Yard sail find of the week!

[Brymus]

Hey another AZ resident here ( Ft Mohave )
I got a free Hammond organ a couple months ago,I was all jazzed until I cracked it open and it was all SS.
Its actually the first SS organ they made,the Dolphin.
Oh well, I got a nice alnico spkr and it has a working Leslie only its a 10" model and has AC hum.
The whole unit works just that half the voices sound awful outa tune or something.I was gonna recycle the whole thing down to the cabinet
as its all hand made inside.But I havent been able to bring myself to wreck it yet.
Yesterday I scored at the local thrift 4 CPU data (1cpu to two devices) switchers that look perfect for a Rangemaster clone or something.
And a larger data switch for 4 CPUs and 2 devices its about 12 x 5 x 3 ,also a 40VA 10-0-10 WALL WART! it has a 4conductor connector on it,t says HP,also 12VDC 2 A wall wart, a 30V 20VA wall wart,and a half dozen other high output warts for 20$
OH and also a power switcher(that would sit under a 1ton CRT monitor) that I can cut in half and get two amp chassis from I hope.
A year ago I snagged (from pawn shop)a Hamer Durango (American Standard Strat clone) the one actually made in America complete with hardshell case and key and unfilled owners card! Sperzel locking tuners and a custom original bridge,for get this 100$
I looked it up on internet at the time one had just sold (guitar only no case or stuff ) for 600$ on the Bay so I went back and got it.
I told my wife it was an investment that I could use until I sold it 

[JKowalski]

The whole unit works just that half the voices sound awful outa tune or something.I was gonna recycle the whole thing down to the cabinet
as its all hand made inside.But I havent been able to bring myself to wreck it yet.

I think I know what you mean! I mentioned earlier that I got a 0.80 cent tube organ from a savers, and now that I have this Hammond M3 to fix up I don't see my self ever going back to that (specially cause the whole thing is half a step out of tune from age). Time to scrap... But it's so hard. Looking at these things kind of awes you, all the hard work and craftsmanship that is put into these massive devices... But I don't see any other options, and I'm not the kind of person who amasses storehouses of useless junk! It's either use it, or part it. Throw away is rarely an option with me  


And those data switches are nice, they seem to be a common find at thrift shops. I've collected five or so for 99 cents each, and I still find them at goodwill like every other trip!

I have an unusually large one I am making a super compact 25 watt SS amplifier out of, and another normal sized one that I am planning to put a frequency splitter in (separate highpass/lowpass/bandpass outs, mixer in). They are great for utility-type audio stuff, like EQs and things, which you typically set and forget.

That wall wart is a nice find! It would make a good low wattage amplifier PSU, for sure...

[davidallancole]

I am going to Value Village tomorrow!

[Cliff Schecht]

Not quite a yard sale but one of my teachers at school was cleaning out his lab (the RF lab) and needed to get rid of a bunch of tubes. It turns out he is a hi-fi nut and collects stereos and tubes and what have you. I ended up with over 300 tubes, everything from military rectifiers to matched pairs of power tubes dating back to the beginning of 1938. I lost count at about 300 tubes but I wasn't interested in the quanitity as much as I was the variety. All of these, combined with my new collection of output transformers, should keep me busy for a while. I think my next project is going to be two mono class AB 30 Watt Williamson amplifiers with 807's in the power amp and (undecided) pentodes in the preamp.

[JKowalski]

Not quite a yard sale but one of my teachers at school was cleaning out his lab (the RF lab) and needed to get rid of a bunch of tubes. It turns out he is a hi-fi nut and collects stereos and tubes and what have you. I ended up with over 300 tubes, everything from military rectifiers to matched pairs of power tubes dating back to the beginning of 1938. I lost count at about 300 tubes but I wasn't interested in the quanitity as much as I was the variety. All of these, combined with my new collection of output transformers, should keep me busy for a while. I think my next project is going to be two mono class AB 30 Watt Williamson amplifiers with 807's in the power amp and (undecided) pentodes in the preamp.

Hey, do you think you would be willing to sell some of these? My Hammond and Leslie both may have need of some replacement tubes to help get em up and running nicely again.

The tubes they use of the top of my head are

5U4
5U4GB
12AU7
12AX7
6V6GT
6SN7GTB
6AU6
6C4
6BA6

I have some 12AU7, 12AX7, and maybe 6V6's spare, the others I'd need to buy.

[Top Top]

Unfortunately lately when I go to a thrift store, they think any musical instrument or old looking thing is worth a ton of money automatically. I see acoustic guitars terribly out of intonation and warped for like $60. Anything marginally playable is $100+ usually.

In the old days I found some cool weird old cheapie electric guitars and various weird mics, a melodica, and a toy piano for good prices. Lately the best I have done is some wall warts and electronics to disassemble for parts. I did luck out and get two good working bare speakers for my Ruby when I went specifically to look for speakers. I NEVER actually find what I am looking for when I go!

I found one of those realistic "electronic reverb" (which is actually an analog delay) units at a rummage sale a while ago... and a nice little tube practice amp from the $50's for $10.

Where I used to live there was this ONE used music store that seemed to get all this crazy stuff and sell it really cheap. I think I saw a minimoog in there for like $500, which was cheap even at the time I saw it. I passed on it, but I bought a few other vintage FX, guitars, and drum machines there for cheap. It has moved to a different part of town and seems to no longer get the good stuff... must have been something about the neighborhood it was in.

[Taylor]

It has moved to a different part of town and seems to no longer get the good stuff... must have been something about the neighborhood it was in.

"No one ever talks about the good things crack has done." -Chris Rock

[pazuzu]

yea, all those jobs it has created in law enforcement and corrections...not to mention the private sector.

[space_ryerson]

I was walking down the street last week in the rain, and I saw a Gibson guitar amp left on the sidewalk for trash pickup. It killed me, but I had to leave it there for someone else to grab, because it was raining, cold, and I was miles from home on foot. I also don't have another inch of space in my apartment for any more gear!

My best yard sale find was back in the 90's. Some guy bought a big digitech multi-effects unit, and was selling all of his pedals $10 each. Some guy got there before me and bought 5, but I got a MXR Stereo Flanger, Foxx Tone Machine, Tokai TDL-1 Delay, vintage MXR Distortion+ (in box!), DOD Stereo Chorus, DOD Distortion for $50 total.

My most amazing purchase was I knew this guy who needed money really badly, and I bought his lefty 1974 Les Paul Custom for $300.

[Mark Hammer]

I think my very best yard sale find was a 1930s razor blade sharpener that I bought for a dollar.  Really ingenious piece of technology if you ask me, even if it has nothing to do with music.

I got my MXR digital delay for $75 at a pawnshop.

I also got my 59 Princeton for $50, my late 50's Epi Windsor for $50, and my 59 Bassman for $30 from different pawnshops.  Sometimes you get lucky.  The last one was originally priced at $40, but when I looked in the back and noticed that one of the original P10Rs was missing, the guy did some on-the-spot mental math and dropped the price by 25%.  I put that amp in my trunk and drove out of that city like I had just sold fake cocaine to the Hells Angels.

What I don't understand is who the hell would sell a mellotron in a yard sale?  I mean, wouldn't you have to be a serious gearhead to even own one?  And if so, why would you expect people looking for tchotchkes to buy one?

[Taylor]

I actually think there are/were some folks who had a Mellotron as an extension of the concept of "the family organ/piano". The Optigan, a similar sample keyboard with a little less "serious" cred, was designed especially for this market. You know, gather the kids and grandma around the Mellotron to sing "Nearer My God to Thee". 

[Top Top]

It has moved to a different part of town and seems to no longer get the good stuff... must have been something about the neighborhood it was in.

"No one ever talks about the good things crack has done." -Chris Rock

Nah, it wasn't that bad of a part of town, and it didn't move to one that was any better. I think what it was was that a lot of older people who have lived in the city their whole lives lived in that area... probably selling stuff their kids left in the attic, or stuff they bought years ago, don't use anymore, and thought had no value anymore.

I never see good deals at pawn shops though... they always seem to think music stuff is worth way more than it actually is. More expensive than actual music stores sometimes.

[mantella]

I recently got an MXR pitch transposer - the rackmount version from the '80s - off of craigslist for $100 - shipped. It's in sweet shape. I don't think the foot pedal was even used once. It was a studio liquidation sale. My only gripe is that it's not true bypass, so there's a bit of tone suck. Not much, but a little.
Anyways, it's a pretty fun effect with a super warm sound.

[pazuzu]

My only gripe is that it's not true bypass

better fix that.

[rousejeremy]

Bought an old transistor radio made in britain. Got a couple OC81's and old school carbon comp resistors for five bucks.

[bigchasbroon]

when i was a kid like in 85 i sold a ts9 for £10. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I HATE MYSELF

[Taylor]

Well, don't feel too bad. That's 20 pounds in today's money. 

[JKowalski]

Fixed the Hammond M-3 today. Works beautifully. Sounds sooooooo gooooooood.... 

Was wondering why I had no B+ voltage, then realized the 5u4 heaters were cold. The socket was loose, just had to wedge a piece of plastic under the base to keep pressure on it and... presto. Gotta bend the socket prongs bak into shape for a long term fix.

I am in lovvee

Now for the leslie.... need a cable....

I was walking down the street last week in the rain, and I saw a Gibson guitar amp left on the sidewalk for trash pickup. It killed me, but I had to leave it there for someone else to grab, because it was raining, cold, and I was miles from home on foot. I also don't have another inch of space in my apartment for any more gear!

How could you do that!! I would have carried that thing across state! What kind of amp was it?

[Jarno]

Hey another AZ resident here ( Ft Mohave )
I got a free Hammond organ a couple months ago,I was all jazzed until I cracked it open and it was all SS.
Its actually the first SS organ they made,the Dolphin.
Oh well, I got a nice alnico spkr and it has a working Leslie only its a 10" model and has AC hum.
The whole unit works just that half the voices sound awful outa tune or something.I was gonna recycle the whole thing down to the cabinet
as its all hand made inside.But I havent been able to bring myself to wreck it yet.

Probably a truckload of nice transistors in that thing :-) A nice Alnico is also a good score, Jensen?

[space_ryerson]

I was walking down the street last week in the rain, and I saw a Gibson guitar amp left on the sidewalk for trash pickup. It killed me, but I had to leave it there for someone else to grab, because it was raining, cold, and I was miles from home on foot. I also don't have another inch of space in my apartment for any more gear!

How could you do that!! I would have carried that thing across state! What kind of amp was it?

From what little I could see, without fighting off the rats, and pulling all of the garbage bags off, in the rain, windy, etc, etc, etc; it looked like a 70's era amp to me. I don't know my Gibson amps well, but I was guessing it was solid state. There was also a presumably dead output transformer in the pile too. Oh, and the amp was soaking wet. I had just left a show, with other musicish types walking nearby, so I was pretty sure someone was going to pick it up. If I thought the amp was worth anything to me, even if just for experimenting, I would have lugged it to the subway, and braved it.

I have definitely pulled my fair share of stuff out of the trash, much to my wife's dismay I still look at every pile I see, hoping to see a MS-20 or ARP 2600. It always ends up being a Casio