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Post by thetragichero on Jun 18, 2020 18:25:49 GMT -5
i am on Craigslist all day scoping out deals. saw this listed for fifty (5 0) bucks and contacted the seller. i wasn't the first or last but somehow was personable enough that he was willing to wait the hour for me to drive down there. he realized by all of the responses how below value he priced it (requests to ship it, etc) so he raised the asking price considerably but still far below value. i wasn't looking for a replacement amp for church but this will be perfect since my 20-something watt dual 6l6 excelsior would draw the ire of most of the folks in charge  did some reading that the output tubes were misbiased for most of these and that the 470r 1w cathode resistor and 25uf 25v bypass capacitor should be increased. i guess we can see why  guy was selling since he rarely played it so i plan to replace the filter can with one of those crazy expensive ce manufacturing ones (ordered an extra by mistake awhile back) speaker is a crap replacement at 8 ohms but i thankfully have a nice 4 ohm organ pull speaker that should work out well in here |
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Post by reTrEaD on Jun 18, 2020 22:51:20 GMT -5
According to the Fender Field Guide a '67 would have Blackface cosmetics. Since yours is a Silverface and has an aluminum frame around the grille cloth, that would indicate it's a '68 or '69. 50 skins? His phone must have been ringing off the hook. How much did he finally accept? |
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Post by thetragichero on Jun 18, 2020 23:57:56 GMT -5
it's a late 67 (which was the transition year). based on: transformers, the vertical black lines on the face, pot codes. silverface started late 67 (August-ish?) mostly with blackface circuitry (although the vibro champ didn't change a bit regardless) he asked $200 for it which was about the limit of what i would spend. since these go for about 5x that even the wife didn't protest all of the caps were way off spec (and those white Mallory cathode bypass caps weren't stock anyway) i replaced those with new electro caps, replaced the 20 20 20 20 450v can cap with the 30 20 20 20 525v can i had (tight fit but i dig running that much further below the voltage rating... by the time this needs new caps vacuum tubes will be outlawed). added a fender-esque 470r 5w screen resistor to the power tube. the only 4 ohm 8" speaker i had was a cts square magnet ceramic from 71. about perfect I'd say  so now I'm ending the night scrubbing the knobs with a toothbrush and warm soapy water. this guy won't be perfect but good enough for for me |
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Post by reTrEaD on Jun 19, 2020 7:44:44 GMT -5
he asked $200 for it which was about the limit of what i would spend. since these go for about 5x that even the wife didn't protest $200 is a fair price considering the condition. I would have been on the fence but probably would have pulled the trigger. I've seen pristine examples with $900 asking price and I think that's absurd, but some people will buy at that price. The most noteworthy change in the Silverface amps other than the cosmetics was a decrease in the value of the plate resistor on the driven side of the PI. This allowed a more equal drive to the output tubes. Since the Champ was a single ended output, there is no PI. So they used the AA764 circuit for both. Are you planning to replace the grille cloth with period correct material? Or just a stitch here and there to make it more presentable? |
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Post by thetragichero on Jun 19, 2020 8:09:28 GMT -5
so far keeping as is. i saw some aged/old stock in reverb sold listings that would've worked nicely. beyond that hadn't thought of it much. get to plug in tubes and try 'er out today before we head to the in-laws. was told to bring a guitar and amp to jam with my nephew and this oughta be a lot friendlier on the ears
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Post by thetragichero on Jun 19, 2020 9:17:57 GMT -5
powered up and it sounds great! power switch is finicky but that could be dirty contacts. noticed a buzz from the bottom of the baffle but since we're working to hit the road by the early afternoon i went for the quick and dirty fix to last me the weekend  I've cut it to fit and shot it with black spray paint. once dry I'll slip it in there |
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Post by reTrEaD on Jun 19, 2020 11:17:00 GMT -5
power switch is finicky but that could be dirty contacts. I hate slide switches. I'd probably drip some ammonium hydroxide into it with the power off, then slide it back and forth a few dozen times. Then hit it with some spray cleaner and slide it back and forth another few dozen times. If the quick fix doesn't cure it, just get a new PoS to replace that PoS. JMO. |
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