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Base theme by DesignModo & ported to Powered by Vanilla by Chris Ireland, modified by the "theFB" team.
Comments
I assume it's been fitted by bolting it through a couple of round plates on opposite sides of the original rectangular cut-out - in which case no permanent damage to the chassis should have occurred. If so I would definitely put it back to stock using a correct modern replica transformer, both from a performance and value point of view.
That's a really great and becoming quite valuable amp, and as long as it hasn't been hacked in other ways it is very much worth it.
"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
That's why I would swap it - you don't really want an overly-well-regulated PSU in an amp like this, a lot of the 'magic' in them is the sound when the power stage is overdriven. (Even if you're using it for bass, as I've discovered with my Bassman 50.)
Yes, they do - the radiated electromagnetic field is much smaller - but it's only really an issue if you get a single-coil guitar very close to them. The circuit in a Bassman is not inherently hum-prone.
Not so important if it's had the front and back panels drilled - all collector value is gone really, since they're not *that* rare, although certainly less common than the later AB165 version. It was one of Fender's biggest-selling amps at the time, since it was one of the few proper bass amps made. (Although many pro bass players used the more powerful Dual Showman.)
It would actually be interesting to do it though - just to see how much difference it really makes.
"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
the Gretsch fanboys.
The jacks on the back do appear to be a preamp/power amp insert loop I think - but badly done, the floating caps with wires attached are bad practice and a broken connection waiting to happen.
Almost all the internal caps and resistors have been changed. Also, the ‘original’ transformer is itself a replacement since it has a 1966 1976 date code. (619, 19th week of 1976 - the other code corresponds to a 1970s one not 1960s.)
Edit - reading that back it sounds a bit critical... it's not meant to be, other than of the two unsupported caps - the changed resistors and caps have very little, if any, bearing on the performance, and none on the value since it's already been drilled. The slight surprise is that there are still a few original ones, you would think that whoever did it would just have changed the lot if they thought it was necessary to change most of the ones they did.
It's perfectly OK to use a big mains transformer as a stepdown autotransformer, if it has a dual-voltage primary as this does, and if it's adequately rated - it looks like it should be more than enough. The non-original transformer actually looks like it's from 1976 not 1966 - my mistake. Either way it looks like the correct type.
"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