DetroitBlues Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 (edited) Last year I foolishly traded away a Marshall DSL20C for an old Fender Blues Deluxe. Amp was worn physically on its old tweed coverings. Sounded fine when I played it and after a couple gigs. I made a mistake of taking it to a local shop for a broken input jack replacement and was convinced to have it fully serviced. Reflow some soldering points, new caps, tubes, etc. 2 gigs later amp dies, no sound. Multiple rounds with the tech and nothing was fixed. In fact, the amp was worse. Almost had it repaired by another person when a chance conversation brought up options with this amp with the man himself, Mr. KBP810. While he is no longer a resident of the 810 nor is he still building amazing amps, he decided to take a stab at the amp, found some rather questionable problems with the amp. Asked what’s easier, fix it or use it as a shell and build anew. Choice was to build. Free rein on the design, he chose a Princeton Reverb circuit beefed up to a 40 watt-ish power rating. To add to the fun he also lacquered the cabinet too. He finished it up, need to figure out the logistics to pick it up… Edited August 17 by DetroitBlues Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genericmusic Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 Very cool. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbp810 Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 It was a hot mess inside; some toasted components and lots of scorched traces. Some of the previously repaired traces popped right off the board with little to no pressure. On some components, the solder pad was detached and floating freely, barely making contact with the original trace (could push on the component from the other side and see the pad move freely up/down), and likely intermittently detaching from vibrations during play. No telling how many intermittent and/or future issues were laying in wait. I could see what the repair shop was going for, and this is always a risky and delicate task; but in this case the benefits of preventative maintenance did not really outweigh the risk. These are just some of the damaged areas - 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero Posted August 13 Share Posted August 13 Wow! So their version of "reflow solder" looks a little extreme? Or do you think those were probs that developed with use? F***ing A on the circuit choice though!! A beefed up Princeton Reverb is one of my fave amps! The infamous Vibro Pig: a PR circuit with a 12" speaker, 2x 6L6 power tubes. I think you'll be very happy with that amp! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Posted August 13 Share Posted August 13 Love it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbp810 Posted August 13 Share Posted August 13 10 hours ago, bolero said: Wow! So their version of "reflow solder" looks a little extreme? Or do you think those were probs that developed with use? There are common known issues on these amps with certain excessive heat generating components being mounted too closely to the main board (especially the two grid leak resistors; and this board did look toasty in that area); but for the most part here, I believe the issue was having the soldering iron too hot and/or holding too long in one spot, while replacing the caps and reflowing solder joints. Ultimately damaging the traces and solder pads, and then chasing their tales trying to repair them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero Posted August 14 Share Posted August 14 I was wondering about that: a better technique would have been bridging the connections with new wire IMO But at least that wasn't your work! Lol 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero Posted August 14 Share Posted August 14 Maybe there is wire under all that solder & melted plastic....whatever, it's a mess Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidsmoke Posted August 14 Share Posted August 14 feel like I fell out of a time machine reading this. Very cool. Happy for you Josh, and kudos to KBP for doing a solid. Re-use re-purpose. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DetroitBlues Posted September 2 Author Share Posted September 2 Finally had some time to meet up with KBP today and took delivery of this outstanding amp. Brian completely gutted this amp and made it into something special. Circuit design is based upon a Fender Princeton Reverb however at a very loud yet remarkably clean 40 watts. He amber lacquered the old worn tweed covering and upgraded the speaker to a Warehouse WGSGT12C/S. For an added touch, it also has a custom control plate, effectively renaming the amp,”Detroit Blues Deluxe” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero Posted September 3 Share Posted September 3 Yeah!!! That's a whole lotta amp, right there. Congrats, and kudos to KBP! That's a Kool Bitchin' Princeton 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockabilly69 Posted September 4 Share Posted September 4 now lets hear a demo! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DetroitBlues Posted September 4 Author Share Posted September 4 9 hours ago, rockabilly69 said: now lets hear a demo! Missed that opportunity when I was at the ranch. Maybe tonight once the Mrs. will be at school for open house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Millennium Maestro Posted September 4 Share Posted September 4 Cool Thread! Great to see Brian hanging around! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero Posted September 8 Share Posted September 8 Good warning to avoid those amps too, there's a lot around Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DetroitBlues Posted September 8 Author Share Posted September 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DetroitBlues Posted September 8 Author Share Posted September 8 https://youtube.com/shorts/0ZtPFR6W1Gk?si=pKs7FM5DdbS91t50 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero Posted September 10 Share Posted September 10 That sounds great!!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockabilly69 Posted September 10 Share Posted September 10 Sounds pretty good DB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DetroitBlues Posted September 11 Author Share Posted September 11 On 9/10/2024 at 12:32 AM, rockabilly69 said: Sounds pretty good DB Unfortunately, I don't have the recording skills you have plus my playing seems rushed. Don't know why when I'm with a band, its fine, but when I'm just playing without a track, its a hot mess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DetroitBlues Posted September 11 Author Share Posted September 11 Side not to all the recordings. Bass is set to about 2, Mid's about 3, Treble around 5 (based upon a 1-12 scale). Volume is set to around 4. The change in the dirt is all volume knob of the guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockabilly69 Posted September 12 Share Posted September 12 12 hours ago, DetroitBlues said: Unfortunately, I don't have the recording skills you have plus my playing seems rushed. Don't know why when I'm with a band, its fine, but when I'm just playing without a track, its a hot mess. Didn’t sound rushed to me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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