Cleaning old smelly Combos

[Tpi]

I searched and did not see much relevant. Today I bought a craigslist bass that came with a 'free' amp -which is really what I was more interested in.

Ten years ago, I flew cross-country to help clean my Mom's house after her stroke. On the last day, I put my 400w Peavey KB-300 on the curb while my sis in law posted in the local town blog 'free guitar amp'. It was gone in half an hour. I hadn't used the thing in 13yrs and cross-country shipping is huge at 80lbs plus safe packaging.

Today, this 'new' 'free amp' I got (with $200 purchase of a 2010 maple-necked Ibanez SR300), is a Peavey KB-100, featuring 3 channels @ ~65w each, 200w total. Straight out of the 1980's from the sole-owner-since-high school, now selling all and moving to self-imposed ex-pat retirement.

The pots were filthy with static all over their ranges. First thing I did on the way home was stop by my local guitar shop. For $20 they took the head out, squirted some cleaner on the pots and now they are silent.

The one remaining problem is this cab STINKS of incense/perfume if not some mold/mildew of the ages. Didn't notice it in situ at this guy's place. Holy guacamole but it is stinking up my home.

A saki cup of baking soda has been stuck in the cavity for the moment. I'm likely going to bring the thing into the bathroom and hit the body with the ol' "baking soda and toothbrush routine". Not too wet, just gritty enough and stay away from the cone, metal and electronics.

Any other ideas on cleaning solutions for highly neglected equipment that reeks of this or that? My wife favors vinegar washes, but that stinks a bit much for me.

Foaming oven cleaner? Toilet bowl cleaner? A light washing with Drano, even? I think this is a job well beyond Simple Green for as godly as that stuff is on all it touches. I'll start simple for now but fully expect to require numerous passes and maybe a couple weeks baking outside under the late-summer sun.

 

[basscooker]

Borax paste and stiff nylon brush

Some charcoal in an open bag inside the cab might help too with the smells. There's as much surface area inside it as outside. Just giving the tolex some love won't kill the smells completely.

 

[C Stone]

The usual suspects……Simple Green, diluted vinegar, Windex and sunlight.
Simple Green seems to clean tolex well.

I have had good luck blowing them out with air, then use a damp t-shirt for the majority of the surface nasty……another good clean with product (inside as well).
Set it in front of a box fan a day or two and move the box fan every so often.

 

[agedhorse]

I searched and did not see much relevant. Today I bought a craigslist bass that came with a 'free' amp -which is really what I was more interested in.

Ten years ago, I flew cross-country to help clean my Mom's house after her stroke. On the last day, I put my 400w Peavey KB-300 on the curb while my sis in law posted in the local town blog 'free guitar amp'. It was gone in half an hour. I hadn't used the thing in 13yrs and cross-country shipping is huge at 80lbs plus safe packaging.

Today, this 'new' 'free amp' I got (with $200 purchase of a 2010 maple-necked Ibanez SR300), is a Peavey KB-100, featuring 3 channels @ ~65w each, 200w total. Straight out of the 1980's from the sole-owner-since-high school, now selling all and moving to self-imposed ex-pat retirement.

The pots were filthy with static all over their ranges. First thing I did on the way home was stop by my local guitar shop. For $20 they took the head out, squirted some cleaner on the pots and now they are silent.

The one remaining problem is this cab STINKS of incense/perfume if not some mold/mildew of the ages. Didn't notice it in situ at this guy's place. Holy guacamole but it is stinking up my home.

A saki cup of baking soda has been stuck in the cavity for the moment. I'm likely going to bring the thing into the bathroom and hit the body with the ol' "baking soda and toothbrush routine". Not too wet, just gritty enough and stay away from the cone, metal and electronics.

Any other ideas on cleaning solutions for highly neglected equipment that reeks of this or that? My wife favors vinegar washes, but that stinks a bit much for me.

Foaming oven cleaner? Toilet bowl cleaner? A light washing with Drano, even? I think this is a job well beyond Simple Green for as godly as that stuff is on all it touches. I'll start simple for now but fully expect to require numerous passes and maybe a couple weeks baking outside under the late-summer sun.

Those are quick ways to destroy whatever's left of the Tolex and hardware.

Diluted simple green is a safe first step.

 

[Tpi]

All good notes, thank you! I may well actually rip the tolex off and wood burn designs everywhere with a final stain. We'll see. While the tolex is complete and original, no tears or blemishes, as mentioned the smell has been in there 40yrs and may not ever truly go away without a full restoration. Ripping it off is the first step regardless. The screws and hardware are on the rusty side. I can clean and swap all those out. The electronic interfaces are all clean enough. but will get an inspection and cleaning or replacement. The tech said the inside looked pretty good. .

I got a couple pix on my phone, but you seen one classic KB, you've seen 'em all.

 

[agedhorse]

I would clean the Tolex first before making assumptions.

 

[C Stone]

Removing the tolex for the sake of smell
I don't think will net you anything, it probably helped prevent the odor from "soaking in" the cab wood as much on the tolex side vs. interior (speculation).

It's your amp do what ya like, just puttin it out there, hope you find a solution.

 

[Tpi]

Will do, AgedHorse. Thanks, C-Stone

Another cleaner my wife suggested is soaking the wood with several passes of vodka. Costco brand is $26/3liters. A good investment for most people, regardless.

I've pulled everything apart at this point and it's a little late for more vacuum cleaner, so the project is over for the night. Pix coming.

The front plastic mesh grill has too many haywire threads to trim and maintain cohesion. A judiciously applied lighter may seal loose ends if careful. On my old KB300 I had a favorite, but unwearable t-shirt across the grill. Maybe I'll custom print a design this time with some LEDTape behind it or a few single LEDs tapping the audio signal to flash. I've got piles of fiber optic too, that can be 0.050mm drilled and routed everywhere. Could do a Star Destroyer theme or Death Star or old Cylon Basetar I guess this would be more of a Borg Cube perhaps. Maybe a Bass Star... red eye swishing back and forth... As I told my wife, this is a forever-amp, so hmmm.

(Actually the tolex is very TOS Star Trek communicator and Tricorder. A gold grill or swirling, backlit moire pattern... Hmmm)

The screws, corner-brace-things and top-side crossbars that hold the head in place are all without exception rusted trash. All must be replaced. I've got scrap aluminum to replace the bars, but will get stock if cheap. I'll have to ebay the corner pieces or try my guitar shop. Screws I have aplenty.

And yeah, maybe the tolex stays. I had to pull up one inner edge to get the head free and I'd forgotten the cheap-a$$ particle board amps are made of. If I rip the tolex off, I would have to replace the outer four walls with better plywood simply out of common human decency -and then tolex over that even if I didn't wood burn. While regular ply might not be as dense, it would shave some pounds, be stronger and any loss to fidelity can be recaptured in signal processing. I've got a friend's garage I can do that work at out of sight and my wife's worry on 'damaging it'. I do need to do the work quickly as she wants lessons and I want to get her jamming.

This suddenly turned into a lot more than plugging it and rocking... Good and bad I suppose...

 

[lark_z]

Activated charcoal can do wonders. Also, some time outside in the sun.

 

[beans-on-toast]

It depends on the stink.

First, separate the amp and cabinet. I start with soap and water. Be careful at the seams as some amps use a water soluble adhesive and the vinyl could lift. The same applies to any cleaner.

I do use borax paste as suggested. It will kill mold as well. Next I like to try automotive store vinyl cleaners. Tuff Stuff is one.

Some organic smells are harder to deal with. Pet stores sell enzyme based products that you mix with water to get rid of cat pee, smoke, etc. I find that they require many applications.

Worst case, remove the vinyl and recover the cabinet. It's a lot of work.

Roberto's (xoir) 1966 SB-12 Cabinet Restoration | TalkBass.com

 

[Zooberwerx]

As suggested, Simple Green (diluted) is a great first approach. If it falls short of the desired outcome....

Rent an ozone generator from Taylor's, Sunbelt, etc. Place the component in a loosely fitting cardboard carton, cut some small ventilation slits. Connect the generator in some fashion and purge the carton with ozone. It pemeates the seemingly inaccessible surfaces and removes the odors. It works well...sometimes TOO well. Prolonged and repeated exposure will damage some materials including the guts in a typical CPAP sleep apnea device.

Riis

 

[Ostie]

If you remove the Tolex there's going to be contact cement residue under it, which is only going to present you with another problem.

 

[Redbrangus]

I clicked on this thinking it might offer a solution for some hygiene issues in my duffer band... I'm kinda disappointed.

 

[pie_man_25]

Having not removed tolex or rat fur from a cabinet, I can still corroborate that Simple Green is pretty great stuff. I'd opt to wear gloves but it's a pretty mild cleaner/degreaser that's just great to have around.

 

[TTPbass1]

The usual suspects……Simple Green, diluted vinegar, Windex and sunlight.
Simple Green seems to clean tolex well.

I have had good luck blowing them out with air, then use a damp t-shirt for the majority of the surface nasty……another good clean with product (inside as well).
Set it in front of a box fan a day or two and move the box fan every so often.

+1

 

[Tpi]

I clicked on this thinking it might offer a solution for some hygiene issues in my duffer band... I'm kinda disappointed.

Yeah wrong kind of smelly old combo, eh? Perhaps tell your duffers you bought them all-new replacement soap bars. Write something like "Washbum" on the wrapper. Being duffers, they won;'t see the spelling error. Being musicians, they likely can't spell anyway... Then as they open your gifts to reveal actual bars of soap, hit them with a torrential deluge of water hose. Probly do this outside in the driveway before they get into the practice room. .

 

[Ggaa]

Try Nature's Miracle, works for cat p.

Bought an old 5 speed manual S10, the shift knob smelled like ladies perfume. Got it on my hand every time I drove it. I boiled the knob a couple of times, left it in the sun, that smell never left. Got that 8 ball shift knob I always wanted.

 

[Tpi]

Try Nature's Miracle, works for cat p.

Bought an old 5 speed manual S10, the shift knob smelled like ladies perfume. Got it on my hand every time I drove it. I boiled the knob a couple of times, left it in the sun, that smell never left. Got that 8 ball shift knob I always wanted.

My first thought was cheap incense for the smell. My wife said "It smells like old ladies" -That cheap perfume that makes your eyes water and nose run. Y'all know the stuff. It's not quite that bad, but you get close and it gets strong. Simply taking it all apart a few hours ago has at least diffused the smell. There was a pile of likely dog hair collected around various places.

The 14" cone is in perfect shape. All the electronics are perfect condition that I've seen so far. Going at it with a magnifier later. As well as pix -later.

 

[Thumpin6string]

Go to Wally World and get a spray can of Tuff Stuff cleaner. It works great on Tolex, rat fur, carpet and upholstery. Don't use it on the speakers.

 

[Tim Skaggs]

The description leads to a conclusion the thing started stinking from something and the previous owner tried to cover up the bad smell with a good smell, which usually results in a worse smell.

Sounds like you need to pull the grill cloth / frame and remove the speaker(s) from the cabinet so you can get something inside there to clean first & absorb odors second. If it is a ported cabinet, & I think it will be, there's probably something growing inside (mold / mildew).

Did the PO have a cat by chance? Nothing much more sickening sweet smelling than cat spray, which will be on the exterior and has to be totally removed to get rid of the smell. You could probably see evidence of cat spray on the tolex, but maybe not on the grill cloth.