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Post subject: The Minnesota Twins
Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2015 2:00 pm
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Two weekends ago, I was passing a house in my neighborhood stopping at the light adjacent, I see an Estate Sale sign in the front yard.

As the light turned green, a guy comes out of the house carrying an old amp. Intrigued, I circle the block and park just as the guy was loading the amp in his trunk. Turned out to be an old '60s Ampeg. He said it was a good deal and there was other gear too, so I went in.

Bunch of stands, a beat-up non-descript Epiphone Melody Maker and a pair of Vibro Champs, one Blackface, the other Silverface. These were tagged $800 and $450 respectively. I found the manager who told me the house contents were being liquidated because the wife had died and her two grown children, living on the West Coast wanted to get the home on the Market. He said the Husband, who died about 5 years ago was the guitar player and he thought one of these amps might have belonged to the son who no longer played. I told him the prices seemed optimistic and were too rich for me, but thanks anyway. He followed me to the door saying "you know, all prices are negotiable..." I said I'd think about it.

Anyway, I returned the next day 30 min. before the sale was to end and the amps were still both there. The manager recognized me right away and came over. I said that considering they couldn't be tested and as all sales were final, there was no way I could pay the asking price. I told him I'd pay $600 for the pair. He refused but countered with $850. I said "Too rich, but thanks anyway..." and started for the door. The manager asked: "Would you go $700?" Would I...??? :lol: :lol: :wink:

The '65 is a definite 9/10 (except for the lousy Mojotone replacement speaker). I swapped in a '63 Jensen C8R which sounds much better.

Came w/ some nice vintage glass, it is quiet and all original. All caps and resistors measure to spec. I did a 3-prong conversion and eliminated the Death Cap. It has really good clean tone.

The '68 is maybe a 7/10. Orig. Oxford speaker. Some scratchy pots and the Vibrato isn't working right so I have some work to do. Also did a 3-prong conversion and removed Death Cap. Tone is good, but there's some definite Hum. Other than a scratched faceplate, cosmetically, it's pretty clean.

Plan to keep the '65 but will likely flip the '68 once I get it all sorted.

Enjoy the Amp Porn !! :wink:

cheers!


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'11 FSR Am. Vtg. Ltd. Ed. CAR '57 Stratocaster (SN# LE02639)
'14 American Deluxe Ash Stratocaster
'12 Telebration Empress Telecaster
'99 Deluxe Nashville Telecaster
'12 FSR Telecaster HH
'10 Heritage H-535
'99 Martin DC-1E
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Fender Play Winter Sale 2020
Post subject: Re: The Minnesota Twins
Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2015 2:12 pm
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Joined: Wed Mar 31, 2010 12:48 am
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Location: Tombstone Territory
HE SHOOTS, HE SCORES......!!!

Grab yourself some new cap cans and they'll keep a smile on your face for years.

NOTHIN' BUT NET!!!

8)

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: The Minnesota Twins
Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2015 6:55 pm
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Location: Gateway to the West
Talking about a nice pair! You certainly lucked into two nice amps...You MUST be living right!
:mrgreen:
T2

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Post subject: Re: The Minnesota Twins
Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2015 9:25 pm
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Lightnin MN, Great finds!!! :thumbsup:

For that weak vibrato... new cap can and the strongest testing 12AX7 will prolly fix that. I love these amps... as you can crank them to full-blast 6V6GT OD-harmonic song and tranny saturation. Gives you tones that are hard to get with pedals on a moderate powered amp.


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Post subject: Re: The Minnesota Twins
Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2015 9:42 pm
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BMW2002Ti wrote:
Lightnin MN, Great finds!!! :thumbsup:

For that weak vibrato... new cap can and the strongest testing 12AX7 will prolly fix that. I love these amps... as you can crank them to full-blast 6V6GT OD-harmonic song and tranny saturation. Gives you tones that are hard to get with pedals on a moderate powered amp.


Cool... Thanks...

New Cap Can on the way !

cheers!

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'11 FSR Am. Vtg. Ltd. Ed. CAR '57 Stratocaster (SN# LE02639)
'14 American Deluxe Ash Stratocaster
'12 Telebration Empress Telecaster
'99 Deluxe Nashville Telecaster
'12 FSR Telecaster HH
'10 Heritage H-535
'99 Martin DC-1E
'13 Lanikai Tenor Ukulele


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Post subject: Re: The Minnesota Twins
Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2015 10:25 pm
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Those amps are B E A utiful. Congrats on a awesome score.

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Post subject: Re: The Minnesota Twins
Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2015 10:48 pm
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Location: Southern, CA
Very nice score on two great amps!!

Jerry

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Post subject: Re: The Minnesota Twins
Posted: Tue Feb 10, 2015 2:45 am
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Awesome score! Now, flip that back panel around the right way. :o

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Post subject: Re: The Minnesota Twins
Posted: Tue Feb 10, 2015 8:55 pm
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Wow! Lucky dog, you! Congrats :mrgreen:


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Post subject: Re: The Minnesota Twins
Posted: Tue Feb 10, 2015 9:28 pm
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Nice pair. Sad to say but you'll probably get more enjoyment from them vs "watching" the Twins again this year. It really pays to check out the sales. I know a guy who recently bought an all original '59 Deluxe at a garage sale for $40. They actually wanted $60, but he talked them down to $40. :? I don't think I would have haggled.


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Post subject: Re: The Minnesota Twins
Posted: Tue Feb 10, 2015 10:05 pm
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upnorth2 wrote:
Nice pair. Sad to say but you'll probably get more enjoyment from them vs "watching" the Twins again this year. It really pays to check out the sales. I know a guy who recently bought an all original '59 Deluxe at a garage sale for $40. They actually wanted $60, but he talked them down to $40. :? I don't think I would have haggled.


Thanks !

I would agree with you if the sale was conducted by the owners, but in my case, an outside liquidator was commissioned to do the sale.

Having personal experience with these; we contracted with one when downsizing my mother's home which she and my father occupied for 45 years. After my mother chose what she wanted, and bestowed what she wanted the kids to have, there was still a lot of things which needed to be sold/liquidated/thrown out before the home could be put on the market.

I worked w/ the company and closely monitored the results of the sale. Most everything was liquidated, but much of it at 10% of it's real value.

If we'd had the time and the manpower to sell it off at more equitable prices, my mother would have reaped a greater benefit. But like many others in similar situations, we didn't.

The company sold things off at any price because their commission was only achieved by selling. They have a certain overhead which they insure by placing a minimum Fee against Draw. We needed to see them exceed this minimum to avoid out-of-pocket expense.

That's how I knew that I could return the following day as close to the Sale's end as possible and have the greatest leverage. If the family was concerned, these items could have been removed prior to the sale, but clearly they had no such concern.

I wasn't negotiating against the family, but against the contractor, and they're driven by commissions.

I don't mind haggling, though understand there are those who do. To me, the opposite party always has the right to say No and refuse.

But, unless I see them bleeding from the eyeballs, and short of questioning the legitimacy of my birth, I know I've left money on the table... MY money !! I'll never see these people again, so whatever opinion they form of me is of no consequence.

So far as the MLB Twins, even though Joe Mauer's uncle is a personal friend (and an NBA referee for the past 30 years), and I've known Joe since he was 3, I suspect you're correct. Face it, they're a middle-market team. About once a decade they'll show any post-season prominence. In-between, we'll still get a decent season of Baseball to watch !

cheers!

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'11 FSR Am. Vtg. Ltd. Ed. CAR '57 Stratocaster (SN# LE02639)
'14 American Deluxe Ash Stratocaster
'12 Telebration Empress Telecaster
'99 Deluxe Nashville Telecaster
'12 FSR Telecaster HH
'10 Heritage H-535
'99 Martin DC-1E
'13 Lanikai Tenor Ukulele


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Post subject: Re: The Minnesota Twins
Posted: Wed Feb 11, 2015 1:23 pm
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You lucky bast.... errrrr I mean, wow nice find! :shock:

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Post subject: Re: The Minnesota Twins
Posted: Wed Feb 11, 2015 2:17 pm
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Lightnin MN wrote:
I wasn't negotiating against the family, but against the contractor, and they're driven by commissions.



Maybe I should clarify. It was the guy who talked the people down on the '59 Tweed who shouldn't have haggled. Hope you didn't think I meant you when I said, "I don't think I would have haggled." My apologies for the incorrect position of statements on my post.

UN


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