Show me your junker amps!

[4 Strings]

Every now and then a post appears with some of you building amps from junker trannies, chassis et.c.

I have a 5C5 build going on right now - though no digital camera so no pics unfortunately - which is a kind of junker project to put a pile of assorted parts to use. I'll get back with a report once I have finished it. If I ever will...

I also have a pair of trannies and a chassis from an old Swedish 1950's Gösta Bäckström GM128 amp (similar to the one shown here: http://www.faktiskt.se/modules.php?n...er=asc&start=0) waiting to be transformed into who knows what. I know the stuff makes for great sounding Dr Z Route 66 clones so perhaps that's what'll happen to it.

For some inspiration, please show me your junker amp builds and tell me about them!

[skeksis]

not sure I should even put this out there BUT:

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fu...oID=21147 203

not really a cobbled-together junker, but instead junker straight from the factory. green spray-painted Airline/Wards amp from the 60's. slightly mashed cab and you have to experiment to figure out which knobs do what... Nice thick tones, though, and very reasonable volumes. forgive the camera's mic limitations and the rough improv playing. but you get the idea.

[Vol. Knob]

'69 Teisco Checkmate 15 that I found at the side of the road, in a pile of trash, in the rain.
Its tube, something simaler to an EL84. Kinda like an angry little Vox. Runs great about 95% of the time.


'50s Newcomb A10. She's sitting atop a Peavey Classic from the late '70s
that has had the chassis removed and the remains turned into a 2x12. Its essentially a 5E3 with original RCA tubes that still glow. Sounds fantastic. Yard sale victory.

[bowlfreshener]

I turned my old piece of junk, non-functional Crate amp into a fully functional junky cabinet:

[mojo2001]

Here's my King Pimp (tm) 12SL7/12V6 octal Princeton built in a Squier 15 cab I trashpicked. I recovered it with red faux ostrich print leather from Tandy Leather in Austin. Features a backlit logo which was a color transparency until it fell out and I replaced it with a laser printout on copy paper.

Now, is that ghetto or what?

I used 12V tubes because I had an old Stancor transformer with a 12V filament line and I also had the tubes. All parts are scavenged.

For years I used an old 8" Jensen PM speaker that came out of a 1948 Hammond Solovox, patched up with Zig-Zags and rubber cement, but it died last month. Just put a nice vintage P8R in there and it sounds fabuloso.

I play it every day as my main practice amp. Built about 10 years ago and restored to service after a vacation.

I'm currently working on a Harvard and another 6SL7 Princeton but plan to make them a little more upscale, in regulation pine cabs and whatnot. Hopefully I can make them look as good as they sound this time!

[Sidney Vicious]

Originally Posted by mojo2001

Here's my King Pimp (tm) 12SL7/12V6 octal Princeton built in a Squier 15 cab I trashpicked. I recovered it with red faux ostrich print leather from Tandy Leather in Austin. Features a backlit logo which was a color transparency until it fell out and I replaced it with a laser printout on copy paper.

Now, is that ghetto or what?

I used 12V tubes because I had an old Stancor transformer with a 12V filament line and I also had the tubes. All parts are scavenged.

For years I used an old 8" Jensen PM speaker that came out of a 1948 Hammond Solovox, patched up with Zig-Zags and rubber cement, but it died last month. Just put a nice vintage P8R in there and it sounds fabuloso.

I play it every day as my main practice amp. Built about 10 years ago and restored to service after a vacation.

I'm currently working on a Harvard and another 6SL7 Princeton but plan to make them a little more upscale, in regulation pine cabs and whatnot. Hopefully I can make them look as good as they sound this time!

You win. That thing is ug-lee!

[6942]

I still have a Teisco Checkmate 88 amp....purchased as my first amp in 1969.
God-awful SS amp with two crappy 8" speakers.
Upgraded the speakers in the 80's with a pair of 8" Speco Alnico's.
That upgraded the amp from God-awful....to just plain awful.

Steve

[Vol. Knob]

Originally Posted by bowlfreshener

I turned my old piece of junk, non-functional Crate amp into a fully functional junky cabinet:

I love it. When a combo dies (or was junk to begin with), just turn it into a speaker cab (see my previous post).

I sold off all my non-junker amps. I only use the Teisco and the Newcomb now. Probably not a good idea since they both are prone to random breakdowns, but then they magically fix themselves. And they both sound amazing.

Check out this cab that my '50s Newcomb sits atop. Its an old Chanute KS made Kustom that I found in a dumpster at a hospital. I loaded it with an old organ speaker and the original 10 incher from the Teisco (my Teisco Checkmate 15 now has a totally awesome Altec 425-8H).


Check out the innards for my Newcomb A-10. Real point-to-point, total electrocution hazard.

[toadman]

Originally Posted by Vol. Knob

I love it. When a combo dies (or was junk to begin with), just turn it into a speaker cab (see my previous post).

I sold off all my non-junker amps. I only use the Teisco and the Newcomb now. Probably not a good idea since they both are prone to random breakdowns, but then they magically fix themselves. And they both sound amazing.

Check out this cab that my '50s Newcomb sits atop. Its an old Chanute KS made Kustom that I found in a dumpster at a hospital. I loaded it with an old organ speaker and the original 10 incher from the Teisco (my Teisco Checkmate 15 now has a totally awesome Altec 425-8H).


Check out the innards for my Newcomb A-10. Real point-to-point, total electrocution hazard.

wow! that a-10 look as if the parts were just tossed in and soldered wherever they fell!

[Vol. Knob]

Some of those orange caps look like they've been slowly dripping wax for decades. But when I took it into Don Jones (Jones amps, back when he was in Topeka KS, http://www.jonesamplifiers.com/) he said they were still kicking. Don went through and made sure I wouldnt actually get electrocuted, and he tweaked a few things to make it more "guitar friendly". He kept saying "Its so simple, so basic" over and over as he was checking it out.

[bowlfreshener]

Vol. Knob, nice work! I have a 2x12 combo amp that once it dies will probably become a cab as well.

[mojo2001]

You win. That thing is ug-lee!

I'm with you on that, Bro. Totally sick of looking at it. It was a spur of the moment weekend project for a small portable harp amp when the only other amp I owned was a big 5C3.

A new Squier 15 cabinet would be nice--will have to keep an eye on the roadside pickup action.

The thing is it really sounds great at practice levels--creamy, fat, just a touch of edge. I have a SF champ and have had a couple other 5W amps but the "King Pimp" always rules. I'm a big fan of the 6SL7 in guitar amps--sets the gain just how I like it.

I also used some dubious plastic case paper caps from the 50s in this project--Tiny Chiefs, Tropicaps, sort of thing. Undoubtedly leaky as hell, but that is surely part of the recipe.

I just ordered a tweed Champ cab and plan to rebuild this thing into a decent middle class lifestyle amp...hopefully I will not booger up the tone in the process.

[4 Strings]

Originally Posted by mojo2001

I just ordered a tweed Champ cab and plan to rebuild this thing into a decent middle class lifestyle amp...hopefully I will not booger up the tone in the process.

NOOOO, don't do it! That amp is a beauty! ...in much the same way as... say... erhhh...

The cool thing is that it sounds so good.

[marantz1300]

i got this at a boot sale for £12.I have the original speaker but i'm go'na try a vintage fane i have.

[4 Strings]

Marantz1300, that was one beautiful amp! I don' know if I would have paid that much for it though...

What is it like? Tube setup? Sound? Please tell us more!

I can't see for sure on those pics, but I hope you have changed to a grounded three prong cord if it came with un un-grounded power cord...

[4 Strings]

Hi all!
I finished my 5C5 Junkmaster a couple of hours ago and fired it up.
Much to my surprise it worked from the very beginning. Nothing burned, no smoke, no funny smells ('cept for me having spent all of yesterday night and today bent over the chassis soldering and wiring the amp) and turning the standby switch to "on", out of the speakers came S-O-U-N-D!!! Ahh, what a feeling!

Since I live in an apartment I have not been able to crank it yet to hear how it really sounds. Neither have I changed the 12AX7's in v1 and v2 for 12AY7's yet. But so far I am happy just to hear that the crap works!

I made some measurements. Here's what I got:

338-0-338 VAC (OT spec'd for 320-0-320 VAC...)
429 VDC B+ (SS recto)
360 VDC on the 6L6GC screen grids
79 VDC on v1's plates (measured on pins 2 & 5 after the 250k plate resistors)
87 VDC on v2's plates (measured as above)
183 VDC (v3a) and 189 VDC (v3a) on v3's plates respectively (measured as above)

Cheers!

A.

[marantz1300]

4 strings. here is some info i got from the guys on the vintage amps board. http://www.chambonino.com/work/miscguitar/misc12.html it sounds great as it is .you can drive it flat out ,with out killing the neighbours. it sounds superb with a extension cab. i use my hiwatt or boogies cabs.

[endzone]

Originally Posted by skeksis

not sure I should even put this out there BUT:

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fu...oID=21147 203

not really a cobbled-together junker, but instead junker straight from the factory. green spray-painted Airline/Wards amp from the 60's. slightly mashed cab and you have to experiment to figure out which knobs do what... Nice thick tones, though, and very reasonable volumes. forgive the camera's mic limitations and the rough improv playing. but you get the idea.

You say on your My Space below the video that you were going to be selling the Green amp. Are you? I liked the tones it put out.

[skeksis]

endzone -- I'd picked up the thing non-functioning for next to nothing, fixed it (electronics anyway) and intended to sell it. I put it in on craigslist with the video, but... I wanted $200 and no one was willing to pay it. It's worth more than that to me :-)

SO, I started playing the thing more & more... I'm pretty attached to it by this point. No plans to sell it, though my amp "collection" is nearing the point where I'll need to move something out before long. It's still got the 2-prong cord so I don't use it for rehearsals or gigging. BUT tone-wise it's top tier and I could imagine recording with it sometime. Lovely for the roots rock/alt country type stuff I tend to play.

[sunkidd]

homemade two 6V6, two 12AX7, one rectifier tube, amp with a ten inch speaker...sounds awesome!

[endzone]

Originally Posted by skeksis

endzone -- I'd picked up the thing non-functioning for next to nothing, fixed it (electronics anyway) and intended to sell it. I put it in on craigslist with the video, but... I wanted $200 and no one was willing to pay it. It's worth more than that to me :-)

SO, I started playing the thing more & more... I'm pretty attached to it by this point. No plans to sell it, though my amp "collection" is nearing the point where I'll need to move something out before long. It's still got the 2-prong cord so I don't use it for rehearsals or gigging. BUT tone-wise it's top tier and I could imagine recording with it sometime. Lovely for the roots rock/alt country type stuff I tend to play.

skeksis, I don't blame you a bit. I don't need another amp either but I'm a sucker for old ugly tone machines.

[4 Strings]

Originally Posted by endzone

skeksis, I don't blame you a bit. I don't need another amp either but I'm a sucker for old ugly tone machines.

I think we're getting into dangerous territory here, discussing such terms as peoples need for amps. I thought it came with the TDPRI rules that a man's need for amps is immeasurable and insatiable falling into the must-not-be-further-discussed category. + =