New Amp Day

[andrewsrea]

... I much prefer the SCXD to the DRRI!

I have a client who owns a 1965 Fender Twin reissue, an early Fender Supersonic 22 and A Fender SCXD. He doesn't like volume above conversational levels (plays around 78dB) and the SCXD was his absolute favorite until I tweaked his SS22 which included a speaker change to a much flatter Eminence type. Those SCXD are impressive, and I am surprised they were not more popular.

I could not express the deciBell level with exact accuracy, but would agree (that once your ears get beyond a certain age ) ANY SOUND above some dB level is nothing but noise!

Agreed.

I had my hearing tested in my early 50's because I spent years stage left and typically having the drummer's crash cymbal about 20" from my right ear. I heard very uniformly up to 17KHz, which surprised me (my wife even more). I took a test last year and my hearing went to 11KHz and literally stopped. Thank God, I never developed tinnitus like many I know.

When I mix and master home recordings, I have taken to keeping it at 80dB to 85dB average and bringing in younger ears to ask how that superhigh frequency sounds.

[andrewsrea]

Thanks so much Rob. I was wondering if there was a way to tighten the pin sockets. If you move the tube at all, you can hear pops. Also before I swapped the tubes, it would oscillate very loud on turn off and pop loud when in and out of standby mode. I don’t usually use standby mode, but just testing it out when I first turned it on. Thanks again. When I first tried the amp at his house , all was fine.

And I had the amp out already looking for bad solder joints for the socket in question, something touching where it should not, or just anything out of the ordinary. While I had it out and the larger tubes removed, the rectifier was knocked off the table by a family member and cracked. So I had to order another before I could try it again. Think I am going to buy some spare tubes for no downtime again. Also ordered a couple of replacement sockets with the rectifier tube, so I have a couple if necessary down the road.

That could be a broken socket or solder joint. Look for remnants of arcing (black & brown spots). Socket solder lugs / tabs will break at the base of the socket. Also check the 470ohm screen grid resistor. When they are just about to fail, they can become variable with current and begin to oscillate. Bad filter caps can also create oscillations. If the amp has Illinois caps check the date code (typically starts with 2 digits for the year and then 2 for the week). They have a bad shelf life (unused) and not so great useful life (about 3 to 4 years).

[SamIV]

The joys of getting older. It does have some good points. Well, it not all good though.

[SamIV]

In coming tuck and roll Bassman 50 with matching 8x10 cabinet. Has not been plugged in in 15 years or so. Guess I need look into a variac.

[SamIV]

Thanks so much Rob. I was wondering if there was a way to tighten the pin sockets. If you move the tube at all, you can hear pops. Also before I swapped the tubes, it would oscillate very loud on turn off and pop loud when in and out of standby mode. I don’t usually use standby mode, but just testing it out when I first turned it on. Thanks again. When I first tried the amp at his house , all was fine.

And I had the amp out already looking for bad solder joints for the socket in question, something touching where it should not, or just anything out of the ordinary. While I had it out and the larger tubes removed, the rectifier was knocked off the table by a family member and cracked. So I had to order another before I could try it again. Think I am going to buy some spare tubes for no downtime again. Also ordered a couple of replacement sockets with the rectifier tube, so I have a couple if necessary down the road.

That could be a broken socket or solder joint. Look for remnants of arcing (black & brown spots). Socket solder lugs / tabs will break at the base of the socket. Also check the 470ohm screen grid resistor. When they are just about to fail, they can become variable with current and begin to oscillate. Bad filter caps can also create oscillations. If the amp has Illinois caps check the date code (typically starts with 2 digits for the year and then 2 for the week). They have a bad shelf life (unused) and not so great useful life (about 3 to 4 years).

It’s a 2021 amp. Will look into all you mentioned when I pull it apart again. Seems to be ok for the moment. I moved all the socket solder joints a bit all seemed ok. Put it back together and it’s working fine now . Will see what the future brings. See my post above about the Bassman 50. A bit more of a challenge.

[tobijohn]

Wayyyyyyy tooooooo many guitars, for sure. And I've never owned a bass either, at least not up to now. However, that being said, there's a HB Rick 4004 copy I keep looking at:

https://www.thomannmusic.com/harley_ben ... _lh_cs.htm

do it!

I really like mine.

I'm waiting for the right combination of B-stocks to show up as the cost of shipping two is just about the same as shipping one...

[golem]

Nice find! Andy, when he was working at Pro Guitar Shop doing demos, did a poll asking what amp they wanted him to do demos on. DRRI was by far the winner from what I recall.

I always love the Fender sound. A bit of me wants them to have an FX loop, a gain control, and a master volume.

[andrewsrea]

2B0417B6-1300-4F00-BC1E-B8CB97F40F10.jpeg


In coming tuck and roll Bassman 50 with matching 8x10 cabinet. Has not been plugged in in 15 years or so. Guess I need look into a variac.

PM me if you would like to do a real-time FB video chat, if you'd like me to coach you through a safe initial startup.

[SamIV]

Thanks for the offer. This is my brother in laws amp. Have to wait on delivery. It’s such a cool looking part of the past. Very much appreciate your offer. Back in the 70’s I owned a scope, tube tester, signal generator, DC power supply and a couple trusty old Simpsons. Those were the days. I will definitely take you up on your generous offer.