AR cabinet finishes

[Andy]

Anyone know the approximate breakdown of finishes as far as percentage made on AR's cabinets in the 1960s? Seem like walnut is most often seen with the other choices being pine, mahogany, birch, teak & cherry.

[Guest ARnut]

I believe you are right, except that the "pine" was actually called "unfinished" and was actually rather crude quarter-sawn plywood suitable for painting. Early on, AR did take special orders from dealers for custom finishes but that ended when the line became so popular. I remember that very well because I sold so many AR1W-Jantzen combos, AR1s, 2s, 3s and 3as at a place called Arrow Electronics, which stood at the center of what later became the World Trade Center, and which now, alas, is a hole in the ground.

[tysontom]

>Anyone know the approximate breakdown of finishes as far as

>percentage made on AR's cabinets in the 1960s? Seem like

>walnut is most often seen with the other choices being pine,

>mahogany, birch, teak & cherry.

From the early 1950s until the early 1960s, AR offered these finishes:

AFRICAN MAHOGANY (flat-cut, glossy lacquer-finished)

AMERICAN WALNUT (flat- or quarter-cut, glossy lacquer-finished)

AMERICAN WALNUT (flat- or quarter-cut oiled-finished)

KORINA (blond, glossy lacquer-finished)

CHERRY (cathedral-figure, glossy lacquer-finished)

BIRCH (sliced, natural color, glossy lacquer-finished)

PONDEROSA PINE with solid-stock Birch molding (cabinet unfinished and unsuitable for staining -- suitable for opaque or paint finishes)

Some special-order finishes such as OAK, but uncommon.

Beginning the late-1950s and into the early 1970s, AR offered the following:

AMERICAN WALNUT (flat- or quarter-cut oiled-finished)

AMERICAN WALNUT (flat- or quarter-cut lacquer-finished)

CHERRY (cathedral-figure, glossy lacquer-finished)

TEAK (flat- or quarter-cut oiled-finish)

BIRCH (sliced, natural color, glossy lacquer-finshed)

AFRICAN MAHOGANY (flat-cut, glossy lacquer-finished)

PONDEROSA PINE with solid-stock Birch molding (cabinet unfinished and unsuitable for staining -- suitable for opaque or paint finishes)

Some special-order finishes such as OAK, but uncommon.

By the early 1970s, most finishes were Oiled Walnut, and by the introduction of the AR-10/AR-11, etc., all finishes were Oiled Walnut on the premium speakers and wood-grain vinyl began to appear on the less-expensive versions. All the other special finishes went away in 1973. By far the most common finish during the 1960s was oiled Walnut, and the most common finish during the fifties was Mahogany. Finishes such as Korina went away in 1965 or so, and oiled Teak appeared about this time as well. Teak finishes were not particularly common, but were never made available on any of the AR-1 models, including the AR-1x. From 1974 onward, the only available finish was Oiled Walnut Veneer or Walnut-grained Vinyl.

--Tom Tyson

[ninohernes]

I LOVE the oiled teak AR speakers! They are my favorite, with glossy cherry coming in second.

[Andy]

Tom, thanks for those details. It's really amazing AR offered so many choices. Not only could one purchase a superb speaker, but also a fine cabinet finish of your choice.

In my other post `AR-3 cabinet construction'....the question is posed by another member "who contstucted the AR cabinets" ? I myself am now curious as to who that might have been-

[tysontom]

>Tom, thanks for those details. It's really amazing AR

>offered so many choices. Not only could one purchase a superb

>speaker, but also a fine cabinet finish of your choice.

>In my other post `AR-3 cabinet construction'....the question

>is posed by another member "who contstucted the AR cabinets" ?

> I myself am now curious as to who that might have been-

Andy,

To my knowledge AR had several cabinet vendors. The largest and best-known during the late-50s-late-60s era was a company, Colonial, out of New Hampshire. This company was actually owned by the (long deceased) Senator Warren Rudman, and the rep that called on AR was his son.

During the early history of high fidelity, it was not unusual for speaker companies to concentrate on quality furniture as well as good sound. Some good examples were the E-V Patrician, JBL Paragon and others that were beautiful pieces of furniture. Most of the leading speaker companies made fine-quality cabinets for their systems because they knew that the success or failure of a speaker had a lot to do with the spouse's acceptance ("WAF," as someone once said) of the cabinet, and how well that equipment blended into the decor of the living room.

--Tom Tyson

[tysontom]

>

>To my knowledge AR had several cabinet vendors. The largest

>and best-known during the late-50s-late-60s era was a company,

>Colonial, out of New Hampshire. This company was actually

>owned by the (long deceased) Senator Warren Rudman, and the

>rep that called on AR was his son.

>

>--Tom Tyson

I need to make a correction here: I don't think former senator Rudman is deceased, let alone "long deceased." I somehow got that impression, but it must have been Rudman's father or family that owned that business, because Rudman was a lawyer and politician for all his active career years. He's most likely retired now, but that is the extent I know about him.

--Tom Tyson