I finally got a brand new repro of a blonde showman 15" tone ring cab and I was really taken back at its front baffle construction with the metal tone ring, been wondering for years about em. The sound is inspiring for sure and I thought it might be of interest as I installed my JBL D130 15" alnico speaker in it.. enjoy. (note: the outdoor pic of just the baffleboard is from beaverbottoms.com as I wasnt about to remove mine from the cab and the pic w the dual showman head is not mine)

BTW.. really bummed that on this new version of the GDP, the pictures are super tiny.

That is one damn wacky design. Never seen anything like it. Makes good sense, though. It's like the acoustic engineering version of a mechanical maze seal. Any audio engineers out there who can comment on why it's more desirable to have the vent surround the cone than a linear design along the edge of the baffle? Other than "inspiring," how would you describe the sound compared to other closed back or ported cabs?

perfecto!! congrats...tone rings the best!

check rawoods for more pics n details

Link...

cheers

just to elucidate, in the early 60's, most guitar cabinets were just open back combos or closed back cabs with some fiberglass tacked on..not much thought..however, hi-fi speaker enthusiasts of the time were delving into all sorts of "weird" designs..

the fender tone ring comes out of that...theoretically offering even better bigger more full range sound out of what was already a comparatively large sized cabinet

it also allowed leo fender, cautious business man that he was, to have more leeway with his baffle and speaker ranges

ultimately, most players couldn't care less and it wasn't till designs like the thiele, primarily for bass, that alternative cabinet designs resurfaced

very much a design of its time..but when coupled with the equally brilliant design of the d130..

well then....

cheers

I've got a silverface dual showman 215 cab, an oversized bandmaster 212 cab, blackface bassman 212 and fender custom shop tonemaster 212 cab these being my closeback cabs, now this tone ring 15.. I'm really blown away by it and as much as I love my blonde bassman with the 212, I didnt realize how freakin punchy it could be with the right 15 cab. Its really huge sounding with my 51' Pbass as the V30s 212 cab breaks up waaay early than this D130'd Showman cab.

I'm still weirded out by the high end zing of the JBL, but now I understand why guys love it for country as my sugarpine tele with t-armonds has some serious Plucka Plucka Boing going on with this. If I had a set of flatwounds on it, I'd nail Ashley Kingmans AC50 and 15" combination.

wow...relatively soft wood pine tele with t-armonds!..you owe it to yourself to slap some thomastik pure nickel flatwound 11's on that..pricey, but well worth it..i'm sure you have plenty of other guitars to take you in various directions..but for a big huge classic sound...give it a whirl

you got some nice gear bud

cheers

I was thinking these haha

13's!

cheers

Backstory on the Lightning Bolt surfboard please!

I'd expect a bass bump in the spectrum somewhere. Probably really low. It's like a bass reflex port. But it could get overwhelming at certain frequencies; some hifi housings are. Guitar speakers might react different because the spectrum is different to begin with. Very interesting concept.

Wow, missed this one, very cool! Those baffles look much more sturdy and worlds thicker than the Echolette cabs at least. Hows the low end? Does it stay tight with Guitar/P-Bass?

BTW.. really bummed that on this new version of the GDP, the pictures are super tiny.

Right-click + view image shows the full size picture

I just want big pictures. I know about the right click or drag to url box

@jazzboxjunky ..that is a Lightening bolt surfboard by one of the original hawaiian lightening bolt board shapers, Cowan Chang. I grew up in Orange County part of the surf and skate community until my parents moved us away with broken hearts to live inland. 45 minutes now to the beach but I don't surf anymore

Not on Win 7 w/ IE9. The 'Show Picture' is greyed out.

I just want big pictures. I know about the right click or drag to url box

@jazzboxjunky ..that is a Lightening bolt surfboard by one of the original hawaiian lightening bolt board shapers, Cowan Chang. I grew up in Orange County part of the surf and skate community until my parents moved us away with broken hearts to live inland. 45 minutes now to the beach but I don't surf anymore

I want big pictures back too. And the ability to double-tap and zoom on my iOS devices. Small pictures suck.

If you use an old unsupported browser, the pictures still are huge ;) .. but navigating and reading becomes quite a bit more difficult.

Tavo, so how is the low end on that 15" TR? Does it get boomy or stay tight with bass & guitar? Certainly looks great and well made.

totally tight and solid with bounce and extreme clarity. Almost too hi fi for my gretsch and I think I'd rather have a Weber Chicago in there for the Filtertrons because there is so much zing from the JBL D130 (strange its not so succinct in the dual showman 215 cab at 4ohms with the other 15" (eminence legend)

BUT this is truly awesome with my 51' pbass.

btw

sounds just like this with a strat(same cab and same speaker as Mr Dale)

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

Ok Tavo, how much for the Bolt? or at least some full pics.

I've had that surfboard since childhood, traded it for my very first guitar as a kid. I ditched my G&S longboard and my herbie fletcher custom, but the Bolt is para vida

Gotcha, nice Bolt, not as collectable as a Lopez or Russell shaped Bolt, but still very cool. How original is it? How long, pintail? etc. PM me if you think we are boring the class.

Not boring... I used to watch Ted James shape Fox boards in what I believe was his first shop in Lantana Fl. in the late '60's

Thanks Tavo! interests me, but there is also a guy over on the plexiboard thinking about a 15" TR for bass.. directed him here.