Tom Mobley Posted May 12, 2002 Share Posted May 12, 2002 Belle's fans, check it out. Not perfect, but not bad. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1352390649 I'm in PHX, could probably be talked into/bribed to go pick these up for somebody on the right coast, SLC is not that far. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShapeShifter Posted May 12, 2002 Share Posted May 12, 2002 Nice 86 Models with a Custom Zebrawood finish & White Grill Cloth. ------------------ KLIPSCH IS MUSICf> My Systems f>s>c> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDBRbuilder Posted May 12, 2002 Share Posted May 12, 2002 Not zebrawood...could be any number of other woods, but zebrawood is blonde and BLACK...so...not zebrawood. Just goes to show you that, since most of the old hands (who knew their exotic veneers)at Klipsch have been long gone, the company gets duped into offering a less expensive exotic wood as zebrawood based solely on the grain patterns. Lots of woods out there from the world's rainforests and Africa that have those grain patterns....BUT zebrawood isn't red...just as zebras aren't red. (yeah, I saw the label too...like I said...ain't zebrawood) ------------------ If you want to send a private message, or have already done so, be aware I have not as yet been able to retrieve them. Send e-maill instead, please...just note Klipsch forum in the heading so it doesn't get deleted. This message has been edited by HDBRbuilder on 05-12-2002 at 09:17 AM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Lindsey Posted May 12, 2002 Share Posted May 12, 2002 Not sure but I think BK-ZD means Belle Klipsch-Zebra Designer. Of course, I've been wrong before. Mike ------------------ My Music Systems Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDBRbuilder Posted May 12, 2002 Share Posted May 12, 2002 Label says...BK-ZO...belle klipsch-zebrawood-oiled...but it still ain't zebrawood...trust me on that..I have handled more than enough zebrawood to know the difference!! There must be 20 or 30 less expensive exotic woods that emulate zebrawood...but only zebrawood and one other wood are blonde and black, exclusively! ------------------ If you want to send a private message, or have already done so, be aware I have not as yet been able to retrieve them. Send e-maill instead, please...just note Klipsch forum in the heading so it doesn't get deleted. This message has been edited by HDBRbuilder on 05-12-2002 at 09:23 AM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShapeShifter Posted May 12, 2002 Share Posted May 12, 2002 Here is a page from a Klipsch Brochure circa 1984. It containes the finishes that were available when my 84 Heresy's w/HWL finish were ordered. The Zebrawood finish displayed in the brochure certainly matches the finish on the Belles in the eBay link. The finish designator looks more like "ZD" than "ZO" to me as well. Appears their were finish changes or to suppliers after you left. ------------------ KLIPSCH IS MUSICf> My Systems f>s>c> This message has been edited by ShapeShifter on 05-12-2002 at 12:00 PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edster00 Posted May 12, 2002 Share Posted May 12, 2002 Was/is there any such thing as a "designer" Belle? I thought it was pretty much designer by default. Don't most designer series have veneer in place of grill cloth? Inquiring minds want to know! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDBRbuilder Posted May 12, 2002 Share Posted May 12, 2002 Shapeshifter...look at that sample...the dark color is BLACK...not RED...those belles show it to be RED...unless the photo quality is messed up, then that ain't zebrawood on the belles...the red you see in the sample is from the oil finish soaking into the blonde of the zebrawood and coloring it...zebrawood is naturally blonde and BLACK...no red at all...Zebrawood with clear laquer on it will be blonde and black...but most customers find that combination too "loud", so they want it dyed before laquering or with an oil finish to it that reddens the naturally blonde wood somewhat...but that red dye or oil will NOT cause the black to become red!!! Although the label may appear to say BK-ZD...the "D" is actually an "O" for oiled finish...there was no "D" finish...still isn't...."D" stands for decorator, meaning birch plywood, not a finish..."D" still does stand for decorator. Even when I worked there, we would occasssionally get in some veneered panels that were sold to the company as zebrawood, but everybody in the cabinet shop knew that it wasn't really zebrawood...and we got a kick out of how easily the company and customers were duped! The wood may well have been more expensive than zebrawood, but zebrawood is very unique. Anybody who has worked with exotic woods alot can easily tell the difference. Matter of fact, whenever we got in some "zebrawood" that wasn't zebrawood...we all stood around trying to figure out just what kinda wood it was...much more difficult to do that since so many exotic woods emulate zebrawood in grain patterns...the color is what gives it away as being zebrawood or not! Hell, you can take birch plywood and stain it to look like cherry or maple very easily...even black walnut!!! Most customers would never know the difference! Just like rosewood and ebony...some ebony is such a light color that the red in it shows up more, and can easily pass for dark rosewood...and some rosewood is so very dark it looks more like ebony...but you just have to feel it to know the difference...rosewood doesn't have the same texture as ebony(which is denser in grain), and rosewood has a more oily feel to it than ebony's dry waxy feel. If there was anybody silly enough to try and cut veneers from Lignus Vitae (the hardest wood on earth), they could easily pass it off as rosewood...it has a bit more oily feel to it than rosewood though...more oily than waxy. Teak has a waxy feel to it, and is naturally a bit lighter than olivewood in its green/yellow tint...but when you cut olivewood, it smells like green olives!...actually more of a taste than a smell! Same for applewood or pearwood...both are pithy...look very similar...but just cut it or belt sand it and you will immmediately know the difference...same for cherry...you will smell the fruit! Hard Maple will smell like burnt sugar(remember the smell in grade school science class when sugar was added to sulphuric acid?). Hope this clears up what I was talking about some. ------------------ If you want to send a private message, or have already done so, be aware I have not as yet been able to retrieve them. Send e-maill instead, please...just note Klipsch forum in the heading so it doesn't get deleted. This message has been edited by HDBRbuilder on 05-12-2002 at 01:11 PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShapeShifter Posted May 12, 2002 Share Posted May 12, 2002 Understand what you're saying. Because I'm obviously one of those who could be duped, because it's very hard for me to distinguish the differences looking at photos. Do you feel the veneer and/or stain has been altered from the original? The labels appear to be originals. More an exercise now of how to determine or spot altered items. Wes ------------------ KLIPSCH IS MUSICf> My Systems f>s>c> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDBRbuilder Posted May 12, 2002 Share Posted May 12, 2002 Wes, No, I don't think anything has been tampered with....I think that it is just another example of the company getting in something that had the appearance of zebrawood, and was sold as such...happened while I worked there, no reason why it didn't happen again. Actually...the tight grain zebrawood is much less desirable then the loose grain zebrawood...from a woodworker's point of view. In the loose grained zebrawood, the blonde and black bands will be as much as an inch wide or more...and will have some swirl to the figure, but still be stripes. On a pair of k-horns, it is breathtaking! But, again, very "LOUD". Unless a customer has the entire room done up in other "LOUD" wood grains, top-quality zebrawood on a panel as large as that on K-horns, is very overpowering!!..beautiful...but overpowering! My personal favorite of woods for k-horns is a nicely figured rosewood...with no more than 4, and preferably just two panels of veneer in a perfect book-match on the panel vertical centerline...and with only the dark red/maroon and black in the color of it...ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS!!!...but also seldom seen! The prettiest rosewood k-horns I have ever seen were ALL built for employees, too! ------------------ If you want to send a private message, or have already done so, be aware I have not as yet been able to retrieve them. Send e-maill instead, please...just note Klipsch forum in the heading so it doesn't get deleted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDBRbuilder Posted May 12, 2002 Share Posted May 12, 2002 Edster, There IS NO DECORATOR model of the Belle. BUT...I have seen a few made in birch...not very often, but still a few...at a customer's specific request...normally as a center channel or rear channels with a pair of birch k-horns. They looked like any other belle, but were in birch plywood instead of another wood veneer on lumber-core. Probably the rarest of the Belles are the few birch ones made! Basically, the LaScala is the decorator model of the Belle....just as the Belle is the finely veneered version of the LaScala.... ------------------ If you want to send a private message, or have already done so, be aware I have not as yet been able to retrieve them. Send e-maill instead, please...just note Klipsch forum in the heading so it doesn't get deleted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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