rwinking Posted July 10 Posted July 10 I have a line on a 1962 Premier 15w 1X12 amp in great shape. It has reverb and tremolo but the reverb is out in one channel. Has anyone around here ever owned one? So far my research shows that they were kind of a generic brand but well built from the 50s on. I would just love any personal experience.
TalismanRich Posted July 10 Posted July 10 I've never run across a Premier amp. From the bit of checking I've done, they appear to be old style point to point or terminal strip construction, much like Valco did in the 40s to 60s. I did run across this video about Premier guitars and amps from Mike and Mike's Guitar Bar.
rwinking Posted July 11 Author Posted July 11 Thanjs for the video. In watching it it turns they are pretty rare in the west. The guy I am getting it from is from the east coast. I think I will go ahead and get it. The guy who is selling it is a harp layer and it was a little much for him. It is pretty spotless and a third of what they seem to be going for. It has that thing where you pull the reverb out of the back and the speaker will not rattle it. Well thought out for sure. I have a spare Weber 12 or two so I will try some experimentation on that. Again, the video was great and articles are cool but it would be nice to hear from someone who has actually played one. 1 1
bolero Posted July 14 Posted July 14 (edited) Looks cool, I bet they sound good & would be easy to modify if you needed to. Found this: similar? https://reverb.com/item/28279959-vintage-1961-premier-model-50-amp-guitar-harp-clean-mean-pristine-and-with-tone-to-die-for Edited July 14 by bolero
rwinking Posted July 15 Author Posted July 15 I picked it up to try and it is a cool amp. One issue is that as I turn up the reverb knob I get more gain. It is a great growly gain, but it is reverb saturated. Hmmm. I am having a friend check it out. For $500 it seems like a great deal and I don't think the reverb issue will be too much to correct. The reverb unit comes out of a hinged back panel so the speaker doesn't shake it. The tremolo is wonderful. As you can see from the pix, it has this cool tacky vibe with a way cool footswitch and brown, red and white bakelite knobs..... 1
Gitfiddler Posted July 15 Posted July 15 Cool looking amp. What's the tube set? If it has a reverb driver (12ax7?) maybe it needs replacing.
bolero Posted July 15 Posted July 15 Really neat amp: Independant reverb & trem adj for each channel! And does the 2ch input give you more drive? Or does it just feed both channels. Be interesting to see the schematic. When the reverb is at 100% is there still any dry signal? Some reverbs mix out the dry, others blend in the reverb & keep the dry.
rwinking Posted July 15 Author Posted July 15 The reverb is out on Channel 2 so I am not sure. At this point channel I & 2 have about the same amount of volume/gain. I am not sure about the tubes yet. I am taking it in to an old tube fanatic who will check out all of these issues. From what I have read online, there are no schematics out there, but he said that he worked on one a couple of years back. In the picture you can see the cool brown footswitch, It also came with the original brown cloth cover. 1
bolero Posted July 15 Posted July 15 (edited) That looks pretty sweet. I was wondering if the 2ch input worked like 4 hole marshalls, so you can blend them together. It appears to have 2 separate preamps, which opens up other possibilities. Congrats! Edited July 15 by bolero two looks
rwinking Posted July 16 Author Posted July 16 On 7/14/2024 at 9:03 PM, Gitfiddler said: Cool looking amp. What's the tube set? If it has a reverb driver (12ax7?) maybe it needs replacing. So I had it checked out and the tubes are 2 6V6 pwr tubes 3 12 ax7 preamp tubes 6AQS reverb tube 5Y36T rectifier tube I don't think the rerb is meant for both channels as it tuens out. The second reverb knob says Balance and it changes the nature of the reverb. The tremolo is in both channels but you have to flip a switch between the channels. The EQ is interactive, similar to an AC30 where subtracting bass adds treble, etc. All and all, a cool amp for $450...I got him down $50..... It's pretty spotless! 2
rwinking Posted July 16 Author Posted July 16 I don't think so as there is a switch that goes from channel one to channel two on the trem
TalismanRich Posted July 17 Posted July 17 I did run across a schematic for the 120R. https://elektrotanya.com/premier_120r_sch.pdf/download.html That might give you a bit better idea of how the reverb and trem are wired.
rwinking Posted July 17 Author Posted July 17 Thanks for the schematic! I will give it to my amp guy as well as download it and tape it in the back of the amp. I understand McCoy Tyler and quartal harmonies but not schematics. I’ll leave that to the pros or even talented amateurs.
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