New Old Raggedy Amp Day, in short.
I got an Ampeg SVT-CL several days ago, cheap and broken.
Short summary:
It looks like the amp was dropped at a major music retailer's warehouse some time ago, and had sat there ever since. FedEx delivered the unit without a single mark on the box to indicate it had been abused. It is a MIK model, and at first I wasn't sure about the date, originally thought 2004, but turns out to be a mid-2008 according to LOUD. It had totally clean insides and chassis, and a little rust on the back cabinet corners and screws. Not a mark on it anywhere else. Pretty much what I'd expect from sitting on the floor of a cinder block warehouse, maybe on its back, for a couple of years.
One 6550 was cracked, and there was an odd tilt to the plate transformer. Note the white top on the tube in the middle, and the transformer, at left.
So I took everything apart and did a quick go/no go test on the tubes. Besides the 6550, one 12AU7 had a heater-to-cathode short, probably from trying to drive the non-vacuum tube in its triad when tested. The condition report I got when I ordered was "has a loud buzz". Yep.
Once the chassis was clean except for the transformers, a few minutes' TLC with a 5 lb. sledgehammer and a block of hardwood put every thing back in order as far as the bent metal went. Then, since the amp had gotten mechanical shock, I went over the circuit boards with a magnifier looking for cracked solder joints. I resoldered a few that didn't look quite right.
I dropped a GE 12AX7 into V1, replaced the bad 12AU7 with a used OK one, put everything back together, including the ribbon cable from the preamp that was not plugged in when I took it apart. Zounds, that would make it buzz too, eh?
I fired it up with four output tubes, biased, balanced the power supply hum, and tried it out with 1x15". I'll order six new output tubes after next weekend's gigs.
All in all, I'd say this beast is pretty well built. Heavy too. What's it sound like? In a certain well-known TBer's words, "hot buttered Jesus".
Short disclaimer: Unless you know what you're doing, don't try this yourself. These things are lethal if you make a mistake.
I got an Ampeg SVT-CL several days ago, cheap and broken.
Short summary:
It looks like the amp was dropped at a major music retailer's warehouse some time ago, and had sat there ever since. FedEx delivered the unit without a single mark on the box to indicate it had been abused. It is a MIK model, and at first I wasn't sure about the date, originally thought 2004, but turns out to be a mid-2008 according to LOUD. It had totally clean insides and chassis, and a little rust on the back cabinet corners and screws. Not a mark on it anywhere else. Pretty much what I'd expect from sitting on the floor of a cinder block warehouse, maybe on its back, for a couple of years.
One 6550 was cracked, and there was an odd tilt to the plate transformer. Note the white top on the tube in the middle, and the transformer, at left.
So I took everything apart and did a quick go/no go test on the tubes. Besides the 6550, one 12AU7 had a heater-to-cathode short, probably from trying to drive the non-vacuum tube in its triad when tested. The condition report I got when I ordered was "has a loud buzz". Yep.
Once the chassis was clean except for the transformers, a few minutes' TLC with a 5 lb. sledgehammer and a block of hardwood put every thing back in order as far as the bent metal went. Then, since the amp had gotten mechanical shock, I went over the circuit boards with a magnifier looking for cracked solder joints. I resoldered a few that didn't look quite right.
I dropped a GE 12AX7 into V1, replaced the bad 12AU7 with a used OK one, put everything back together, including the ribbon cable from the preamp that was not plugged in when I took it apart. Zounds, that would make it buzz too, eh?
I fired it up with four output tubes, biased, balanced the power supply hum, and tried it out with 1x15". I'll order six new output tubes after next weekend's gigs.
All in all, I'd say this beast is pretty well built. Heavy too. What's it sound like? In a certain well-known TBer's words, "hot buttered Jesus".
Short disclaimer: Unless you know what you're doing, don't try this yourself. These things are lethal if you make a mistake.
