Ampeg SVT Blueline Club, 68 to early 70's.

[Mescal]

There, that should do I suppose, sorry for taking up all this space.

The 'damage' on the upper right side of the front is just an old sticker from a music shop which I'm in the process of removing. And it doesn't come off that easily Any tricks or tips.

The serial number is 88117 and the date the number on the metal thingy is 6935. So after what I've read should be dated as week 35 in 1969?

Played it with my music man yesterday, and what a fat sound it gave!

[coreyfyfe]

Could be. That looks like most earlier amps - black switches, chrome chassis. Those cathode resistors are looking a little toasty.

[Mescal]

Originally Posted by coreyfyfe

Those cathode resistors are looking a little toasty.

Meaning?

Like, what is a cathode resistor? What does toasty mean?

Should I have a technician have a look at it?

Seller told me the amp was revisited (which doesn't mean it was of course)

[coreyfyfe]

The two wire wound resistors that are on the left side of this shot. They just look a little dark in this picture, almost like they're heat damaged (what I meant by toasty), but it could just be the lighting.

[Mescal]

So, should I have someone have a look it at? Should I stop playing it ...

[beans-on-toast]

If the amp sounds fine I wouldn't stop playing through it. It is always a good idea to have a new amp bought used checked out by a tech and brought up to spec.

As a minimum, a tech should clean the amp chassis, components, and cabinet; check the plate, cathode, and screen resistors in the power amp, check the power supply caps; install a three conductor power cord; inspect and clean the pots and jacks; check the bias and balance in the power amp. This will allow you to get the most out of your amp.

[Mescal]

That's too much for me to handle.

I guess I'll be contacting a tech

[Oren Hudson]

Originally Posted by Mescal

The 'damage' on the upper right side of the front is just an old sticker from a music shop which I'm in the process of removing. And it doesn't come off that easily Any tricks or tips.

A couple of products should work on the sticker. Goo Gone and Goof Off are made just for that. A word of caution. Be careful around any of the letters or lines, some of those can be removed with some of these type products. Just check in an out of the way place first.

[beans-on-toast]

If the solvent mentioned above doesn't penetrate through the label, a little heat, such as from a water bottle, make soften the glue enough. Then you can use some of the solvent at the edge to help you peel the label away.

The metal of the panel is a fairly soft aluminum that will scratch if you try to scrape it with a tool that is harder than the metal.

[BlueLine1]

Once again, sweet amp.... And do what Beans said, you will get the most life, tone, and satisfaction from it...
Alan

[Mescal]

And the cab? Do you guys think it's an Acoustic 408? Did they just change the casing and the front or is it a custom built copy?

And are the knobs original? The other heads I've seen in this thread have different knobs than mine

[beans-on-toast]

I can't comment on the cab. You can remove the speakers and see what make they are. There could be a date code on the frame.

I've never seen knobs like that on an SVT but I have seen similar looking ones on 50's Ampeg models. If they are original, you might have an early prototype.

[Mescal]

But the serial nr is 88117. There was at least one other amp in this thread with a lower serial nr, so don't really know about it being a prototype ...

The seller told me the knobs were original. But he wasn't a first owner ... just a Ampeg 'connaisseur'.

But, like I said, the knobs are really well attached (like a door handle, with a small imbus screw), so you can't just slide em on and off

[beans-on-toast]

These guys liked their prototype Ampegs.

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by Mescal

But the serial nr is 88117. There was at least one other amp in this thread with a lower serial nr, so don't really know about it being a prototype ...

The seller told me the knobs were original. But he wasn't a first owner ... just a Ampeg 'connaisseur'.

But, like I said, the knobs are really well attached (like a door handle, with a small imbus screw), so you can't just slide em on and off

Well if you like them, no reason to get rid of them, but I would because I like the original look better.

The easiest way to tell if you have a super early one is to see if there's a socket next to the power tubes. The first SVT run used a tube relay to keep the amp in standby while it was warming up, but most folks have replaced them with shorting plugs in the socket since the relay tubes are notoriously unreliable and shut down the entire amp if they quit working. I have one like this, and got talked out of the relay tube by my tech and I'm glad I did. But it was only on the very first run, and subsequent runs have no socket.

[Seans]

Nice, that is looking like a first production 69 ( it hasn't got the power take off at the front) and if the pot code is correct that's a sure. Best thing i've seen yet is the fact it still has 6146 Power valves fitted, no wonder it's sounding good.

[Oren Hudson]

Here goes - another "69" SVT . But seriously, I have a '73 rig that includes two matching square back cabs that I bought from the original owner going on 5 years ago. No problems there. However, Thursday, I picked up a really, really beat blueline head and a '91 810E cab. Like I say, rode really hard and put up really wet . Cab sounds great. The head sounds pretty good. After picking through the head yesterday and this morning, here's what I've got. Starting with the back. The grill was replaced a long time ago and looks the age of the rest of the head. Grill needs trimming some for the proper look. It also doesn't have the cord wraps. The fan is a replacement and might not even be for amps. It's a Zerox #127P1240 dated Dec. 9, 1974 and needs replacing. The number on the panel is 088110 and is the Linden mfg. The cord has been changed to a 3 prong. Removing the grill and panel, the chassis is unpainted and has this number on it, 093790. Also has the tube relay that's got the wire run from one slot to another. The tube chart is intact and shows 6146B/8298A for power tubes and the same bottom right number that JohnK showed on his reproduction, 4010155. It's got Sovtek 6550WA's in it now. The other power amp tubes are ECC-Ba 12AT7 and Magnavox 12 BH7. The pre-amp tubes are Magnavox 79-13 Sovtek 7025/12 AX7WA and three JJ ECC 835's.

The bottom of the head shows 6 of the dangly feet, worn, but still working and still moving freely.

The front of the head shows a plastic ampeg logo emblem along with correct blueline graffics. All rocker switches are solid black and are labeled, from left to right, ultra-high. / 1.2.3 / bass-cut.off.ultra-low and the ultra -high / ultra-low for channel 2. The control knobs are all black with a white marker dot and are attached with a set-screw. Looking inside from the front, I can see the black transformer(?) on the left side that has 7017 in white on it. Two other metal enclosures to the right have the last four numbers as 7015 and 7012.

When I started to clean some of the ton of dirt off of this thing, I discovered a faded, but nicely done, stenciled name across the top of the head. It is NAT. TRUST. I've never heard of the band, but internet info has the National Trust band in Chicago in 1999 and released a single named "Make It Happen." Bass player's name was Doug DeMers and I think that he lives in Philadelphia. Appears that he hasn't been into music in a good while. Directory assistance had no listing, but he could still live in the area. It'd sure be cool to talk to him and verify.

That's my story. Any comments, observations, suggestions, help on finding Douglas DeMers or anything else are welcomed.

[Seans]

Welcome, sounds like a great amp with history too and we'd love to see some pic's. Fantastic story with Doug DeMers and I'm sure we could get some more info input soon.

[Oren Hudson]

Here are a couple

[Oren Hudson]

...and a couple of more.