Vintage Treasures

[insomniac2295]

My girlfriend and I raided her parent's basement and found this vintage Fender Tremolux collecting dust. I did a little research and it looks like the amp is a '66

I know its not a bass amp, but I was wondering if anyone had some good restoration tips. I am looking to get it cleaned and in working condition. Currently full of dust and cobwebs and missing its power and rectifier tubes.





(we also found an Epiphone G.A.S. series Chorus pedal and some old Sony 1/4" tape )

[Plays_For_Dog]

Way cool! Sorry, I don't have any tips for you. Just excited about your find. I've already gone through my grandpa's basement, sadly no cool equipment. Found a radar from WWII, a motorcycle and enough socks to cover every foot of a third world country.

[ThatBassistDude]

Originally Posted by Plays_For_Dog

Way cool! Sorry, I don't have any tips for you. Just excited about your find. I've already gone through my grandpa's basement, sadly no cool equipment. Found a radar from WWII, a motorcycle and enough socks to cover every foot of a third world country.

ROFL!

[iiipopes]

http://www.ampwares.com/amp.asp?id=109

[fhm555]

Crappy phone photo, but this is what I'm using these days. Head is mine and the cab belongs to the guy I'm playing for. It's old Peavey stuff. I had the same model head, slightly used of course, back when they were available new, but I don't remember ever seeing a cab like this one before. The standard bass rig where I grew up was whatever mark series Peavey head was current on a straight 215 cab. I would have remembered something with all that hornage sticking out of the top so I'm guessing it was before my time or it's a PA cab. It's rated at 2 ohms, biamp capable, and has an adjustable crossover, which is currently set to 0.

It was OK with the stock mexi j bass, but since I've added a set of model j's I can be the god of thunder to the point of annoyance. Not muddy, but not wimpy at all. Think a syrup bucket full of gonads, really big ones. It's perfect for the country stuff we are playing.

[spaz21387]

it reminds me of a bfm omni design kinda

[phatbass]

Get a Tech who actually knows tube amps (not just says he does - and not the local hi-fi dude) to do it properly. They're definitely NOT a home handyman project - lethal voltages are involved. After all those years sitting I can pretty well guarantee it'll at least need new capacitors.

Any old blackface Fender is worth getting done properly by someone who actually knows what they're doing, IMO, even if it's not one of the "holy grail" models.

[KramerBassFan]

+1

Who knows, you could very easily get all the new tubes, and plug it in, only to have the big caps go on you.

[Stumbo]

Originally Posted by phatbass

Get a Tech who actually knows tube amps (not just says he does - and not the local hi-fi dude) to do it properly. They're definitely NOT a home handyman project - lethal voltages are involved. After all those years sitting I can pretty well guarantee it'll at least need new capacitors.

Any old blackface Fender is worth getting done properly by someone who actually knows what they're doing, IMO, even if it's not one of the "holy grail" models.

+1

It can be used as a bass head. Why couldn't it? Some guitar players use 15's. If it sounds good, it is good.

Be sure to have a 3-way cord installed if you're going to gig it. Keep the old cord.

Here's a link to info/pics on the amp. http://www.ampwares.com/amp.asp?id=109

Here's a TB thread on "good amp techs": Good amp techs!

There's one listed in Twin Cities. http://www.savageamps.com/repair-restore It's a ways from you but probably worth it since restoring it will be a one time deal.

[Caca de Kick]

Since I got to resurrect a blackface '63 Fender Concert Amp, the two first things are a given: update to a 3-prong cord, and replace the big caps and bias cap. And clean clean clean every socket, pot, and jack really good.
The one issue I kept running into was finding broken/cracked solder joints that wouldnt rear their ugly head until played for a long while. Even some supossed local "techs" overlooked that one. So I'd recommend sitting paitently with good light and a magnafying glass and check every single joint. It's been solid, reliable, and noise-free since.

Yeah you can use it as a bass head, they really sound pretty decent plugged into a modern cab.

[BassmanPaul]

Originally Posted by KramerBassFan

+1

Who knows, you could very easily get all the new tubes, and plug it in, only to have the big caps go on you.

Agreed. At the very least the amp should be brought up to voltage very slowly using a variac. This will allow the caps a chance to reform themselves.

[colcifer]

It'll need a cap job. Do some research and find out who the local blackface expert is; that isn't a job for just any old tech (no offence to the techs on here).

[Luckie]

Originally Posted by Stumbo

There's one listed in Twin Cities. http://www.savageamps.com/repair-restore It's a ways from you but probably worth it since restoring it will be a one time deal.

+1 on Savage Audio, they're great guys and they really know what they're doing.

[coreyfyfe]

Nice find! There is actually another old fender head, blackface bassman or band master at the guitar center in Natick, Ma that has the same "B-sharp music" logo spray painted on the front. I thought it might have some out of a local shop that goes by that name by they said it wasn't theirs. Kind of cool to see this.

I lied, it's another tremolux:

[ddbassGA]

Get it to a good tech. I just got my '66 bassman head back from our guy in Athens, GA (Steve Hunter). New JJ 6L6's, preamp tubes, all new caps, a few other components, and a 3-prong cord -- under $200 and it is awesome! Well worth it.

One that old will require complete replacement of the old electrolytic capacitors. Let a pro do it right and enjoy a great old amp.

[rodl2005]

Originally Posted by Plays_For_Dog

Way cool! Sorry, I don't have any tips for you. Just excited about your find. I've already gone through my grandpa's basement, sadly no cool equipment. Found a radar from WWII, a motorcycle and enough socks to cover every foot of a third world country.

I bet the sox were only left foot ones tho eh??? Always lose ONE...

Oh & CONGRATS on the Fender find!! Lovely stuff!

[insomniac2295]

Thanks for all the responses! I can't wait to get this thing back up and running, once I have the denaro. The local amp guy's (New Vintage Amplifiers - Manufacturers of hand-wired guitar amplifiers) shop rate is $45/hr

I might take it to a friend of mine in the Twin Cities who's a jack-of-all-trades tech to see what he thinks. He's repaired soundboards, bass heads, pedals, etc. Until then, I'm going to get a lot of the grime cleaned off of it (And there is a lot!) I suppose that's what happens when an amp sits in a dusty basement for 10+ years!

Originally Posted by coreyfyfe

Nice find! There is actually another old fender head, blackface bassman or band master at the guitar center in Natick, Ma that has the same "B-sharp music" logo spray painted on the front. I thought it might have some out of a local shop that goes by that name by they said it wasn't theirs. Kind of cool to see this.

I lied, it's another tremolux:

WOAH! THAT'S SICK!
I did a bit of research on B Sharp Music. Turns out it was a music shop in Minneapolis that burnt down in the mid 2000's. Even more research turned up that they gave a 12 string Rickenbacker to the Beatles when they played Minneapolis in the 70's. Pretty sweet!

My suspicion is that these Tremolux's were loaners that the store eventually sold and that's why they have the logo spray painted on the grills.

EDIT: I just checked out B-Sharp Music on Google Maps, Street View. If the pic is relatively current, looks like the store is still up and running. Unfortunately, they don't have a website.

[Stumbo]

Originally Posted by Luckie

+1 on Savage Audio, they're great guys and they really know what they're doing.

Originally Posted by insomniac2295

I might take it to a friend of mine in the Twin Cities who's a jack-of-all-trades tech to see what he thinks.

I suggest you stop by Savage Audio and ask them for a quote. No downside to getting more information. They pros at restoring old Fenders so they may be more of an accurate source of current information.

Please take pictures after you open it up before cleaning and after spiffing it up. It's cool to see the process.

Good luck and good playing.

I also suggest getting a cover for it once it's restored.

[insomniac2295]

Originally Posted by Stumbo

I suggest you stop by Savage Audio and ask them for a quote. No downside to getting more information. They pros at restoring old Fenders so they may be more of an accurate source of current information.

Please take pictures after you open it up before cleaning and after spiffing it up. It's cool to see the process.

Good luck and good playing.

I also suggest getting a cover for it once it's restored.

I might take it to them sometime in the future. I live two hours away from Minneapolis and don't travel there too often.

I will however take some before and after pics. Good call on the cover, too!

[JazzbassArt]

Originally Posted by insomniac2295

I might take it to them sometime in the future. I live two hours away from Minneapolis and don't travel there too often.

I will however take some before and after pics. Good call on the cover, too!

Yep, B-Sharp is an oldtimer type music store, that was there when I move here in 1973. The guy that worked the counter was quite the wheeler dealer. I never got any deals there, but it was fun to check it out. I haven't been there since around 1975.