I have in the past owned an early 1990's MOSFET 3500, a biploar mid-nineties Model 3500 Transient Attack, and later a 2000-something HA3500. I no longer own any of those, and have been playing through a class D Fender amp for several months now. The Fender sounds really good, but there is still just "something" different about the way those old 3500s punch.
So I just picked up a Model 3500 Transient Attack head from the 1990's. It's one of the bipolar 3500B models, and I know from firsthand experience that it's not a MOSFET, but I remember my old one being pretty good, and this one was cheap.
It was a little rough. The fan was rattling like crazy. Every screw in the chassis and just about everyplace else on the amp was loose. The Compressor LED had been "pushed back" in behind the faceplate. The standoff that holds the retention spring for the preamp tube was nearly falling over it was so loose. Dust bunnies abounded throughout the interior and a few spider webs as well.
I disassembled the amp, vacuumed out the debris, cleaned the pots and sliders, and reassembled the amp. The LED in question turned out to be good, I just had to push it back into place.
It had a bad preamp tube, an EHX that was sending static noise through the amp. I replaced it with a "premium" GrooveTube.
The fan that was in it is not OEM, but is definitely worn out.
I replaced the fan with a model that is rated at the same RPM, a lower current draw, much lower noise level, and 1cfm greater than O.E.M. I had to modify the fan body with a dremel wheel to make slots for the mounting bars. (I know about the fans that drop right in, but my source was sold out of those). No biggie.
Some of the screw holes in the top were stripped out. I used 3.5mm computer hard drive screws in the worn holes. It worked a charm. They tighten down nicely!
There are lots of small holes in the chassis. I know that four on the bottom are for rubber feet and a couple on one end for a handle, neither of which I have. There are more holes in this thing as well. I used some stainless screws to plug the extra holes and some rubberized tape to seal corner gaps in the interest of maximizing the airflow through the Power Amp Module (by reducing case leakage).
The amp works great, sounds great, and looks great now!
It does have a certain unique punch in the gut.
I still like my Rumble's rumble, but I also really like the Hartke punch.
Fun fact. The amp settings in the above picture yield the same volume through the same speakers with the same bass guitar in the same room. Now I didn't use a DB meter on axis at 1 meter, so I should say "Percieved Volume". At those settings, these two amps sound the same loudness.
I really like them both, so I'm not selling either one anytime soon. Great way to spend the afternoon on a day off work.
So I just picked up a Model 3500 Transient Attack head from the 1990's. It's one of the bipolar 3500B models, and I know from firsthand experience that it's not a MOSFET, but I remember my old one being pretty good, and this one was cheap.
It was a little rough. The fan was rattling like crazy. Every screw in the chassis and just about everyplace else on the amp was loose. The Compressor LED had been "pushed back" in behind the faceplate. The standoff that holds the retention spring for the preamp tube was nearly falling over it was so loose. Dust bunnies abounded throughout the interior and a few spider webs as well.
I disassembled the amp, vacuumed out the debris, cleaned the pots and sliders, and reassembled the amp. The LED in question turned out to be good, I just had to push it back into place.
It had a bad preamp tube, an EHX that was sending static noise through the amp. I replaced it with a "premium" GrooveTube.
I replaced the fan with a model that is rated at the same RPM, a lower current draw, much lower noise level, and 1cfm greater than O.E.M. I had to modify the fan body with a dremel wheel to make slots for the mounting bars. (I know about the fans that drop right in, but my source was sold out of those). No biggie.
There are lots of small holes in the chassis. I know that four on the bottom are for rubber feet and a couple on one end for a handle, neither of which I have. There are more holes in this thing as well. I used some stainless screws to plug the extra holes and some rubberized tape to seal corner gaps in the interest of maximizing the airflow through the Power Amp Module (by reducing case leakage).
The amp works great, sounds great, and looks great now!
It does have a certain unique punch in the gut.
I still like my Rumble's rumble, but I also really like the Hartke punch.
Fun fact. The amp settings in the above picture yield the same volume through the same speakers with the same bass guitar in the same room. Now I didn't use a DB meter on axis at 1 meter, so I should say "Percieved Volume". At those settings, these two amps sound the same loudness.
I really like them both, so I'm not selling either one anytime soon. Great way to spend the afternoon on a day off work.
