Paul McCartney "Cavern Quad" II/22 bass amp and "coffin" cab 1962

[orangepeelneil]

Hi everyone, 

 

I saw the Cavern in house PA is up for sale and it sent me down a McCartney fan boy rabbit hole for a few (many)  hours. 

 

https://www.gottahaverockandroll.com/The_Beatles_Cavern_Club_Stage_Used_Vortexion_Valve-LOT56162.aspx

 

 

I’m interested in the "Cavern Quad" amp /"Coffin cab"  as used by Paul in the period after using his 30W Selmer truvox plugged into the Coffin 1x15” reflex cab and moving onto VOX amps. 

Probably much of mid to late 62 I guess whilst touring (8 months)

 

http://beatlesplus50.blogspot.com/2011/10/october-1961-barber-coffin-nobody-know.html

 

 

Info online notes the cab and modified / rehoused amp were made for Johnny Gustafson by Big three ex member/sound Engineer/producer and Electronics expert Adrian Barber. 

There are a few pictures around of the coffin 1x15” bass reflex cab, but nothing I can find of the amp?

The photos from the Cavern show a Quad II/22 setup on the floor =  I wonder if this is it before being rehoused in an army surplus case? 

 

https://www.diyaudio.com/community/attachments/beatles-gear-pdf.789924/

 

This video is great too. 

at 13:54 it is mentioned.

 

 

 

 

There are some photos online of a white  “Cavern Quad” amp on top of a coffin style cab but I cannot find the source of these and whether someone made a replica or it’s original. 

 

 

Does anyone have any more photos or information on the modified rehoused Quad II/22 preamp and power amp or potentially the white reproduction? 

Probably all sounded good for the time,  Quad hifi stuff is excellent. 

 

Thanks in advance...Neil 

Edited December 1 by orangepeelneil

[BassmanPaul]

Thank you for a trip down memory lane. I bought my first bass in 1962. A VOX Clubman II in white. It was a great time to play around the Merseyside area. I eventually bought my first amplifier: a VOX AC50 with the 18" Foundation cabinet. It too was a poor bass amp but looking at it on stage made me feel like I had 'arrived' and was a professional. LOL

 

Edited December 1 by BassmanPaul

[BassmanPaul]

In those days bass equipment tended to be large and hard to find. Power levels were very low as befits tube/valve output stages. For most applications 50W tended to be the upper limit. When 100W amps hit the market, usually using four EL34s in the output stage, players who could afford them switched to them in droves. I couldn't <sob>. That led me to start building my own amplification.

 

For PA the Mixer/amplifiesr were what you would find in a building PA. The Cave used Vortexion my last band in Liverpool used an Altec Lansing unit with two microphone inputs. The band had three vocalists. At that time microphones were typically high impedance. I modified the amp and by removing the plug in transformers I had the space to add two more high impedance inputs.  I still have those two transformers. It's amazing what you hang on to through moves about the country and even across the world. LOL 

Edited December 5 by BassmanPaul

[BassmanPaul]

Talking about Leak Hi-Fi amps, a friend sold me a Leak TL50+using a pair of KT88s, for five quid. I had a pre-amp chassis and engraved front panel made for me in work. I built a one valve pre-amp, essentially the Normal channel circuit from a Fender Bassman, into this chassis and, connected to the Leaks pre-amp socket, it sounded wonderful through a Marshall 4x12 100W cabinet. I used that set up for quite a while before moving on to something different.

Edited December 5 by BassmanPaul

[orangepeelneil]

11 hours ago, BassmanPaul said:

In those days bass equipment tended to be large and hard to find. Power levels were very low as befits tube/valve output stages. For most applications 50W tended to be the upper limit. When 100W amps hit the market, usually using four EL34s in the output stage, players who could afford them switched to them in droves. I couldn't <sob>. That led me to start building my own amplification.

 

For PA the Mixer/amplifiesr were what you would find in a building PA. The Cave used Vortexion my last band in Liverpool used an Altec Lansing unit with two microphone inputs. The band had three vocalists. At that time microphones were typically high impedance. I modified the amp and by removing the plug in transformers I had the space to add two more high impedance inputs.  I still have those two transformers. It's amazing what you hang on to through moves about the country and even across the world. LOL 

 

Excellent info thanks.

 

Did you ever see or hear anyone playing through one of  Adrian Barber's built "coffin " cabs?  when you were playing in Merseyside in that era.

Someone told me the cab on the left of The Cavern stage in the Beatle Story Museum , Liverpool is one of those "Coffin" bass cabs (please see photo)

 

This book is excellent too... 

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Beatles-Gear-Instruments-Studio-Ultimate/dp/1617130990 

 

Thanks Neil 

Edited December 6 by orangepeelneil

[BassmanPaul]

Truthfully I simply don't remember. Most  bass players were searching for a way to be louder without the distortion we were finding with amplifiers that were on the market place.  I had pleasant surprises from a borrowed VOX AC30B bass amp when I played the Silver Blades Ice Rink in Liverpool. There was a sloping stage and the VOX was 'walking' down the stage. I had to keep dragging it back Into position. It sounded good though!

 

The other was an Epiphone Constellation amp. It had a 15" driver that had been replaced with one from Wharfedale. It worked very well too.