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Post subject: Tremolux (lots of pics)
Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 10:51 pm
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I'm looking for some expertise on this Tremolux. It is my first blackface amp, and I did not pay that much for it. All I know is that it sounds great with my Strats and my Tele.

So I'm just wondering if there's anything that I need to know about it. I know that it has new tubes and some of the caps have been changed. A 3 prong cord was also added. I was told that it's a '64, but I'm not sure how to check.

Also, the cabinet is from a Showman. Are the speakers original (the look like eminence?).

Pictures.

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Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 10:53 pm
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More...

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Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 10:58 pm
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And the cabinet...

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Also, I don't know what I touched in the amp head, but I got a bit of a zapp while taking the chassis out of the head...So when people say don't work on your amp unless you know what you're doing, take their advise.

Thanks for looking!


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Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 3:27 am
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I have a Tremolux too, with original cabinet and speakers.

If he sound good, no noise, keep it like this and do the bias check on output tubes.

If you want to gig with it. You must do the bias , do a caps job. Also check the big resistors on 6L6 sockets. Yellow-violet-brown, 470 ohms.

Keep all your old parts in safety place in case you sell it to collector.

And enjoy it.


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Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 10:04 am
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A few things jump out at me. First of all the filter caps need to be replaced, along with the bias cap on the power rail (next to the pilot light assembly). As well, the "death cap" is still present (adjacent to the "ground" switch). That may have been what "bit" you while removing the chassis. Installing a properly-grounded 3-conductor power cable will render that ground switch moot and you can then remove the death cap (save it for posterity as the other contributor to this thread mentioned). I can see electrolyte leaking from some of the paper and oil signal-chain caps on the circuit board. These should also be upgraded.

Your cabinet is probably a Bandmaster -- very close in vintage to the amp head itself, judging from the general condition. Twin-speaker Showman enclosures are much larger...24" x 36" x 11½".

You have an exceptionally fine small-to-medium venue club rig -- congratulations!

HTH

Arjay


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Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 10:40 am
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Great amp!

Agree with others that you'll need electrolytic caps replaced that are leaking or close to, filter caps, and proper 3-prong AC death cap removal.

From the front and back panels, I think your amp may be more of a '65/66 as the front reads Fender Musical Instruments instead of Fender Electric Instrument co. Also on the back panel, I believe it mentions "a division of CBS".

How I believe some of your codes translate out; usually the most recent or latest code is the date of the amp. This is info from Fender's site on how to date your amp:
The "OI" code on the label translates into September 1965,
Transformer 606-4-36 - produced in the 36th week of 1964 (September)
Transformer 606-5-13 - produced in the 13th week of 1965 (April)
Transformer 606-6-07 - produced in the 7th week of 1966 (February)

Nothing wrong with this as 65 and 66 amps are just as valuable and the changes in the amps were mostly cosmetic at first as Art has pointed out before. A lot of amps have parts from different dates as they used up what they had before making/ordering more. Makes these amps even better deals and they sound just as good.

On the cab, it looks like particleboard in there; not sure what year they switched to particleboard, but someone may have a better idea on that as well as the speakers. As long as it sounds good, though, it is good!

But, who cares? as long as you have an amp that's maintained well and sounds good, you've got a great deal.

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'59? Bogen Challenger CHA-33, '65 Bandmaster, '65 Tremolux, 65 Showman;
'74 SF Princeton; '77 SF Princeton Reverb; Dr. Z Mini Z

Our band: http://www.facebook.com/thetoysband


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Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 12:07 pm
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MDF (partical board) for speaker baffles, enclosure back panels, and piggyback head valences was introduced across the line with the introduction in mid-63 of the AA763 and AB763 blonde-era amps.

HTH

Arjay


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Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 1:25 pm
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Thanks Retro.

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'59? Bogen Challenger CHA-33, '65 Bandmaster, '65 Tremolux, 65 Showman;
'74 SF Princeton; '77 SF Princeton Reverb; Dr. Z Mini Z

Our band: http://www.facebook.com/thetoysband


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Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 1:59 pm
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Thank you all for the comments. I'll take it in to the tech a.s.a.p!
I'm kinda bummed that it's a '66 instead of a '64...but moreso for my peace of mind. The amp sounds killer!!!

Thanks again.


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Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 2:14 pm
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This all-orginal '65 Dual Showman cab which I restored last summer (shown here beneath a '66 Bandmaster head) has an MDF baffle and rear cover.

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HTH

Arjay


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Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 3:11 pm
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cskyle wrote:
Thank you all for the comments. I'll take it in to the tech a.s.a.p!
I'm kinda bummed that it's a '66 instead of a '64...but moreso for my peace of mind. The amp sounds killer!!!


Don't be bummed at all - the sound is what's most important, not the year.

As far as I know, very little if anything was changed to the wiring schematic from 64 to 66 - inside they're the same amp, just different cosmetically on the outside. - Total win and I'd be grinning from ear to ear if I had picked up one like that! Also, the pictures so a very clean amp - this thing looks great on the outside as well.

Don't know what tubes are in it (let us know so we can all drool some more); if you need to retube, Mike Kropotkin at http://www.kcanostubes.com is a great guy. Tell him your amp, playing style and budget, and he'll recommend what to get, both from NOS and/or new tubes. He's who I've bought all my tubes from and will continue to do so.

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'59? Bogen Challenger CHA-33, '65 Bandmaster, '65 Tremolux, 65 Showman;
'74 SF Princeton; '77 SF Princeton Reverb; Dr. Z Mini Z

Our band: http://www.facebook.com/thetoysband


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Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 9:45 pm
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Thanks again.
I had a friend over tonight. He always tells me about how he used to have a blackface Tremolux and regrets selling it. So I surprised him by telling him that I bought one. He was drooling.

As for the tubes, there's an assortment. There are a few Philips, some Sovteks, one Groove tube, and one that doesn't have a name on it.


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Posted: Mon Apr 12, 2010 11:40 pm
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Tubes can make or break a vintage Fender amp.

Some recommendations......

V1 and V2 are, respectively, the 1st and 2nd stage preamp tubes for each of the channels. These tubes are known as "dual triodes", with two independent sets of elements in each and it's important to select a pair of quality non-microphonic tubes. If you cannot find the specified 7025 (no longer in production) a quality 12AX7A or ECC83 is an acceptable substitute.

V3 is the driver for the tremolo and is not so critical to basic amp performance. Any decent 12AX7 will work fine.

V4 is the phase inverter, where the outputs of each preamp are summed together and sent to the output stage. A high quality 12AT7 should be used here.

V5 and V6 are the power tubes. For optimum performance these should be a matched pair, both by brand and precision conductance measurements. I favor vintage "black-plate" RCA 6L6GCs or mil-spec JAN Raytheons. These are bit pricey for most folks so I usually recommend Electro-Harmonics or JJs for those on a budget. They perform well and generally outlast the Sovteks and the Groove Tubes.

V7 is the rectifier and the best current-production GZ34/5AR4 I've found is the Tung-Sol re-issue.

Don't forget to have the power tube biasing checked whenever you replace the 6L6s.

HTH

Arjay


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Posted: Tue Apr 13, 2010 7:04 am
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This is a great resource from Mike K at www.kcanostubes that describes what Arjay had below, but also gives some recommendations.

http://www.kcanostubes.com/content/fend ... mendations

I have JJ's in my Bandmaster now, will retube with either the GT 6L6GE's ($60 per pair) or SED 6L6GCs ($58 per pair).

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'59? Bogen Challenger CHA-33, '65 Bandmaster, '65 Tremolux, 65 Showman;
'74 SF Princeton; '77 SF Princeton Reverb; Dr. Z Mini Z

Our band: http://www.facebook.com/thetoysband


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Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2010 10:10 am
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the transformer dates are 64 to 66 so it's definitely a 66 :D

that could have been changed (it's more common to have a '64 with '65 bits in there), so check the faceplate - if it's a Fender Elect. Inst. Co. then it's one of the nicest ones (Fender Musical Instruments are post-CBS although you do get some of that era with the faceplates that had not been used, I think it's the transition period during '65).

those are reeeaaallly nice amps, I find them warmer than the 85w big brothers (twins, showmans, etc.) 8)


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