The Steel Guitar Forum

Hello All,

Been away from the forum for quite a while now, but I had a 1970 Twin given to me this past weekend which brought me back to a place I enjoy.

Anyway, my question is this. Can someone give me a point in the right direction for restoring this amp. It has new tubes with only about 10 hrs of play time on them. The front screen needs replacing, and it needs a new vinyl covering. I would prefer to do the work myself if I can get the parts. I also want to seek suggestions on any improvements/upgrades that should be made while I have it apart.

Thanks

James

There have been several threads in the past few months about various Fender Twin circuit mods. When you have a couple of hours to kill do a search in this message area.

Personally, I'd think twice about recovering and re-grilling the amp before you go ahead with it. In the last year or so even 70's Twins are really going up in price, and generally speaking, worn original tolex and grill is more desirable than new. A totally ragged out amp might be the exception.

But if you plan on keeping the amp and just want to spiff it up, that's fine too. Have fun....

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bterry.home.netcom.com

Thanks Bill,

I'll try the search. I was trying to do that , but I was trying to do it manually. (I was in such a hurry that I didn't see the search link at the top of the page ).

As far as the original covering for the grill, it no longer exists; however the black vinyl is still there and in fairly decent condition. About 3 Years ago, my uncle(the original owner) wanted me to restore the amp. So I took it home and started a parts list, showed it to him, he said ok and I started tearing it down. When it came time to place the first order, he decided to back out, and the amp has been sitting that way since. I did go out on my own and bought new tubes for the amp and it sounds great. I do plan on keeping the amp, and I just want it to look nice.

Thanks

James<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by James M Banks on 15 August 2000 at 02:10 PM.]</p></FONT><FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by James M Banks on 15 August 2000 at 02:10 PM.]</p></FONT>

James,
You should be able to find grill cloth that is very close to what was original on the amp. Here's one place, there are lots of others, do a search on google.com for grill cloth.

www.vibroworld.com/parts/tech10.html

Bill

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bterry.home.netcom.com

Fenton Music or Parts are Parts should have what you need for recovering, and grill cloth, as well as hardware items. If it is non-master volume, I would not mod it. Just get it up to good running speed. I had one and traded it (1972), great amp.

Mojotone has Fender grill cloth. Their web site is at: http://www.mojotone.com/

Thanks for the info. I searched through the forum last night and found a lot of good info about these amps. I am going to take a few evenings and research the info that I have found, and what you guys have suggested. I can't wait to get it going again. When I got my first steel, I used that amp for about 6 months until I could get my own, and I have never been satisfied with any other amp.

Thanks

James

wish I had an uncle who'd give me a Twin

If you like to use it with your steel why not give a 15" speaker a try??!!! There a quite a few threads in the last month about this topic so you shoul duse the search and find out what its all about. I would recommend a EV SRO speaker.
Andy

I had an AB768 chassis Twin that came with two JBL D-120-F's. I took them out and put in a JBL K-130 (4 ohm). Really perked up the amp for steel.

I really want to experiment with different speaker combos. I have the "Live at Panther Hall" cd, and I absolutely love the sound that Lloyd had on the recording. I'm not sure who played on it, but Gene Watson's "Farewell Party" is probably my all time favorite sound for the steel.

I haven't had time to see what chassis the amp has, but I have heard of some mods that you can do. I really want to research this well befor I break out the old soldering iron, though.

Another question. Should I buy new hardware, or just have the old re-plated?

Thanks

James

Hey James the guy that played steel on "Live at Panther Hall" and Gene Watsons' "Farewell Party" is the same guy>Lloyd Green. No wonder you like the sound he gets.
Lloyd played through several different Fender amps and I had a D-130 in a twin; but can't remember which amp for what recordings.


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Ricky Davis
http://hometown.aol.com/sshawaiian/RickyHomepage.html
http://users.interlinks.net/rebel/steel/steel.html
www.mightyfinemusic.com
sshawaiian@aol.com

James, if you want a good example of another classic twin, listen to Buck Owens live at Carnegie (sp)? Hall. It's Tom Brumley playing a Z.B through a twin with JBL D-120's. Hope you like it!!

Thanks for the info on the Buck Owens Album. I found it at cduniverse and I will order it tonight when I get off work.

This raises another question. Where can you find JBL speakers to go in the amp? I looked all over jblpro.com and jbl.com, but couldn't find any information on them.

Thanks

James

James, the JBL D & K series speakers are no longer made. You got to find them used. They were offered as options years ago in Fender amps. JBL will still recone those old speakers but it is expensive and I think it is worth the extra $$$. I have an old D-130 in a tweed reisue Fender Bassman and love it!! Got this idea from Tom Brumley, he uses 2 of them. Good luck searching but also remember, Tone is in the ear of the beholder.
Take care, Greg

Hey James,

I have original Fender Grill cloth from the 70's. I'd be happy to sell you a piece for the Twin. Let me know. I have several yards of un-use grill cloth fron back then.

Joe,

That would be nice. Send me an e-mail with your price and we can discuss it further.

Thanks

James

Well, I guess I lied. After gathering information needed for restoration, I finally got around to pulling out the chassis on the amp. Inside, under some dust, I found a date stamp that read JUN 02 1971. So I guess this thread should read 1971 FENDER TWIN REVERB.

Anyway, thanks to all who have given me advice and links to information and parts. I hope to get this project done within a month or so, depending on how much "allowance" my wife gives me.

Thanks again

James

Jim, the chassis model number is the real key. e.g. AB768, AA270, etc. That is how Fender identifies them in schematics.

James,
Be careful of the chassis numbers on the tube charts. I bought my '69 Twin and it had an AB763 chassis number on the tube chart, but was definitely AC568. I read that when CBS bought Fender they had a lot of those AB763 tube charts around and used them up into the early 70's.

Here's a link you might find helpful:

www.ampwares.com/ffg/

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bterry.home.netcom.com