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Post subject: Tips How to Choose a Clean Vintage Amp
Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2012 11:21 am
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Here is a 1965 Twin Reverb that the seller claims has a really clean grillcloth.

From experience I can tell the cloth has been bleach-cleaned by chemicals. First of all, the blotched color on the front says all.

Then the back photo of the baffle shows thew cloth at the top and you can see the 47 years of bar Stained Cigg Smoke on the top piece they forgot to clean. You can also tell by the bottom of the chassis and look at all the Cigg Stain on the Chassis, this amp was a Bar-Club Player for many years.

To me this amp is worthless as a collector amp. It's a players amp at best that we buy at Guitar Shows for 1000.00 to 1600.00 all the time.

For the seller to claim the cloth is clean after they spent hours cleaning the amp is not fair to buyers who don't know any better.

Quote from Seller:
"As can clearly be seen in the photos to the right of this text column, this fine specimen is amongst the nicest we have ever seen. The grill cloth is particularly clean, without stains, smoke damage, fading, etc."
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It's always best to take your time, do your close inspection before you hit the BIN. Personally, I could never sell an amp in this condition and claim it's near mint. Near Mint is my 1966 JBL Twin Reverb, now that's a clean amp.

If anyone else has tips for people new to collecting what to look for in a clean vintage amp this would be a good thread for tips. I believe most guys here are smart enough to know
that amp went through the carwash/.
Auction Photos complete.
http://cgi.ebay.com/_W0QQitemZ230850483822


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Post subject: Re: Tips How to Choose a Clean Vintage Amp
Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2012 12:02 pm
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I'm pretty new to this game but the obvious one is to check the dates ....that the components are all close in date codes and predate the chassis serial and that the speakers are identical SN. Check also the power cord because from what I understand many are replaced. Check the fuse to see if it's original.


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Post subject: Re: Tips How to Choose a Clean Vintage Amp
Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2012 2:06 pm
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I posted a link to this article in the past, but I think its an excellent overview on buying vintage amps. I read it every so often to remind myself what to look for when I am buying a vintage amp. If I knew what some of the members have forgotten about amps, I'd be twice as knowledgable as I am now. :lol:

11 Things You Have to Know About Purchasing Vintage Amps

People are going to clean their amps before they sell them..... you have to understand that going in. (Just like we tune-up our cars and get them detailed before we sell them). Restoration is a bit different. Whether the seller actually cleaned (restored) the amp themselves.... or knows that it was restored prior to their procurement and don't inform the buyer is certainly a different situation than if they don't know and they sell it as Minty Fresh. :wink:

Good info about checking the grill cloth for staining.

Its a buyer beware world (no matter what you are buying), so being as informed as you can will make you a wiser shopper.


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Post subject: Re: Tips How to Choose a Clean Vintage Amp
Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2012 3:47 pm
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phansford wrote:
People are going to clean their amps before they sell them..... you have to understand that going in. (Just like we tune-up our cars and get them detailed before we sell them). Restoration is a bit different. Whether the seller actually cleaned (restored) the amp themselves.... or knows that it was restored prior to their procurement and don't inform the buyer is certainly a different situation than if they don't know and they sell it as Minty Fresh.


+1

When I sold my '66 Bandmaster set recently, I disassembled both pieces prior to the buyer's arrival so he could inspect them and confirm their bona fides. The head had no issues when I acquired it and the only servicing it ever required under my aegis was a fresh set of power tubes and an idle-bias adjustment. The matching home-made Showman enclosure likewise passed his muster -- he was relieved to confirm the UK-made V30's I'd installed. Buyers should be honest and sellers should be informed......it eliminates the sturm und drang that frequently accompanies such negotiations.

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: Tips How to Choose a Clean Vintage Amp
Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2012 12:21 am
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When I bought my Princeton Reverb 1967, I came here and posted all the pics I had. Arjay helped me a lot with it.

So that's my advice: get as many pics you can and post them here as long as Arjay and other experts are around.

Beware of rare/stupid amps though :lol:

Cheers

David

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Post subject: Re: Tips How to Choose a Clean Vintage Amp
Posted: Sat Sep 15, 2012 6:48 am
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Amerigo, we're on the same page here. When I bought my Bassman, and Bandmaster heads, I asked the seller to email me as many pics as possible. I was going to drive over 2 hours just to pick them up, and wanted to make sure the trip was worth it. I forwarded those pics to our Vintage amp guru here, and it clinched my decision to go for it. A seller should be willing to work with you as far as good info, and good pictures, but you may find that not everyone is willing to do that. Doesn't always mean they have something to hide, but perhaps they aren't real comfortable taking a chassis out. Some people probably think it is a bigger deal than it really is. Get the info, ask the questions, some people in this forum can smell B.S. no matter how far away it is.

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Post subject: Re: Tips How to Choose a Clean Vintage Amp
Posted: Sat Sep 15, 2012 8:44 am
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Well, Arjay bluntly told me I had no clue what I was doing when I bought the amp. I agreed, he helped me and now I have a very fine 1967 Princeton Reverb which is in use every day. Maybe it's not a collector's amp, but it sounds like a dream.

There was a wrong grille cloth, broken cap can, wrong resistors and a few other things involved. But I got it sorted out.

That's what I love about this forum: you get in touch with people who really know what they're talking about. Thanks again, Arjay.

Cheers

David

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"Humans think they are smarter than dolphins because we build cars and buildings and start wars etc...and all that dolphins do is swim in the water, eat fish and play around. Dolphins believe that they are smarter for exactly the same reasons."


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Post subject: Re: Tips How to Choose a Clean Vintage Amp
Posted: Sat Sep 15, 2012 9:07 am
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Arjay was blunt!!! no way man.......

to the OP,yep there's a difference in collector amps and player amps.....same as in amp collectors and playing musicians...and knowing how to differentiate between the two is helpful. :wink: ...and less expensive and frustrating.


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Post subject: Re: Tips How to Choose a Clean Vintage Amp
Posted: Sat Sep 15, 2012 9:56 am
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Paper has been at this game a while and has a lot to offer those here who crave the truth -- it'd be downright foolish to disregard his input. Yes, there's a difference between "collector grade" and a "player". My modest collection falls somewhere twixt and tween the two. But it's imperative to know precisely what these beauties looked like on the day they shipped from Fullerton so it can be determined how much (if any) the amp has been altered from stock -- whether through deliberate mod, willful abuse, or merely the ravages of time and tide. IMO we can never have too much information.

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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