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Post subject: Re: New old amp
Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2017 8:09 pm
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Roadie
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Joined: Sat Dec 13, 2014 7:34 am
Posts: 245
The reverb can't possibly be worse than a Supro Corsica.

UN


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Post subject: Re: New old amp
Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2017 10:22 pm
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Professional Musician
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Joined: Tue Nov 27, 2012 6:56 am
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Location: Coastal Bend, Tx.
Glad to see your back after the Gibson again.
Good to see the PSU upgraded wire-wound resistors, they should last forever.
Cant say I've a memory of the reverb but did see one of the 63/4ish 500R models go on ebay the other day.
Have to say the combo's reverb looks more like the Hammond-Fender than there original stand alone cardboard/wood housing boxes from 61/62.


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Post subject: Re: New old amp
Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2017 10:27 pm
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Rock Star
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Got the amp put back together. Only one of those Sprague Orange Drops leak any DC. Tone is pretty good. Tremolo is awesome. It's so awesome, it waggles the hum at zero volume --- idle. :LOL:

Reverb is weak. Will need to look into that. Maybe, try a 12AT7 tomorrow (the amp uses a 12AU7 reverb driver, OEM).

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Post subject: Re: New old amp
Posted: Tue Apr 18, 2017 9:14 am
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Rock Star
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Well... may have found why this amp has such poor reverb. Took tank out of bag (which look like a mouse made a home of... for a few years) :)

There were foam pieces still glued to the frame to protect the springs during transport. I'm pretty sure these are OEM parts --- as they crumbled in my hands. And the glue is rock hard and old-colored yellow.

Will retry reverb with the 12AU7 tube and see how it works now.

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Post subject: Re: New old amp
Posted: Tue Apr 18, 2017 9:55 am
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Rock Star
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Onboard reverb still sucks. 12AU7 or 12AT7. Maybe the patch cord or the tank. Anyhow, plugged the Fender Reverb Unit into the amp. And WOW! Big difference. I haven't used the reverb unit for awhile and forgot just how good it is. Really transformed the amp's tone. :D


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Post subject: Re: New old amp
Posted: Tue Apr 18, 2017 10:32 am
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Rock Icon
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Joined: Wed Mar 31, 2010 12:48 am
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Location: Tombstone Territory
Hell......try a 12AX7 or a 5751. Ohm the cables out before you decide to replace them -- I'm betting that they're probably hokay.

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY


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Post subject: Re: New old amp
Posted: Tue Apr 18, 2017 5:39 pm
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Hobbyist
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Joined: Sat Jan 21, 2017 8:39 am
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Not hard to imagine that reverb tank will grace anything it's connected to with cubic hectares of awesomeness...

At least your foam was still yellow and not orange with age!

Great shot of the back with the glowing tubes 8)


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Post subject: Re: New old amp
Posted: Tue Apr 18, 2017 9:27 pm
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Rock Star
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Thanks! Those are the "lamps of magic." :lol:

Played all my Peter Green stuff I've memorized forever --- driving the household nuts. The Explorer sounds pretty good. Actually sounds clean with the Telecaster. A bit more compressed, at volume, with a Les Paul. I'd love to have a real Gibson Explorer guitar... but... one day... maybe.

Anyhow, the tone is not quite Princeton. More "brown." It could be the Tone Tubby Humbolt speaker. It is a nice speaker. Smooth tone. But, not the clean mid-highs of an undoped Weber 10-inch alnico. Will need to pull out my PR and swap connections between the two amps --- to see what is due to the amp and what is due to the speaker.

The amp is fairly loud. That speaker must be pretty efficient. As the amp is making only about 10-12 watts. Compression at full volume is noticeable.

Nice amp. Only drawback I can see, is it's kinda heavy. Like DR weight. Not PR. But, a well-built thing.

:)


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Post subject: Re: New old amp
Posted: Wed Apr 19, 2017 9:51 am
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Aspiring Musician
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Joined: Wed Nov 14, 2007 1:29 pm
Posts: 614
Location: SW Ohio
BMW2002Ti wrote:
Tremolo is awesome. It's so awesome, it waggles the hum at zero volume --- idle. :LOL:


I've been looking forward to your review. Glad to hear your thoughts on the tremolo. Like I've said before, the best tremolo is on my 1964 Gibson Discoverer Tremolo.


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Post subject: Re: New old amp
Posted: Thu Apr 20, 2017 9:04 am
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Joined: Wed Mar 31, 2010 12:48 am
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Location: Tombstone Territory
There's something to be said about the bias-modulated tremolo circuit. It just sounds more hypnotic than the opto-isolator version (though not as lush as Leo's three-tube harmonic type).

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY


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