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  1. #1

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    The speaker pictured below is in a late 60's Ampeg amp I just purchased. This '76 Eminence speaker is not original, and I am wondering if anyone has any information to share about this speaker. I think the original speaker was a square-magnet CTS speaker. I hope this is a suitable substitute. Any information would be helpful. I have yet to obtain the amp, so I haven't tested the speaker out yet. I hope it will work out well, but I'm not sure what to expect.

    Thanks in advance for taking the time to help!

    Can you enlighten me about this 1976 Eminence speaker?-picture-2-pngCan you enlighten me about this 1976 Eminence speaker?-picture-1-jpgCan you enlighten me about this 1976 Eminence speaker?-picture-3-jpg

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  3. #2

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    For the benefit of all Ampeg-lovers:
    The G-15 Gemini II was a blue check amp introduced in 1965. It was reconfigured as the GV-15 Gemini 15 in 1968, when it acquired the "helmethead" look, along with 2 x 6L6 power tubes. This amp lasted until the end of 1971, when it was discontinued. So the amp you are looking at was built in the 1968-1971 timeframe.

    I can't help with the speaker, but can confirm that the GV-15 is indeed an early one, because of the exposed metal amp chassis. Ampeg eventually painted the amp chassis black in later versions, as shown below. Also, FWIW, the on/off switch on these is typically on the front, and the standbye switch on the rear. Not sure if your's is reversed, or if someone replaced the switch and didn't bother to remove the on/off label. Photos below show typical graphics. Note that the Model is shown as "GV15 - 22" (identical head and cab; one version has a 1x15" speaker, and the other has 2x12" speakers).
    Attached Images Attached Images Can you enlighten me about this 1976 Eminence speaker?-gv-15-22_5175-jpg Can you enlighten me about this 1976 Eminence speaker?-gv-15-22_5176-jpg Can you enlighten me about this 1976 Eminence speaker?-gv-15-22_5177-jpg 

  4. #3

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    yeah it's a spring of 76 eminence 15"

    check this vid..and try contacting eminence at the email supplied at the end of the vid



    cheers

  5. #4

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    I contacted Eminence via e-mail. They said their old records are not very good, and could only tell me the date of production. Maybe my question is a difficult one, but I thought it was worth giving it a shot on this forum since there's a lot of knowledgeable folks around.

  6. #5

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    pretty funny that they can't figure out their own coding!!

    the date code is easy

    and the 15n, but the rest???..the 8m might be 8 ohm rating

    luck

    cheers

  7. #6

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    That is as far as I got too. I thought that there may be some resources online I was unaware of where I could look this information up. Ideally it would be great to know what amp this speaker was made for, so that I could determine all its specs and how suitable it is for my amp. I guess this might not be possible to determine though.

    Here are some better pictures, in case this helps anyone add anything to the story. Does the condition of the cone look okay to everyone? I'm a newbie at evaluating speakers.

    Can you enlighten me about this 1976 Eminence speaker?-speaker-3-jpgCan you enlighten me about this 1976 Eminence speaker?-speaker-5-jpgCan you enlighten me about this 1976 Eminence speaker?-speaker-1-jpgCan you enlighten me about this 1976 Eminence speaker?-speaker-2-jpgCan you enlighten me about this 1976 Eminence speaker?-speaker-4-jpg

  8. #7

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    barring that the cone has holes or slices in it, there's not much you can tell by looking at...its a ribbed cone...

    it's the voice coil that's key...whether its been damaged or not...and you cant tell by looking!

    the primary concerns are ohm rating and power handling...2 6l6 probably put out abt 35-40 watts in that amp...so for a 15" speaker that's probably not an issue..they are usually fairly robust

    thinking the 15n designation might be for ampeg b-15n fliptop amp...this speaker might have been an oem replacement for that...in which case it would work in the gemini as well

    fact that it's still in there, and probably has been for a long time. shows that who ever did the replacement probably got it right..hopefully anyway

    dont over worry it..play and let your ears be the judge

    if you decide you don't like it, or there's a problem, there are plenty of choices out there these days


    cheers

    ps- and it wasn't like original cts speakers were anything really special anyway..they were oem too
    Last edited by neatomic; 03-18-2019 at 09:15 PM. Reason: ps-