846 A Valencia grill repair

[Steve808]

Aloha
Has any one had experience repairing a cracked grill on the first Valencia model, 846A?
I have yet to take the grill off.
Any hints on removing the grill?

Thank you
Steve

[des2105]

If your grills are anything like the ones on my Vals, my recommendation is to attempt repair without removing the grills. Maybe judicious use of a good glue is the key. Thirty to forty years makes them brittle and not conducive to the bending required to remove them from the cabinet. I tried to remove one of mine and I know have a box of parts similar to a just opened jig saw puzzle. Word to the wise.

[Steve808]

Aloha

Thanks for the great replies...
The metal replacement "Ovalesque" looks real close.
There is only a small crack for now in one of the grills....
Then again, wanting to refinish the cabs...

Has anyone done any listening comparisons between the Valencia A & B side by side?

Aloha

Steve

[GM]

Greets!

Been there, done that, so bought a metal variant, painted it and transferred the Altec logos. Not technically accurate, but at least maintains the 'flavor' of the original and you don't have to worry about breaking it: http://www.ametco.com/perforated/nonround.html

Frankly though, these grills 'color' the sound too much for me, so along with the other mods listed for these, a custom made grill using ~acoustically transparent cloth or foam is desirable IMO. That, or remove the factory grill forming woodwork and make a nice veneer baffle cover if exposed components is acceptable.

GM

[GM]

Greets!

Haven't done an A-B comparison, but I've built cabs both ways and the 'B' series should have less horn coloration and a bit 'tighter' LF. Since I didn't use fairly high damping grill assys. like Altec though, I don't know how obvious these differences 'sound'. Still, the 'B' is technically superior, so it's the better choice IMO if a truly 'vintage' presentation isn't a primary consideration.

GM