Grill
The same cab as above, but with the grill frame removed: front-loaded, two ports. Note what appear to be two reconed speakers, upper-left and lower-right. Speaker manufacturer unknown, but Eminences or Fanes were probably the original speakers.   Photos Home Page

2.3: Sound City B140 4x12 Cabinet Rear View
What's most interesting about this shot is the rectangular port at the top. Earlier B140 4x12s did have a rear port (as suggested by the catalog), but currently, no evidence suggests these earlier cabs also had the two front ports. Therefore, this rectangular port could have been added later, although it is possible the rectangular port is stock.   Photos Home Page

1.1: Sound City B115E 1x15 Cabinet Front View
A rarely seen, excellent example of the surprisingly rare folded-horn, bass-reflex bass cab first offered during the initial Dallas Music Industries (DMI) era (~1973). The "E" in the model name meant that this cab used a 15-inch Eminence speaker, which this very cab has in it. Note the offset-right small plastic logo, metal trim around the grill, and the grill cloth, which were also characteristic of the DMI era. For a diagram of this DMI-era bass cab, refer to the Catalog Pages.   Photos Home Page

(The head is a Bass 150, which is also from the DMI era.)

1.1: Two Sound City B115E Bass Cabinets w/ Sound City L120
Wow! Here is a real prize: two B115E cabs purchased as a set (with the L120 head shown)! Lucky owner!

Note: For photos of the 15-inch Eminence speaker model that came stock in the B115E, please see Photo Page 14.   Photos Home Page

1.2: Sound City B115E Bass Cabinet Front View w/ Grill Removed
In this photo you can easily see the folded-horn design. The 15-inch speaker faces the rear of the cab and is located behind the angled panel shown in this photo. Note the thicker-than-usual front cabinet edges. Not sure if this indicates 1-inch stock was used for all sides, but the owner claims these cabinets are very heavy, so this is possible. (Is it any wonder so many "older" bass players have back problems?) Note also how this folded-horn design is effectively the top-half of the folded-horn design used for the 70s-era Electrovoice "Eliminator" cabs. Folded-horn designs were quite common in bass cabinets of the 70s.   Photos Home Page

1.3: Sound City B115E Bass Cabinet Front View w/ Speaker Panel Removed
In this photo you can easily see how the angled panel is removed to access the speaker, which is rear loaded on the baffle. (Here is a sketch of this cab's side-view provided by the owner.)   Photos Home Page

1.4: Sound City B115E Bass Cabinet Rear View
Don't let the Tolex issues fool you; this is a very clean example of a completely original B115E, right down to the casters.   Photos Home Page

1.5: Sound City B115E Bass Cabinet Rear View , Close-Up of ID Plate
As is my assumption with other Sound City products of this era, this serial numbers's two-digit prefix (in this case "76") appears to indicate this cabinet was built/sold in 1976, but this serial-numering is still a bit of a mystery. Sadly, the second B115E cabinet is missing its ID plate, but... that cab probably had a serial number indicating this same (or a very similar) era.

Note: Again, for photos of the 15-inch AlNiCo Eminence speaker model that came stock in the B115E, please see Photo Page 14.   Photos Home Page

1.1: Sound City B118V Folded-Horn Bass Cabinet, Front View w/ Grill
A seldom seen, excellent example of yet another surprisingly (and some would say "insanely") rare folded-horn, bass-reflex bass cab first offered during the initial Dallas Music Industries (DMI) era (~1973). The "V" in the model name meant that this cab used a 18-inch Vega speaker, which this very cab has in it. Note the offset-right small plastic logo, metal trim around the grill, and the grill cloth, which were characteristic of the DMI era. For a diagram of this DMI-era bass cab, refer to the Catalog Pages.   Photos Home Page

1.2: Sound City B118V Folded-Horn Bass Cabinet, Front View w/ SC 120 Head
I've placed my Sound City 120 head on the B118V for scale. (And by the way, this cabinet with this amp is ridiculously loud and sounds great!)   Photos Home Page

1.3: Sound City B118V Folded-Horn Bass Cabinet, Front View w/o Grill
Here's a shot of the top of the horn inside the cabinet; the speaker faces the rear of the cab and is angled up slightly. Think of this cabinet as one-half of an Acoustic 301 folded-horn cabinet. The B118V is 31.5 inches (H) x 27.25 inches (W) x 23.75 inches (D) and weighs very close to 110 pounds.   Photos Home Page

1.4: Sound City B118V Folded-Horn Bass Cabinet, Right-Side View
This photo shows how deep the B118V cab is. And like the Acoustic 301 cab, the B118V also has a dolly handle and casters for easier transport. The speaker is accessed via a panel (not shown) in the bottom of the cabinet.    Photos Home Page

1.5: Vega 18-Inch Speaker from Sound City B118V Folded-Horn Bass Cabinet
This is the stock 18-inch cast-frame Vega speaker from the B118V; it is identical to the 8-ohm, 18-inch Vega that was in the 200-watt, Acoustic 360/301 rig I owned back in 1969--1973.    Photos Home Page

1.1: Sound City F115 1x15 Cabinet Front View
Although the "F" in the model name doesn't indicate Bass, this is a rare front-loaded 1x15 bass cabinet and was manufactured at the Mahwah, NJ DMI plant during the mid-to-late 70s. Note the steel corners, black grill cloth, metal trim around the grill frame, and logo placement.   Photos Home Page

1.2: Sound City F115 1x15 Cabinet Front View w/o Grill
The following photo clearly shows the 15-inch speaker is front loaded. Probably an Eminence was stock; however, this speaker is a Celestion, which also might have been stock as Celestions were offered for a while as an option.   Photos Home Page

1.3: Sound City F115 1x15 Cabinet Rear Panel View
The two-digit prefix in the F115's serial number ("78") suggests the cab was made in 1978.   Photos Home Page

1.4: Sound City F115 1x15 Cabinet Speaker's EIA Code
The following photo shows the EIA code printed on the magnet of the F115's speaker, which indicates a Rola Celestion ("285") made during the third week ("3") of 1976 ("76"). Although Eminences were typically used in DMI-era cabs, this speaker might have been a custom order (i.e., an option) or was simply a replacement for the original Eminence. It's possible this Rola was original/optional equipment as its date precedes the cab's date. (If any Rola experts out there know what the "29781" number stands for, I'd love to hear from you.)   Photos Home Page

1.1: Sound City F215 2x15 Cabinet Front View One
This equally rare 2x15 bass cabinet was also manufactured at the Mahwah, NJ DMI plant during the mid-to-late 70s. Note the similarities to the preceding F115 cab: steel corners, squared cabinet front edges, black grill cloth, metal trim around the grill frame, and logo placement. This cab's original speakers were Eminence, which were used almost exclusively in DMI/Sound City bass cabs.   Photos Home Page

(The head is a Bass 150, which is also from the DMI era.)

1.2: Sound City F215 2x15 Cabinet Front View Two
Same cabinet as above, but with a DMI-era B120 head on it. (For photos of this B120 head, see Photo Page 6.   Photos Home Page

1.3: Sound City F215 2x15 Cabinet Rear Panel View
Same F215 cab as above. Note the impedance switch that allowed the F215's two 8-ohm speakers to be wired in series (for 16 ohms) or in parallel (for 4 ohms). The 16-ohm setting allowed up to four of these 2x15 cabs to be attached in parallel to a single head for a 4-ohm load! My oh my... eight 15-inch speakers. Ouch.   Photos Home Page

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