slider313 Posted December 27, 2013 Posted December 27, 2013 I do a Craigslist search every once in a while to see if anything peaks my interest. I spotted a 1960 Ampeg Mercury in Nashville,Tn. This one is a rare, short lived transition model that uses a 5Y3, two 6V6's and three 12ax7's. Most Ampegs used the octal 6SL7 and 6SN7 in the preamp section until the mid 60's (late 1964). The covering is the earlier "navy random flair" which was used right before the grey checkered covering we all associate with Ampeg. After a bit of "back and forth" with the owner, who was reluctant to ship it, we came to an agreement. After sending the funds, via paypal, the owner discloses that he bought this amp and a few others from Peter Frampton! Nice little tidbit of info that makes this rare amp even more desirable. It should be here by the end of next week. :-)
Spectrum13 Posted December 27, 2013 Posted December 27, 2013 Looks well cared for. The handle too. That combination with 6v6's, would that be what Ken called the rock & roll ampeg?
slider313 Posted December 27, 2013 Author Posted December 27, 2013 Looks well cared for. The handle too. That combination with 6v6's, would that be what Ken called the rock & roll ampeg? I think Ken would have probably given it the "thumbs up" and called it a rock and roll Ampeg. The tube compliment and cabinet size are similar to the tweed Tremolux but the cathode bias factor make it closer electronically to a tweed Deluxe. I've been looking for one of these short lived models for some time as I prefer the 12ax7's over the 6SL7 tube compliment. There's a late 1964 Reverberocket that I would love to find, model R12R-M, that uses one 12au7, three 12ax7's and a pair of 7591A power tubes.
Kuz Posted December 27, 2013 Posted December 27, 2013 Well, Mike... I want you, to show me the way......everyday...... On how you are able to get suck great amp finds!!!!
111518 Posted December 27, 2013 Posted December 27, 2013 Congrats on your find, Mike. I hope to eventually run into a vintage Ampeg guitar amp --such quality, and still at least a little under the radar.
rockabilly69 Posted December 28, 2013 Posted December 28, 2013 My Mercury is a 1961 with 6v6s and the octal preamp tubes. It sounds great!!!
slider313 Posted December 28, 2013 Author Posted December 28, 2013 My Mercury is a 1961 with 6v6s and the octal preamp tubes. It sounds great!!! I had a '61 Rocket with octal pre's. I find most amps with octal preamp tubes sound good when driven on their own but don't react as well to overdrive pedals as circuits with 12ax7's. I've only seen Ampegs from 1960 with 12ax7's. It was short lived for sure. I'm just guessing but It may have been an experiment to see how their circuits compared to Fenders' offerings at the time. Fender had switched to nine pin miniatures in 1954.
slider313 Posted January 6, 2014 Author Posted January 6, 2014 Well, it's here and it's going to need a bit of restoration work. All the coupling caps and most resistors were changed yet the "twistlock" capacitor can is original. Most everything dates to late 1959 except the small magnet/voice coil Jensen P12S, which is dated the 32nd week of 1960 and has been reconed. I installed some Jupiter and Mallory caps and am waiting for a cap can. I also installed a Celestion Blue. The second channel (Accordian) has a "stereo" input and second standard input. The stereo input just bridges the two channels together, which gives the amp a bigger, fatter sound. You do need a mono to stereo cable to achieve this. Oh, and whomever installed the three prong cord didn't attach the chassis ground. Shame on you!
Kuz Posted January 6, 2014 Posted January 6, 2014 Congrats Mike!!!! You are moving from one project (my '63 Deluxe) straight into another project. Good for you, must be fun to fix and then get to play & enjoy those old amps. I am really excited to get my '63 Deluxe!!! And give up the tone report after the Ampeg is fixed.
slider313 Posted January 6, 2014 Author Posted January 6, 2014 Thanks folks! @ John, Yeah man, it's a great when an old amp "comes back to life" after a little TLC. Your Deluxe sounded better than my '61, which made me go over mine and take some readings.I had a resistor out of spec and a couple of leaking Astron caps. I think you'll be very happy with the '63. I can already tell that the Mercury has great potential. The tone is almost there. A new twistlock will tighten things up and get rid of some of the "fizzle" I'm hearing. The second channel has what sounds like an open input. This model didn't use shorting jacks. There's hum until you plug the guitar in. I'll go over the grounding and see if a new shorting jack fixes the problem.
Kuz Posted January 6, 2014 Posted January 6, 2014 Thanks folks! @ John, Yeah man, it's a great when an old amp "comes back to life" after a little TLC. Your Deluxe sounded better than my '61, which made me go over mine and take some readings.I had a resistor out of spec and a couple of leaking Astron caps. I think you'll be very happy with the '63. I can already tell that the Mercury has great potential. The tone is almost there. A new twistlock will tighten things up and get rid of some of the "fizzle" I'm hearing. The second channel has what sounds like an open input. This model didn't use shorting jacks. There's hum until you plug the guitar in. I'll go over the grounding and see if a new shorting jack fixes the problem. That is why you are "The Amp Whisperer", Mike. It must be like a new detective story with every amp you service. Kind of like the game, "Clue", except for guitarists...... From "who dun it?" to "which part is doing it?" Between you and Yoslate, I don't know who is enjoying retirement more!!!!!!
Spectrum13 Posted January 6, 2014 Posted January 6, 2014 Is it about the hunt the fix or the tone? All of the above? Any other Ampegs with the 6v6s?
bolero Posted January 6, 2014 Posted January 6, 2014 wow I bet that celestion blue really gives that thing a throaty voice clips?
slider313 Posted January 6, 2014 Author Posted January 6, 2014 Is it about the hunt the fix or the tone? All of the above? Any other Ampegs with the 6v6s? Pretty much all of the above. No other Ampegs with 6V6's. I do have a pair of Reverberockets, model R12R-T, with 7868's and a Reverberocket 2 with 7591's. I find the circuit design has more to do with what an amp sounds like, than the type of power tube used. wow I bet that celestion blue really gives that thing a throaty voice clips? Well the blue does sound good. The amp isn't 100% right now. I'll try to do a clip after I "dial it in".
rockabilly69 Posted January 6, 2014 Posted January 6, 2014 I can't wait to hear the clips of this Mercury! I like Blue's in the old Ampegs so I'm excited for you to get this back to 100%.
rockabilly69 Posted January 6, 2014 Posted January 6, 2014 I had a '61 Rocket with octal pre's. I find most amps with octal preamp tubes sound good when driven on their own but don't react as well to overdrive pedals as circuits with 12ax7's. I've only seen Ampegs from 1960 with 12ax7's. It was short lived for sure. I'm just guessing but It may have been an experiment to see how their circuits compared to Fenders' offerings at the time. Fender had switched to nine pin miniatures in 1954. My amp isn't used with a pedal board, it's strictly plug my guitar in, turn it up, and hit record. You may find this funny/odd, but it also sounds great for recording bass!
slider313 Posted January 6, 2014 Author Posted January 6, 2014 A little tone report. The amp sounds real good but , as I do with most early Ampegs, I decided to tweak the negative feedback resistor. I went from the stock 10k ohms to 76k ohms. This changes the "feel" of the amp and gives it some much needed "crunch; at a lower volume setting. I've tried it with blackface Fenders and found I prefer the stock values. The early Ampegs were made to stay as clean as possible for their wattage range. This little mod moves the amp into more of a Fender tweed sound but tighter, more focused and full sounding than a tweed Deluxe. More to come!
Kuz Posted January 7, 2014 Posted January 7, 2014 A little tone report. The amp sounds real good but , as I do with most early Ampegs, I decided to tweak the negative feedback resistor. I went from the stock 10k ohms to 76k ohms. This changes the "feel" of the amp and gives it some much needed "crunch; at a lower volume setting. I've tried it with blackface Fenders and found I prefer the stock values. The early Ampegs were made to stay as clean as possible for their wattage range. This little mod moves the amp into more of a Fender tweed sound but tighter, more focused and full sounding than a tweed Deluxe. More to come! Excited to see what the "Amp Whisperer" has to post next. And also wish I could tame my AAS from the said "Amp Whisperer"!!!!
rockabilly69 Posted January 8, 2014 Posted January 8, 2014 Excited to see what the "Amp Whisperer" has to post next. And also wish I could tame my AAS from the said "Amp Whisperer"!!!! And you got it bad Kuz, you haven't even started on your vintage Marshall or Vox acquisitions:)
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