Evening all,
please bear with me for a rambling question. Short version of it: I have a 60s AC50 which I want to revive.
Longer version: when I wanted my first proper amp in the mid-80s just about the only thing in the local music store I could afford was an AC50 which was sold to me as a bass amp but actually had a really nice (cleanish) Hendrix sound when hit with a boost. So I bought it and played it for a few years; it was one of those by the way, no. 6796
http://www.voxshowroom.com/uk/amp/ac50bb2.html - the most common, least desirable solid-state rectified version. I later decided that playing in a covers band I needed a more versatile rig but had the good sense to hang on to the Vox. Since the early 90s, it has lived (slept?) under a dustproof cover in a dry bedroom at my parents' house, but I have now decided to take it back and revive it. It is now sitting in my study looking clean and ready to go.
This brings me to the questions:
- can I just switch it on and expect it to be ok, or should I get it checked over first to avoid harm to the amplifier or myself? It was working flawlessly when I put it away.
- are there any checks I can perform myself - never having worked on amps myself, I hasten to add?
- I don't have a cabinet (never had an original Vox cabinet, used a home-built 4x12 with it which I eventually sold). What would be the best speaker to go with it? And could I get away with a 1x12 cab?
The amp is in Germany so I'm afraid there's no use recommending UK techs who might take a look.
Comments
Not really. You need a Variac, test meters and a good knowledge and experience of what to look for if it isn't working right.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein