Looking for a source for missing connectors for a Gretsch Super Bass

[Drewline]

Here is a photo of the missing connector I'm looking for. Any suggestions where I might find one?



Thanks in advance!

[J M Fahey]

Pin diameter/length/separation?
Sadly a raw picture is not enough.
*Looks* like some kind of Industrial connector,there might be a modern equivalent.

EDIT:looked at the schematic, it seems to have 2 bridged power amps or at least 2 transformers with secondaries in series and none grounded, schematic shows a stereo speaker out jack, with speaker wired to tip and ring, ground left unused.

Maybe they got sick of users plugging regular mono cables and shorting one transformer, so switched to some non standard connector so you had to use their special sauce cable or else.

If so, replace it with any similar non-audio connector or rewire output using plastic floating jacks (which were unheard of way back then) so you can use a regular cable and cabinet.

Output *might* be 16 ohms.

[Enzo]

I see fat pin, skinny pin, but dimensions? I'd look in old Amphenol catalogs. Mine is not handy. If i can get to my storage unit I sill check, I may have some of what I think it is.

Unless you perceive serious collector value, if the guy wants a player, replace the odd connector with a more common type, like a 1/4"

[Drewline]

Juan, The schematic you looked at is a later version of the amp where the preamp & power amp are built into one unit. In this version they are seperate with two of those plugs used to connect each speaker & a third plug & an octal plug connecting the pre & power amps.

Enzo, I'll look at Old Amphenol catalogs to see if I can find out any more about the connector. I figured to convert the speakers 1/4" if I could'nt find anything that fit. The pins remind me of old TV polarized cheater cords my Father had around.





Thanks,

[Drewline]

The grey molded plug was made by Switchcraft. This one was drilled into & loose wires soldered to the pins. So far I can't find any old Switchcraft info to further identify the connector or cable.

[J M Fahey]

Ok.
Just in case use ungrounded (plastic or insulated) jacks instead of common Fender type jacks; after all those plugs are ungrounded/floating, respecting that won´t hurt

Or, since these connections are internal, chassis to chassis not head>speaker cabinet type, forget plugs and jacks and get a pair Cinch/Amphenol/Switchcraft "industrial" types.

Besides, you are keeping the octal plug anyway

[MarkusBass]

Somehow it reminds me Bulgin plugs: Bulgin Power Connector Panel Mount, Solder Termination, 3A, 250 V ac-SA2368 | eBay
Are you sure it's Switchcraft?

Mark

[Drewline]

Thanks Juan, I will use switchcraft jacks with insulating washers to replace the current connectors.

[Enzo]

Didn't Leslie use these same plugs for speaker connections in some of their amp chassis?

Check this out:
https://www.goffprof.com/collections...slie-amplifier

[Drewline]

Thanks Enzo. These look about right. I'll check with them further or else go to plan B & use 1/4" jacks & plugs since I have lots of 1/4" plugs, jacks & insulator washers.

[Enzo]

MAy I suggest, instead of insulating washers, which can come loose and be lost, use a Cliff jack. Automatically insulated, and they are sturdy. And since this is inside a combo, it won;t be plugging in and out a lot anyway.

[Drewline]

I agree that Cliff jacks are better but I've got a bag full of switchcraft plugs & jacks so why not use them. I also thought of hardwiring the speakers.

[Enzo]

Oh, it isn't like one is right and one is wrong. The reasons not to use metal bushings and insulators is as I mentioned. Nuts come loose and washers get lost, and techs in the future may not realize it needs to be isolated. A Cliff style jack eliminates all that. it is a potential problem, not a guaranteed one.

HArdwiring works, a barrier strip works.

[Tom Phillips]

Switchcraft did make (or was one of the makers) of the subject two pin plug. Valco used them in the mid 1960s in many of the amps that they produced for others to sell under their own brand name. I have found that the schematic documentation record is really spotty for many of those amps. You can find portions of the circuitry spread around under different names and the related lineage seems obvious. However, it is hard to find a single schematic that accurately documents a specific amp. I recently went through a schematic search for a 1965 Supro Royal Reverb 2 x 10" combo and never did find a complete match. That amp uses a two chassis design with the power amp / power supply mounted in the bottom of the cabinet. The attached photos document the speaker plug from that amp including some dimensional info. At the time I searched old catalogs and could not locate a similar plug. Maybe it was only supplied as an OEM molded cable assembly. Anyway...Enzo's post #9 lists a currently available compatible plug.



Cheers,
Tom

Edit: I woke up remembering that some amps I have worked on that used an isolated speaker connector like the one on your amp had a short wire that connected one of the pins directly to the metal chassis. If your amp is similarly wired and you decide to change the connector then there would be no issues in using one of your metal switchcraft parts.

[Drewline]

Tom,
You are right about the speaker wires. Each one has a short orange wire going to ground via a terminal strip. So no need for insulation washers. The more I look at it the easiest thing to do would be to hard wire the speakers by running a length of speaker wire soldered to the back of the existing recepticles & out through the oversized holes for the output transformer leads.