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  • Vintage amps and SA power

Thanks for the ping Veee.

I really do need to check in more often. Many of these older amps have selectable operating voltages by means of a pin type selector. Mind you... i have seen this on Marshalls..

Locally these older amps are definitely out there.. one of our forumites has two or three vintage fender amps. Klaas mentioned Ronnies which is also a good call.

With these old guys from the US, count on a step down arrangement to align the voltage. Plan on having a proper power cable installed and have the death cap removed. And then in all likelihood, plan on having the caps and a handful of resistors changed.

Depending how the speaker is, that may need a recone.. or might good to go. These things are cool for sure though

Oh.. and to add to Klaas's classifieds.. my Mesa from 87/88 is also for sale. Its the caliber .22+ studio. 😁

  • V8 likes this.

wow, thanks guys - lots of info.

Firstly, that 40's Gibson looks awesome, what a piece of history! As a weird coincidence, while Johnny B was posting that I was watching a doc on Charlie Christian who apparently used something very similar... Great job on the mod!

There's definitely some amazing gear floating around SA (I've ended up buying some of it myself, haha), I haven't looked at Ronnie's Allbang in a while (I'm in CT), but you're right, I should check more often. My point was that it's hard in our market to get something SPECIFIC... if I wanted a 70's princeton it's not like I could look at 5 different amps in a month and choose the best deal, lol. [AM REALLY HOPING 5 GUYS COME FORWARD AT THIS MOMENT WITH OLD PRINCETONS, haha].

So are modern amps built in "American" and "european" versions? I would assume they just have transformers that are capable of working on both sides of the pond (with a switchable transformer like guideothepimmp mentioned)? Anybody know what era of Fender started doing that? (I'm aware that American guitarists complain of their amps sounding "different" in europe when they just plug into the wall, but otherwise they seem to operate fine).

Thanks for all the input guys, I spent WAY too much of my life learning about guitars and not nearly enough finding out how amps really work...

J

CapeTownJono

Great minds indeed. If you peruse Youtube, check out an amp repair guy called Uncle Doug. He works on and restores old amps.. obscure goodies like oahu from the 40s.. all matter of Fenders, marshalls.. the works.. and he has a great sense of humour too. He delves into the schematics, issues.. everything. You might enjoy it. He also speaks about funnies to look out for.

      Huh... go figure. I mentioned Uncle Doug and he releases a video a few hours ago working on a Princeton. A little serendipitous...

      Enjoy

        Thanks! will check his channel out tonight, that sound right up my alley.

        to be honest my heart says Princeton (Or maybe tweed Deluxe), but my wallet probably says 70's Vibrochamp... haha.

          CapeTownJono [AM REALLY HOPING 5 GUYS COME FORWARD AT THIS MOMENT WITH OLD PRINCETONS, haha].

          ...I know a guy 😆 Aaaannnd he does have a few too many amps...I'll ask, but no promises - he's had that princeton for a long time and doesn't often move gear on.

              ... should i start celebrating? lol. Let me know if your buddy wants to sell, but no pressure. In the meantime, I should probably start selling old gear/ furniture/ bone marrow so I can pounce on a deal if it shows up. Thanks again for all the input guys - watch this space...

              • V8 likes this.
              • V8 replied to this.

                CapeTownJono Heh, he's a very slow mover on of gear. But, I will ask.

                    10 days later

                    A problem with older amps (and some new ones), is that the line Voltage has crept up since they were released.
                    USA amplifiers generally run too hot at their modern supply, and here, well, we are supposed to run at 230 VAC, but I lived in a town where we had 240 VAC, and higher.
                    I know a lot of the newer amps are labelled "220 - 230 V" or "230 - 240 V", but I have a few that runs the filament voltage too high, at the recommended supply rating.
                    So, just fitting a 220 - 110 V transformer to an USA amp, will likely leave you with too high filament voltage.
                    I find, most of my amps (I am still working through them) like to run at 220 - 225 V. I am using a Bucking transformer to reduce the 230 VAC supply.

                    We and some other countries get the "230 V" amps, there is one that has "220 V" products for their market. Japan?
                    The other route would be to replace the amp's power transformer with a multi - tap one, I know some amps come that way, allowing the user to plug into whatever his/her network provides.

                    • V8 likes this.

                    With guitar speakers emphasis is on "recone" and with genuine recone kit. Anything else will end up with a working speaker at best but it will probably sound more like a PA midrange than a guitar speaker. The other option is a new speaker from Celestion for most British and EU or USA rock/metal amps or a Jensen for the classic Fender clean sound.

                    • V8 likes this.
                    9 months later

                    CapeTownJono Heya, if you are still in the market for a interesting Princeton, let me know - I know that one I mentioned will be avialable within the next couple of weeks.

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