Vintage goodness

[slider313]

I have the pleasure of getting to work on some very cool vintage amps and the next few weeks will bring me some real rare and great examples. The local guitar shop, that I do some work for, just returned from the Charlotte, NC show with a bunch of "goodies".

 

First up is a 1966 Airline 62-9023a, which is the same amp as the Supro 6424 or 1624t, which is the amp Jimmy Page used on Led Zepplin I. Not much clean headroom here but plenty of crunch and harmonic overtones. This one needs a general service, a three prong and a new pair of 6973 power tubes.

 

Next will be a 1962 brown Fender Vibrolux model 6G11-A. This one isn't working, is blowing fuses, still has the two prong and a '59 Jensen P12R replacing the original Oxford.

 

 

 

 

[golferwave]

Will these be for sale at a later date?

[212Mavguy]

Will enjoy this....

[SouthpawGuy]

Sounds good, and pics please if you can

[slider313]

Will these be for sale at a later date?

 

The Airline is from a private owner, so I'm not sure. The brown Vibrolux is a store amp.

 

They also have an early '65 Deluxe Reverb, Vibrolux Reverb, '62 brown Super, '60 tweed Princeton, 66 Bassman head and '71 Twin Reverb. I'll probably be working on a few of those. IIRC the Deluxe Reverb may have been serviced.

[DetroitBlues]

Wow, that is some cool stuff!

[slider313]

'66 Valco/Airline

 

 

'62 brown Fender Vibrolux

 

[SouthpawGuy]

'66 Valco/Airline

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So that was responsible for Zeppelin I ?

[FredZepp]

I had a Supro Thunderbolt head only ... that thing rocked. I ran a LPB ( booster) into it and the tone was really exceptional.

 

One of the few that I've gotten rid of that I really wished I'd held onto.

[slider313]

 

So that was responsible for Zeppelin I ?

 

It was the Supro version, model S6424. The circuit is exactly the same. Valco put them out under the Airline, Supro, National and Gretsch names. Each company had different cosmetics. The Supro version will bring more $$$ due to the Page connection. Check this out:

 

[Kuz]

Mike, you said that gorgeous Brownface Vibrolux doesn't sound like Brownface Deluxe? The Brownface Vibrolux is cleaner, spankier like a twin? How many watts is that Brownface Vibrolux?

[SouthpawGuy]

 

It was the Supro version, model S6424. The circuit is exactly the same. Valco put them out under the Airline, Supro, National and Gretsch names. Each company had different cosmetics. The Supro version will bring more $$$ due to the Page connection. Check this out:

 

 

Great info, thanks.

[212Mavguy]

I had a Supro Thunderbolt head only ... that thing rocked. I ran a LPB ( booster) into it and the tone was really exceptional.

 

One of the few that I've gotten rid of that I really wished I'd held onto.

Spam...

 

My '66 Harmony 420 1/15 is one extra tone knob different from that T-bolt and it isn't getting enough play time if anyone is interested, PM me. It is a superb old school grab and go, guitar-cable-amp or harp amp. It ain't stock, but things I did are easily reversible. Dime it and ride the volume knob while playing on stage with others... with a boost pedal handy, what it was designed to do. Feels like about 25 watts.

[slider313]

Mike, you said that gorgeous Brownface Vibrolux doesn't sound like Brownface Deluxe? The Brownface Vibrolux is cleaner, spankier like a twin? How many watts is that Brownface Vibrolux?

 

John,

They sound similar but the Deluxe breaks up sooner and is brighter, due to some components in the tone stack being different.

This Vibrolux has a re-coned Jensen P12R, which gives it earlier breakup from the speaker. I believe the stock speaker would have been a ceramic Oxford 12L5-6 by 1962. One could "tweak" the negative feedback circuit for earlier breakup. The tone controls on the brown amps are different than the blackface amps as they kind of interact with each other. It's no where near as clean as a Twin and doesn't sound anything like one. The brown Vibrolux gets 30 watts from a pair of 6L6GC's.

 

Update on the Airline: It needs an output transformer and a good going over. I spoke with the owner and he may not want to put that much $$$ into this one. I happen to have a 1964 Schumacher output transformer that would be a perfect fit. I'll know by tomorrow. If he declines the work, I may offer him a fair price for it, get it up to speed and sell it down the road.

[Kuz]

So if this Brownface Vibrolux is 30watts would sound similar to a Brownface Super or Brownface Pro (I realize the Super is a 2x10 and the Pro is 1x15) but is it the same circuitry at similar output wattage?

[slider313]

So if this Brownface Vibrolux is 30watts would sound similar to a Brownface Super or Brownface Pro (I realize the Super is a 2x10 and the Pro is 1x15) but is it the same circuitry at similar output wattage?

 

The brown Pro is diode rectified and has a tighter bass and "quicker response" when pushed or "digging in" The Super and Vibrolux have a 5AR4/GZ34 rectifier and have a bit more sag with some compression when pushed. The wattage of the Pro is closer to 40 watts with the Super and Vibrolux around 30 watts. As far as sound I feel it's closer to the Pro due to its single speaker set up; which gives it a more controlled and focused response. Hope that helps.

[bolero]

I have a supro 1624T I'll record some clips

[slider313]

I have a supro 1624T I'll record some clips

 

and maybe some pics................?

[SouthpawGuy]

I have a supro 1624T I'll record some clips

 

Yes, pics would be good.

[slider313]

Well, the Vibrolux needed all fresh electrolytic caps, which was no surprise. The power supply caps were ruptured and shorted, so that's why it was blowing fuses. All the blue molded caps checked out except the .1@200v in the vibrato section. This caused the vibrato to "bleed" into the circuit even with it switched off and both pots turned down. I just happen to have an original to replace it with. All the resistors were within spec. This one had all Philips 12ax7 pre-amp tubes in it. All were weak and produced noise. I replaced all four with new Tung Sols. The SovTek 5881 power tubes are good and to my surprise, sound pretty good. The normal channel is big and fat, with nice full mids. The vibrato channel sounded a bit "strident" so I clipped the bright cap and it still had a brittle top end. This amp has a tapped treble pot, so I replaced the ceramic disc .005, that's across the pot, and that did it. This one is now a great sounding example of a brown Vibrolux! Could it sound better? Sure. I would go with four RCA 12ax7a's and a pair of NOS Philips 6L6WGB's, but I'm sure the store will let the next owner upgrade the tubes at their expense.

[bolero]

yep can do that...the back panel comes off & you can see the circuit easily too

[bolero]

slider I wish you lived closer! I could use someone with your expertise to send my amps to

[Kuz]

Mike does incredible work. He serviced my '67 Vibrolux Reverb and the amp is dead quiet along with sounding incredible!!!

[Trouble]

 

It was the Supro version, model S6424. The circuit is exactly the same. Valco put them out under the Airline, Supro, National and Gretsch names. Each company had different cosmetics. The Supro version will bring more $$$ due to the Page connection. Check this out:

 

One of the best recorded youtube vids I've ever heard.

[slider313]

Yeah, Leon does a bunch of amp demo's. He's a big vintage amp collector and has some great sounding recordings. His Airline was stripped down to the bare wood and he did the recover himself.