Acoustic Research Cabinet Finishes of the 1960s

[tysontom]

The attached image (it's large and may not make it across) can give an idea of some of the finishes that were available from Acoustic Research during the 1962-1966 time period, approximately. Some pine finishes were designed to be "unfinished," or coated with an opaque finish such as flat-black or flat-white, or left entirely alone. Other finishes were lacquered fine-grain woods, such as Mahogany, Korina, Cherry, Birch and Walnut; additional oil finishes included the well-known oiled-walnut finish and oiled Teak, available on select models. Korina was quite unusual, but very popular during the late 1950s and early 1960s, and used by all of the speaker manufacturers of note during this period. JBL, Electro-Voice, Altec Lansing, Jensen, University, KLH and AR were among those manufacturers offering many different and varied finishes.

--Tom Tyson

[dynaco_dan]

The attached image (it's large and may not make it across) can give an idea of some of the finishes that were available from Acoustic Research during the 1962-1966 time period, approximately. Some pine finishes were designed to be "unfinished," or coated with an opaque finish such as flat-black or flat-white, or left entirely alone. Other finishes were lacquered fine-grain woods, such as Mahogany, Korina, Cherry, Birch and Walnut; additional oil finishes included the well-known oiled-walnut finish and oiled Teak, available on select models. Korina was quite unusual, but very popular during the late 1950s and early 1960s, and used by all of the speaker manufacturers of note during this period. JBL, Electro-Voice, Altec Lansing, Jensen, University, KLH and AR were among those manufacturers offering many different and varied finishes.

--Tom Tyson

Hi Tom;

Thank you very much for posting this memorabilia.

[genek]

Korina was quite unusual, but very popular during the late 1950s and early 1960s, and used by all of the speaker manufacturers of note during this period.

Tom, have you ever come across one of these? Was it the light or dark variety?

[tysontom]

Tom, have you ever come across one of these? Was it the light or dark variety?

Korina was a blond-like finish similar in color to Birch, but a different grain. Korina was (and is currently) used by musical-instrument manufacturers, and the finish was seen on guitars and other instruments a few years back. I have seen AR-1s in this finish, and I have a pair of early KLH speakers in this finish. Another name for Korina is African Limba, I believe.

--Tom Tyson

[genek]

Korina was a blond-like finish similar in color to Birch, but a different grain. Korina was (and is currently) used by musical-instrument manufacturers, and the finish was seen on guitars and other instruments a few years back. I have seen AR-1s in this finish, and I have a pair of early KLH speakers in this finish. Another name for Korina is African Limba, I believe.

--Tom Tyson

Thanks Tom. Yes, korina is a name used mostly in North America for limba ("african" is somewhat redundant, since all limba comes from there). Limba comes in two varieties, light or "white" limba and dark or "black" limba. Both woods come from the same tree, the dark being the heartwood. Today, "korina" refers mostly to the light wood, which is a very popular material for guitar bodies, but I wasn't sure if that had been the case 40 years ago.

[tysontom]

Thanks Tom. Yes, korina is a name used mostly in North America for limba ("african" is somewhat redundant, since all limba comes from there). Limba comes in two varieties, light or "white" limba and dark or "black" limba. Both woods come from the same tree, the dark being the heartwood. Today, "korina" refers mostly to the light wood, which is a very popular material for guitar bodies, but I wasn't sure if that had been the case 40 years ago.

Thank you for the clarification of the light and dark variations of Limba. I didn't know about the dark wood being the heartwood, so that shines additional light on this subject! I've never seen the heartwood used for speaker cabinets, but never say "never." I do know that the light variety was fairly common in speaker wood-veneer application in the 1950s and into the early 1960s. It fell out of vogue somewhere around 1965 or so, and was dropped from the AR optional list around that time, I believe. If someone wanted a light finish, Birch was selected.

Thanks again for your additional clarification!

Incidentally, this eBay listing for a pair of AR-2axs (not "ARX2," as the listing states) is in Unfinished Birch, I think, with the bottom panel left in Unfinished Ponderosa Pine. Both might be in Unfinished Pine since the cabinet panels are plywood rather than MDF. The seller refers to this as the "highly desired Honey Blond" color, but no description such as this exists, and he's not sure what he has. And buyer beware, the shipping for those two speakers is excessive -- about twice what is should cost to ship two AR-2axs.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...A:IT&ih=024

--Tom Tyson

[genek]

Thank you for the clarification of the light and dark variations of Limba. I didn't know about the dark wood being the heartwood, so that shines additional light on this subject! I've never seen the heartwood used for speaker cabinets, but never say "never." I do know that the light variety was fairly common in speaker wood-veneer application in the 1950s and into the early 1960s. It fell out of vogue somewhere around 1965 or so, and was dropped from the AR optional list around that time, I believe. If someone wanted a light finish, Birch was selected.

Thanks again for your additional clarification!

Incidentally, this eBay listing for a pair of AR-2axs (not "ARX2," as the listing states) is in Unfinished Birch, I think, with the bottom panel left in Unfinished Ponderosa Pine. Both might be in Unfinished Pine since the cabinet panels are plywood rather than MDF. The seller refers to this as the "highly desired Honey Blond" color, but no description such as this exists, and he's not sure what he has. And buyer beware, the shipping for those two speakers is excessive -- about twice what is should cost to ship two AR-2axs.

Black limba looks a lot like koa, and is often mistaken for it. If I ever came into possession of an unfinished or just utterly trashed speaker cabinet, I might be tempted to go with it.

From the pictures, the 2's appear to have birch on their small faces (top, as positioned) and pine on at least one of their long faces (side), which would make it problematic for someone wanting to set them vertically where the sides would be visible.

WRT shipping, I just returned a vintage AR amp I had on trial that I decided not to keep. It cost the dealer $31 to send it to me UPS, but cost me $47 to send it back four weeks later. I've also had the UPS online calculater return different (and higher) prices for the same shipping info within the space of a couple of days. Runaway fuel prices are causing shipping to become absurdly unpredictable, and if I was selling anything heavy right now, I would charge a big amount up front and then refund the excess (though I don't see this seller saying anything about refunding excess).

[tysontom]

Black limba looks a lot like koa, and is often mistaken for it. If I ever came into possession of an unfinished or just utterly trashed speaker cabinet, I might be tempted to go with it.

From the pictures, the 2's appear to have birch on their small faces (top, as positioned) and pine on at least one of their long faces (side), which would make it problematic for someone wanting to set them vertically where the sides would be visible.

WRT shipping, I just returned a vintage AR amp I had on trial that I decided not to keep. It cost the dealer $31 to send it to me UPS, but cost me $47 to send it back four weeks later. I've also had the UPS online calculater return different (and higher) prices for the same shipping info within the space of a couple of days. Runaway fuel prices are causing shipping to become absurdly unpredictable, and if I was selling anything heavy right now, I would charge a big amount up front and then refund the excess (though I don't see this seller saying anything about refunding excess).

I checked the cost to send a single AR-2ax from the east coast to the west coast by UPS Ground, and the most it would cost would be $53.25 (x2) based on the shipping weight of exactly 44 lbs. It would be possible to exceed that weight, but I wouldn't think so by much. Going from New York to Richmond, Virginia for example, would be significantly less at about $25.68 per box. The point is, I believe, that unless the seller explains that a refund will be given for over-charge on shipping, the stated flat-rate amount seems a bit excessive to me. It is very true that fuel costs are skyrocketing -- especially diesel fuel -- so the shipping costs do fluctuate wildly. The seller also has "handling" costs, and that fits into the equation. I believe the best way is to use accurate weights, carton size and use the calculator to get the correct amount, and then add a small handling charge as appropriate. This way the buyer feels he's not getting screwed in the shipping part of the transaction. Therefore, buyers of AR speakers on eBay and other auctions should inquire carefully as to weights and shipping costs from seller to buyer, unless they want to leave money on the table... IMO.

AR used to put Ponderosa Pine on the bottom long side of all of the early AR-2/2a cabinets, but eventually did away with that practice with later (1964 forward) models with the 3 1/2-inch midrange. The reason was (1) the early model was considered to be a "bookshelf" speaker, and intended for bookcase or flat-shelf mounting, and (2) the early AR-2s and AR-2as had two 5-inch midrange/tweeter units that were splayed horizontally for better dispersion, and AR did not recommend mounting these speakers vertically, thus the unfinished bottom was never seen. Except in the very earliest AR speakers, such as the 1954-1958 AR-1s, AR-1Ws and some early AR-2s, cabinets with veneered-wood finish were made from NovaPly or similar compressed-fiber wood (see the attached images of the 1965 AR-2ax in Birch), and plywood cabinets were used only with Ponderosa Pine, unfinished-utility cabinets, and for this reason I am beginning to wonder if those eBay speakers are actually Birch, even though the grain is smooth with little evidence of sapwood.

--Tom Tyson

[genek]

I checked the cost to send a single AR-2ax from the east coast to the west coast by UPS Ground, and the most it would cost would be $53.25 (x2) based on the shipping weight of exactly 44 lbs.

I am beginning to wonder if those eBay speakers are actually Birch, even though the grain is smooth with little evidence of sapwood.

The shipping quoted may not be that bad, then, if the seller is just hauling the speakers wrapped in blankets somewhere to have them boxed and shipped. I paid the UPS store to double-box the amp I sent back, and the cost for that was another $15.

Considering that AR used to offer upgrades from one speaker model to another, the seller is probably wise to say "blonde," rather than trying to ID the actual wood. Especially since he's already a bit dyslexic with the model number.

[tysontom]

The shipping quoted may not be that bad, then, if the seller is just hauling the speakers wrapped in blankets somewhere to have them boxed and shipped. I paid the UPS store to double-box the amp I sent back, and the cost for that was another $15.

Considering that AR used to offer upgrades from one speaker model to another, the seller is probably wise to say "blonde," rather than trying to ID the actual wood. Especially since he's already a bit dyslexic with the model number.

The seller's $125.00 shipping quote would be more or less reasonable for coast-to-coast shipping; however, to make that a standard-price shipping for everyone in the US makes it not such a good deal, since it would be only about $55-60 to ship in one zone of the country. Again, it depends on the handling charges the seller is attaching to the shipping cost.

The term "blond" is probably apt to describe the finish, and it certainly appears to be Birch; "in the highly desired honey blonde color" makes it sound as though this was a standard variety, which of course it was not. "I'm listing all at no reserve cuz I know what they're worth. You know too," is another example of the forceful literary license taken by this seller, "reverand ike." This is an interesting if not atypical eBay listing, I suppose. If you aren't sure, just make it up.

--Tom Tyson

[oldguide]

Many thanks, Tom. You have answered my question about finishes. Your picture seems a worthy addition to the rebuild "book."

Unfortunately the two finishes that match my cabinet are oiled teak and mahogany. I finally dug my old AR boxes out of storage and both boxes say "oiled walnut."

This is what the speakers look like.

I have been attempting off and on over the past week to duplicate this color with various combinations to no avail after trying to reveneer the top of one speaker that has deteriorated beyond repair. I know it has been suggested that I just bite the bullet and restain everything, but these in their present condition are stunning and it seems crazy to restain two whole speakers just to match the top of one.

The finish was obtained by sanding all the speakers down to bare wood then waxing rather than oiling them. While I know wax was not an AR finish, I do various kinds of woodwork and am partial to wax for projects that involve really nice grain. It takes a lot more work than oil, but I just like the results.

[genek]

I have been attempting off and on over the past week to duplicate this color with various combinations to no avail after trying to reveneer the top of one speaker that has deteriorated beyond repair. I know it has been suggested that I just bite the bullet and restain everything, but these in their present condition are stunning and it seems crazy to restain two whole speakers just to match the top of one.

If the new veneer is lighter and less red than the old wood, then it should be possible to arrive at a reasonably close match just by staining the new, and if you're not able to do that satisfactorily, it may be time to turn the finishing over to a professional who can do more exact color matching.

However, if the new veneer was either darker or more red than the old wood, you're SOL for coloring the new to match the old.

You should follow Tom's suggestion and post some pics of the entire speaker as it appears now insted of color patches. It's not possible to provide any advice on finishing without seeing both the old and new wood side by side in the same picture.

[genek]

A pair of 3's with "refinished" mahogany cabinets just came up on you-know-where. I thought the cabinets looked rather glossy, so I asked the seller for details about the "refinishing..."

10 coats of polyurethane.

Arrgh.

[oldguide]

As noted in another thread, when using the Rockler veneer, I finally hit upon Varathane light walnut as a close match, but only after a bit of bleaching and sanding. Finished with wax finish it comes out darn close.