Value of 1969-1970 Blue Line SVT?

michael_atw · #1 08-21-2011, 07:16 PM

It's hard to find concrete, consistent info - but what would you consider the value of a Blue Line, modified with 6550's, very good shape cosmetically and electronically with possibly the matching cab?

Zentner · #2 08-21-2011, 07:50 PM

I paid $1440 for my head and $200 for my cabinet 2 years ago. It's an original 1970 /w 6146B's, an unmolested circuit, original up to the nuts as far as I can tell, with attached 4-pin speaker cable, etc.

I then spent $40 on grill cloth for the head, $100 in shockmount feet, $200 in tubes, $30 in new speaker cable connections, $120 for a caster cart, $650 in original CTS speakers, and about 5 hours of cleaning for a total of:

$2780 for a working, original blueline SVT stack, that's 'restored' as best as I'm willing to...

Here it is pre caster cart...

I honestly think that's probably pretty average... I can see the original cabinets going for anywhere from $600-$1000, and the heads from $1700-$2600 depending on condition... so $2300-$3600 as a typical price range.

coreyfyfe · #3 08-21-2011, 08:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zentner

I honestly think that's probably pretty average... I can see the original cabinets going for anywhere from $600-$1000, and the heads from $1700-$2600 depending on condition... so $2300-$3600 as a typical price range.

I've seen higher as well, but I think your estimates are good for an average. There is a shop in my area selling a head in near-mint condition (6550 conversion, apparently done by ampeg, vintage tung sol 6550s with low hours, head looks like and was stored for the last 20-30 years) with a beat to hell square back 8x10 for around $4000. They won't get it, but that's what they're asking. I think it's like $3200 for the head, $700 for the cab.

michael_atw · #4 08-22-2011, 03:35 PM

Hmm...going rates are decently higher than I thought. I got a line on a '69-'70 Blue Line probably modded with 6550's, looks to be very good to excellent shape; with an 8x10 (looks to be close to the same year, but I doubt if it's original) pretty beat up. The guy bought it all at an estate sale and I won it online. He has no idea if it works or not (or any idea about it at all) but I figured "Hell, I go down and pick it up and if when I try it it doesn't work I just walk away with my cash in hand". The head and cab were $1225. The trip will be 6 hours and cost roughly $40 in gas.

coreyfyfe · #5 08-22-2011, 03:42 PM

That's a steal if it's at least working. Plan on a few hundred for a cap job, maybe a few hundred more if it needs tubes, but otherwise that's a great deal.

Alex1984 · #6 08-22-2011, 03:47 PM

Great deal on a Blueline stack.

stingraysvt · #7 08-22-2011, 03:48 PM

Ahh grasshoppa you won the eBay auction, I started to say significantly worth more than $1225.00

Zentner · #8 08-22-2011, 03:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by michael_atw

Hmm...going rates are decently higher than I thought. I got a line on a '69-'70 Blue Line probably modded with 6550's, looks to be very good to excellent shape; with an 8x10 (looks to be close to the same year, but I doubt if it's original) pretty beat up. The guy bought it all at an estate sale and I won it online. He has no idea if it works or not (or any idea about it at all) but I figured "Hell, I go down and pick it up and if when I try it it doesn't work I just walk away with my cash in hand". The head and cab were $1225. The trip will be 6 hours and cost roughly $40 in gas.

Killer deal dude... post pictures.

michael_atw · #9 08-22-2011, 07:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by coreyfyfe

That's a steal if it's at least working. Plan on a few hundred for a cap job, maybe a few hundred more if it needs tubes, but otherwise that's a great deal.

I actually have a new matching set of Sovtek 6550's I pulled out of a broken SVT-CL I bought a while back. Took the tubes out, kept them, and sold the head for what I paid for it with tubes. Will they work for a vintage SVT?

michael_atw · #10 08-22-2011, 07:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zentner

Killer deal dude... post pictures.

Will do! Should be trying to pick it up this weekend. Love the GAS road trips!

michael_atw · #11 08-22-2011, 07:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stingraysvt

Ahh grasshoppa you won the eBay auction, I started to say significantly worth more than $1225.00

Indeed I did. Were you scoping it as well? I've been searching for easily a year waiting for something to come up in my area.

coreyfyfe · #12 08-22-2011, 07:44 PM

Should be fine. I'd see how the head is working when you pick it up. In all likelihood, it will need some tech time, so you could drop it off with the tubes and have the tech do the biasing with those while it's already in the shop. The bias setup isn't as "user friendly" as biasing on the modern heads and I don't know your level of electronics savvy so I'm making a few assumptions here, but you get my drift...

michael_atw · #13 08-22-2011, 07:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by coreyfyfe

Should be fine. I'd see how the head is working when you pick it up. In all likelihood, it will need some tech time, so you could drop it off with the tubes and have the tech do the biasing with those while it's already in the shop. The bias setup isn't as "user friendly" as biasing on the modern heads and I don't know your level of electronics savvy so I'm making a few assumptions here, but you get my drift...

Yep. I'm bringing the money with me...and hooking her up and seeing how it goes. As much as Ebay obligates me to a contract if it's junk when I get there I'm leaving empty-handed. I figured to myself, "no risk, no reward...and I can't really lose."

Amp techs are hard to come by up here, without a trek to Buffalo. I was thinking about getting some equipment to teach myself to service my amps a time ago; I never did. Are there any tubes recommended for a vintage SVT?

Seans · #14 08-24-2011, 06:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by michael_atw

Hmm...going rates are decently higher than I thought. I got a line on a '69-'70 Blue Line probably modded with 6550's, looks to be very good to excellent shape; with an 8x10 (looks to be close to the same year, but I doubt if it's original) pretty beat up. The guy bought it all at an estate sale and I won it online. He has no idea if it works or not (or any idea about it at all) but I figured "Hell, I go down and pick it up and if when I try it it doesn't work I just walk away with my cash in hand". The head and cab were $1225. The trip will be 6 hours and cost roughly $40 in gas.

Nice one, that's a proper Blueline or close ( never seen a Blueline with the Hz values on the face plate before ), although it's not an early Linden NJ one it's a Magnavox era and around 74 vintage, the 6550's are standard on these and haven't been modded so that's a good thing.

michael_atw · #15 08-26-2011, 07:08 PM

Hmmm...is there an inconsistency with the "Magnavox" on the back and the Blueline?

coreyfyfe · #16 08-26-2011, 07:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by michael_atw

Hmmm...is there an inconsistency with the "Magnavox" on the back and the Blueline?

Not necessarily. The magnavox buy was 1971 I believe with the move to Elkhart being in 1973/4, around the same time that they were swapped over to black lines.

michael_atw · #17 08-26-2011, 08:33 PM

So it would roughly be an early 70's? So then I'm assuming the 6550's would be original in that case. I thought wrongly that Magnavox was later.

Seans · #18 08-27-2011, 01:48 AM

The face plate though is from a later Magnavox face lift model. Only way to tell for sure is the numbers on the back of the pot's, bias ones are easier to get to.

coreyfyfe · #19 08-27-2011, 06:33 AM

Even easier is to just take off the plate covering the PI/drive tubes and look at the resistors in there. Unless every one of them has been changed, at least one should have a date code.

The big square guys in here were how I dated mine (they date to mid-74).

Some advice on finding the date from the resident experts:

Quote:

Originally Posted by beans-on-toast

Similar date codes can also be found on the two metal capacitor cans on the top of the power amp chassis, inside on the brown paper covered capacitors in the power amp and the pre-amp, as well as on the large rectangular cement resistors on the power amp circuit board (R27, R38, R42, R30, R32, R44, R35, R36), on a large tubular 8200 ohm resistor mounted just above the capacitors under the chassis, and possibly on the power transformer and tubes.

Seans · #20 08-27-2011, 08:29 AM

Yep, that's good too, I forget if it's the tin lid on the output or input Tran's is easy to decode, the 8200K resistor in mine dates to 8/68 though and mines 48wk 70 on the pot's.