Having a friend gift me this amp back in March was a once in a lifetime event that I will not forget but finding Colleen, who has the passion and skill to breathe life back into what might otherwise be a cool old doorstop, is equally special. I am very grateful to have had the pleasure. She is a rock star.
Alan- thank you for taking the time to write such a nice comment. It was a pleasure meeting you, and bringing this amp back to life was such a rare and exciting opportunity! Enjoy :)
if you can keep this in a case or at least a cover and protect from humidity and such will preserve this pristine condition for decades to come.. this one may be museum bound, no kidding... the speaker bolt heads... back when manufacturing and craftsmanship had pride at all levels, dressed bolt heads, now that's pride! beautiful amp BTW, you're lucky to have an example in such pristine condition, not only looks fantastic but sounds fantastic as well, I'll say you have some friend with confidence... man .. props on ya both! and the tech!
Such a nice back and forth. We get a little history on the amp… And get to watch the service. Then we get to see correspondence between the owner and tech. Such a wonderful amp and video. Well done to both of you. Good stuff.🎸👍🥃😊 Edit… Love the amp but that is the ugliest layout I’ve ever seen in an amplifier. Obviously it’s early amplifier technology… But good god that’s a jungle inside the chassis.🙄🤨🤣👍
She's honored to work on the amp, she says. This is exactly what every owner of vintage equipment wants to hear when they entrust it to a tech for repair. She's an old soul and she's tuned into the ghosts of the past who built and played through the amp. She gets it. Colleen, you're inspiring to us all. Even us old cats.
I was given one of these in 1966. I moved out and left it in the attic with amp removed. My mom thought the amp was an old radio and threw it out. I wanted to cry lol. I’ve still got the speaker and cabinet. I’m going to make a place for a quilter head In there to keep it lightweight. My back is killing me. I use a Boogie made when he was first starting the company and it’s hard for me to carry as I get older. It sure sounds good though.
Beautiful old EH-185, Colleen......you did an excellent job with both the repair and the video. I'm glad to see your subscriber count is rising faster than gas prices :)
That is undoubtedly the cleanest EH-185 on the planet. That 80 year old amp literally looks better than many 5 year old amps do. I was hoping you’d pull an Uncle Doug and hide the new electrolytics inside the old cardboard originals. You still did a nice clean job.
y'know, that schtick needs to go away: fetishizing old just cuz old encourages valuing functional objects for nostalgia stupid reasons. (& it introduces a possibility for error & makes visual inspections for leaks impossible).
Yeah might as well replace every component and tear off the tweed covering & install new Tolex. Let’s also trash the old speaker and put in a brand new one. Old stuff sucks. Actually let’s re-house the chassis in a NEW apple crate. We don’t want people to “fetishize”over something that’s an 80 year old museum piece since you seem to think people jack off on minty vintage amps. I hope you play a solid state crate and not an old tube amp- otherwise someone might fetishize all over it, and then you’d have to pay some tech to chisel the dried up jizz off of it. Might as well burn down your house while you’re at it- someone might admire it from afar, or even in a RUclips comment section and you definitely wouldn’t want that. You can then build yourself a new ugly cinder block house that won’t be fetishized over. And if someone does happen to “fetishize” on it you can just spray it off with a garden hose.
Don’t fetishize it Matthew! Old amps are not to be admired. :) You might get scolded by the know it all who informed me he thinks people have sexual relations with vintage amplifiers.
It's uncommon but really nice to see women doing this type of work. I love to see old pieces coming back to life by the hands of skilled people. And OMG! Your voice is so relaxing! 🙂 Already subscribed!
Did you all notice that while working on the amp she had black fingernail polish on but when playing the guitar there was no polish on? It is nice to see a lady working on these old amps and she has a pleasing voice to listen to. One Note: Anytime you work on one of these old amps do yourself (and the customer) a favor and go ahead and replace all of the electrolytic caps and the paper caps. Don't even turn it on until you do.
Way COOL ! I grew up in Kalamzoo Michigan. I lived 4 streets away from the Gibson factory in Kalamzoo. Every time I saw a historical piece from the factory it makes me proud to have been there in the heyday of the Gibson Guitar empire. Watching you restore a part of history is breath taking. YOU GO GIRL.
Glad to know that the preamp section of the amp uses tubes that we can still buy today. There are preamp tubes manufactured before 1947 that were commonly used in 1930s era amps that are either no longer made or are ultra rare and over-priced.
My kid and I are restoring an old family heirloom 1964 Fisher 500C. A lot of this is similar though and we love watching these videos of yours, they’re informative and inspiring!
7:32....”just to recap what I’ve done here.” The timing on that line couldn’t have been more perfect. Love you work, and love this channel. Thanks for taking the time for all of us. Your work is awesome!!
I enjoyed watching your direct diagnostics of the problem with out the rants and raves that other electronic techs do on there channels. Great Job, Looking for more vids from you.
Hello Martin,. It's good to see new techs to this old technology stuff... fault finding is indeed a skill that takes many year to perfect...the only time my trusty scope is in use it to do final checks on signal traces.. ather 30 plus yrs in audio, tv repairs .. I'd say good luck with her journey.
@@waynewayne3709 Because of our declining education system in this country, fewer and fewer youngsters are being introduced into mechanical training and finding their aptitude for skills.. We can look for a crises in our country with fewer people to maintain the infrastructure. (planes, trucks, trains buildings, and bridges.) College is no longer an investment to learning a vocation one can get a job and earn a good living. You can watch the future and see what I am saying, come true. God help us.
Man, you're telling me. One of the latest vids at one channel was directly about how pissed off he got over a non-issue. Smh. That guy needs a chill pill. Big time. Personally, I don't see why anyone would even want to publish a vid that ends up only making themselves look like a dufus.
An electrodinatic speaker,,the harder you push the amp the more current goes through the choke (the electromagnet coil) the stronger the magnet making the speaker more efficient and louder. Cool! A nice clean repair. I'm glad to see a young person who is interested in the vintage amps. I always replace the 2 coupling caps going to the output tubes, along with the all electrolytes. A very clean amp and a very clean repair. You love what you do,it shows.
Wow, just wow!!! Not only is the amp super cool but so is the amp tech! Its always great to see someone in the younger generation catch the repair bug! Uncle Doug's stamp of approval is probably the highest rating anyone can get, so Congratulations!!! Also great vid. The amp sounds fantastic! I recently had the privilege of working on a gretch 1948 archtop.... vintage gear rocks!!! Sorry for the novel. :)
Interesting how the layout design amounted to using the tube socket lugs as the only anchor points for all other components. Almost like the original assembly worker just connected everything per a schematic then shoved everything in the chassis. It seems amazing it lived for 81 years without incurring a massive, potential lethal short somewhere. Very methodical, logical work.
And I guarantee it was done by a woman, as women were thought to not only have more dexterity when doing this kind of intricate work... but it was thought women also had more patience. That's why the tag in your vintage Marshall are all signed by women.
It's called point-to-point wiring, which was then superseded by turret boards, eyelet boards etc, before finally switching to PCBs. For high voltage stuff, point-to-point is one of the better methods for construction, as it uses air as the isolating medium, so you have very little issue with PCBs or turret boards becoming conductive with time, and they're infinitely repairable, as you can just swap out standard components, compared to custom ICs and PCBs that quickly become unobtanium. It however looks quite messy, and takes a lot of assembly time, which is why manufacturers switched to turret boards, as then instead of one tech building the whole circuit one tech could assemble turret boards all day long, while another wires them into the amps, effectively cutting training time in half per tech, with less chance for mistakes.
@@sstorholm Yeah, what I just said. Women were used almost exclusively for these assembly tasks as they have both the dexterity... and most importantly... the patience to do this rather tedious yet vital part of the amps construction. I used to read the inspection tag on my old JMP Marshalls and wonder if "Stacy" or "Nancy" etc. who built my amp were hot 🤣
Replacing the filter and bypass caps prior to energizing is absolutely warranted. The wiring of this amplifier very much reminds me of my all original 1947 MEC Troubadour. What a fantastic Time-Capsule, thank you so much for sharing this with us.
@@abubakr6939 I was speaking about the bypass capacitor used in the power supply, sometimes they are refereed to as a Decoupling Capacitor. Any decoupling/bypass capacitors in the signal path would be a different story (unless visual inspection indicates its obviously failed).
It's nice to see a young lady doing early electronics repair! I always change all the capacitors except the mica, why take the chance of burning up a good tube. good luck with your projects. Rich
You can put new filter caps in the old cap cardboard tubes to keep the original look, running the lead wires through the original cardboard end circles. Love your videos.
Hello, I love you ... I'm just a stranger on the internet but your energy strikes me to the core... and an amp tech? Wow!... anyways that is all, have a beautiful day!
I just realized what a geek I am watching her change the caps in this amp all anxious to hear what this amp sounds like after all the work was completed LOL.
Beautiful amp! That's covered with a linen tweed luggage fabric with a clear lacquer coating. Tolex is a cloth-backed vinyl that came a few years later.
After living in Toronto for a decade, I always notice hands that are used for more than lifting Starbucks cups and swiping right. Great hands. Take good care of them, and keep the content coming. Being inspired by your vids, I was able to repair an old Ampeg bass amp already (it was hardly broken), and now I've got a fantastic Electrohome P2-4526 radio to bring back to life. It hasn't been powered in a few decades, but last known it wasn't working. I'll at least try to make sure it doesn't release the magic smoke when I plug it in for the first time. I need to learn more about testing components and tubes (without a tube tester).
I got a 1963 gibson falcon, it's my favorite amp, it's a fender killer, it blows my Princeton out of the water. For blues. That amp sounds great it's got that delta dirt sound.
I fully understand the art of preservation of the blue moulded caps such as on the fenders. However anything that old with old paper caps personally i would replace them all leaking or not. Any left in the circuit are just a ticking time bomb in my opinion. I have actually gutted them before and hidden new caps inside the old casings for picky customers. Very time consuming. Also as you probably know the high value resistors tend to drift alot with age as well. I would check all there values. Every amp has a different approach. That one is a fine piece. You did a very good job here BTW. Just my observations
Favorite sounding amp. My go to preset amp on my Line 6 Stomp. STP baby. Would like to build one, but the field coils on these ancient amps speakers always steers me away. I think the engineers got it right the first time with P-90's, and these vintage amps.
They even get smaller when you go to surface mount. I've seen modern surface mount tube maps circuit boards where the entire amp circuit fits on a business card, and the tubes are soldered directly to a separate daughter board and connected with a ribbon cable. While technology is nice, you can't modify or alter the design much without rippingoput the guts completely.
At about your introduction to the amp...I was adding up the years from new. And what a nice condition to see at that timepart. Was following your service with interest and the final test...was just remarkable. The only counterpart at my bench was a 1974 vintage "Fun Machine." Now restored to full working condition along with a cira 1910 Oak Table, with colonial style legs and wooden roller feet. Opens to accept leaves at 6'. 48" closed. Lightly sanded as to accept unknown new owners choice of stain, protective finish. Very happy to see your vintage era repair at work flow...Thank you for the interesting post and view of craftsmanship in action. McGary
Nice video. Yea, those old wax coupling caps are the source of many problems along with the power supply electronics. They’re common in old vintage radios and I just shotgun those out of there with the electrolytics before starting.
had my guy totally redo a 1938 Ric M12 this reminds me of that. I know nothing but he knows it all. Appreciate maintaining originllity Did upgrade to a grounded plug though
Near the end with the sound of this 80 yr old amp, you were channeling Hendrix! What a Great restore. Love your playing, too. Why not show you in the shots of testing so we can all see you playing? Thanks again! What a beautiful amp. Organic sound reminds me of some 60s Rock band sounds. Love your videos and how you break down your repair methods. 👍😊
This amplifier is in a very good aspect, considering the age. I'm surprised to see a dynamic speaker on it. It needs a DC source to create the fixed magnetic field. My grandfather had a Brunswick radio made at 20's that used this type of speaker,. The sound after the repair is amazing. Very nice amp and a good repair job! Congrats!
love your channel! I wish I could do that beautiful job for a living, I tried but couldn´t get my head around it!! you are very lucky to have had your uncle and other ppl you mentioned to get you into it at an early age. Just so you feel graceful and thankful!!!! You are a role model for many many women also, which kicks ass :) Love from Argentina. Santi.
Great amp and great service and maintenance - super-tight workspace - just a jungle of 40s resistors and caps. Thanks for documenting it all, really like that you referenced the same filter cap grounds, classy and proper. Loved the little amp history riff, too. Plus, Naima on a Strat! 🤓👍🏽
Having a friend gift me this amp back in March was a once in a lifetime event that I will not forget but finding Colleen, who has the passion and skill to breathe life back into what might otherwise be a cool old doorstop, is equally special. I am very grateful to have had the pleasure. She is a rock star.
Alan- thank you for taking the time to write such a nice comment. It was a pleasure meeting you, and bringing this amp back to life was such a rare and exciting opportunity! Enjoy :)
@@FazioElectric You may want to pin his comment. Great work on a lovely vintage amp. I hope I'm able to find a treasure like this!
if you can keep this in a case or at least a cover and protect from humidity and such will preserve this pristine condition for decades to come.. this one may be museum bound, no kidding...
the speaker bolt heads... back when manufacturing and craftsmanship had pride at all levels, dressed bolt heads, now that's pride!
beautiful amp BTW, you're lucky to have an example in such pristine condition, not only looks fantastic but sounds fantastic as well, I'll say you have some friend with confidence... man .. props on ya both! and the tech!
Such a nice back and forth.
We get a little history on the amp…
And get to watch the service.
Then we get to see correspondence between the owner and tech.
Such a wonderful amp and video.
Well done to both of you.
Good stuff.🎸👍🥃😊
Edit… Love the amp but that is the ugliest layout I’ve ever seen in an amplifier.
Obviously it’s early amplifier technology…
But good god that’s a jungle inside the chassis.🙄🤨🤣👍
Beautiful
"Just to 'recap' what I've done here." Haha, good one.
Damn - you beat me to it!
Resistance is futile ...
I swear I never thought amp repair videos could be so relaxing, its almost like an asmr channel
I agree.
Her voice is laid back, smooth and relaxing.
And you get to learn a boatload about amp repair and technique to boot.
Good stuff.👍🥃🎸
She's honored to work on the amp, she says. This is exactly what every owner of vintage equipment wants to hear when they entrust it to a tech for repair. She's an old soul and she's tuned into the ghosts of the past who built and played through the amp. She gets it. Colleen, you're inspiring to us all. Even us old cats.
I was given one of these in 1966.
I moved out and left it in the attic with amp removed. My mom thought the amp was an old radio and threw it out. I wanted to cry lol.
I’ve still got the speaker and cabinet.
I’m going to make a place for a quilter head
In there to keep it lightweight.
My back is killing me. I use a Boogie made when he was first starting the company and it’s hard for me to carry as I get older. It sure sounds good though.
Beautiful old EH-185, Colleen......you did an excellent job with both the repair and the video. I'm glad to see your subscriber count is rising faster than gas prices :)
Nice seeing you here UD! It's always amazing to see an amp from the '40s in one piece, let alone in great shape. Cheers!
uncle doug
Who's uncle Doug?
@@chrislambden2689 the Lemmy of amp repair
@@harrysachs2274 dig then👍
Great video for lunch time!!! NS here!!!
That is undoubtedly the cleanest EH-185 on the planet. That 80 year old amp literally looks better than many 5 year old amps do. I was hoping you’d pull an Uncle Doug and hide the new electrolytics inside the old cardboard originals. You still did a nice clean job.
y'know, that schtick needs to go away: fetishizing old just cuz old encourages valuing functional objects for nostalgia stupid reasons. (& it introduces a possibility for error & makes visual inspections for leaks impossible).
@@RichardMcLamore Agree, take some pictures, put the old bits in a bag and use the amp.
Yeah might as well replace every component and tear off the tweed covering & install new Tolex. Let’s also trash the old speaker and put in a brand new one. Old stuff sucks. Actually let’s re-house the chassis in a NEW apple crate. We don’t want people to “fetishize”over something that’s an 80 year old museum piece since you seem to think people jack off on minty vintage amps. I hope you play a solid state crate and not an old tube amp- otherwise someone might fetishize all over it, and then you’d have to pay some tech to chisel the dried up jizz off of it. Might as well burn down your house while you’re at it- someone might admire it from afar, or even in a RUclips comment section and you definitely wouldn’t want that. You can then build yourself a new ugly cinder block house that won’t be fetishized over. And if someone does happen to “fetishize” on it you can just spray it off with a garden hose.
I have one that is almost as clean
....wonderful amp
@@vadenk4433 exactly.. shouldnt replace the power cord either. if you cant figure out how to use a 2 prong plug you should just take up golf.
OMG, History is made......Proof....First distortion EVER ,. Send to Hall of Fame !
My 78 year old mother loves your videos. LOL Oh, the Coltrane Naima melody on guitar was a pleasant surprise.
Amp sounds amazing!
I was surprised by how clean it sounded.
Bob?
come on, man. you're here?! fark, i don't like your channel.
Didn't expect to see you here!
Spoiler alert!
Very cool old amp! ✌🏻👍🏻
You’re here
thanks for checkin it out :)
Don’t fetishize it Matthew! Old amps are not to be admired. :) You might get scolded by the know it all who informed me he thinks people have sexual relations with vintage amplifiers.
@@vadenk4433 nah the input Jack holes are too small
Oh man, even Matthew Scott is here! Sup man
It's uncommon but really nice to see women doing this type of work. I love to see old pieces coming back to life by the hands of skilled people.
And OMG! Your voice is so relaxing! 🙂
Already subscribed!
Did you all notice that while working on the amp she had black fingernail polish on but when playing the guitar there was no polish on? It is nice to see a lady working on these old amps and she has a pleasing voice to listen to. One Note: Anytime you work on one of these old amps do yourself (and the customer) a favor and go ahead and replace all of the electrolytic caps and the paper caps. Don't even turn it on until you do.
I could chill watching these vids all week. I don't even gaf about guitars. What.
What a lucky amp to have such responsible owners
Not only is she a master amp repairer, she has sweet guitar skills and she matches the style of the amp she's working on. Really cool.
Way COOL ! I grew up in Kalamzoo Michigan. I lived 4 streets away from the Gibson factory in Kalamzoo. Every time I saw a historical piece from the factory it makes me proud to have been there in the heyday of the Gibson Guitar empire. Watching you restore a part of history is breath taking. YOU GO GIRL.
Thank you for sharing this story- you were truly in the presence of magic!
Glad to know that the preamp section of the amp uses tubes that we can still buy today. There are preamp tubes manufactured before 1947 that were commonly used in 1930s era amps that are either no longer made or are ultra rare and over-priced.
Yep.Sometimes they have to replace the tube socket and all.But if I could find the one rare tube I need I would pay 100$ or more.
Breathing "Naima" for it's first breath of new life, what could possibly be more auspicious? Wonderful work.
My kid and I are restoring an old family heirloom 1964 Fisher 500C. A lot of this is similar though and we love watching these videos of yours, they’re informative and inspiring!
Not just an amp. A work of art. You are in the business of art restoration!
7:32....”just to recap what I’ve done here.” The timing on that line couldn’t have been more perfect. Love you work, and love this channel. Thanks for taking the time for all of us. Your work is awesome!!
I look at the size of those components from that time period, and I imagine a Mesa road King the size of a refrigerator!
OMG ....History is made...Proof, First Ever DISTORTION.....send to Hall of Fame !!!
who needs a TV with content this good? not me.
That is so cool how the control panel is concealed and protected for transport.
80% electronic, 20% sculpture. Enjoyed the vid!
What a cool amp! I've never seen that model. That belongs in a museum.
This has quickly become one of my favorite channels! My soldering has improved massively since watching. Thanks!
I enjoyed watching your direct diagnostics of the problem with out the rants and raves that other electronic techs do on there channels. Great Job, Looking for more vids from you.
Lol great comment. Why are they all so bitter? It's not pleasant to listen to
Hello Martin,. It's good to see new techs to this old technology stuff... fault finding is indeed a skill that takes many year to perfect...the only time my trusty scope is in use it to do final checks on signal traces.. ather 30 plus yrs in audio, tv repairs .. I'd say good luck with her journey.
@@waynewayne3709 Because of our declining education system in this country, fewer and fewer youngsters are being introduced into mechanical training and finding their aptitude for skills..
We can look for a crises in our country with fewer people to maintain the infrastructure. (planes, trucks, trains buildings, and bridges.) College is no longer an investment to learning a vocation one can get a job and earn a good living. You can watch the future and see what I am saying, come true. God help us.
Man, you're telling me. One of the latest vids at one channel was directly about how pissed off he got over a non-issue. Smh. That guy needs a chill pill. Big time. Personally, I don't see why anyone would even want to publish a vid that ends up only making themselves look like a dufus.
@@JC-11111 What are you talking about? Your comment makes no sense.
An electrodinatic speaker,,the harder you push the amp the more current goes through the choke (the electromagnet coil) the stronger the magnet making the speaker more efficient and louder. Cool! A nice clean repair. I'm glad to see a young person who is interested in the vintage amps. I always replace the 2 coupling caps going to the output tubes, along with the all electrolytes. A very clean amp and a very clean repair. You love what you do,it shows.
Wow, just wow!!! Not only is the amp super cool but so is the amp tech! Its always great to see someone in the younger generation catch the repair bug! Uncle Doug's stamp of approval is probably the highest rating anyone can get, so Congratulations!!! Also great vid. The amp sounds fantastic! I recently had the privilege of working on a gretch 1948 archtop.... vintage gear rocks!!! Sorry for the novel. :)
Wow. What a treat. So glad you could save another amp's life.
I was having a rough morning but that bit of voodoo child at the end made me grin wildly. Cool sound and great playing!
Interesting how the layout design amounted to using the tube socket lugs as the only anchor points for all other components. Almost like the original assembly worker just connected everything per a schematic then shoved everything in the chassis. It seems amazing it lived for 81 years without incurring a massive, potential lethal short somewhere. Very methodical, logical work.
And I guarantee it was done by a woman, as women were thought to not only have more dexterity when doing this kind of intricate work... but it was thought women also had more patience. That's why the tag in your vintage Marshall are all signed by women.
I’ll have to start making some videos of the stuff I have, including a 1935 Dobro amplifier
It's called point-to-point wiring, which was then superseded by turret boards, eyelet boards etc, before finally switching to PCBs. For high voltage stuff, point-to-point is one of the better methods for construction, as it uses air as the isolating medium, so you have very little issue with PCBs or turret boards becoming conductive with time, and they're infinitely repairable, as you can just swap out standard components, compared to custom ICs and PCBs that quickly become unobtanium. It however looks quite messy, and takes a lot of assembly time, which is why manufacturers switched to turret boards, as then instead of one tech building the whole circuit one tech could assemble turret boards all day long, while another wires them into the amps, effectively cutting training time in half per tech, with less chance for mistakes.
@@sstorholm Yeah, what I just said. Women were used almost exclusively for these assembly tasks as they have both the dexterity... and most importantly... the patience to do this rather tedious yet vital part of the amps construction. I used to read the inspection tag on my old JMP Marshalls and wonder if "Stacy" or "Nancy" etc. who built my amp were hot 🤣
@@sstorholm in the world of tube amps using PCB are fairly “new”. 🤣
All my amps are mid/late 60’s and earlier all are point- to-point wired.
All that point to point wiring is a work of art.
It blows my mind that people can follow and diagnose point-to-point wired circuits. I just see angry spaghetti. Awesome work!
It's a spiritual experience listening to your voice and watching the amp repair:)
Replacing the filter and bypass caps prior to energizing is absolutely warranted.
The wiring of this amplifier very much reminds me of my all original 1947 MEC Troubadour.
What a fantastic Time-Capsule, thank you so much for sharing this with us.
You mean the coupling caps? Bypass cathode is not critical an often doesn’t fail anyways
@@abubakr6939 I was speaking about the bypass capacitor used in the power supply, sometimes they are refereed to as a Decoupling Capacitor. Any decoupling/bypass capacitors in the signal path would be a different story (unless visual inspection indicates its obviously failed).
@@hkguitar1984 makes sense, though cathode bypass caps don’t actually pass signal
@@abubakr6939 In my original comment I was only referring to power supply capacitors.
It's nice to see a young lady doing early electronics repair!
I always change all the capacitors except the mica, why take the chance of burning up a good tube.
good luck with your projects. Rich
The condition of that amp is astounding! And now it sound good to match.
You can put new filter caps in the old cap cardboard tubes to keep the original look, running the lead wires through the original cardboard end circles.
Love your videos.
Hello, I love you ... I'm just a stranger on the internet but your energy strikes me to the core... and an amp tech? Wow!... anyways that is all, have a beautiful day!
I just realized what a geek I am watching her change the caps in this amp all anxious to hear what this amp sounds like after all the work was completed LOL.
Respect for playing Naima in the demo, the amp sounds great!
Lifting up the cover and seeing that immaculate faceplate for the first time must of been a moment of bliss!
Beautiful amp! That's covered with a linen tweed luggage fabric with a clear lacquer coating. Tolex is a cloth-backed vinyl that came a few years later.
Wow, how does something this old remain in such good condition, that is crazy! Thanks, this was very interesting.
Such a great vid, Colleen, and your no-nonsense editing is just right...
Thank you, girl (I for one am utterly smitten)
I just want to know what Uncle Doug would say about this mint jewel without cigarette burns... And turns out he was here indeed. Wonderful job!!
Very cool seeing someone young get into the tube business! I've been at it since 1977! I can tell you stories about amps!
Nice work Faz. Your diagnostic process for finding unwanted bumps, pops and crackles is very helpful. Thx JD
The Wizard of Oz is a beautiful film - great reference, Colleen! Love your work!!! Love your vids!!!!
Wow pretty amazing for 80 years old.
one of the most enjoyable videos i've watched all year.
Nice work. You did what was necessary, but you respectful of the history. Also, love the size of those old 6L6Gs. Humongous!
After living in Toronto for a decade, I always notice hands that are used for more than lifting Starbucks cups and swiping right. Great hands. Take good care of them, and keep the content coming.
Being inspired by your vids, I was able to repair an old Ampeg bass amp already (it was hardly broken), and now I've got a fantastic Electrohome P2-4526 radio to bring back to life. It hasn't been powered in a few decades, but last known it wasn't working. I'll at least try to make sure it doesn't release the magic smoke when I plug it in for the first time. I need to learn more about testing components and tubes (without a tube tester).
I bet the sound on that amp is Amazing!! Warm warm warm...
I got a 1963 gibson falcon, it's my favorite amp, it's a fender killer, it blows my Princeton out of the water. For blues. That amp sounds great it's got that delta dirt sound.
Beautiful vintage Amp sound - glassy and ethereal. Thanks 😎
I fully understand the art of preservation of the blue moulded caps such as on the fenders. However anything that old with old paper caps personally i would replace them all leaking or not. Any left in the circuit are just a ticking time bomb in my opinion. I have actually gutted them before and hidden new caps inside the old casings for picky customers. Very time consuming. Also as you probably know the high value resistors tend to drift alot with age as well. I would check all there values. Every amp has a different approach. That one is a fine piece. You did a very good job here BTW. Just my observations
Favorite sounding amp. My go to preset amp on my Line 6 Stomp. STP baby. Would like to build one, but the field coils on these ancient amps speakers always steers me away. I think the engineers got it right the first time with P-90's, and these vintage amps.
Through my laptop speakers that amp sounds phenomenal!!!!
I don't know anything about amps but I do love your videos.
Ours turned out wonderful!! I love to hear you play!! Excellent Colleen!
I hope to look as well when I’m 81. I have 26 years to go. Lol nice amp. Now it has 81 more years to rock
Great repair 👍🤘
The condition of the control panel is literally stunning.
Nice creamy harmonics from this 40's amp, great job 👍
Somebody bought that amp or got it as a gift, threw it into a closet or attic and never looked back...until 80 years later! That beauty is CLEAN!
Lovely choice of Naima!
"Just to recap what I've done here" after replacing the filter caps is a wonderful accidental pun.
Good, clear explanation, good modification and good sound. Excellent work.
Wow!! Never thought I'd hear 'Naima' on an amp tech video. My respect for you just jumped up several notches. Keep up the good work!!
What an awesome video! That amp sounds fantastic. I’m amazed at how much smaller components are today than the vintage stuff
They even get smaller when you go to surface mount. I've seen modern surface mount tube maps circuit boards where the entire amp circuit fits on a business card, and the tubes are soldered directly to a separate daughter board and connected with a ribbon cable. While technology is nice, you can't modify or alter the design much without rippingoput the guts completely.
Another beautiful and historic piece of musical lovelyness has been saved. Great work.
Love those old Gibson amps.
They sound amazing and the repair was verry professional,and the tunes,quite bluesy.
It’s amazing that you can clearly see what’s going on with that “Rat’s Nest” of congestion! Cool old amp!
At about your introduction to the amp...I was adding up the years from new. And what a nice condition to see at that timepart. Was following your service with interest and the final test...was just remarkable. The only counterpart at my bench was a 1974 vintage "Fun Machine." Now restored to full working condition along with a cira 1910 Oak Table, with colonial style legs and wooden roller feet. Opens to accept leaves at 6'. 48" closed. Lightly sanded as to accept unknown new owners choice of stain, protective finish.
Very happy to see your vintage era repair at work flow...Thank you for the interesting post and view of craftsmanship in action. McGary
The Classic amps always have the best sag, compression, sounds etc!!!
Wickedly great sound from that beautiful piece of Engineering..great work .Brava.!
Nice video. Yea, those old wax coupling caps are the source of many problems along with the power supply electronics. They’re common in old vintage radios and I just shotgun those out of there with the electrolytics before starting.
wow a real relic restored back to the future
Your guitar playing getting better all the time,-i like what you are playing - and, of course- your hints and knowledge!
had my guy totally redo a 1938 Ric M12 this reminds me of that. I know nothing but he knows it all. Appreciate maintaining originllity Did upgrade to a grounded plug though
Near the end with the sound of this 80 yr old amp, you were channeling Hendrix! What a Great restore. Love your playing, too. Why not show you in the shots of testing so we can all see you playing? Thanks again! What a beautiful amp. Organic sound reminds me of some 60s Rock band sounds. Love your videos and how you break down your repair methods. 👍😊
This amplifier is in a very good aspect, considering the age. I'm surprised to see a dynamic speaker on it. It needs a DC source to create the fixed magnetic field. My grandfather had a Brunswick radio made at 20's that used this type of speaker,.
The sound after the repair is amazing. Very nice amp and a good repair job!
Congrats!
mic channel high volume sounds so badass , great restoration vid!
Lav mic is a nice upgrade on audio. Thanks 👍
Fluff sent me here. I’m glad he did! Cool channel!
Kalamazoo, 1939. What a beautiful example of the past. And what a sound! Thanks for the video
Awesome & extremely impressive !, lucky That it was only the caps !, Nice Job Done ✅!!.
That amp sounds gorgeous
love your channel! I wish I could do that beautiful job for a living, I tried but couldn´t get my head around it!! you are very lucky to have had your uncle and other ppl you mentioned to get you into it at an early age.
Just so you feel graceful and thankful!!!! You are a role model for many many women also, which kicks ass :)
Love from Argentina. Santi.
Incredible condition!
Mic channel licks are sweet.
Cool sound made by the field coil speaker as well.
Wow, incredible! Thanks for this, Colleen.
Watching your videos is a stress-relieving
form of meditation :) Best wishes...
I liked the way she nailed the crackling pot noise - I'm pretty sure others would have straight away gunned for Deoxit😁
Great amp and great service and maintenance - super-tight workspace - just a jungle of 40s resistors and caps. Thanks for documenting it all, really like that you referenced the same filter cap grounds, classy and proper. Loved the little amp history riff, too. Plus, Naima on a Strat! 🤓👍🏽
I love how clean you made this little gem sound. Btw Naima was a treat, thank you!