DetroitBlues Posted August 12 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
kbp810 Posted August 12 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
bolero Posted August 13 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
kbp810 Posted August 13 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
bolero Posted August 14 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
bolero Posted August 14 Posted August 14 Maybe there is wire under all that solder & melted plastic....whatever, it's a mess
kidsmoke Posted August 14 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
DetroitBlues Posted September 2 Author 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”
bolero Posted September 3 Posted September 3 Yeah!!! That's a whole lotta amp, right there. Congrats, and kudos to KBP! That's a Kool Bitchin' Princeton 1
DetroitBlues Posted September 4 Author 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.
Millennium Maestro Posted September 4 Posted September 4 Cool Thread! Great to see Brian hanging around! 1
bolero Posted September 8 Posted September 8 Good warning to avoid those amps too, there's a lot around
DetroitBlues Posted September 8 Author Posted September 8 https://youtube.com/shorts/0ZtPFR6W1Gk?si=pKs7FM5DdbS91t50
DetroitBlues Posted September 11 Author 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.
DetroitBlues Posted September 11 Author Posted September 11 (edited) Side note 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. Edited September 23 by DetroitBlues
rockabilly69 Posted September 12 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
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now