I just acquired a black T&R 2x15 CTS speaker cabinet with the serial number K 9593. Any idea when it was manufactured?
It has the two plastic ports, not the aluminum ports.
Did only the bass cabinets come with the two chrome ports and guitar cabs did not?
I see in the literature section that the chrome ports could be added to a speaker cab for $20.00
Why is the input jack mounted low on the speaker cabinet rear panel?
It would require a shorter amp to cab cord if the jack was toward the top of the rear panel and be far less prone to damage (like someone kicking or stepping on the 1/4 inch plug.)
stevem Messages: 4733 Registered: June 2004 Location: NY
Senior Member
Hello.
The best way to date the cab is to pull the back off and check the numbers stamped in ink on the speakers square magnet, assuming that the speakers are still original.
If the speakers are orignal there will be string of 3 numbers, and space and another 3 or 4 numbers.
If there is 4 numbers, than the first two are the year the drivers where made, and the second two is the week of production.
If there is only 3 numbers than the first number is the year of production and these all start off in the 1970s, and once agian the last two are the week of production.
If you have a telescoping type mirror you can look in the one port with a flashlight in the other and see the info on the magnet.
If the magnet is not sqiare, than the drivers are not original.
One the plastic ports came about they where not optional any longer as far as I know.
Kustom amps came with premolded angle speaker cables that where 90 degree so jacks at the bottom of the cab where not a problem.
pleat Messages: 1452 Registered: June 2004 Location: Belding, Mi
Senior Member
Welcome to the site.
Since you now own the cabinet, the best way is to remove the back and see for yourself what the speakers are. Over time the foam gasket material kustom used to seal the cabinet, may have turned to a black tar like substance, and it will make the back stick to the cabinet. I remove the speaker jack nut and washer and all the screws from the back and insert a 2x2 piece of wood through the port tubes, and hammer the back loose so I can get it to pull off.
Removing the back also gives me a chance to make sure all the nuts holding the speakers in place are evenly snug and to remove any objects that someone may have tossed into the cabinet over the years. I've seen flashlights, pliers, old steel bottom soda cans, golf balls etc inside the cabs and some items stuck to the magnets. It also give me a chance to make sure what the speakers are for impedance and wiring arrangement.
Depending on the year of manufacture, Kustom did offer an upgrade in the 1967-68 catalog of the Aluminum port tubes for a 20.00 upcharge. In that era, you will find cabinets with or without port tubes in all variations of speaker brands. (CTS, Jensen, Altec and JBL speakers).
You mentioned your cab has the Chrome plastic port tubes, so I'd say your logo badge would read Kustom Electronics rather than the older Kustom By Ross Inc. Which was used with the Aluminum port cabinets. Which also helps in dating a cab.
LesS here on the site did a serial number chart, and mentions in November 1969 Kustom started adding a serial number plate on the speaker cabinets.
Speaker Jack location. Kustom and many other brand of amps located the speaker jack on the lower part of the back of the cabinet. Kustom offered guitar and bass amps with two 2x15" speaker cabinets, so if a player wanted a extension speaker cab on the opposite side of stage, the speaker cable would lie flat on the floor as much as possible. Wouldn't make a lot of sense on PA Columns to have the jack at the top side of a column which could tip over a column easier if someone tripped over the cable, since the speaker cord would have to rise to the top of the cab.
After 40 + years, you just never know what has been done to a cabinet.
Both square magnet speakers have the 137 7046 date code, so the CTS speakers were manufactured during the week of November 9th, 1970.
The rear jack plate is stamped CTS, so we can assume these are the original speakers.
The speaker date code is good for an approximate date, but a speaker (or potentiometer as is used to date guitars) was manufactured in bulk and may have sat in the manufacturers' and/or distributor's warehouses for weeks or months and similarly, in the Kustom factory before being installed in a cabinet and shipped.
My 1970 week 46 2x15 cab could actually be an early to mid 1971 model.