This old girl is very nice, and except for the cab is original as far as I can tell. I believe 3 out of 4 of the power tubes are original as are all the filter caps (no visible leaking). The amp is very quiet and runs great as it is. It has the original Utahs and they too sound great. If I remember correctly one has been reconed.
The original cab is included but I had a brand new finger-jointed pine cab made to house the amp, and it also has a new faceplate. The cab is made to blackface specs, but obviously retains silverface cosmetics. Please ignore the blackface face plate in the picture-that was an experiment that I didn't keep.
The amp is really pretty and if you're looking for a keeper it could be a good fit for you.
I'm looking for $900.00 and would like not to ship it if possible. I'm in Marietta, GA and would drive a reasonable distance to meet you to keep from having to ship it. Alternatively you are welcome to try it out in my house.
Ken Metcalf wrote:Just out of curiosity what do you suppose that white stuff leaking out of the cap on the right is ??
Well Ken, that's a good question-at least as to what I thought. I'm going to have to say that either I didn't know what I was talking about (likely) or I simply didn't notice it.
In either case it's a pretty safe bet I wouldn't have seen and recognized it, put up a picture of it and then said it wasn't there.
So to the extent that is leaking I'll have to apologize regardless. I certainly had no intent to deceive.
The white stuff leaking out of the cap is probably dielectric. This indicates that the amp needs a cap job. Probably all of the electrolytic caps need to be replaced. Not a cheap job but well worth it for this amp. I also noticed that the picture of the chassis is a blackface while the amp is a silverface amp. I use a twin with K-120 JBL's and wouldn't use anything else but I think this one needs a little work and is priced a little high for the work it may need.
Bernie Hedges wrote:The white stuff leaking out of the cap is probably dielectric. This indicates that the amp needs a cap job. Probably all of the electrolytic caps need to be replaced. Not a cheap job but well worth it for this amp. I also noticed that the picture of the chassis is a blackface while the amp is a silverface amp. I use a twin with K-120 JBL's and wouldn't use anything else but I think this one needs a little work and is priced a little high for the work it may need.
Good observation Bernie, and another bonehead move on my part. I actually thought about going with blackface cosmetics and put the faceplate on, but later decided to stick with silverface like it was supposed to be.
Ballpark I would say the caps are about $50 if you use good ones and replace them all. I would recommend Sprague Atoms. It would take a good tech a couple of hours. If you do it your self be careful there's enough voltage on the caps that could kill you. You have to drain the current off. I would also consider a matched set of power tubes. I would get JJ's if you do that. That would be about $70 which is cheap for good tubes. I've done this several times and you would be amazed at how good it will sound, and quiet. With the nice cabinet you have it would definitely get you your $1000 dollars. Steel players actually prefer the silverface amps over the blackface because of the clean headroom so I would definitely keep the silver faceplate on.
Oh yes, the silverface cosmetics stay on no doubt. It has what appear to be 3 out of the 4 original old RCA power tubes now, and runs as strong and quiet as any amp I have ever owned. No buzz, hiss, crackling, etc. at all.
Don, that's a great amp, but I'm with Bernie on the price and the cap job.
My main gigging and recording amp is a '71 and I love it. This would be a great steel amp. I implore you, however, to check the date codes on the transformers. Due to the "Twin Reverb - Amp" logo on the faceplate, I'm inclined to think it may be an even earlier model. My only reason for saying this is that mine just says "Twin Reverb," which was a subsequent logo to the one on your amp. I could be wrong..Fender stuff sometimes seems like it's inconsistent.
Kyle Everson wrote:Don, that's a great amp, but I'm with Bernie on the price and the cap job.
My main gigging and recording amp is a '71 and I love it. This would be a great steel amp. I implore you, however, to check the date codes on the transformers. Due to the "Twin Reverb - Amp" logo on the faceplate, I'm inclined to think it may be an even earlier model. My only reason for saying this is that mine just says "Twin Reverb," which was a subsequent logo to the one on your amp. I could be wrong..Fender stuff sometimes seems like it's inconsistent.
Good luck with your sale!
Again, good eye on the faceplate logo Kyle. As I mentioned it is a new faceplate that I was able to find. The original (which isn't all that bad and I'm happy to include) does indeed say "Twin Reverb", both words side by side.
I have indeed checked the tranny date codes and although I can't recite them to you they are in fact all correct time-wise and clearly original.
Per ya'll's advice I'll bump the price down to $900. to help cover the cap job, if there's still any interest. I will assure you though that sonically there's no evidence that the amp needs anything. I'd expect a potential buyer to check it out before money changes hands of course.
Don. If the tubes don't seem to be acting up you could probably forego that change especially if they are original RCA tubes which are highly desireable. As for the date of the amp, if it does not have a master volume it is somewhere between a 68 and 72. These amps have the same circuitry as the Blackface amps. Another way to tell is if it has a tube rectifier which would be to the left of the four power tubes. When CBS took over they did not change the circuitry until around 72 but they did change the cosmetics. Regardless of all of this I don't think you can get a better amp than a good Twin for Steel and you shouldn't have a problem selling it.
