Ed's stripped Tolex 4x12 Cabinets for VH1 Let's discuss!

[Marshall SL12301]

frankly, the whole stripped tolex thing is bunk. I've had cabs side by side, identical speakers, same amp, yada yada...the tone doesn't change due to the tolex being gone. The tolex is on the outside, pretty well past where the tone is being shaped.

Then again, if you MUST be just like Eddie, by all means, strip your cab. Messy job, lots of glue to sand off...all for naught, IME.

this is so correct!

[chrisom]

Plus, if you wait long enough the tolex will fall off by itself...

[chrisom]

does anyone know what happened to all of those stripped cabs that Ed used? does he still own them? i came across a youtube clip out there of a guy playing in the VH style and it shows a montage of related photos etc. at one point there's footage of one of these stripped cabs with the OLD van halen music note logo on the back panel. apparently someone out there has one! of course, i can't find a link to that video now. i thought i saw it on the vhnd but i could be wrong.

Mick Mars owns them according to either someone here on the site, or maybe it was a recent Vintage Guitar mag... Do a site search for Mick Mars... EDIT: did it, it's only a rumour I think- co

[unimind]

does anyone know what happened to all of those stripped cabs that Ed used?

A friend of Craig Parker Adams has one and lent it to Craig. Check this thread from Rockstah's forum there are gut shots of the cab on page 2. (I hope I don't get banned for this.)

http://rockstahamps.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=168" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[vanhalen5150]

http://forum.metroamp.com/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=38048" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[mlannoo]

http://forum.metroamp.com/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=38048

Yep! That's it ... i remember seeing this thread but i couldn't locate it again. Thanks. Talk about owning a piece of history!!

But what the hell happened to all Ed's other stripped cabs?? I sure wonder. I'm really surprised only this one has surfaced. I doubt he still has them after all these years. Who knows?

[jnewlyn]

As for tone, stripping the cab is barking at the wrong tree guys. Even if you were mic ing the wood instead of the speaker (which of course is ridiculous) you probably couldn't tell.

The photo of the removeable/interchangeable grill is cool but I noticed the speakers are front loaded as opposed to rear loaded.
Big difference in how that cab will sound.

[MrBeasty]

does anyone know what happened to all of those stripped cabs that Ed used? does he still own them? i came across a youtube clip out there of a guy playing in the VH style and it shows a montage of related photos etc. at one point there's footage of one of these stripped cabs with the OLD van halen music note logo on the back panel. apparently someone out there has one! of course, i can't find a link to that video now. i thought i saw it on the vhnd but i could be wrong.

Mick Mars owns them according to either someone here on the site, or maybe it was a recent Vintage Guitar mag... Do a site search for Mick Mars... EDIT: did it, it's only a rumour I think- co

It is not true ... but Mick had a whole wall of "naked" cabs (20+) a few years ago (and I doubt any were actual vintage cabs) but it is easy to mistaken Mick's naked cabs for EVH's naked cabs.

http://forum.metroamp.com/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=33058" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[yngwie308]

This would be Dave Friedman's Naked cab in the middle of these amps awaiting work at RACKSYSTEMS
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g219/ ... 899782.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
yngwie308

[rgorke]

This would be Dave Friedman's Naked cab in the middle of these amps awaiting work at RACKSYSTEMS
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g219/ ... 899782.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
yngwie308

Yeah, that is what I asked in the other thread

[somethin'else]

The photo of the removeable/interchangeable grill is cool but I noticed the speakers are front loaded as opposed to rear loaded.
Big difference in how that cab will sound.

How's that work? Front vs rear loaded = different resonance/interactivity?

[matttornado]

I bet Ed stripped his cabs & grill cloth because it was different & looked cool. Nothing else.

[unimind]

I bet Ed stripped his cabs & grill cloth because it was different & looked cool. Nothing else

I'm with you on that. It has nothing at all to do with tone.

[jnewlyn]

The photo of the removeable/interchangeable grill is cool but I noticed the speakers are front loaded as opposed to rear loaded.
Big difference in how that cab will sound.

How's that work? Front vs rear loaded = different resonance/interactivity?

Yes, that's exactly right. I had experimented with this a few years ago and the difference was quite the eye opener. However, front loaded did offer a sort of wider field of effectiveness but much less fullness and warmth. By that, I mean that the sound was more consistent as you stood farther off to the sides but it was brighter all together.
I'm sure some eq ing or mods could be done to compensate but aaaahhhh. Why bother? Easier to do it as designed.

[mlannoo]

In '78 Ed was using 8-10 stripped Marshall 4x12 cabs on stage. All the ones used live had black grill cloth. Some of the cabs you can clearly see have JBL's in them. Did Marshall even sell 4x12's with black grill cloth in the 70's? I have both a '78 and a '76 cab - both have checkerboard cloth. And the earlier70's marshall cabs had lighter basketweave no? So did Ed strip these and add black screen or grill cloth to them for looks?

In the late '78 Sunset Sound studio pics, you can see one or two stripped 4x12's that do have checkerboard cloth, but I've never seen those cabs in any of the live shots from the '78 tours. Another thing I noticed is that some of those stripped cabs DO have the white piping still - with the black cloth. Weird.