Why does HAD use vintage Fenders to do complete rebuilds?

[StratStringSlinger]

I'm wondering if the knowledge folks here can explain why HAD chooses to gut vintage Fenders to do a complete rebuild? From what I understand, he's mostly doing these now instead of building complete amps. However, it seems on the new 'mods' pretty much everything is new, sometimes even the output transformer. Empty chassis are pretty cheap and easy to find. Are the old pots really any better than current production pots? Please don't make this a save vintage amp discussion; I'm just curious if there is any technical reason why an amp builder prefers to start with vintage chassis/pots and maybe old iron. Especially given the easy and plentiful sources of even Fender repro chassis and great transformers.

[ToneMerc]

I'm wondering if the knowledge folks here can explain why HAD chooses to gut vintage Fenders to do a complete rebuild? From what I understand, he's mostly doing these now instead of building complete amps. However, it seems on the new 'mods' pretty much everything is new, sometimes even the output transformer. Empty chassis are pretty cheap and easy to find. Are the old pots really any better than current production pots? Please don't make this a save vintage amp discussion; I'm just curious if there is any technical reason why an amp builder prefers to start with vintage chassis/pots and maybe old iron. Especially given the easy and plentiful sources of even Fender repro chassis and great transformers.

1. My observation is that "gut vintage Fenders to do a complete rebuild" is too loosely used.

2. His legacy builds/circuitry were many times used common Fender amp parts, so he is just continuing to use components that he's always felt comfortable or desired using for his circuit topologies, because they are still available.

3. Using a donor amp has several advantages:
A. Not all Fender chassis styles are available in repro. For example, there's only one way to get a BF Dual Showman chassis for a UltraPhonix.
B. Get access to the correct Fender taper thick track carbon pots and seasoned output iron.
C. It's just plain cheaper, less labor intensive and less time consuming.....by the time you chase down a repro chassis, faceplates, adequate new iron and the vintage pots ala carte, you could have just purchased a $400-$600 donor amp and get all the advantages of above.

My wooden nickles worth

TM

[mhartman]

1. My observation is that "gut vintage Fenders to do a complete rebuild" is too loosely used.

I agree with this -- I haven't seen any complete "gut jobs" by HAD. They may be out there, but, from those that I've seen, they are typically more on the "mod" side of things.

Regarding the original question, Fenders are kind of a standard, default platform that make a good starting point for HAD's amps. Basically, they are a known quantity with quality parts -- also, they were available in abundance.

[CHIP]

Does HAD take those old pots apart and clean them?
What about wear on a 40 to 50 year old pot, is there any concern about that?
I just have a hard time with building a new amp and installing a 40 year old pot.

[Reeltarded]

Not me! I have way more problems using 4 day old anything. Most everything I do is based on a pre-1973 amplifier donor. Barring filtering and supply caps, it takes 1.5 donors to make a monster.

[ToneMerc]

I just have a hard time with building a new amp and installing a 40 year old pot.

Not me, on my last high voltage skyliner build it took me 8 months to get the right pots and I just got the second 1M 30% that I need for my next high voltage build.

I'll take any 40 year pot you dont want and clean it with 99.9% alky followed by deoxit fader lube.

TM

[David Root]

+1 on old pots.

I have taken to buying old PCB mount pots and drilling or bending and trimming the strip connectors. Much cheaper and easier to find than the proper solder lug type. Clarostat and Stackpole mostly so far.

[CHIP]

Sounds like old pots are the way to go!
But I've built some great sounding amps using various new type pots.

[Reeltarded]

Yeah, I like crappy Alphas too!

[ER]

Actually, in my opinion and observation he's doing work on NEW fender amps more often than not now days. It most likely depends on what people have to work with or the sound they're after. Those old blackface amps on ebay are most likely from back in the day, where as the tweeds and devilles and reissues you see on stage are still in use and not part of some estate sale.

The other thing is you can get the tone and not have something that draws too much attention or becomes too valuable to take on the road. Something kind of cool about having a "sleeper" amp.

The point of the matter is someone like HAD can make just about anything sound great with ohms, farads, and volts, not with vintage mojo or voodoo ingredients (though those are helpful for us mere mortals who don't know all the secrets yet). Case in point there are many blackface amps out there that have all that stuff aged like a fine wine, but not all of them have the magic that certain ones do, where as HAD can PUT the magic into the amps that are missing it. Most of those old amps are one's customers already own that they want to make sound better.

[Blackburn]

Actually, I think Howard is churning out amps more frequently than people think. He buys trannies pretty regularly from Mercury Mag. Would be cool to see a new one make its way to Youtube.

[59Pro]

Actually, I think Howard is churning out amps more frequently than people think.

Correct. One would be very surprised how many famous people play Fenders and Marshalls which are rebuilt by Dumble

BTW, both of my amps (BF Fender amps) Alexander gutted completely and rebuilt them new.

C. It's just plain cheaper, less labor intensive and less time consuming.....by the time you chase down a repro chassis, faceplates, adequate new iron and the vintage pots ala carte, you could have just purchased a $400-$600 donor amp and get all the advantages of above.

Very true!

[Structo]

I have tried NOS pots, Allen-Bradley, CTS, Clarostat, etc.

I haven't really noticed any mojo with them.

In fact I had purchased two NOS AB 1M pots for my Dumble clone and both turned out to be defective!

I always seem to come back to Alpha's, cheap and work good.

[Blackburn]

Actually, I think Howard is churning out amps more frequently than people think.

Correct. One would be very surprised how many famous people play Fenders and Marshalls which are rebuilt by Dumble

BTW, both of my amps (BF Fender amps) Alexander gutted completely and rebuilt them new.

C. It's just plain cheaper, less labor intensive and less time consuming.....by the time you chase down a repro chassis, faceplates, adequate new iron and the vintage pots ala carte, you could have just purchased a $400-$600 donor amp and get all the advantages of above.

Very true!

All I can say is... You lucky mothaf$%#er.

JK. Very cool, man. How long ago did that take place?

[59Pro]

[/quote]

All I can say is... You lucky mothaf$%#er.

JK. Very cool, man. How long ago did that take place?[/quote]

Yep, I consider myself very lucky.
I took delivery in 2009 and 2011