What kind of amp is this ? (w/ Picture)

[bleubleu]

Hi!

Anyone know what kind of amp this is ?
It says AutoVox and seems to have 8 tubes on it...



Mat

[Sir H C]

Probably a pretty generic little PA amplifier.  With some modding it could probably be made a monster.

That is sitting on an amazing early 60s Fender cream cabinet painted black though.

[bleubleu]

1958 US Fender cab, but there is a catch. It doesnt have the original speaker   

Mat

[Rodgre]

I only count 7 tubes on the Autovox. (You may have been counting the capacitor to the left of the center transformer as a tube).

I don't know anything about Autovox, but I would agree that it's possibly a PA amplifier. The fact that there are no jacks on the front lead me to believe that there are multiple inputs on the back, like a mixer.

Roger

[GibsonGM]

You could tweak the hell out of that thing and get something really nice, I think!  Move the pilot light to the right and insert your input jack...you'd probably have to change some cathode resistors etc to get some 'dirt', maybe different pre tubes n' stuff.  Well worth trying to find a schematic online.
What kind of output tubes does that have (the Sylvanias)?

[bleubleu]

Rodgre : Oh, I see! Its a cap. I simply assumed all cylinders were lamps. hehe.
GibsonGM ; Cool! Right now it sits in my brothers appartment, I will get my hands on it in a few days. So I dont know more than what we see on the picture.

Thanks for the information!

Mat

[m-theory]

1958 US Fender cab

Nope.  The first piggyback amps didn't appear until 1960.  Everything prior to 1960 was tweed, and none of those were piggyback.

This appears to be a single speaker cabinet.  If that single is a 12", it's either a '61 Bandmaster or a 61-62 Bassman.  If it's a 15", it's a 60-62 Showman (based upon the maroon grille cloth...'63 had the same everything except that the grille cloth was "wheat"). 

It's a shame that people painted these things, but it seems to have been fairly common.  I don't know that it can be cleaned up, but the cabinets are very easy to recover, and all materials are readily available for not too much. 

The amp does appear to be some sort of PA concoction, and would likely be a terrific candidate for an awesome custom build.  Looks to be around 40-50 watts. 

[bleubleu]

Cool, my bad.

I dont know if its a 12" of 15". It belongs to my brother and I am not sure how he got it.
As I said, its not even the original speaker so I dont know if its really wort the trouble of cleaning it up.

Thanks!

Mat

[theehman]

Send me the model # of the amp and I'll see if I can scare up a schematic.

[bleubleu]

Ok, I have the amp now.

It is made by an old unknown company here in quebec name AutoVox.
That explains the french/english labels.
I have not tried it yet, quite frankly I am scared.

So my question is : Assuming the transformers still work, what would you do with it ? AX84 stuff ? JCM 800 ? I want suggestions.


















Mat

[petemoore]

  Looks like a two prong AC cord, you want a grounded 3 prong AC line.
  Amp like that...I'd take it outside and plug it in. Let it set like that for a time, volume down.
  Then plug a speaker in and see if it makes hum or buzz [normal amount's good, that means somethings coming through it].
  Then...fix the AC cable.
  I'd put on rubber sole sneakers and make sure its dry where you step, then plug a source into the input, probably guitar, and see what comes out.
  Meanwhile checking after the first minute, every minute to see if the output tubes are ok, not redplating.
  Sylvania's if good are good, but they look a little bit...old, not necessarily bad.
  And then figure that amps' seen many things and the caps are old too.
  Choose whether to run it the way it is if it works good or rebuild the parts that will inevatebly fail evenutally [tubes and caps] clean up the pots and...see if there are resistors across the tube sockets and if their values have drifted.
  Quite a find, the emblems on the old Hammonds look cool !
  Looks like some wire nuts in there too, nothing really wrong with them as long as they're tight etc.

[ACS]

Wow, very jealous.  I've been trying to get something like that for literally years...  Nice, very nice.

[bleubleu]

Ok cool. I will try it this week.

If it doesnt work or sound like shit (and I am sure it will), I think I will try to build an AX84 20W push-pull amp.
The transformers are pretty similar and I would only need to buy a choke.

Mat

[m-theory]

I really don't think there's any particular reason to plug it in and try it out as is.  It's a PA head, not a guitar head, so it's not going to be what you want it to be anyway, it's got old filter caps that could fail at any time, and it's got a dangerous 2 prong cord.  It just seems not worth it to me. 

Personally, I'd probably build a 50 watt plexi or Dumble clone out of it.  Plenty of knobs out front to play with, plenty of gain to be had by going with 4 12AX7's instead of the 6EU7s...you've definitely got lots of options with that chassis.   

Btw, there's no reason to think that restoring that cabinet isn't worth the effort or cash, just because it doesn't have the original speaker.  It might still have a very cool speaker in it that sounds terrific, and even if not, it take no effort to swap a speaker, and you could make this into a 2x12, if you wanted.  The cabinets are rock solid, finger-jointed, and, in their original state with beautiful blonde tolex and maroon grille cloth, are nothing short of stunning. 

[bleubleu]

Yeah, im pretty shure its going to sound awfull!
yeah, that old capacitor and the 2-prong plug really scares me.

About that cab, I didnt realise that there is still a very decent "box" that can be recycled into something decent.
Maybe I have some woodworking skills i am not aware of.

Mat

[m-theory]

About that cab, I didnt realise that there is still a very decent "box" that can be recycled into something decent.
Maybe I have some woodworking skills i am not aware of.

No woodworking skills required.  Just strip off the old tolex, keeping it as much intact as possible, lay it out as a pattern for new tolex, and you're golden.  Apply it with white glue...you can use spray adhesive, but it's not necessary and it does present the fume issue, and also tends to soften and weaken the vinyl.  That softening effect makes it much easier to stretch the material, and the glue sticks on contact, which is nice, but it will tend to form air bubbles while the solvent in the glue evaporates.  I've used both, and found white glue to be favorable.

Tolex tutorial  http://briefcase.yahoo.com/bc/casey4s/lst?.dir=/The+Tolex+Tutorial&.order=&.view=l&.src=bc&.done=http%3a//briefcase.yahoo.com/bc/casey4s/lst%3f%26.dir=/%26.src=bc%26.view=l

Here's some information on the cabinet that you've probably got there...it's a pretty unique box, and probably came with a JBL 15 originally.  http://www.webervst.com/vstbbs/bbs.html

I couldn't find the tutorial on grille cloth replacement, but there was one out there at one time...it may have been pulled or moved to a pay-per-view site somewhere.  It's really not difficult, however, though it takes some patience and attention to detail.  While not overly difficult, it's also not particularly easy to get grille cloth both straight and tight, and if you don't get both, it'll look cheesy.  If you have a couple of vise grips with wide, flat hold-down surfaces, such as those made for holding metal in place while welding, it will help a great deal. 

I've restored a couple of '66 bassman heads and cabinets, and I can tell you that it's not work that is beyond anyone's reach.  Also, all of the hardware for those cabinets can be had new, including kickback legs.  You should be able to fully restore that cabinet with new tolex, grille cloth, AND hardware for around $100-$150.  Get yourself a JBL 15", and you've got a killer cabinet.  Or, make it into a 2x12, and you've still got a killer cabinet.  The cabinet wood itself is solid, finger-jointed pine that you'd pay $400-$500 for today, and if this is the tone ring cabinet that I think it is (which would make it a Showman cabinet, btw), it's actually sought after.