Hi, everyone. I'm lurking around here and wanted to share a project that I'm working on. I recently acquired a troublesome Silverface Twin. I plan on bringing it back to life. I've started a blog to document my project. Thanks to everyone that has posted in this community. I'm busy searching away to help me along.
Well here's a link to the project.
http://73twin.tumblr.com
I just started to explore this amp
Hello and my 73(?) Silverface Twin Reverb "rebuild"
Moderators: pompeiisneaks, Colossal
-
beasleybodyshop
- Posts: 1089
- Joined: Tue Jul 02, 2013 12:51 am
- Location: East Texas (Yee Yee!)
Re: Hello and my 73(?) Silverface Twin Reverb "rebuild"
SF rebuilds are always fun!
I saw where you commented that it looked like a dog had chewed on the knobs - mine had that same look. Its what happens when someone tips the amp over on its face!
Good luck. If you have any questions, the guys here can answer them; they know what they are doing, but im already sure you knew that!
I saw where you commented that it looked like a dog had chewed on the knobs - mine had that same look. Its what happens when someone tips the amp over on its face!
Good luck. If you have any questions, the guys here can answer them; they know what they are doing, but im already sure you knew that!
"It's like what Lenin said... you look for the person who will benefit, and, uh, uh..."
-
Stevem
- Posts: 5144
- Joined: Fri Jan 24, 2014 3:01 pm
- Location: 1/3rd the way out one of the arms of the Milkyway.
Re: Hello and my 73(?) Silverface Twin Reverb "rebuild"
if the amps speakers are the original Utah/ Fender orange lable., be sure to pull them and check to see if they have been played to death!
Many times they are not blown out, but the surround and spider are so shot that playing a good working amp turned up to 3 will push the drivers to the limit of there excursion and in turn sound like crap!
Many times they are not blown out, but the surround and spider are so shot that playing a good working amp turned up to 3 will push the drivers to the limit of there excursion and in turn sound like crap!
When I die, I want to go like my Grandfather did, peacefully in his sleep.
Not screaming like the passengers in his car!
Cutting out a man's tongue does not mean he’s a liar, but it does show that you fear the truth he might speak about you!
Not screaming like the passengers in his car!
Cutting out a man's tongue does not mean he’s a liar, but it does show that you fear the truth he might speak about you!
Re: Hello and my 73(?) Silverface Twin Reverb "rebuild"
Hey thanks for the responses. I gave it a good once over to establish my starting point. I brought it to a very reputable local technician to confirm my findings and give me any professional advice/guidance before I get going.
As of now, 2 big power issues: when you plug the amp in, the pilot light turns on and the tubes light up. ON switch seems to do nothing, Standby switch works as it should.
2nd. the volume is nowhere near where it should be. I should be peeling paint at the levels that i'm set at.
filter caps look like they have all been recently replaced. the balance pot looks like it was modded to a bias pot. I wanted a professional set of eyes on it before I charge in there with a soldering iron.
When I get the amp back I can figure out my plan of attack.
Haven't got too far with the speakers. The cones look like they have had some work. Didn't dig deeper. I want to evaluate them more and see if I want to keep them off to the side and maybe put something else in there.
As of now, 2 big power issues: when you plug the amp in, the pilot light turns on and the tubes light up. ON switch seems to do nothing, Standby switch works as it should.
2nd. the volume is nowhere near where it should be. I should be peeling paint at the levels that i'm set at.
filter caps look like they have all been recently replaced. the balance pot looks like it was modded to a bias pot. I wanted a professional set of eyes on it before I charge in there with a soldering iron.
When I get the amp back I can figure out my plan of attack.
Haven't got too far with the speakers. The cones look like they have had some work. Didn't dig deeper. I want to evaluate them more and see if I want to keep them off to the side and maybe put something else in there.
-
gui_tarzan
- Posts: 607
- Joined: Thu Jan 16, 2014 3:10 am
- Location: The 26th State
Re: Hello and my 73(?) Silverface Twin Reverb "rebuild"
As someone who is not nearly the expert as many others on this site, there are several steps I take when looking at an amp for the first time. Before even turning it on I look at:
Tubes and sockets - are any of them loose? Do you have tubes to change out and see if you have a bad one (or more?)
Solder joints - are any visibly broken or even questionable? I will re-solder anything that doesn't look right.
Caps, resistors, etc. - are any discolored, bubbled, burned, look like they've been replaced and/or are the correct values? Are they actually oriented right? Polarized electrolytic caps have to be in the right way or things won't work as expected and you could blow them up. My son found this out by mistake in electronics class in high school.
Transformers - any signs of overheating (gunk coming out of the bell cover holes, discoloration on the core or bell covers)
Are any parts missing? I always have a schematic on hand to compare to.
Is the speaker hooked up and/or good? Do you have another one to test with?
Once I do this I then power it up and see what works and what doesn't. Since you're admittedly a newbie you've taken the right first step of having an experienced tech look at it first. Always keep in mind the high voltages that CAN kill you if you're not careful, including the high voltage caps on the board and in the cap can. Do you know how to discharge them properly?
Make sure you scour the technical posts here before you dive into it, there is an amazing amount of great information by some highly qualified techs and it will help you tremendously like it has me. Doing so will help you stay safe and educate you to make this a very fun hobby.
Tubes and sockets - are any of them loose? Do you have tubes to change out and see if you have a bad one (or more?)
Solder joints - are any visibly broken or even questionable? I will re-solder anything that doesn't look right.
Caps, resistors, etc. - are any discolored, bubbled, burned, look like they've been replaced and/or are the correct values? Are they actually oriented right? Polarized electrolytic caps have to be in the right way or things won't work as expected and you could blow them up. My son found this out by mistake in electronics class in high school.
Transformers - any signs of overheating (gunk coming out of the bell cover holes, discoloration on the core or bell covers)
Are any parts missing? I always have a schematic on hand to compare to.
Is the speaker hooked up and/or good? Do you have another one to test with?
Once I do this I then power it up and see what works and what doesn't. Since you're admittedly a newbie you've taken the right first step of having an experienced tech look at it first. Always keep in mind the high voltages that CAN kill you if you're not careful, including the high voltage caps on the board and in the cap can. Do you know how to discharge them properly?
Make sure you scour the technical posts here before you dive into it, there is an amazing amount of great information by some highly qualified techs and it will help you tremendously like it has me. Doing so will help you stay safe and educate you to make this a very fun hobby.
--Jim
"He's like a new set of strings, he just needs to be stretched a bit."
"He's like a new set of strings, he just needs to be stretched a bit."