Hey ya,
I've picked up a 1966 Ampeg Reverberocket (R12RB) here in the UK. It sounds brilliant clean, but lately it's not feeling too well though, the output is poor inspite of new power tubes & speaker and the pushed/overdriven tone sounds kinda spikey, almost like it's gated- on inspection it looks like some stock components have been replaced with whatever was lying on the bench at the time, e.g. the can sized filter cap has been replaced by a Fendery-looking improv job, the cathode bias cap has been replaced with something that just looks completely wrong... there could be a lot of work to be done on this thing to get it sounding mint again.
I'm wondering whether it'll be worth my time & money to ship the amp home, or should I try & pawn it off here? Anyone dealt with these puppies in NZ before? How do they sound when they're working properly? Worth keeping? Big Stu, are you there?
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What about the used/vintage amp market ...
What about the used/vintage amp market in NZ at the moment? I checked out a trade me auction the other day and there were some nice old kiwi-made Jansen valve amps going fairly cheaply- maybe I'd be better off selling up in the UK and finding something truly unique back home...
this is probably not what you want to ...
this is probably not what you want to hear...I'd sell it and buy somthing new. I think im saying this because im old and grumpy and because I'v spend years keeping fender twins healthy, and am sick of them...(and they are bluddy heavy!) finally ended up with a modern vox ac30 ... couldnt believe how good it sounded.
But: if you truely have a passion for vintage guitar sounds, it obviously would be a good thing to get it sorted....if only to preserve history....and all the better if it was to become the corner stone of your sound.
Its just for touring and heavy duty studio work I like reliability..hence the vox. Still have a fender twin, its nice to have other flavors in the studio.
Cheers for that Birdi :-) I ...
Cheers for that Birdi :-)
I definitely have a head VS heart battle going on with the Reverberocket. I really would love to bring it home, but I can't help but ask myself whether the cost of shipping + import duty + resale value of the amp in Britain would be worth something better (& more reliable) in NZ. Head says yes. Heart says no...
I can certainly understand where you ...
I can certainly understand where you are coming from! If the valves and ransformers are good it would probably be worth trying to get it sorted. As it is pretty old I wouldn't be surprised if a fair number of the components have drifted from their original values.
I don't really know a great deal abot these particular amps but I managed to hunt out a circuit diagram. It looks reasonably standard and has all the values on it. if your are interested it is at the link below.
The replacement of the can cap is OK provided that the correct values have been substituted in. As for the cathode bypass cap ... if this is the wrong value then it could certainly impact on the sound. If I remember correctly (and I stand to be corrected on this cos it was a long time ago) an incorrect value can increase negative feedback within the amp thus reducing gain. It would probably pay to get the amp checked out by a tech who knows about this kinda stuff ... if you are heading back to Wellington I am sure you will be able to find someone who can help.
I guess it is really up to you how much you spend on bringing it back and getting it seen to. Chances are if you decide to sell it once you get back to Aotearoa you could get a better price for it here ... depedning on how rare it is. Good vintage combos of any type are pretty hard to find.
Hope this helps
[ external link ]
//Good vintage combos of any type are ...
//Good vintage combos of any type are pretty hard to find
http://www.trademe.co.nz/structure/auction_detail.asp?id=42585992
That is a lovely looking amp ......
That is a lovely looking amp ...
That twin sure is mighty purty... ...
That twin sure is mighty purty... unfortunately I am not the right person for that amp either...
Cheers Big Stu-I found a schematic on the net too, but what would be really useful to me (not being hugely technically minded) is a layout diagram, or photos of a stock circuitboard so I could physically see what has been altered or changed. No luck finding that, unfortunately.
I was thinking that if it's just a matter of replacing a few old resistors that it wouldn't cost as much as I fear. I've even found an Ampeg enthusiasts website where I can get some of the more obscure parts (incl. transformers).
The cathode bias cap is supposed to be a 25uf/25v electrolytic, but obviously there wasn't one handy, so it looks like someone's wired two great big, bright blue 50uf/500v electrolytics in parallel... they're so big that they don't fit inside the housing- he's had to take a couple of leads down from the circuit board and mount them on the inside wall of the cabinet! I was relieved that at least the bypass resistor looked original, but like you say, after 40 years it's likely that it's not what it used to be. My techie gear is severely limited here in the UK, so there's very little I can do other than paw over a schematic and get myself frustrated...
I'm going to bring it home, man. Sometimes the best things in life are worth a wait & a little effort, huh?
Hrm, Tom from Fanatix has one of these, ...
Hrm, Tom from Fanatix has one of these, maybe he will pipe in...?
They are cool amps, I'd be happy to recondition it for ya :-)
--
Darren
Lucidtone Electronics
[ http://lucidtone.com/ ]
Wicked- I think it has a few features ...
Wicked- I think it has a few features in common with the Lucidtone amp- same octal preamp valves, anyway.