I guess the fabric isn't contracting like I had hoped. Pulling staples seems like an annoying task but it will be worth it in the end to get that grillcloth looking perfect.
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1969 SVT restoration project
- Thread starter JimmyM
- Start date
I guess the fabric isn't contracting like I had hoped. Pulling staples seems like an annoying task but it will be worth it in the end to get that grillcloth looking perfect.
So Jimmy, why do you want to rehang the logo? In the pic you posted, it looks pretty good, I mean its not like its hanging out of kelter enough to notice in the pic. Remember what I told about everything blending for a consistent look. With your use of Fender grill cloth and I think non-Ampeg tolex, logo probably fits that scenario real good. Maybe you have another reason. Anyway, keep up the good work. Experience IS the best teacher. Oh, what the heck, pull those stables out and learn some more. You ain't got nothin' else to do, do you? Keep having fun. By the way, I've not yet started my 73yet. I've ended spending way more time than I anticipated on an Acoustic 371 rig that I've had for years and finally got started on several weeks ago. See ya. Big "O"
Yeah, depending on the year it would have a regular 1/4" jack or the early ones had a 4 prong cannon jack. A lot of the early ones were converted to 1/4", it was a pain after they had taken off the original hard wired speaker cord ala early B-15's and you forgot your special cannon jack cord as nothing else would work.
Thx, A9X. The one thing that bugs me is I went to re-hang the logo, and I discovered that's about as good as it gets. I didn't quite get the cloth tight enough. Close but not quite. But I'm not about to pull out 150 staples to fix it. Everyone will just have to suffer with it not being perfect. Maybe I should tear a big hole in it to make it look like that's the reason it's not tight enough. Eh, that'll happen soon enough without doing it on purpose
Even thought it's fender grille cloth
Try a hair dryer, grille cloth (Ampeg anyway) is really some kind of plastic or feels it and the hair dryer after some time makes it shrink, I redid three cabs and a B-15S and it worked for all of them, takes a while though.
When I do the full restore on my cab, it will have the 4-pin jack again. Till then, it doesn't make sense to change it.
Bob, thx for the hair dryer idea. I have no hair so I don't have one, but I do have a heat gun. I assume I'll want to use it on the very lowest setting
Well Bob, I couldn't find the heat gun so I tried it with a hair dryer, and I melted a big giant hole right in the middle. I thought you said you had to hold it on there a while to get it to do anything. I held mine on there a while, and next thing you know I've got a big hole!! Now I have to get new grillcloth
Just joking...I used a heat gun and made one quick pass over every part of the grill and it took 3 minutes and worked perfectly! For some reason, though, I still can't get that logo to hang without distorting the upper corner. But I'll figure it out...I always do, with a little help from you guys
Just joking...I used a heat gun and made one quick pass over every part of the grill and it took 3 minutes and worked perfectly! For some reason, though, I still can't get that logo to hang without distorting the upper corner. But I'll figure it out...I always do, with a little help from you guys
very interesting read jimmy keep us posted im anxiously awaiting seeing how the finished product turns out
Hey Jimmy, your cab may be older than a '73. I am fixing to buy a straight back SVT cab. It has 73 speakers, built in the 10th week (last 2 numbers after 73, fyi). Yours shows as the 3rd week of 73. Whats interesting is that mine and yours have Linden on them. A difference is the serial number. Mine has 21397 and yours has 19778. Did they make 1619 cabs in 7 weeks? I wouldnt think so, but i dont know. I am assuming the serials are consecutive (which it wouldnt suprise me if they arent). Weird! Also, that Linden move was in Sept 72 i think, but ours say Linden. To further complicate this, my 73 SVT's filament transformer dates to the 5th week of 73, but it doesnt say Linden on the back of the head, just Magnavox. Maybe these are all transitional pieces, but it is interesting! I'm just thrilled that I found a 73 cab for my 73 head. Cab is rough and needs a retolexing as well.
Hey all, been a while, but you knew I had to dredge this thread up. I'll keep it as short as possible.
Denton, 73 cab, huh? That would explain the 73 speakers Hey, that's OK by me. I guess Doug Ingle rocked the original cab too hard and replaced everything and not just the speakers themselves. Or maybe he had nothing to do with the cab. I have no idea how many hands it passed through before I got it.
Anyway, slow goings on the SVT now...the head is still in the shop (I had a 73 Super I needed fixing first), but the cab is done for now. The recones turned out fabulous except for one, but they fixed it and shipped it back to me, so I'm good to go now on the cab. Tried it with my LM2 and it all came rushing back to me why I love that cab. It's way beefier on the low end than I remember and it's so much clearer sounding than current SVT cabs. Current SVT cabs sound like they have a blanket over them compared to this. OK, not a blanket, but maybe a sheet of burlap, or possibly a light comforter.
I also got my B-15N back from Jess Oliver. The tolex looks great, and he had to replace a transformer, which was a bummer, but it looks a million times better. I also found a CTS speaker from 66, which isn't the correct one but a great speaker nonetheless (I believe they came loaded with a Jenses P15N, but by all accounts, the CTS is much better). Unfortunately it was distorting when I got it. I have no idea what happened, but I sent it back and Jess ran it for 3 weeks as a shop amp and said he couldn't get it to distort, so he's sending it back. Unfortunately I leave for Stuttgart in the morning so I'll be there when it gets back. Maybe it took a wonky hit in transit, I don't know. But now he thinks I'm wack because it worked fine for him. Oh well, get in line with the others. Not cheap, but it looks like a B-15N now and has a nifty certificate of restoration and Jess' autograph on the transformer! Nice guy and a great learning experience.
Also got my Fliptops double baffle cab. It came with an Eminence Delta 15A...sounds just like my 64 cab and the workmanship was great. Took a while to trace all the rattles, but I managed to get rid of them. If I had to do it all over again, I'd try to eliminate the fliptop since it's really not necessary as a standalone cab and a lot of the rattles are in the latches and handle. But you couldn't get into the cab without it since the speaker is a rearmount, so you'd have to figure out some other way to get into it.
Anyway, that's what's been happening. Big deal. Pics when I get back.
Denton, 73 cab, huh? That would explain the 73 speakers
Hey, that's OK by me. I guess Doug Ingle rocked the original cab too hard and replaced everything and not just the speakers themselves. Or maybe he had nothing to do with the cab. I have no idea how many hands it passed through before I got it. Anyway, slow goings on the SVT now...the head is still in the shop (I had a 73 Super I needed fixing first), but the cab is done for now. The recones turned out fabulous except for one, but they fixed it and shipped it back to me, so I'm good to go now on the cab. Tried it with my LM2 and it all came rushing back to me why I love that cab. It's way beefier on the low end than I remember and it's so much clearer sounding than current SVT cabs. Current SVT cabs sound like they have a blanket over them compared to this. OK, not a blanket, but maybe a sheet of burlap, or possibly a light comforter.
I also got my B-15N back from Jess Oliver. The tolex looks great, and he had to replace a transformer, which was a bummer, but it looks a million times better. I also found a CTS speaker from 66, which isn't the correct one but a great speaker nonetheless (I believe they came loaded with a Jenses P15N, but by all accounts, the CTS is much better). Unfortunately it was distorting when I got it. I have no idea what happened, but I sent it back and Jess ran it for 3 weeks as a shop amp and said he couldn't get it to distort, so he's sending it back. Unfortunately I leave for Stuttgart in the morning so I'll be there when it gets back. Maybe it took a wonky hit in transit, I don't know. But now he thinks I'm wack because it worked fine for him. Oh well, get in line with the others. Not cheap, but it looks like a B-15N now and has a nifty certificate of restoration and Jess' autograph on the transformer! Nice guy and a great learning experience.
Also got my Fliptops double baffle cab. It came with an Eminence Delta 15A...sounds just like my 64 cab and the workmanship was great. Took a while to trace all the rattles, but I managed to get rid of them. If I had to do it all over again, I'd try to eliminate the fliptop since it's really not necessary as a standalone cab and a lot of the rattles are in the latches and handle. But you couldn't get into the cab without it since the speaker is a rearmount, so you'd have to figure out some other way to get into it.
Anyway, that's what's been happening. Big deal. Pics when I get back.
Heres my new/old rig! I will be rereading this thread about the cab resto cause tolex is rough on one side and grillcloth is kinda nasty! For now, I just bought a can of flat black spraypaint to cover where the tolex is missing.
There is something satisfying everytime I walk into my living room and see this standing there. The power, the history, the mystique, and the massive size of the thing! Im sure you know what I am talking about Jimmy! I get to test this out at an outdoor party Sat afternoon. No PA needed for me
!
There is something satisfying everytime I walk into my living room and see this standing there. The power, the history, the mystique, and the massive size of the thing! Im sure you know what I am talking about Jimmy! I get to test this out at an outdoor party Sat afternoon. No PA needed for me
!
After 8 months, my SVT head is finally done! Birddog just gave me the news. Unfortunately I can't pick it up until Tuesday or Wednesday as I'm going off on a trip (Hershey Park Sunday with Bowzer, Freddy Cannon, Peggy March, and the Comets), but Birddog said that in all his 30-some years as an amp tech, he's never heard an SVT with more power than mine. Which is funny, because at first he thought I should replace the 6146B's with 6550's, but now he's totally sold on them and wondered why they replaced them. I'm sure high voltage concerns were the reason, but I'm glad I didn't do like a lot of you did and replace them. Who knows? Maybe I'll start a fad of everyone replacing their 6550's with 6146B's.
Or maybe not
Anyway, he replaced all the caps, replaced all the top wires for the 6146B's, and tracked down a major short in the controls that caused a lot of leakage. So now my SVT is back at full speed, but I'm at half speed because I can't pick it up until next week. Sheesh! I really want to cancel my gig now, but if I do I can't pay for it, so off I go...
Or maybe not
Anyway, he replaced all the caps, replaced all the top wires for the 6146B's, and tracked down a major short in the controls that caused a lot of leakage. So now my SVT is back at full speed, but I'm at half speed because I can't pick it up until next week. Sheesh! I really want to cancel my gig now, but if I do I can't pay for it, so off I go...
Not to highjack but rather a sidebar.
The switch to 6550 from 6146 is an interesting discussion.
Last I heard it was that RCA had a surplus and pushed them onto Ampeg.
I was also told that the 6146's can handle 800 to 900 volts on their plates, where as a 6550 running 550 volts on the plate is maxed.
So really the 6146 IS the better tube.
PBG really needs to validate my statements.
I do trust his knowledge.
The switch to 6550 from 6146 is an interesting discussion.
Last I heard it was that RCA had a surplus and pushed them onto Ampeg.
I was also told that the 6146's can handle 800 to 900 volts on their plates, where as a 6550 running 550 volts on the plate is maxed.
So really the 6146 IS the better tube.
PBG really needs to validate my statements.
I do trust his knowledge.
Nope.
6146A
Invalid Link Removed
The anode rating is what you're looking for. The 6550A is the better tube for that and other reasons.
After 8 months, my SVT head is finally done! Birddog just gave me the news. Unfortunately I can't pick it up until Tuesday or Wednesday as I'm going off on a trip (Hershey Park Sunday with Bowzer, Freddy Cannon, Peggy March, and the Comets), but Birddog said that in all his 30-some years as an amp tech, he's never heard an SVT with more power than mine. Which is funny, because at first he thought I should replace the 6146B's with 6550's, but now he's totally sold on them and wondered why they replaced them. I'm sure high voltage concerns were the reason, but I'm glad I didn't do like a lot of you did and replace them. Who knows? Maybe I'll start a fad of everyone replacing their 6550's with 6146B's.
Or maybe not
Anyway, he replaced all the caps, replaced all the top wires for the 6146B's, and tracked down a major short in the controls that caused a lot of leakage. So now my SVT is back at full speed, but I'm at half speed because I can't pick it up until next week. Sheesh! I really want to cancel my gig now, but if I do I can't pay for it, so off I go...
I just got on to this old thread...very cool...
I'm not an amp fanatic, so I don't hang here much...but I do find this stuff incredibly interesting...especially in the area of the vintage tube stuff and you can't get much more "vintage tube" than an '69 Ampeg SVT...
I LOVE the sound of SVT's BTW...it's gonna be KILLER with your P-basses, Jimmy!
I find the 6146B SVT's to make more power and have a more aggressive midrange, though the 6550 ones seem to have more bass response. Cool amp though! You'll have to give us a report once you get the amp.
Greg
Greg
Yep! It'll make those $100 SX's sound awesomeI just got on to this old thread...very cool...
I'm not an amp fanatic, so I don't hang here much...but I do find this stuff incredibly interesting...especially in the area of the vintage tube stuff and you can't get much more "vintage tube" than an '69 Ampeg SVT...
I LOVE the sound of SVT's BTW...it's gonna be KILLER with your P-basses, Jimmy!
I'm really looking forward to using it again. Can't believe it's been over 10 years since I last used it. Regardless of which is the superior tube, just knowing that I have something so rare is quite mind boggling to me. Hard to believe I talked them down to $650 from $750 for it
