schundog Posted November 25, 2015 Author Share Posted November 25, 2015 Best sweater ever!! From reading your whole post, Shundog, I'd be willing to bet that this guy would be a hoot to hang with. Who doesn't like a cold PBR? Looks like you're going to end up with an awesome amp when it's all said and done. He is quite a character. He smokes like a chimney. When the store closed this day at 4:00, and turned out the lights and locked the door, he barely waited for the door to lock before he lit one up inside. He had stepped outside twice to burn one in the 45 minutes I had been there, and he was happy to not have to go out into the windy cold day yet again. He has an old photo taped up of himself from 20 years or so ago doing a gig. I'll try to get a shot of it. I've heard him play fingerstyle acoustic and sing. He has a very soothing style. Communication isn't his strong suit, and he either likes you or he doesn't. For some reason, I seem to be his buddy (of course, I DO owe him money...) He says too many people want to bug him when he's trying to get $hit done. He's the type of guy that, when you ask him what time it is, he tells you how to build a Swiss watch. This takes longer than it would take anyone else, because he's got the habit of starting a sentence before he's thought it through, and stops mid-sentence, waits 4 seconds, adds an "uhh... uhh....uhh" and then finishes up. This is not a once-in-a-while thing, but nearly every sentence. The owner of Monster, Tommy, does a great impression of Brian's "uhh...uhhh.uhhh." It has me rolling every time he does it. I told him one time "Shame on you, man...you probably do an impression of ME, too, don't you?!" (I seem to have distinct mannerisms/voice patterns too, I'm told.) He smiled wickedly, giving me my answer, so I did what any mature man in his late 40s does to a buddy. I gave him a Purple Nurple.... Is he going to fix the Normal Channel for you? Or, at least connect it something? I don't think it would be worth it, Kenny, other than resale value. I'm not worrying about it right now, anyway. After he put the chassis back in, we fired it up and played it. Much, Much better. The bright switch is working now, but... the reverb, which I thought seemed somewhat weak, was actually non-existent. I went back in today to drop off the footswitch that only had one RCA connector, needed the other attached, and while Brian wasn't there, they told me he had replaced the reverb tank. I tried it out, and it's heavenly. Hopefully I'll bring the patient home soon. Nothing was covered by Blue Cross/Blue Shield, unfortunately.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schundog Posted November 26, 2015 Author Share Posted November 26, 2015 Well, I got the call late yesterday afternoon that it was done, I could come pick it up within the hour, or wait until Friday or Saturday. I decided to beat feet down there and pick it up last night. He wanted to go over, again, everything he did, which I appreciated. Then he almost apologetically told me what I owed, which, at around $300, was more than I would have hoped to have to put into the amp, but considering everything he did, and that over $100 was parts, I felt was more than fair. He gave me the bag of old parts, save for the reverb tank that I told him he could keep if he wanted it. I brought it home, and it sounds fantastic; very solid bottom end, and the great cleans and high end I expect from a good Fender amp. If this adventure taught me anything, it's that these old amps can be a crap-shoot; Yes, they can be brought back to life if they are sick, but you had better build the tech time/parts into the equation before purchasing, or you could easily get burned. I'm very pleased with the final product, and the journey was a fun one. While I didn't go on a quest to do it, I now have refurbished Fender amps from the 50s, 60s, and 70s. They all do their own thing very well, and will get most of the play time of any amps I have, as long as volume isn't an issue. Even the 5 Watt Champ is quite loud. Thanks for coming along for the ride on this one, guys. Oh, when I got there last night, Brian was making a rounded piece of plastic to attach to a drill/dremel tool. I asked him what it was for, and he told me it was to burnish the edges on leather amp handles, like the one he had made for the Univox that I sold to them a couple of weeks ago. He then turned sideways and showed me what he meant, by showing me the belt he was wearing and had, of course, made himself. A much younger Brian in his gigging days. Going over the "invoice." You know you're in Central Illinois when your amp tech wears a Dekalb Seed corn hat.... The previous owner of the amp had decorated the footswitch with these snazzy stickers.... One of the RCA plugs was missing, so Brian had to solder a new one on. He said, believe it or not, this was one of the more difficult parts of the job, because of the braided wiring being a pain. The old parts. The Three Amigos. 59 Champ, 67 Pro Reverb, 77 Vibrolux Reverb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gitfiddler Posted November 26, 2015 Share Posted November 26, 2015 Brian, this thread has been as satisfying as a Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings! Enjoy your new-old Silverface. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanschoyck Posted November 27, 2015 Share Posted November 27, 2015 I don't think you over spent, especially considering that you end up with 3 amps that are really worth owning. It's easy to spend a lot more and end up with a lot less. Well played I say! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
212Mavguy Posted November 27, 2015 Share Posted November 27, 2015 300 bucks is a bargain for what he did. Add that to what you paid for it, go to eBay and see what the market value range is for that amp, plenty of power and still decently portable...winner winner TONE for dinner. Any one that thinks too much money was spent is suffering from rectal-cranial inversion. My compliments! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hfan Posted December 16, 2015 Share Posted December 16, 2015 Late to the party on this one..great thread Brian..nice your tech gets recognition too. Interesting dude, old school which I like and sounds like he's honest too. Nice find. Love that Blackface in your pic too. I have a 73 Twin, my old high school amp. I blackfaced it myself from what I could learn on the net even installed an adjustable bias to balance the two power circuit stages (two pwr tubes each..something like that years ago..forget ha ha). Worked ok but had some gremlins. Brought it to Dave's Sound in Whippany NJ, close to Tbone's neighborhood..Dave removed half the crap I put in and did it up proper... In the winter the thing will heat up the family room nicely and I can see my electric bill climb by the minute ha ha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schundog Posted December 17, 2015 Author Share Posted December 17, 2015 Thanks, Pete. I can't believe how much better this thing sounds now. I had it loud and proud tonight through a 535 with some reverb and tremolo going on some Christmas tunes. Played until my fingers were sore. Even did a small modification to put the amp in the Christmas spirit..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
212Mavguy Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 YaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaY! Fantastic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RhoadsScholar Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 Great Stuff Brian. Glad you took the time to document it along the way. Nice trio you have their. Next you need to add an 80's rivera era amp (last of the point to point mass production fenders). I happen to love the Concert, but the Superchamp from that era (not the new super champs) is something I am always on the lookout for. They also made a princeton reverb II which is pretty cool. (Can't leave out the 80s) If you don't add the 80's you have a nice wall of sound to work with. Take care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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