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NAD - Jansen Liberator 9-180

webmonster

webmonster

May 19, 2013
381
269
New Zealand
#1
This arrived today :)
20140123_175959sm.jpg

I needed a more powerful amp, and I like tube amps and I like NZ made Jansens.
I emailed a couple of techs to see if they knew the whereabouts of one of these and to my surprise the one in Wellington did.
It was languishing unused in a cafe. They were using it as a PA and it had broken down.
I organised a swap for a SS Jansen PA head I found on trademe - far better suited to playing quiet music for hours on end, and still has that classic look they wanted.

The tech did the swap for me and has worked on the Liberator on and off over the holiday season. He replaced caps, some tube sockets and bits and pieces.
Big heavy transformers in this.

Unfortunately someone has removed the tremolo circuit board completely and cut a hole in the top for an extra cooling grille :hmm:
Also needs new handles and the faders on the front need cleaning because they're a bit noisy.

This mid 1970's Liberator is 200W from 4 KT88s (or 6550s).
It is running with 700V on the plates - a bit over spec - and I have ValveArt KT88s installed.

Sounds great :) It has a real sense of power even at low volumes and the tone has a bit more 'tang' compared to my Bassman. Sounds great with my 4001 :)
 
#4
A bit of an update.

I've cleaned up most of the noise in the faders using compressed air and CRC2.26

and

I've replaced the handles.
The original handles had only 4 screws each for a c.25kg amp and the case is chipboard...

So I blagged a pair of old Penn handles from a friend and cleaned them up using Autosol.
Then I reshaped the holes (carefully! - measure twice, cut once), filling in with shaped woodblocks and fillets and re-gluing the vinyl.
20140206_225337sm.jpg

The new handles have 10 screws each and I hope they will deal with the weight of the amp better.
Cosmetically, it would be nice to re-chrome the corners at some point.
20140208_123337sm.jpg

No luck sourcing a replacement tremolo circuit board, so it is likely I'll get the circuit built up next time the amp goes to the tech.
 
#8
mjac28 said:
That is some very pretty iron congrats
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Thank you kindly :)
The output transformer is different to my other 2 amps - the OT in those look the same as the PT.
Can anyone tell me how these two types are different?
and that logo looks like a grave with a headstone direct and to the point :)
Click to expand...
Hmm! I see what you mean about the grave & headstone. It also looks a bit like a hand with a pointing index finger.

Certainly a joy to play my 4001 through this with 1 or 2 TL 606 cabs :)
 
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#12
G-Unit 01 said:
Nice amp, as a fellow Kiwi, I have never seen one of these though I have played through a 50 Bassman many times.
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There are certainly very few 200W Liberators, so I feel quite fortunate to have a good one. The cosmetically similar 100W Dominators are a bit more common - 1 or 2 per year come up on trademe.

Oddly enough, I've never played through a Bassman 50; by coincidence my friends and I all had 75's. They had 'silverface' models, while I still have my blackface.
Nice amps in correct working order. Crazy bass response!
 
#13
Sartori said:
Cool find. I'm not sure I've actually ever seen a tube amp with an all fader EQ rather than rotary controls.
Click to expand...
Me too. The EQs are all passive BTW. Quite unusual, but works well in practise.

There was another NZ tube amp - the Holden Graphic - which had mostly faders (incl. Gain - like my Liberator), but it had a graphic (active) EQ. It also had a few rotary controls.
 
#16
foal30 said:
Webmonster, did you ever find a replacement trem unit?
Click to expand...
Not yet - I'm still looking. Best option is probably to wait for a 9-80 Dominator or 9/100 to come up for sale then remove and copy the trem PCB. A 9-80 sold on trademe the other day for $200, but I missed it.

I was using the Liberator and 2x TL-606 cabs tonight at a gig (just winding down now).
It works well and can keep up with two loud guitarists and excitable drummer :)
 

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