REPAIR & MOD of a RARE 1966 VOX Berkeley Super Reverb Twin V8 VALVE AMP!
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- Опубликовано: 24 сен 2022
- In this video, we'll repair what might be the CLEANEST vintage valve amp I've ever had on my bench. This is a 1966 Vox Berkeley Super Reverb, which is a rare Thomas Organ built TUBE AMP! Vox amps made by Thomas Organ in California USA are more associated with the later Solid State offerings like the Super Beatle, but this one, which was made for about one year, had EL84 output tubes was based on the valve AC-15 by JMI in Britain. It is the brother to the Cambridge, which was the combo version of this amp head. We will track down some issues with the amp, including possible live high voltage on the input and a broken Gibbs reverb tank. We'll also look at one fast, EASY MOD which will give the player an option of having a stock circuit or a GAIN BOOST! I'll show exactly where to place the mod by walking it through with a schematic. At the end of the video, we'll demonstrate is with my new Zio Brad Linzy Signature Model Meteorite!
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Also special thanks to VoxShowroom.com and Duncan's Tone Stack Calculator!
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Thanks!
No sir, thank YOU! I sure appreciate the support.
@@TheGuitologist 0
Back in the 70's I repaired a lot of reverb tanks. In those days , it was possible to buy the transformers for replacement and I replaced many of them. One other problem was that the wires coming from the transformers would break from transporting the amps. Some of those, I was able to re-attach. When replacing or after fixing I added a dab of silicone sealant to the transformers to stabilize the wires going into the transformer. This provided strain relief and I never had to repair that reverb tank again.
I learned something about reverb tanks in this video! If you dug the demo portion and want your own Zio Brad Linzy Signature Model Meteorite, you can order one here:
www.zioguitars.com/shop/brad-linzy-the-guitologist-signature-meteorite
I did too! You and UD have WAY more patience than I would in that situation,lol. I’d have ordered an MOD tank and been done with it! 😂
Man, that amp sounds awesome, and so does your signiture guitar! You aren't a half-bad player either, I really enjoy hearing you play. Most people I usually don't want to hear them play, but I look forward to your playing!
That's really kind of you to say. Thanks for watching!
I’ve done the Pathfinder 10 Mod changing the red LEDs to different colors (different forward voltage) and taking out C12. Once you take out C12 is gives it a significant volume increase like you got with this one. Keep the repair videos coming sir.👍🏽
Sweet. I might try that if I get one of those.
I used to have a Pathfinder 15R and gave it to a girlfriend (ex) like an idiot. Those are cool little amps
What a nice piece of history! Wonderful amp - thanks for sharing this with us.
The 3.3 Meg resistors with lowish capacitance are the series "Dry" bypass for the reverb which functions in parallel to the reverb circuit. You will find reverb send before that resistor and reverb return after that resistor. The puny capacitance is there to get back the treble loss you have on the dry signal when dealing with high resistor values which build a HPF with the capacitance of the following stage.
Sorry if you have coverd that in the video, im just half way through here.
As for switches like that i would always try to either modify the NFB by adding some low end or - what also works great is to modify the cathode bypass cap value of the first stage all channels have in common. This way you can modify bassresponse aswell. Brightness should not be a problem with all these amps :)
Great vid!
Born in April '66... wish I was still in this good a shape.
That gain boost sounds great. It was like an instant Ritchie Blackmore tone.
Definitely shocked it to life, didn't it!
Whole Lotta Love was recorded with a Super Beetle I’m pretty sure. This valve suer reverb twin is a gem ,tho!
Pretty sure that was a UL730 actually!
That's right! Page did use a Super Beatle solid state amp! Not sure which tracks he used it on.
@@TheGuitologist There's pictures of the Vox head sitting on top of the Rickenbacker transonic amp speaker cabinets, btw, Brad have you ever work on those Rickenbacker Transonic Amps?
I always thought that Jimmy Page used a Supro amp on all the tracks on Led Zeppelin I
@@simonkormendy849 Most of 2 was written on the road and he wound up using the vox because it just happened to be available. Page started using Marshall’s shortly thereafter because parts were more readily available and they were easier to repair. He said he recorded Whole Lotta with the vox and Heartbreaker might’ve been a Marshall.
I think that, after all these years, it's the first time i've seen you playing with a pick!
Wow, that amp really has come alive after you worked on it, Brad, it's a sweet-sounding amp.
I can't even put my finger on the tone. Sometimes it seems Marshally sometimes Fendery. Love your new guitar dude. Pretty jealous. It's so cool!
Glad you like it! I sure do.
Zio kinda nailed the Brad guitar.......seems to match his personality 👏
The Zio Meteorite is killer! The amp sounds great too.
The Telegram guy is a scammer. Pretending to be Brad.
Man, that guitar is out of this world!
That guitar is legit! Sounds wonderful!
WOWZERS brad, you are tapping into whole bag of tones,,never before
known to earthlings, with that amp and your new instrument its so
versatile you must do a full demo video just comparing the pick up
selections, that said ,,your effort and diligence on the amp and reverb
tank is way above and beyond !!there should be more souls with that
duty of care,,and the owner has an awesome bit of kit now too,
loved the whole show ! 👍👍😎
Yeah, my sig guitar brings the versatility, for sure. And if I had it to do over, I could fix that tank now that I know exactly how it was constructed.
Brad that guitar is SEXY! I love it! I was thinking my Vox that melted down was like this one but I was big-time mistaken. Great video Brad! Thanks Brother!
Wow, Brad. Thanks for the show with your new signature guitar. It looks good on you. That gain boost sounds fantastic. Nice work!!
Thank you, Chris. I really dig everything about this guitar. I'm in love.
@@TheGuitologist it sounds absolutely amazing. Pretty versatile guitar with all the pickup variations.
It really sounded great through that Vox.
Mmmm...
Love that third input...
That new Zio sounds so friggin good dood. Well worth watching til the end.
Yeah baby! The sig sounds sick.
If there was ever a guitar perfect for you, this is it!
Fukingruvin!!!
Yep! All those tones in ONE guitar. Seriously, a guy who does amp demos for a living needs a guitar exactly like this one.
Once again great work Brad, love the videos.
Excellent work, as always!
Love these videos! She sounds awesome and even better with the gain boost mod!
Sweet video Brad. Love me some Vox tones.
That is a sweet sounding amp, excellent vid
nice amp, nice job sorting it!
Damn The Guitologist Brad can shred and melt some faces when he wants to.
See, i had this in my notifications and what a great video it is and it's always good to stay to the end no matter how long it is, wow that guitar sounds great and your playing, too, oh, and the amp, too!
Hope all is well. another awesome video from the amp repair wizard. Thank you
What a find. So glad you were able to bring it back so it can enjoy a long and useful life!
Great job as usual, that amp sounds great!
Thanks Barry!
A 1965 Vox Berkeley Super Reverb with a Brad Linzy mod . Could be the beginning of a trend here . Great video .
Everyone with this amp or the Vox Cambridge equivalent should definitely do this mod.
i love you why? you got it. i love tubes amps. i love ever one of them. thanks!!!
Hey Brad! Hope you're doing great! As I commented before, I Had the AC-50 for years, used to play bass on it (huge speaker!). I traded it for my actual amp, an 'acoustic' wood combo (the 165 tube/fet combo), which I use since 1988... These old Vox's are sweet sounding!
That's a badass Vox.
Man, that amp sounds great !
in high school circa 1980, we had something like this in our band room. the head was the same shape, and it had a huge cabinet. it was a great amp. it looked kind of geeky, but after playing through it, we (all guitarists in stage band/jazz lab) were impressed.
That was probably a Vox Super Beatle
Brilliant, completely brilliant.
Also love your schematic breakdown, sure it saved a few lives by now
Awesome Brad
Great shredding as always. Man those vox's have some cool grill cloth
Love the custom guitar, watch the vid on you getting it and not surprised it sounds awesome... And great fix... Amazing the condition of that amp...
Sounds amazing!
Sweet sounding amp. Great restoration video ss per usual Brad. Good to see you pounding the new guitar. , and getting some "achilles last heel" and "physical graffiti tones"
You signature model sounds really good. Very versatile.
Well you cured what was ailing it ... Nice fix you and your fancy signature guitar 😂😅🤣 Thx for sharing Brad ...
Diggin the sig! heck yeah.
Hey Brad, that's a real beauty. I love watching your videos so much. Keep up the great work my friend. Love and light from Bonnie Scotland. Paul.
Love the amp and that sig guitar. You've got some funkmeister in you there. Awesome repair.
Getting all those Stratty quack tones with that slightly pushed clean tone brings out da FUNK! ;)
That is a real Beauty and that guitar playing through it is exquisite.
Thanks Rich. Glad you dug it, mang!
Now that would make a good harp amp. Great video!!
Thats 480 degrees C . Maie it a Foot Switch Mod . Love this vid, takes me away from my Mark 2C+ Colosseum monstrosity . But its fun and i got it cheap 🤘😀🤘
Yep. My bad. 480F isn't that hot, is it.
Holy jeez us! That thing sounds incredible!!
I have a 1966 Vox Essex. Thomas Organ as well. Great find
I just got one of these amps. Can’t wait to get it back up and running and do that mod. Thanks for the info!!
Enjoy!
Brad! I recently worked on one of these here in central Oklahoma. Killer amp!!!
I have a Marshall JTM30 combo amp with the matching 1x12 cabinet that is basically brand new. It is 20 years younger than that VOX though. The tubes are stock and test as new on a tester. I bought it from a women at our church, whose husband bought it brand new and never learned to play. He kept it in case he decided to try later in life, but died several years later. It was put in a closet in their home for over 30 years, still in the original boxes. I sent photos/info to Marshall, & they offered to buy it for their museum. I said no, but they told me if I ever decided to sell to give them a shot at it.
The jtm30 isn't exactly a vintage amp that's hard to find today. Marshall made them from 1997-2003 at least when they changed the jtm60 to the jcm600 head, which I have one and have seen a couple show up on Craigslist locally. The jtm30 is a cool amp, don't get me wrong but Marshall wanting to buy yours just sound weird since they already have jtm30 combo in the Marshall museum.
that thing has a kick ass trem circuit. I love the way it sounds. Gain BOOST really helped out that amp.
Ended up boosting the gain and taming the treble. Nice touch !! Much more versatile.
Cool trick with the polarity switch
Hell yeah! An amp video!
I always love the amp videos!
Fascinating how things work
Love the older Vox Valvetronix hybrids Amps with the 12Ax7 Tubes in them..absolutely incredible I have a 2007 and 2009 never part with them..
All the pots and jacks are trash on them and they tend to hiss a lot, but that amp was my first decent sounding amp.
Nice Job Brad....Kudos...
I remember those amps...A work friend of mine saw this type amp and cab for sale quite a few years ago, I was gonna get it, but it was gone by the time I got home (i don't remember the seller or where) but I recognized the trapazoid shape...thanks Brad
I have fixed maybe 3 vox amps from pre 70 and this has to be the best shape I have ever seen one in . I mean even just seeing one of these in that kind of shape on the net even is rare. Bravo to whoever took care of this for its life ...Bravo
That bypass helped that amp out a lot!!!
Fantastic amp, man ! ✌
Damn thats an awesome vox i wish i was mine!! Unbelievable man
That was damn awesome Brad...and man that guitar...very cool guitar man. Jam on brother.
Thanks Michael. LOVE my Zio sig!
Wow this Vox must of been fun to play. I do one day want to get a vintage Vox amplifier, been a dream of mine. ;-)
Awesome to see it get all tweaked up ..... love the mask sign .
I'm still thinking about your endorsement model guitar. I've told several people about the PRails and 3 way switch pickup rings.
That was a super cool amp!
Unbelievable indeed! What a jewel that is... Incredible shape.
Looks aside, sounds just as good! 👍
Gotta love the SD triple shot p'up rings.. I've had a set on my '04 Korean made Epi Dot Deluxe for some time now, paired up with some SD Pearly Gates.. A match made in heaven! I should seriously reconsider trying those P-rails sometime though.. Those sound phenomenal! 😎 Great video and good to see some amps back on the bench. ✌️
Or…you could just order my Signature model! ;)
i built a tube amp out of a solid state vox combo that had the same chassis, the whole project was a pain in the ass
Vox amps are great amps and I'm lucky to own a vintage 1960s AC30 that I bought for £400 in 1990 and its a fantastic sounding amp! It's been serviced 3 times since I've owned it as I gigged with it for years but it's so heavy to lump around now! Last service was 2 years ago and it needed lots of work including a re cone of the speakers! It's in my living room now mostly as decoration and plug in now and then because they sound so much better loud! I've never seen that model ever and didn't even know it existed.
What a great score! Yeah, if you live in a typical British house, cranking an amp like that to the sweet spot requires the approval of neighbors.
Caught your confessional, did you then pull it? Maybe I don’t know where to look, do what is best for you, Brad, but I bet I can speak for your long time subscribers, we value your contribution to our lives, i for one always wish the best for you, and although I disagree with some of your other takes on things, I applaud your willingness to say what’s on your mind, defend and discuss it. Don’t let the crazies get you down.🙂
I got hold of one of those Ex-Hammond reverb tanks with the piggy-back board a couple of years ago and turned it into a stand-alone reverb. Had to add an extra gain stage on the input as it expects to see a higher signal level from an organ than that produced by a guitar
Oh man, I LOOOOOOOOOOVEEEEEEEEEE vintage voxes!
Great to see the work on the reverb tank. I just fixed mine a couple of weeks ago. It was a bit different that this one, and a huge pain in the ass. One of the little transducer/former things had a break in the tiny copper wire thats wrapped around the inside of it. The hard part was getting it off, because they are on those metal clip things that are riveted on. Had to slice off one end of the clips to be able to get the transducer thing off. Then had to un-wind a find the break in the wire, luckily is wasnt too far down the wire, i just resoldered where it broke back to the transducer lead. Doesnt have quite as many windings now, but at least it works, as before didnt work at all.
I'm a vox fan boy for sure
happy birthday izzy
Sounds killer.
I don't think I would have the "best" educated guess to suggest the best use of the switch,
but I'll review the vid again and tell you what I would use it for, okay.
That being said, I think that amp is beautiful. So clean/pristine.
i have seen but 1in 30 years, pretty rare, Thomas made pretty good quality .....looks new ........
I had one of those about 35 years ago. It sounded pretty good. I did a cap job on it when I got it as they were already near 20 years old then. Thomas Organ’s first amps were all valve until late 1966.
Oh, they had 3 inputs so the whole band could plug in. Silvertone did the same thing…
Very informative video content... 👍👍
Best sounding amp on your channel so far (just my opinion)!!!!!!! The boost circuit is so eff'n good.
I agree. This one is up there.
@@TheGuitologist that guitar sounds great as well!
Nice match up with guitar and amp.
The only Vox amps I have worked on are the solid state Cambridge Reverb and a Viscount. Definitely difficult amps to restore or repair as the chassis layout is so odd when disassembled. I would rather have tube amp versions but those solid state amp sounded unique. Well great video as always 🤘🏻
Put it this way, if i saw one in a pawn shop collecting dust, even a ss one, I would at least consider rescuing it.
Thomas made Vox amps, especially the transistor amps, were always a challenge because of the chassis design made to mimic the look of the original tube amps. They have that cool unique pyramid-like shape and all but servicing them is a pain. That's a cool early Thomas amp, definitely a rare bird. Jennings claimed that Thomas basically snookered him Into thinking they would just have rights to market Vox British made amps in the USA but instead just used the name, copied their cosmetics and used their own transistor designs..at least that's the way I've always heard the story told. By the way the Thomas made Cambridge reverb is a very cool great sounding small combo for a solid-state design. Good job, amp sounds great!
They made a tube Cambridge just like this one too!
Thomas just couldnt produce enough tube amps so they went to building solid state amps to try to keep up
Very nice
If swear Brad if I lived in the US ideally in Kentucky I’d wear you down into schooling me into learning this stuff, at a price of course.
You are the MAN! ;)
Morning from Oregon.
Morning, Oregon! Hope y'all are well up there.
@@TheGuitologist typical Oregon Fall day78°Sunny.
@@TheGuitologist is there a way to separately discuss the possibility of sending my 1941 National Steel 12 watt Mod.50 amp. Re capp and make it better. No mods were done, pretty sure the original tubes a in it
As a long time subscriber, I agree with the choice of a gain boost mode over the negative feedback switch, 'cause I reckon you've dealt with enough negative feedback already!😤 hang in there, buddy, you'll make it through this rough patch at some point. There are still some of us left on this earth that dont punish a person for having an opinion that does not mirror our own.
Keep on keeping on Brad, maybe try a live stream for amp repair
Will have to watch this a bit later today, but this one sounds intriguing. BTW, I hope things are progressing well re: the legal ☁️ issue.
It's still looming over my head.
@@TheGuitologist You remain in my prayers, bro! 🙏🏻😎🎸