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Official Ampeg Portaflex Club

#17,461
Bass 45 said:
The ocean noise is often a bad cap - if the bad sound is unaffected by the preamp knobs, then it would be a component of the power section that has an issue.

There are four studs inside the cabinet that hold the speaker grill in. they look the same as the ones the hold the speaker in.
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Thank you. I pulled the grill off....so nasty. The speaker looks good no dry rot on the surround. What can I use to clean the woofer that won't hurt it? Im sure this is where a lot of the bad smell is coming from.
 
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#17,462
MMMike said:
Thank you. I pulled the grill off....so nasty. The speaker looks good no dry rot on the surround. What can I use to clean the woofer that won't hurt it? Im sure this is where a lot of the bad smell is coming from.
Click to expand...

I am not sure what to recommend to use to clean a speaker cone. I have used a cloth lightly dampened with a vinyl cleaner to remove dust - with no ill effect. I would not spray anything directly on the cone.
 
#17,465
image.jpeg




This is the one that I use. I use it on rack equipment, mixers, etc. It doesn't change knob settings. Also good for instruments, behind the nut and around the bridge. It manages to get in there and remove the dust without scratching.

When it is dirty, wash the bristles with mild soap, rinse, and let it dry.
 
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#17,466
Ric Vice said:
I traded it in on a 1967 Jazz Bass with paddle tuners. Wish I still had the Jazz. I never really missed the AEB-1. Ampeg's amp manufacturing was the best in the buisness. Unfortunately, their bass designs and manufacturing was not nearly as good. They tone is an aquired taste. They're collectible mostly due to their unique body shape, but there really wasn't that much luthiery involved, because there isn't that much wood in the build. Just my take, some folks love em'.

Ric
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Hello Ric

I love the Ampeg Scroll basses - but if I could only have one bass I would rather it was a Fender then an AEB-1 - but I would also rather have an AMB-1 then either of those (the AMB-1 is what was shown in the price list David posted).

Taste is....a matter of taste, but I don't understand this part of your statement: "but there really wasn't that much luthiery involved, because there isn't that much wood in the build."

I am not a luthier - but I can see that the neck and body appear more complex on a Scroll bass - therefore, I assume, they must be more time consuming to build then a typical bass guitar.

@Bruce Johnson - would you like to give a professional opinion on this? Thanks
 
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#17,467
beans-on-toast said:
View attachment 819002



This is the one that I use. I use it on rack equipment, mixers, etc. It doesn't change knob settings. Also good for instruments, behind the nut and around the bridge. It manages to get in there and remove the dust without scratching.

When it is dirty, wash the bristles with mild soap, rinse, and let it dry.
Click to expand...

Good tip.

Probably good for a piano or computer keyboard too.
 
#17,469
Bass 45 said:
Hello Ric

I love the Ampeg Scroll basses - but if I could only have one bass I would rather it was a Fender then an AEB-1 - but I would also rather have and AMB-1 then either of those (the AMB-1 is what was shown in the price list David posted).

Taste is....a matter of taste, but I don't understand this part of your statement: "but there really wasn't that much luthiery involved, because there isn't that much wood in the build."

I am not a luthier - but I can see that the neck and body appear more complex on a Scroll bass - therefore, I assume, they must be more time consuming to build then a typical bass guitar.

@Bruce Johnson - would you like to give a professional opinion on this? Thanks
Click to expand...

I can speak from direct experience that an Ampeg AEB-1 Scroll Bass takes about twice the labor hours to build, as compared to a Fender Jazz. The woodworking on the body and neck is more complicated, with more steps. The painting is more complicated, because of the headstock and the large cutouts in the body. The pickup system has more parts.

And yes, I agree that Ampeg's quality control wasn't that great on these instruments. The nitro paint jobs often cracked and peeled off in just ten years. Lots of problems with cracks and warpage in the necks and bodies. The truss rods are approximately non-functional and very fragile. Etc.

And yes, the sound of the AEB-1 is unique and different, and it's the only sound that it makes. It's not a general-purpose bass. Either you love it or you don't. The later AMB-1 model was more "mainstream" in its sound, and could have been more of a success. But it was too late. By the time it was introduced, Fender was ruling the bass world, and Ampeg was in serious financial trouble. The company barely made it to 1970.

I'm sure that Ampeg lost money on the Scroll Basses overall. The were too expensive and fussy to build for the price they were asking, and sales were weak. The Ampeg Scroll Basses were a cool idea with a lot of potential, but business financial realities forced them to quit before they got it developed out and into profitable production. Remember, the late 1960's were a terrible time for the whole musical instrument business. Even Fender barely survived.
 
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#17,470
beans-on-toast said:
What you are doing is systematically going through and eliminating possibilities, these are things that need servicing anyway in an old amp.

Finish what you planned to do. Pay particular attention to cleaning the ext speaker jack shunt. You have to insert a plug to open the shunt, apply the deoxit, then scrub.

There are a number of steps that can be taken, let's see how it goes with what you are planning to do.

Hum is usually 60hz or 120hz. Hiss is something else.
Click to expand...
Ah ha! I see what you mean about the contact points on the shunt. The 250 ohm cement block resistor measured 256 ohms. I replaced it with a new flameproof ohmite resistor that measured 250.5. Hopefully my dexoit comes tomorrow. I have some mg chemicals contact cleaner, not sure if I can just use that.
 
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#17,471
256 ohms is within spec. Readings can change when components gets hot. It doesn't hurt to change that cathode resistor in an old amp because they run very hot.

Never tried the the MG contact cleaner. Deoxit is not just a degreaser, it removed oxidation, cleans, lubricates and leaves a protective layer. It is a standard in the industry.

The MG Chemicals product can be tried.
 
#17,473
johnpbass said:
Hammond B-3, C-3? I'd love to see a pic of that Hammond.
Click to expand...

It's a BCV. Looks just like a B3, only it has a chorus and vibrato. It is an older model than the B3. The keyboard is dated 1935. The CV went into production in 1936. The BCV was sold between 1949 and 1954. Between 1950 and 1954, the vibrato was an add on kit. So I assume that mine is one of the early models from the 30's that was converted.

It served as a bar house organ for a long time. When I was cleaning it up, there was a lot of ash that got into the keyboard.

The nice thing about the older models is that the keys are made out of bakelite, same as the old Ampeg knobs. I find that the keys feel better than the later plastic ones. These older keys can be polished with a cloth wheel and jeweler's rouge. Boy was that ever a big job.

The organ looks like these.


image.jpeg
image.jpeg
 
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#17,474
beans-on-toast said:
It's a BCV. Looks just like a B3, only it has a chorus and vibrato. It is an older model than the B3. The keyboard is dated 1935. The CV went into production in 1936. The BCV was sold between 1949 and 1954. Between 1950 and 1954, the vibrato was an add on kit. So I assume that mine is one of the early models from the 30's that was converted.

It served as a bar house organ for a long time. When I was cleaning it up, there was a lot of ash that got into the keyboard.

The nice thing about the older models is that the keys are made out of bakelite, same as the old Ampeg knobs. I find that the keys feel better than the later plastic ones. These older keys can be polished with a cloth wheel and jeweler's rouge. Boy was that ever a big job.

The organ looks like these.


View attachment 819406 View attachment 819407
Click to expand...
ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!!!
 
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#17,477
Ok so I've done evertyhing except clean the tube sockets. If that doesn't work then I guess I will buy a new rectifier tube. Is it normal for the rectifier tube to make a tingle jingle noise? I think the ocean noise was a dirty ext amp jack shunt as that noise is gone now. The hum is still present but if plug in my guitar with the volume knob on it all the way up I get less noise. If I turn the instrument knob down at all I immediately hear more noise. I also tried a cheater plug with a broken off ground pin to check for a ground loop but no change. I was also happy to see that the cone was able to be completely cleaned off with just a paint brush. It looks flawless. I might use black grill cloth I have laying around to recover for now as buying all these parts is making me broke. Sacrilegious i'm sure. Lol.
 
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#17,479
MMMike said:
Rectifier in my amp is a 5 pin 5ar4? Its labelled 5u4 on the chassis.....
Click to expand...

The early amps used a 5U4GB, the later amps used a 5AR4. The 5U4GB dropped a little more voltage across it, as a result the high voltages were a bit lower. This gave the amp a bit less headroom and more distortion when it was turned up.

You can use either type of rectifier tube in your amp.
 

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