Replica 'Z' Logo - Need a favor from Transonic owners

[lamotta77]

Hey guys, just wondering if any Transonic owners would be so kind as to help me out with something. I'm having an original 2x12/1x15 Transonic cabinet restored as we speak, but we don't have the 'Z' logo that goes across the front. Initially, I was trying to locate a replica or NOS, but those are apparentely nowhere to be found. I thought maybe I'd try to get one made, but unfortunately, out of all the pics of these amps I've seen online, not one of them really shows the logo in a high enough resolution to make an accurate scan out of them.

I know there are a few Transonic owners here, so I'd really appreciate it if someone could take some super high quality pics of their 'Z' logo really up close for me. That would seriously help me a great deal.

Thanks, everyone.

[fabandgear]

How about a tracing of the emblem? I'd be happy to get you one as soon as I can if you wish. As I recall, it's a metal piece with woodgrain vinyl covering and the Rickenbacker Transonic logo painted on in white. It ought to be easy to replicate.

[lamotta77]

How about a tracing of the emblem? I'd be happy to get you one as soon as I can if you wish. As I recall, it's a metal piece with woodgrain vinyl covering and the Rickenbacker Transonic logo painted on in white. It ought to be easy to replicate.

Hi Fab. Yes, a tracing would be perfect. Exact measurements of the badge itself would be very helpful as well. Thank you!

About the woodgrain vinyl, think you could help find a perfect match? From the pic you provided, it looks to be about this color here:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/WOOD-GRA ... 27a4cc67e1

I'm also considering just making it out of wood and staining it the right color. Why not, right?

[fabandgear]

Nein! Nein! That's a different color. it's darker brown like the vinyl contact paper you used to get at Wal Mart. I'll take a few digital pix close up to see if I can replicate the color better. Also, PM me an address I can send the tracing to.

[lamotta77]

Cool, thank you. PM sent.

[fabandgear]

I'm also considering just making it out of wood and staining it the right color. Why not, right?

I always thought a clear Lucite piece, back-painted white with a black Rick logo like the truss rod cover would look really great on a Transonic!

[blueflamerick]

Jake, how much is this going to cost you? I'm sure there are a few people here that wouldn't mind having a replica piece made as well. Maybe you'd get a better price for volume. I know I'd be interested in two.

[lamotta77]

Jake, how much is this going to cost you? I'm sure there are a few people here that wouldn't mind having a replica piece made as well. Maybe you'd get a better price for volume. I know I'd be interested in two.

Hello. As of right now, I don't know what this will cost. Until today, I wasn't even sure that I could get it made since I didn't have any way to do it accurately. Thanks to Forrest, it looks like it's gonna happen.

Once I get the tracings and high resolution scans, I thought about contacting the good people at http://www.amplates.com to see if they'd like to do it. Once I get pricing information, I'll report back and let you know what's what. If we can get a good discount for ordering a bunch instead of just one, that would be the way to go. We could get a list of names together for a bulk order.

[fabandgear]

Well I did a tracing of the plate and will send it off tomorrow morning. I traced the mounting screw holes as well as the basic outline of the plate. Tracing the letters was harder than I thought, but it came out pretty close. The logo plate looks to be about 1mm thick sheet steel. Also, here's a closeup to give you an idea of the color. The finish is dark woodgrain vinyl. When you get the tracing, let me know if it's satisfactory!

[fabandgear]

Just a thought. If you plan on having someone reproduce the logo plate, especially multiples rather than a one-off, do-it-yourself project, I'd ask permission from RIC. They are quite protective of their trademarks (and rightfully so). I'd hate to see anyone get into trouble.

[lamotta77]

Fab, I couldn't possibly thank you enough for helping me out. Perhaps there is some way to repay you for this...please let me know if there's something I could do.

Yes, I can definitely see the wood grain much better now. Wonderful. Do you have a pic of the entire badge real up close like that one? Along with your tracings, I could also get a better idea of exactly how it's supposed to look when it's all said and done. I could even create my own tracing out of it in Photoshop to see if I can get them to match up perfectly with your tracings. If you do have a pic like that and could upload it full size to http://www.imageshack.us/ or http://tinypic.com/ and post a link to it here, that would be tremendously helpful to me.

Point taken about asking for permission first as I certainly would not want to step on anyone's toes. I had PM'd John Hall yesterday about it to ask if he could help, but I don't know if he'd be cool with us having them replicated professionally even if they're just for personal use to restore our own original cabs. Until I get confirmation on that, I will not contact anyone.

[fabandgear]

Jake, this weekend I'll try to get a good closeup of the logo for you. I'll put the camera on a tripod and do the pic outside in natural light (weather permitting), that way it won't come out blurry. Shoot me a Yahoo!, Hotmail or Gmail address and I'll send the file directly to you.

[fabandgear]

Darn, I forgot to mention about the mounting screws. They are brown-coated panhead philips screws with brown plastic tapered trim washers. If I think about it, I'll take one loose and measure it for you. By the way, does your cabinet have it's original grille cloth? I noticed that the folks you mentioned can do customized cloth. I've read a few times on this forum where other Transonic owners are looking for some. Somewhere out there, someone probably still has several bolts of the stuff stored away!

[lamotta77]

Jake, this weekend I'll try to get a good closeup of the logo for you. I'll put the camera on a tripod and do the pic outside in natural light (weather permitting), that way it won't come out blurry. Shoot me a Yahoo!, Hotmail or Gmail address and I'll send the file directly to you.

Darn, I forgot to mention about the mounting screws. They are brown-coated panhead philips screws with brown plastic tapered trim washers. If I think about it, I'll take one loose and measure it for you.

Excellent, thanks for the additional information. PM sent with my email address.

By the way, does your cabinet have it's original grille cloth? I noticed that the folks you mentioned can do customized cloth. I've read a few times on this forum where other Transonic owners are looking for some. Somewhere out there, someone probably still has several bolts of the stuff stored away!

This cab actually did have its original cloth, but it was in very sad shape...practically falling apart and very badly faded. The restoration is being done by Bob Rissi himself and he doesn't have enough original cloth left to do a full cabinet, so we're going to have to go another way.

The story Bob told me about what happened to all the remaining original cloth is a sad one indeed. Apparently, there were several rolls of it left which remained in storage long after the Transonics were discontinued...that is until they were all mistakenly tossed out during a clean out of the Ric warehouse. Ouch! So, that was that...no more left and no more will ever be made. If anyone was lucky enough to buy some and stash it away beforehand, they are certainly keeping it a secret.

Getting some replica grill cloth made was something that we had never really considered, but it would have been neat to try. Amplates, I think, just does custom graphics for them. Whoever could actually do it would probably need a sample of some the original in very good condition to even attempt replicating it, I assume, and I don't have any at all to give them.

[fabandgear]

Be sure to post a pic of the completed plate when you get it finished!