Is this a legit vintage Ampeg B-15???

[beans-on-toast]

Fun stuff!

The pot date codes are a good indicator for these amps. Ampeg used to have a short lead time. If the pots were manufactured in September 1962, the amp could have been built in October. Sometimes there is a date code on a piece of paper under the transformer can. But you have to pull back the transformers to get at it and it is rare to find it.

BTW, your transformers look original. Usually the power transformer is replaced because the old ones have a tendency to have issues.

 

[KevInDaBassment]

I couldn't afford Altecs so I bought a pair like those from Allied Radio. For the younger generations, those days you filled out an order sheet by hand and snail-mailed a check or money order. Delayed gratification.

You must have been thrilled when they finally invented the telephone!



....lol sorry, I couldn't resist man

 

[B-string]

You must have been thrilled when they finally invented the telephone!



....lol sorry, I couldn't resist man

Can't do "Electronic checks" over a rotary phone and no open accounts given to teens. [Smart *$$ ) Smoke signals and drums always messed up the orders

 

[MR PC]

The cans on the transformers are a distinctive form. Having owned one of these models, just seeing those would have me buying before trying at a price like that. Probably not so much for the later models. Those are much easier to find now. That's just me though. Mine had a speaker something like yours which was very worn, (it had been pushed hard with a Baby Bass for a long time) i happened to have a Altec 421a in my possession and installed it. Dumb luck , really. That was an excellent voice for me, that speaker in that amp.

 

[REMBO]

She's Real!! enjoy!!

 

[SirMjac28]

If that was a fake somebody went to an awful amount of trouble to duplicate the real thing.

 

[B-string]

Those 3D printers are really getting GOOD!

 

[beans-on-toast]

They did a really good relic job on the amp.

I'm waiting for the day when I can 3D print a working tube. Until then, I'll settle for a good printed circuit board.

 

[landru64]

i recognize that amp

 

[BASSKADET]

I had one that kind of looked like that. It had a blue Jenson speaker in it.

 

[Feral Feline]

Matches the couch. Very cool (amp & couch).

Oh, and congrats.

 

[hsech]

Yep, it's the real deal but it needs a lot of work.

 

[beans-on-toast]

Some amps are worth investing your time in to restore them. This is one such amp. It could be taken to better than new condition. The eyelet models serve as a good learning platform if you want to learn about amp repair and maintenance. And the end result is amazing tone.

 

[bostero77]

Yep, it's the real deal but it needs a lot of work.

100% agreed.
i don't care much about the looks. actually i like it as is now, it kinda has more mojo.
regarding the tone, I've never played a B-15 so i do not know what they should sound like. i do have a svt mti and the b-15 sounds pretty similar (maybe i should say that the mti sounds like the b-15?).
the only thing that bothered me was when i play with the volumen past half way it starts making rattle noise.
i check all the exterior components such side handles, loose screws, etc. and i tighten them.
it still make vibrating noise coming from the inside of the cab.
at this point I'm thinking in taking apart the cab to see where is the issue.

do you have any suggestions or experiences regarding rattling noise?

 

[JimmyM]

100% agreed.
i don't care much about the looks. actually i like it as is now, it kinda has more mojo.
regarding the tone, I've never played a B-15 so i do not know what they should sound like. i do have a svt mti and the b-15 sounds pretty similar (maybe i should say that the mti sounds like the b-15?).
the only thing that bothered me was when i play with the volumen past half way it starts making rattle noise.
i check all the exterior components such side handles, loose screws, etc. and i tighten them.
it still make vibrating noise coming from the inside of the cab.
at this point I'm thinking in taking apart the cab to see where is the issue.

do you have any suggestions or experiences regarding rattling noise?

Another TBer was discussing this amp with me last week but I guess you beat him to it. Would have commented sooner but was out of town with slow internet.

Anyway, there are tons of ways it can rattle. Any little leak can cause it to rattle. Main culprits can often be the lid gasket or the rubber grommet that plugs up the hole where the dolly screws in. You can get both from www.fliptops.net if they need replacing, but you can make the lid seal tighter by turning those lag bolts on the latches to where the latches pull down tighter. Don't go nuts, though, because those latches easily break.

 

[bostero77]

Another TBer was discussing this amp with me last week but I guess you beat him to it. Would have commented sooner but was out of town with slow internet.

Anyway, there are tons of ways it can rattle. Any little leak can cause it to rattle. Main culprits can often be the lid gasket or the rubber grommet that plugs up the hole where the dolly screws in. You can get both from www.fliptops.net if they need replacing, but you can make the lid seal tighter by turning those lag bolts on the latches to where the latches pull down tighter. Don't go nuts, though, because those latches easily break.

thanks Jimmy!
i did insulate the hole at the bottom and tightened the latches however the noise continues. seems the speaker is farting...
do you think i should recone the current Utah or get a brand new spanking Eminence Delta 15A?
i took a few pics of the current Utah

 

[beans-on-toast]

Before buying a new speaker, I would first test the amp with a different cabinet to determine if it is the amp or the speaker that is distorting. Also test the speaker with a different amp. That way you can evaluate each component separately.

 

[JimmyM]

I'm unfamiliar with the Utah, but while I agree with Beans that you should do that, the Delta 15a rules in those cabs. Also, is that a small hole in the cone at the upper left of your pic?

 

[beans-on-toast]

is that a small hole in the cone at the upper left of your pic?

It sure looks like it, doesn't it.

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[JimmyM]

I think we found a culprit.