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Post subject: The Eternal Question….. saving old parts
Posted: Sat Jun 27, 2015 5:49 pm
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Aspiring Musician
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I acquired a new vintage amp this past week for the collection. Pretty clean. The metal chassis is shiny and nearly a mirror. All original (Speaker, tubes, handles, tolex, even has the logo in one piece) except updated filter caps. Which my tech reviewed and approved today. <Whew> HaHa.

As always, I am having the original 2 prong plug replaced with a grounded 3 pronger. And yes… the 2 prong plug is actually original.

So the eternal question…. do I bag the old plug and save it for the next owner. Is it really necessary to save it for those who think the amp would be de-valued without the old plug? Speakers I think we all agree….. but the plug?

I had to replace the original plug on my 1956 tweed Harvard a few months ago. It literally fell apart…. so it just was trashed. It was EXTREMELY unsafe. Its not like it could be repaired and returned to the amp by a serious collector.

Right now, I plan on just putting in a zip lock and saving it. But I'm interested in what the rest of you think.

FWIW - The amp is not a Fender….. so unless pressed…. I don't plan on posting any photos. Its a 1960 Gibson Skylark Tremolo (GA-5T) with the original Jensen speaker. Gibson branded tubes by RCA. And vintage clear plastic cover. :oops: :D And as I have stated before….. this is the only music gear forum I'm a member of….. so pardon the non-fender comments. :oops:


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Post subject: Re: The Eternal Question….. saving old parts
Posted: Sat Jun 27, 2015 6:29 pm
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Just keep all the old stuff in a bag. You can tape the bag to the inside of the cab --- so you know where it is at.

Things have been slow here, lately. Don't think folks would complain, if you posted some photos of the Skylark. Love those early 1960s Ampeg amps.


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Post subject: Re: The Eternal Question….. saving old parts
Posted: Sat Jun 27, 2015 6:57 pm
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Aspiring Musician
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No gut shots yet….. sorry. From what I have read on these older Gibson amps, the cabinets are redwood. The middle amp in the bottom photo is a 1960 Skylark (GA-5). Undervalued amps with lots of mojo.

Image

Image

Image

Image


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Post subject: Re: The Eternal Question….. saving old parts
Posted: Sat Jun 27, 2015 8:49 pm
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A nice specimen for sure!

I save all removed parts in a ziploc -- I toss a note into each bag identifying which amp the parts belong to.

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 Eternal Question….. saving old parts
Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2015 1:58 am
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Check if all fuses are the good one, I found many too powerful fuse in old amp and amp is not protected


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Post subject: Re: The Eternal Question….. saving old parts
Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2015 4:37 am
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Retroverbial wrote:
A nice specimen for sure!

I save all removed parts in a ziploc -- I toss a note into each bag identifying which amp the parts belong to.

Arjay


+1...And maybe its the military training, but I also have an accordion folder labeled with each amp I own for said Ziplocs...keeps it all nice and tidy in one place under my guitar workbench.

Of course with Arjays collection and work he may need something just a bit larger!

:wink:

T2

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Post subject: Re: The Eternal Question….. saving old parts
Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2015 7:12 am
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Very nice amp! Is the tone similar to a tweed Princeton?


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Post subject: Re: The Eternal Question….. saving old parts
Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2015 8:27 am
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A friend of mine blows Chicago blues harp through a Skylark. He's tried but hasn't found anything better.
Unless it's a museum piece..., toss the old parts


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Post subject: Re: The Eternal Question….. saving old parts
Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2015 9:07 am
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T2Stratman wrote:
+1...And maybe its the military training, but I also have an accordion folder labeled with each amp I own for said Ziplocs...keeps it all nice and tidy in one place under my guitar workbench.


I don't recollect mentioning that but yeah, that's what I do. I also store the receipts for all replacement parts purchased plus copies of the "before" and "after" photographs to document any and all repairs and safety upgrades in each amp's folder. A full maintenance/service jacket, just as with a motor vehicle or firearm.

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 Eternal Question….. saving old parts
Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2015 1:04 pm
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Aspiring Musician
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BMW2002Ti wrote:
Very nice amp! Is the tone similar to a tweed Princeton?


The straight Skylark (GA-5) is very much like a tweed champ. The circuit has been compared to the 5E1. It has a volume pot only. It breaks up around 3. You clean the tone by backing off the volume on the guitar. I think I emailed you a sound clip of that amp when I first got it.

The Skylark Tremolo (GA-5T) is supposed to be closer to the brownface Princeton. I can't say, since I've never played through a brownface amp at all. HaHa. As discussed before…. Gibson was changing their circuits constantly. My particular GA-5T breaks up nicely at around 6 or 7. It sounds very Champy at that point. The tremolo seems thick to me. Thats the best way I can describe it. When I get it back, I make a couple of sound clips and email them to you.

This is the source I use to compare the various Gibson amps to their Fender counterparts.

These 1950-early 60's Gibson amps are undervalued. I like having them with the Fenders. Just allows me different sonic avenues to explore when I'm playing. I don't seem to be the only one that thinks that.

Thanks for everyone's input….. I've been keeping all the parts. And I'll continue doing the same.


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Post subject: Re: The Eternal Question….. saving old parts
Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2015 3:24 pm
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Is this the circuit?

http://www.gibson.com/Files/schematics/GA-5T.jpg

6AQ5 are very good tubes. 6005 variant being the best. Mil spec. Many NOS are available at good prices. GE black plate being some of the best.

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTIwMFgxNjAw/ ... V/$_57.JPG

I noticed that some GA5 seems to had 6BM8 triode-pentode output tube in single-ended topo. This is a little more difficult tube to find.


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Post subject: Re: The Eternal Question….. saving old parts
Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2015 3:40 pm
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BMW2002Ti wrote:
I noticed that some GA5 seems to had 6BM8 triode-pentode output tube in single-ended topo. This is a little more difficult tube to find.


+1

Gibson, like Ampeg, produced several amps that utilized tubes which would eventually fade into relative obscurity. Witness the numerous V2's, V4's, B25B's, and VT22's that were sidelined for lack of a constant and reliable supply of 7027A power tubes.

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 Eternal Question….. saving old parts
Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2015 3:52 pm
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Aspiring Musician
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The GA-5 (Les Paul Jr/Skylark) with just a volume pot uses
12AX7, 6V6, 5Y3

The GA-5T (Skylark Tremolo) uses 12AX7, 6BM8, 5Y3.
The 6BM8 is not only the power tube, but also runs the tremolo circuit.

http://www.0rigami.com/gg/amps.html#GA- ... k_Two-Tone

You can never tell with Gibson if you have the right schematic and if it was followed at the factory. HAHA. They weren't as consistent as Fender. If fact…. my output tranny s/n is 996617 (Heyboer Transformer, Inc) and its marked "GA-5TP". We found a capacitor dated 38th week of 1960.

For anyone that has the time….. I've watched these guys a few times on YouTube. I think they do a nice job explaining the amps and showing what they can do. They recently posted this one - "Practice Amps from the 50's and 60's part 1"



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Post subject: Re: The Eternal Question….. saving old parts
Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2015 9:03 pm
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Professional Musician
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Great video, enjoy your amp.


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