SVT... To Restore or Not To Restore... That is the question.

officespace2 · #1 05-07-2011, 11:46 PM

Hey guys... This is my first post, but I have been an avid reader/lurker for quite some time and have come to greatly value and respect the opinions of the SVT experts here.

I have a dilemna that I am hoping you can help me with. I JUST (about 1 hr ago) purchased what appears (to me) to be an early-mid 70s blackline SVT. Its in working, although a bit rough, shape with a few knobs missing, a pot that is locked up, and a front grill that is entirely absent. My dilemna is this... To what extent should I restore this thing? See pics below:

On one hand, I like clean looking, perfectly restored gear and I really enjoy the process of obsessing over perfection in the restoration process. On the other hand, I don't want to take away the cool gnarled vibe of a rugged 70s head that has obviously seen its fair share of road work.

I know I will be replacing the grill and missing knobs, fixing the locked up pot, doing basic maintenance (Deoxit, biasing, etc), and getting it a cozy road case. The questions really are around the extras... Should I retolex it? Should I fix the front light that flickers on and off randomly? Should I replace the slightly rusted chrome fan grill in the back? Should I replace the gnarled chrome corners? While I'm at it, do you guys have any other thoughts to keep in mind as I am getting this beast back to shape? I will be starting this project in 2 weeks once I get my MTI SVT rehabbed so please keep the comments coming.

Thanks for any thoughts, and thanks for all of the amazing knowledge I have gleaned from all of your posts. I am lurking in awe...

JimmyM · #2 05-07-2011, 11:49 PM

other than the grill, pot, and front light, i'd leave everything else the way it is. it's not THAT beaten up.

omnimutant · #3 05-07-2011, 11:54 PM

Clean it up pull it out of it's enclosure and play it naked!

officespace2 · #4 05-08-2011, 12:37 AM

Jimmy:
Your right... It's not that beaten up. I think a few hours of gentle TLC will get it back to a happy place.

Omnimutant:
I don't know about playing this thing naked yet... especially without protection. Someone installed a 3 prong cable, but broke off the ground prong. hmm...

In the current condition, what do you think would have been a good price for it? I paid $600 and that felt reasonable.

Please keep the advice rolling.

One Drop · #5 05-08-2011, 02:40 AM

Great price.

I'd get it absolutely ship shape internally and leave the tolex as is. replace fan, anything else functional that looks dodgy.

You'll save time and money in the long run getting a proper full cap job and a well matched set of power tubes if the current ones don't test.

Buy some AV cloth from Ampeg orsimilar from Fliptops and repair the front grille, by all means.

Enjoy it!

Giaime · #6 05-08-2011, 03:20 AM

Pot, front grille, front light, replace fan, wire a 3-prong plug and do a cap job and a check of the tubes. That's the only really mandatory things, the aesthetics are not necessary and I personally think that the amp is not that beat up to start with.

beans-on-toast · #7 05-08-2011, 06:00 AM

The first thing that you said was that you enjoy the challenges of a restoration project. If that's the case and the additional cost isn't an issue, then why deprive yourself of something that you want to do.

When the amp is restored, not only will it be very cool but you can take pride in what you've learned and accomplished.

jellymax · #8 05-08-2011, 08:02 AM

those orig pots are fairly easy to open up--i have had good luck fixing a few
of them suprisingly enough....

coreyfyfe · #9 05-08-2011, 09:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyM

other than the grill, pot, and front light, i'd leave everything else the way it is. it's not THAT beaten up.

As usual, I agree with Jimmy. Get it in good sonic shape, with a properly grounded plug, caps if necessary, and don't worry too much about the rest - it just adds a little character to look a little rough around the edges.

Jazzdogg · #10 05-08-2011, 10:38 AM

Howzit sound?

If it sounds good, the only addition I'd make to Jimmy's list would be a back brace (for you, not the amp), and perhaps a roadie.

officespace2 · #11 05-08-2011, 02:07 PM

From what I've been able to hear, it sounds pretty good. The treble pot is busted on channel one, so I can't really dial it in yet to say for sure that it has the magic, but its pretty rockin. Came with a new set of Winged Cs and a bunch of classic old Magnavox 12dw7s with RCAs for the 6c4 and 12bh7s.

BassmanPaul · #12 05-08-2011, 02:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by omnimutant

Clean it up pull it out of it's enclosure and play it naked!

That will just get the amp all sweaty! Not to mention getting the OP arrested right off the stage!

Sartori · #13 05-08-2011, 03:16 PM

Do what you want. It's YOUR amp.

If you like the gnarled stuff, just fix the stuff that affects whether the amp functions or not (the pot, especially) and get a grill. If you think you'd really enjoy restoring the whole thing, and money is no object, and you have the time, do that.

Jim C · #14 05-08-2011, 03:46 PM

I'd play the thing a few times.
There may be other items that need attention; cheaper to do it all at once. After 25 hours of playing time, you'll get a feel for strong points and weaknesses

officespace2 · #15 05-08-2011, 07:36 PM

These are great suggestions.

I guess the two questions that keeps popping up for me are 1) would the amp be worth more reconditioned, and 2) would I be doing something sacrilegious by retolexing the head cabinet?

coreyfyfe · #16 05-08-2011, 07:41 PM

Conditional yes and maybe. If you get the head looking good again it will definitely be worth more - and by that I at least mean knobs, a grill cover, and a three prong plug. If you retolex? IMO I'd rather have a head with the original tolex in slightly rough shape than one that was redone. If it's really bad then go for it, but otherwise I'd leave it be.

**ddbassGA** · #17 05-08-2011, 08:14 PM

Nice score! I'd love to find one like that for $600! Pots, grill, plug, caps, light, tubes. Front panel and tolex look good. Play loud and enjoy!

Jazzdogg · #18 05-08-2011, 11:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by officespace2

These are great suggestions.

I guess the two questions that keeps popping up for me are 1) would the amp be worth more reconditioned, and 2) would I be doing something sacrilegious by retolexing the head cabinet?

The value of the Ampeg won't be diminshed if it is professionally recovered in new Tolex. You won't know if it's a sensible financial investment until you crunch the numbers, which only matters if resale value is an important consideration.

officespace2 · #19 05-09-2011, 02:50 AM

I've noticed that almost everyone has suggested recapping the amp. I took the unit apart today and found that the filter caps are all original (mallory paper wrapped caps) and when I took them out and tested them with a capacitance meter, they measured within about 5% of suggested value.

Am I missing something? Should these be replaced anyway?

Giaime · #20 05-09-2011, 04:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by officespace2

Am I missing something? Should these be replaced anyway?

Yes. Usually high voltage electrolytic caps fail for leakage current, even if the measured (at very low voltages) capacitance is still the same.