Howard Emerson
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Posts posted by Howard Emerson
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On 9/9/2021 at 1:09 PM, wuzzzer said:
Hey, there's an Epic group. Why not Heresy? 🙂
My proof of membership started out as a very, very rough pair of Heresy I that a good friend gave me back in March of 2021. They'd been used as a PA system for a local guitarist/singer we knew, and they had been beat up, but still worked fine. I refurbished them in white oak veneer and Tru-Oil, and along with a Sony STR-7045 & Tascam CD200BT I'm enjoying them a lot! I did post a build thread about them while it was happening if anyone is interested.
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3 hours ago, Area 51 said:
Absolutely BEAUTIFUL!
And it looks even better in the atrium than it does on a makeshift workbench!
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For those who did not see my other thread during the reconstitution of a sad pair of Heresy speakers, here are a couple of reminders of what can be done on a budget with an Exacto knife and an emory board......
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This is my refurbished pair of spatter paint Heresy speakers along with a small stand I built for a Tascam CD-200 BT disc player/Bluetooth and an early 1970's Sony STR-7045 receiver. I veneered the speakers in white oak veneer, as well as the CD player box, but I used red oak for the stand legs. All pieces are finished with Tru-Oil.
I'm very pleased with the results, sonically and visually. At some point I'll duck the Apple TV HDMI cable in the wall. Both the speakers and the stand have adjustable height legs to compensate for the bluestone floor which was laid on an outdoor concrete slab patio, pitched downhill to the left.
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The Silk Purse gets an update of sorts........with pictures......
This morning I'll finally be putting them in the atrium where I've imagined they should look perfect. Hopefully they'll sound at least half as good as they look:-)
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The drivers and crossovers are all back inside the cabinets where they belong, and yes: There were gaskets on the woofers after all!
The Klipsch badges were very discolored, and I assumed that they were made from anodized aluminum, and I believe that is incorrect. Having seen many older Fender Precision basses from the 1950's, anodized aluminum shows plain silver aluminum when it's worn, so I was concerned about using any abrasive to remove the discoloration I was seeing.
I threw caution to the wind and started rubbing with a light grey Scotch Brite pad, and the more I worked it, the more coppery the color became! I then switched to a white 1200 Scotch Brite, and it really polished up quite well! Maybe the badges are actually copper to start with?
In any case here are some shots showing the detail:
Clearly I have to spend a little more time on the ends so I'll have to mask the cloth so I don't mess that up. Here's a shot with the drivers loaded:
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On 4/18/2021 at 4:28 PM, HDBRbuilder said:
Those initials are more likely the sander of the cabinets, but if you gently scrape off the paint below those initials, you will likely find the builder code initial(s)...sanders tended to slather the rear edges of the panels with thinned down wood filler...let it harden, then belt sand those edges. Doing this often resulted in the builder code either getting completely sanded off or at least getting filled with putty and then it got painted over.! So if it is there it is under the paint. The sander code was put on after the sanding was completed...so it tends to always remain prominent, even after being painted-over. The builder code should be right below the sander code....underneath the paint.
Hello,
Although it's way too late now, in preparing the cabinets for veneering I actually used a cabinet scraper on the front and back 3/4" edges to be more precise in the the removal of the paint. Believe me, there was NOTHING there, and I've since seen several black Heresy originals where the serial # or initials are clear as day.
The MI on the back side edge was the only vestige of anything, and it now resides under veneer.
Regards,
Howard Emerson
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2 hours ago, Marvel said:
Outstanding! So these have a clear coat on them or still to be decided?
Hi Bruce,
They're finished with Tru-Oil, a polymerized linseed oil that dries very quickly. I did it with 3 coat, lightly sanding in between coats.
It basically looks like the wood is wet, but really doesn't change the color much.
Howard
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4 minutes ago, billybob said:
Guess it is possible to make a silk purse from a sow's ear.
Very cool...
Thank you kindly, Billybob!
The final product looks good to me, and I'm sure it'll sound really good too! I should have them loaded up and situated in a day or so.
Now I have to make a worthy 'hi-fi table' of some sort..........It's always something.....
HE
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1 minute ago, Marvel said:
Those turned out excellent! Are you East coast or farther to the west?
Bruce
Hi Bruce,
Thank you!
I'm in Huntington Station, NY on Long Island.
Here's the pair finally side by side, empty, waiting to have all the drivers, crossovers, etc re-installed:
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While I'm at it: A question regarding the Logo badges on the grill cloth:
What are they attached with?
I'm reasonably sure they're anodized aluminum that was then filled and wiped with black lacquer. The anodizing is funky on mine, and before I go doing something stupid it would be helpful to know what I can possibly do to 'renew' them just a little bit.
If not they'll just be a badge of a life lived rough.
Thanks!
Howard
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8 hours ago, DizRotus said:
Extremely nice. Your work is excellent.
Thank you, Neil!
You have excellent taste:-)
Howard
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2 hours ago, MarkVirginia said:
Excellent Work - nicely done!!
Thank you Mark!
HE
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3 hours ago, wetowne said:
Beautiful work. Better than original. I'm curious about the spring clip terminals. What not binding posts?
Thanks for the kind words!
I guess my reason is that I wanted something small, and when I saw these units that only required a round hole to install, I got them. It was simple and inexpensive, and frankly if all the JBL drivers I own have spring clips to hold the wire, then this is good enough for me! Long ago when I worked in a hi-fi store, I quickly grew immune to the nonsense products that people swore up and down would 'improve' the sound, but I'm in no way inferring that about binding posts.
I've spent over 40 years touring & recording with major acts, doing studio work, and 5 CD's of my own compositions, etc, and if it sounds good to my ears then that's all that counts.
14 gauge lamp cord is all I need. It ain't sexy, but as long as I can feel the ridges on the 'positive' leg, I'm good:-)
The other thing was that in searching older Heresy speakers I saw some really basic speaker connectors, compared to which the ones I got are high-tech. The ones mine came with were thick panel Switchcraft 1/4" jacks for phone plugs, although there were 2 small holes on either side which hints at something different from the factory. I did see some rather large binding post units on some newish Heresy models.
Anyway.......thanks again!
Howard
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Looking like a half a pair of new Heresy, eh?
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More progress: Improved grill attachment & back fitting. Super Magnets instead of Velcro for the grill.
Flush finish washers with SS oval head screws makes for a very clean look. Next up is adjustable height legs with pivoting feet and a skirt to cover them.....
Howard Emerson
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17 hours ago, Marvel said:
It came to me as a Kalamazoo Oriole, painted with a brown wrinkly finish, for which I paid between $50-100. I got it sometime in the late '60s. It was so ugly, I stripped off the paint and underneath was a sunburst finish and Gibson painted on the Gibson style peghead. I realize I killed off any hope of getting money back out of it, but knew I would keep it.
There was a huge flaw in the back (bottom), which I assume got them to make it a second and sell as a Kalamazoo. The original also had both the volume and tone controls on the one side, one of which was plugged when they put the controls on each side of the pickup. Never had a case for it, but I keep it in a heavy cardboard box my dad glued up when he gave my daughter a dulcimer (It hangs on the wall along with a Vega mandolin banjo). I had a Dobro, but sold it to buy a baby bed for my daughter, who is now 43.
I love it, the pickup sounds great, you just have to be careful and keep a hand on the strings or pickup, or it might buzz. I mostly pretend I can play it, but have played on a couple of albums of friends. I recently found there are lots of lapsteel videos on YT. Always been a fan of David Lindley's lapsteel playing.
Probably way too much info...
Bruce
Hi Bruce,
Although I don't currently own a lap steel, I've owned a bunch of Gibson EH models and at one point while out on the road I found a Fender Champ set with the lap steel and amp. Glorious Mother Of Toilet Seat in all its splendor! Here's a shot of me playing it in 1976, somewhere, when I was touring with Billy Joel.....and no, I'm not plugged into the Acoustic 360 Bass amp in back of me:-). At this juncture I was playing through a Fender Twin Reverb with JBL's.
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On 4/8/2021 at 12:24 PM, Marvel said:
You can get it in different colors or tint it yourself, too.
Hi Marvel,
I noticed the lap steel in your avatar is probably a Gibson, and isn't that the infamous P-13 pickup?
Very cool. I've played lap steel and dobro since 1970 or so.
Howard
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On 3/28/2021 at 1:28 PM, jimjimbo said:
A little bit of Bondo and black Duratex are your friends.
https://www.parts-express.com/Acry-Tech-DuraTex-Black-1-Quart-Roller-Grade-Cabinet-Texture-260-111
Hi Jimbo,
I somehow missed your post!
I'm clearly going in the nice furniture direction as you can see, but that Duratex would be great stuff if I get the incentive to refurbish the guitar case that originally came with my 1930 Gibson L-5 archtop guitar. It is REALLY beat up, and there's no way to find a covering that has the original look, and this Duratex looks like it would cover a host of issues easily!
Thanks!
Howard
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2 Coats of Tru Oil applied........
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One down, basically.........aside from finish sanding, staining, finishing, an angle base, etc........but I like it.
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Lot's of progress today! After veneering the back edges and the back itself, it was time to do the sides and top. Basically I made 2 strips a little deeper than the depth of the cabinets, and as long as 2 side and the top plus a little waste. The sides go on first.......
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2 hours ago, DizRotus said:
I assume you’ve seen the excellent 45 minute documentary about Mark Knopfler which features your friend. I strongly encourage everyone who reads this to watch the video. You will not be disappointed.
Yes, I've seen that mini documentary, and there's something even better coming out in the near future. As far as Mark Knopfler's guitar goes......Here it is getting test driven before it left the shop.....Yes, I'm a lucky guy!
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2 hours ago, DizRotus said:
Clever indeed. The biggest problem I can see is that it makes the cabinet less sealed than it was. When I asked someone at Klipsch if Heresy is a sealed speaker, his response was, “Sealed enough.”
The cup and post used in the bracket from Parts Express allow the hole to be sealed. Despite the “sealed enough” design goal, I always use gasket material to seal the horns to the motor boards, as well as the back. Any new holes are also sealed. It can’t hurt, even with HIPs or other ported Heresys. Let all the venting exit the port rather than a multitude of tiny leaks.
Hi Neil,
As I mentioned originally these were for a portable PA system, so the owner wasn't too concerned about hi-fidelity, but more for brute volume of a magnetic pickup guitar and Shure SM-58 mic.
I made a point of removing all that stuff on the first day, and fashioned a couple of 3/4" plywood plugs and filled the holes. It is very curious, though, that there was no gasket material on the 12" woofers, and the back is just screwed directly to the batten strips. Perhaps Klipsch does a better job on their 'real' stereo speakers? Every guitar amp I've ever removed a speaker from, be it the lowliest Jensen to a high-end JBL has had some sort of gasket material to help avoid rattles.
Looking like a half a pair of new Heresy, eh?
Klipsch Heresy Owners Group
in 2-Channel Home Audio
Posted
Here you go: