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The "pre-Akansas Jam" MCM 1900 systems destruction aftermath


HDBRbuilder

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 inside inside to In the late 1970's we sent MCM 1900 systems up to the organizers of the "Arkansas Jam" just a few days before the event was supposed to begin.  We had told them to set them up, but NOT TO RUN THEM until the guys at Klipsch got there to assist in hooking them up to the equipment.  So, they completely ignored waiting for our people to get there...and blew them up with something like five thousand watts per channel at full blast!  They requested replacement systems to arrive by the time of the event, but that was impossible, because there was not enough time to build them and ship them before even the end of the event!  So they carried the event on anyway without them instead of cancelling it for a later time.  They cut their own throats "sound system-wise" and there was never an attempt for an "Arkansas Jam" again!  Many of the Klipsch employees had planned to attend the event, but decided not to go since the MCM systems had been destroyed by their people just a few days prior to the event-start.  We all knew that the event would not turn out well...and should at least be postponed to a later date, but that didn't happen!

 

IIRC, It was a week or so after the "event" was over that we received the systems "for repair" and they were TOTALLY FRIED, to include cabinet sections which had burned to charcoal for a few layers of plys in places inside of them and K43's which looked like they had been exploded by a land-mine!  Huge amounts of damage in EVERYTHING we sent to them!

 

 @JRH:    I'm pretty sure you were on-board with Klipsch when this happened and I'm also sure that there were pics taken of the results to the speakers...because Gary Gillum was taking a bunch, some of the rest were taking pics, too!...when they arrived back to the plant "for repair".  Are there any of those pics in the archives?

 

Something like that is just too sad and ridiculous to ever forget!

 

 

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This occurred in 1977, a year or so before I showed up.  In speaking with Gary, he said he did attend the show in Fox, AR, and left early.  His recollection was that the show was horrible, lots of crazies, paramedics treating OD's, and no other Klipsch employees to be seen.  The MCM's were a Bob Moers effort.  When returned to Hope, there were no signs of "flames".  Just open voice coils.  At the time the MCM's were essentially in prototype form.  They were 3-ways with the Cetec HF4000 midranges and K-33-E woofers.  Don Keele did the inspection of the returned speakers.  His piezo tweeter arrays were the only survivors.  This experience was likely to be the impetus to develop the K-43-E woofer, the MSSM "sub-squawker", and the 4-barrel manifold for K-55's.  

 

There have definitely been speakers returned with "flame damage", but according to Gary, not these.  I suspect there may be "burnt pics" in the Archives that I have yet to run into, but Gary says he did not take any of this particular event.

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5 hours ago, JRH said:

This occurred in 1977, a year or so before I showed up.  In speaking with Gary, he said he did attend the show in Fox, AR, and left early.  His recollection was that the show was horrible, lots of crazies, paramedics treating OD's, and no other Klipsch employees to be seen.  The MCM's were a Bob Moers effort.  When returned to Hope, there were no signs of "flames".  Just open voice coils.  At the time the MCM's were essentially in prototype form.  They were 3-ways with the Cetec HF4000 midranges and K-33-E woofers.  Don Keele did the inspection of the returned speakers.  His piezo tweeter arrays were the only survivors.  This experience was likely to be the impetus to develop the K-43-E woofer, the MSSM "sub-squawker", and the 4-barrel manifold for K-55's.  

 

There have definitely been speakers returned with "flame damage", but according to Gary, not these.  I suspect there may be "burnt pics" in the Archives that I have yet to run into, but Gary says he did not take any of this particular event.

Thanks for the better information.. with corrections, JIM.  I sometimes (more often than not nowadays!) seem to mix things up a little...braincell damage, I guess...or just my age showing up!  Especially about things so long ago!  Maybe it was Bob Moers, himself or Don Keele with the camera taking pics when  the damaged stuff returned to the plant...long time ago, and I'm getting old...LOL! 

 

Inside of at least one of the cabinets was charred wood surfaces adjacent to where the internals had been mounted....I noticed it. One of the other guys from the cabinet-shop was standing beside me and said, "did they decide to use them for firewood after they destroyed them, or what?" when he pointed out the charred wood.  The equipment was unloaded and opened up just inside of the front loading dock doors of the cabinet shop not too long before the end of the work-day.   It was just after quitting time for the day, when Everybody in the cabinet shop stopped by for a gander before they went out that door to head home.... and just stood there sadly slowly shaking our heads back and forth!  We had busted our butts getting that stuff built for the event in order to get up there in time... and WERE NOT AT ALL HAPPY to see what happened to all of that hard work!

 

The "power that were" in the bean-counting part of the company had insisted upon a "paid in full" status for the stuff by the event organizers PRIOR TO us even starting to build them...and that didn't occur until it was almost impossible to do and get them up there in time for the set-up prior to the event-start!  Or at least that is what WE WERE TOLD in the cabinet shop when so many of us had to drop whatever we were doing to make that happen!  It was kinda strange that we were working so much overtime just to get that done, when it was generally historically supposed to be a "slow time" at the plant!

 

None of the Woofers survived the pre-event fiasco...the voice coils were completely blown out of most (if not all) of the woofers!   Ripped cones on many if not all of them, too!

 

Yep...they were three-ways!  Very early ones.

 

Well, Jim... At least it led to a project or two that kept you pretty damned busy right after you arrived, didn't it?

 

Bye the way, Jim...What WAS that cone driver originally used on the MSSM...and its diameter...wasn't it something like a Cetec 8" or 10" driver??  You outta know, since you were involved with that thing!

 

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11 hours ago, JRH said:

The original driver in the MSSM was a Cetec 10".  This was soon replaced with an Eminence K-41-E.

Thanks JRH...I knew that the original driver was a Cetec, but had forgotten its diameter!

 

Shortly after we first started building the MSSM's,  I was tasked with replacing the drilling jig for the T-nut holes in the MSSM motor-board because the original drilling jig had gotten worn-out because it was just plain wood, with no steel drilling-guide inserts in it.  

 

   "Hey Andy, final assembly is complaining again.  Do you still have your drafting set under your work bench with the compass in it?" 

   "Yep"

   "Well they can't get the machine screws that hold the driver to the MSSM motor-board to all go into the t-nuts easily, anymore.  We need a new drilling jig made up for that-- fast!  The one we have  is just wood with no steel drilling-guide inserts and its holes are all wallered-out!  So, take this driver and these steel inserts and let's make a new one, OK?"

   "OK...so, just how fast do we need it?"

   "REAL FAST!"

 

I kinda "cheated" on making it, though.  I made the "almost-new" router form for the motor-board compression slot do double-duty as a drilling template. It was fairly easy to do, too!

 

After all, he had said we needed it "REAL FAST"!  It was ready in about an hour!  Problem solved!😉  Then I went back to doing what I HAD BEEN doing., because I had no idea where he had gone!

 

Awhile later...in he came...

   "Hey Andy!  Why aren't you working on that drilling jig we need?"

   "Because it's already done!"

   "Where is it?"

   "Go over there and look at the MSSM motor-board routing form....it's doing double-duty, now!  You told me we needed it real fast and real fast is whatcha got!  I already checked it out, too...it works like a charm!"

   "How didya get it done so fast?"

   "Trade secret!"😁

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