calling musicians/tube amp gurus

[porsche911girl]

OK guys, I have a 1968 Fender Deluxe Reverb amp. It's never given me any problems...until now. It has the original footswitch with it that controls the reverb and tremelo/vibrato. While the reverb has always worked fine, and so has the tremelo, for that matter, I can't get the tremelo to work. I was playing my Strat tonight and tried the tremelo, nothing.

I think what happened was I left the tremelo on via the footswitch, ie I didn't turn it off, so while the control knobs for it were set at 0 on the amp, it was still on, lurking in the background.

I've been told not to leave the tremelo on when you're not using it. I don't know why that is. I normally am good about turning it off via the switch on the footswitch and then turn the knobs on my amp for that function to 0.

Anyway, there's always been a background tapping noise of the vibrato when it was on, which I thought was normal. Now, the guitar sounds the same whether it's on or not, and there's no noise after about 5 on the speed knob. When I turned it up to 10, there was a loud background tapping noise, and quite a bit of hum/buzz, which I attributed to the reverb being on.

On the lower vibrato speed and intensity settings, the guitar sounded distorted, but not in a good way. It sounded like when one of my pedals' battery is dying--it'll distort the guitar but it doesn't sound the way a distortion pedal or overdrive on the amp sounds. Also bear in mind that the volume of the channel I was using was between 1 and 2. I wasn't blasting anything out.

I am planning to take it tomorrow to my local Sam Ash to see what they can tell me about it. As it's a vintage amp, I am expecting a hefty bill.

I checked the connections from the foot pedal to the back of the amp, they seemed fine, no frayed wires or loose connections. I then unplugged it and untangled the rather long cord, plugged it back in, no change.

I don't know if there's a short somewhere, or if something needs to be replaced. Maybe I need a new foot switch/pedal?

And I hope at least some of what I've written makes sense. It's hard to describe unless you hear it.

Thanks in advance guys!

[slodave]

Turn it up to 11!

Can't help, sorry.

[nota]

tubes do have a lifespan, also capacitors
control nob connect to variable resistors [aka pots] that get dirty too
tube test first, then spray tv tuner cleaner in the pots, then test the capacitors if that fails then go spend the cash at the shop

[porsche911girl]

Originally posted by nota
tubes do have a lifespan, also capacitors
control nob connect to variable resistors [aka pots] that get dirty too
tube test first, then spray tv tuner cleaner in the pots, then test the capacitors if that fails then go spend the cash at the shop

Thanks Nota! I didn't even think of the pots getting dirty. That could be the problem. Hopefully, it's something small like that and not something that'll take forever to diagnose and/or fix. Last time I was at Sam Ash, I needed a new tuning key for my strat. After leaving it there for 3 months while Fender was supposed to be sending a new one, I gave up and took the guitar back. So much for customer support @ Fender!

(Still looking for a replacement tuning key--its for a 62 RI strat, so it's got the vintage style with the hole in the top to thread the string thru...looking for low-E only, as it was stripped.)

[porsche911girl]

I know the tubes aren't original, as I put them in myself when I got the amp, I had to reassemble it, quite fun actually. So the tubes are at least 3 years old. It hasn't seen very much use tho since I've had it.

[Nostril Cheese]

PM me. I have a 66 Deluxe Reverb

[slodave]

Originally posted by porsche911girl
(Still looking for a replacement tuning key--its for a 62 RI strat, so it's got the vintage style with the hole in the top to thread the string thru...looking for low-E only, as it was stripped.)

Try eBay. They are listed and rather inexpensive. There should be no difference in the 6 keys.

Dave

[porsche911girl]

I've tried ebay. It's hard to find a single key. And there is a difference, I had a guitar tech give me an E key, but its the wrong one, it'll only fit the top E, not the one I need...sigh.

[slodave]

Get a set of reissue keys, they are inexpensive, use the one you need until you find a vintage one. It'll keep it playable.

Dave

[porsche911girl]

Yeah all I'm looking for is reissue, it's a reissue 62 strat. Cheers Dave!

[nostatic]

Sam Ash? Stay far away. Are you anywhere near these guys?

http://www.fatsoundguitars.com/about/index.html

Go there instead. They are the real deal.

Sounds like a bad preamp tube, but could just be a cap or connection. In general, power amp tubes slowly weaken with age wherease preamp tubes just seem to go bye-bye. You could try getting another 12ax7 preamp tube (or maybe it is a 12at7) and swapping it for the one that does the trem (there should be a tube diagram on the inside of the case).

[slodave]

Shop at Guitar Center! I need the stock value to go up!

Katie, The tuners are available all over the place. A set goes for about $40 -$50 bucks.

Here's my pride and joy...

[Eric H]

I have a similar SFDR, just a year or two later... (no silver trim). The background tapping noise w/vibrato is typical as you say (but can be eliminated). I might suggest posting over on the amps forum of of webervst.com...

[porsche911girl]

Originally posted by Eric H
I have a similar SFDR, just a year or two later... (no silver trim). The background tapping noise w/vibrato is typical as you say (but can be eliminated). I might suggest posting over on the amps forum of of webervst.com...

Hey Eric--THANKS for the info!! I'd love to see a pic of your amp! How do you eliminate the tapping?

[porsche911girl]

Nostatic--I wish it had a tube chart inside it. Someone removed it long before I ever got the amp. All I went by to install the tubes was a hand-drawn diagram of where all the tubes went.

I have to admit I prefer Guitar Center over SA even if it's farther away from me.

Slodave--nice axe! Here's my *real* pride and joy:


1980 Gibson SG Standard with the input jack on the side ala Les Paul style rather than top-mounted. Also note there's no space between the neck and the pickup. It had a DiMarzio humbucker in the bridge and that was the first thing to go, replaced with a Gibson 57 Classic +


Kinda weird to think the guitar is older than me!

[slodave]

The Gibson SG is my favorite as well. Mine is a "Dave Custom", I made it as a high school project 15+ years ago. I wanted to copy the SG, but ended up with something heavier than a Les Paul and does not exactly resemble it. I like it though. Has a full two octave neck.

I would like to own a Doubleneck SG at some point.

Dave

[Sonic dB]

Nice Amp. You must have your own house if you can turn that thing
up to 10 and actually play anything!

Im not sure what would cause/fix your problem...cause its hard
to diagnose based on written words....it could be tubes, could
be pots.... if it were me, Id start with the most "consumable" components and those would be the ones
to look at first.

A simple note on tubes... since you mentioned that you have
never replaced them before... Tube vary GREATLY in their tonal
quality.... I made the mistake of purchasing Svtlana Preamp
tubes based on repuation for my Fender Bassman Combo but
I found out quickly that they are too DAMN CLEAN! ... and this
is the tube doing it... so if you are like me and like as slightly
"dirty" sound, do your research and talk to some local tube
pros and maybe even get a chance to play through their rigs first
before you invest the $ in new tubes...

Also, talk with Sam Ash and find out who their Amp Guy is... then
contact that guy and find out what they know about tube amps...

Usually the local super stores use local gurus to farm out their
amp and guitar repair work too.....and it helps if you can chat with
the guy in person before he does the work cause you will more
likely get what you want that way..

Good luck!

[island_dude]

Swaping tubes around is generally a good idea. As tubes get old, they become microphonic. This gets much more noticeable with volume. Since the amp is a 68 your caps are just hanging in there. You can get replacement sets and do it yourself, but its a pain if you are not handy with soldering iron. At this age, the amp could have lots of issues due to aging components. I have never here that it was bad to keep the tremolo on all the time, not sure why this would be. To be honest, this one could be easy (swapping tubes), or hard (replacing all of the caps). Its a vintage amp and needs more TLC than a new one. For what its worth, my Rivera had some tube issues when it was brand new.

[Rick Lee]

Sonic is right in that most big stores use a local amp tech that comes by the shop and picks up amps once or twice a week. The shop tacks on a percentage to the bill, so you're better off finding the amp tech on your own and going directly to him.

If you've reubed your amp yourself and didn't rebias it, that may be part of your problem. Reverb tanks go bad too. My old Silverface Twin had ever problem you can imagine and it was tough to track them all down when they were ocurring simultaneously.

As for the tuning pegs, get a set of Schallers or Grovers and slap them in and play while you slowly find the vintage one you need to keep your old set original.

[john walker's workshop]

i had a SG for my shop guitar years ago. flexy little thing. had a coat hanger loop on the top two tuners to hang it on the garage wall so i could grab it quick to play along with a good song on the radio. probably paid $150 for it and should have treated it better, considering today's prices. also had a white SG custom with 3 pickups, but it didn't grow on me for some reason. still have a couple of melody makers and a reissue 335 among others. always liked gibsons.