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1968 Deluxe Reverb

27sauce

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Jul 9, 2007
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So I get a call about a broken amp that this rancher wants to get rid of out in Marion Texas. I check it out, with $300 in my pocket, my limit, for now anyway. Its trashed, painted twice, once white and now black. He said it was given to him 30 years ago and he's had it in his garage and never used it. The reverb tank was plugged in to the footswitch in puts. Once we settled that, it turned on and, despite some hiss/pops, it worked ok. He told me to take it before I made him an off, but I did anyways. We settled on $100, some guitar lessons and that I buy some '49 Ford hubcaps off of him in the future.
Any suggestions on getting the paint off?
b4261244.jpg
 

fakejake

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If you have an old DR already, you could just put it on ebay as is and make some nice pocket money .....
 

latestarter

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If it were me, and I wanted to keep it, I'd probably re-tolex it (myself) and simply get the caps and components checked out and play the thing. Well done - good score. The kind of score that doesn't happen to me....
 

27sauce

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I'll get some gut shots tonight. I plan on keeping it, but dont want to retolex.
 

Don

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I'd consider taking it apart and re-painting the cabinet in a semi-gloss black. Then I'd play it- a lot! I don't think you'll get the paint off of the grill, though.
 

sonar

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Congrats!

There're water based strippers that might work and you won't have to worry about pulling the glue off the amp. A buddy has a blonde Bassman that was painted over and he used mineral spirits with "ok" results. Actually it still looks pretty crappy, but I guess he's fine with it.

Be sure to remove the baffle, chassis, all the hardware and lay down tarp everywhere and expect a mess. If at all possible work outside or at least in the garage with the door open.

As for value I would think a pro re-tolex wouldn't hurt the value compared to the amps current condition. I'd probably go for the re-tolex or leave it as is. Imo, stripping paint is right up there with getting a root canal or listening to electronic music. No thanks.
 

toxpert

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Gregg at Vintage Amp Restoration does fantastic work for restoration and re-covering. I would reach out to him and talk over how to approach and what can be done.

He can help guide you and perhaps saveyou money and help to avoid further damage.

Vintage-Amp Restoration
 

27sauce

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Here are some gut shots, and a close up of the funky jewel replacement.
15a71642.jpg

4f66ed0f.jpg

e7c02282.jpg
 

j45

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Jun 14, 2002
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Really great score on a player extraordinaire. I'd just swap out to a repro cab before I spent a bunch time getting a few coats of paint off that may not be much of an improvement but I'm not sure what the point would be anyway. It'll never be anything but a player. I don't know much about blackface mods for the early silvers but may be worth tweaking the circuit a bit if anything. The beauty of a $100 amp like this is that cost $100. I would just play the dog out of it as is if it were me....
 

Cygnus X1

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Sep 20, 2007
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PT may have been replaced or just monkeyed with but you're in great shape for the rest of the board.
The blue molded caps are in place...great news.
IF you are comfortable with it (high voltage potential even when off), then check the filter caps under the dog house.
If not, it shouldn't cost too much to get it to a tech for a checkup.

Congratulations!
 

latestarter

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Agreed, quite clean in there. For some perspective, I just paid $720 for a 1973 Princeton Reverb...again, score!
 

cryptozoo

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That circuit shouldn't need any mods to get it into Blackface territory -- it's already there. I think you're in geat shape from a tonal standpoint, the board looks untouched and the PT looks original. The wire caps are probably from an amatuer 3 prong job or that rocker switch. What kind of shape are the doghouse caps in?
 

27sauce

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That circuit shouldn't need any mods to get it into Blackface territory -- it's already there. I think you're in geat shape from a tonal standpoint, the board looks untouched and the PT looks original. The wire caps are probably from an amatuer 3 prong job or that rocker switch. What kind of shape are the doghouse caps in?

Yes, they are from the 3 prong cord. How can I tell if the PT is original? It is the only thing on the underside lacking paint overspray...

Its not a rocker switch, just a square, green cap glued over the exposed light. The doghouse caps are in excellent shape, I think I was the first one to open the casing.

I swapped some tubes and the noise went down greatly, the speaker is ok. The reverb cables are trashed, so I don't know if it works. I wont get to really mess with it for a couple of weeks, but I'm pumped!
 

sonar

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PT may have been replaced or just monkeyed with but you're in great shape for the rest of the board.
The blue molded caps are in place...great news.
IF you are comfortable with it (high voltage potential even when off), then check the filter caps under the dog house.
If not, it shouldn't cost too much to get it to a tech for a checkup.

Congratulations!


I was trying to follow the heaters, which seem to disappear somewhere over the PT. It might just be the picture, but the PT wiring looks kind of funky.

Other than that, everything else looks good.

edit:

Ok, now I see where the heaters are connected to the two black wires, with one to the pilot and the other to ground.
 

cryptozoo

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Jun 25, 2008
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Check the date code on the top of the PT -- it's probably 606something, a Schumacher. Look up the # here to confirm the week and year (I'd guess '67): http://www.svvintageamps.com/dating.php

Just eyeballing the solder joints on the center tap and rec tube in your low-light pic, it looks to be original. The OT and choke should also have date codes on them, similar to the PT, and likely all from the same year.
 
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