HOT old tube amp found!

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A.David.MacKinnon
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Post by A.David.MacKinnon » Mon Mar 06, 2006 7:50 am

I'm no expert but it looks a little like a Belltown (or is it Belletown?).

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A.David.MacKinnon
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Post by A.David.MacKinnon » Mon Mar 06, 2006 7:52 am

Sorry..early morning brain fart.
I ment belltone (or belletone)

MegaMutt
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Post by MegaMutt » Mon Mar 06, 2006 7:56 am

Hey guys, not to stray off topic, but I'm in NNJ as well and I'm always looking for new people to work with...

PM me and I'll send you my contact info if you're interested...

-rich

KennyLusk
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Post by KennyLusk » Mon Mar 06, 2006 8:09 am

Those pic's bring tears to my eyes you lucky dog. What a beautiful thing. BTW http://www.angela.com/ is a good place for quality replacement caps and vintage amp electronics.

Thanks for sharing the pics. Wow! Warm, aged, Jensen alnico magnet and driver. Holy crap! That's gotta sound delicious. Congrats!
"The mushroom states its own position very clearly. It says, "I require the nervous system of a mammal. Do you have one handy?" Terrence McKenna

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mingus2112
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Post by mingus2112 » Mon Mar 06, 2006 8:35 am

KennyLusk wrote:Those pic's bring tears to my eyes you lucky dog. What a beautiful thing. BTW http://www.angela.com/ is a good place for quality replacement caps and vintage amp electronics.

Thanks for sharing the pics. Wow! Warm, aged, Jensen alnico magnet and driver. Holy crap! That's gotta sound delicious. Congrats!
I've got a guy for parts and everything (shameless plug for him: http://store.marshamps.com ). I asked him about the 6SL7 preamp tubes and he said "I don't carry them yet. . ." and then proceeded to order some stock. He's pretty good like that!

-J

RefD
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Post by RefD » Mon Mar 06, 2006 10:56 am

kentothink wrote:Yeah. hook us up with a songwriter. we even have a bass player! we're in north NJ by the way.
i'm a singer/songwriter who also plays a few different instruments.

but i live way too far away from you guys.
?What need is there to weep over parts of life? The whole of it calls for tears.? -- Seneca

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digitaldrummer
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Post by digitaldrummer » Tue Mar 07, 2006 12:48 pm

looks very similar in style to the Gibson Maestro GA-45 I used to own. Look at this page, and scroll down to the Gibsons. they are coveted by blues harp players, and in fact I sold mine to one. Mine also was a great find. mother-in-law found it in the attic of a house she moved into along with a hollowbody Framus (335 style). Being and idiot, I sold them both after awhile to buy other gear. But hey, $h#% happens.

http://www.harmonicamasterclass.com/vintage_amps.htm

I think you have a GA40. Possibly someone refurbed it with some different colors.

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Randy
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Post by Randy » Tue Mar 07, 2006 1:46 pm

That looks a lot like the Gibson Lancer I have in my basement, the panel is an almost exact match with a different screen print. I'll betcha it was made by Gibson and sold as a package deal with the accordian.

BTW-
How's the Bassman Blonde? I used to have one of those- used it as a bass amp and ended up selling it to buy something louder. I was kicking myself as I did it. I bought it for $150 in 1983 and sold it for $170 in 1985. The TNT 130 I bought with that money is probably worth a whopping $175.
not to worry, just keep tracking....

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mingus2112
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Post by mingus2112 » Tue Mar 07, 2006 2:55 pm

Randy wrote: BTW-
How's the Bassman Blonde? I used to have one of those- used it as a bass amp and ended up selling it to buy something louder. I was kicking myself as I did it. I bought it for $150 in 1983 and sold it for $170 in 1985. The TNT 130 I bought with that money is probably worth a whopping $175.
The Bassman Blonde. . .all of my guitar gear has stories. . .this one isn't any different!!

It's not ACTUALLY a BLONDE! I bought this 1967 Bassman head a dew years back on ebay. 1967 Was the last blackface year and TRANSITIONED into the silverface. Some books even say the silverfaces started in 68. . .anyhow. . .this one had silverface cosmetics and blackface circuitry! When I gave it to my amp guy to recap, I had him make a new headcab for it, covered in rough blonde, with an oxblood grillcloth! (i didn't want him to recover the old one being an EARLY silverface in such great condition) The faceplate is actually HAND painted because the brownface bassman didn't have switches. . .

So. . .if you're still interested in how it sounds. . .it sounds AWESOME. it breaks up so sweet! Around 6 with humbuckers is the hottest overdrive i've ever heard. Unfortunately, it also knocks glasses off the wine rack in the other room! That's why I got that 18 watt marshall that's in the same picture. It's a sweet amp. PM me if you want more info on the bassman. I could go on for hours!

-James

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mingus2112
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Post by mingus2112 » Tue Mar 07, 2006 10:42 pm

I think i've narrowed it down. It's either 1) an ampeg built OEM style for another brand (or a store) or 2) an ampeg copy built by the store that sold it. Everything down to the knob panel is identicle to the ampeg m-12 minus the ampeg logo. Aparantly Ampeg used to make amps for all different people around that time, so it's very possible that it's a rebranded (or unbranded!) M-12!

-James

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r0ck1r0ck2
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Post by r0ck1r0ck2 » Wed Mar 08, 2006 1:28 am

soo does that narrow down the date?

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mingus2112
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Post by mingus2112 » Wed Mar 08, 2006 5:39 am

r0ck1r0ck2 wrote:soo does that narrow down the date?
Well the speaker code puts it to August 1957. So I would assume that the amp is late 1957 or early '58 if the speaker sat around for awhile.

-James

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