I have two different tube pin straighteners on my bench. One of them is always a pita to find. I think they are trained to be hard to find. I own and restored a Gretsch 6151T. It's a nice little amp. It sounds great in spite of my horrific guitar playing skills. The 6161 you restored here is very nice.
I thought it had a great sound before you even repaired it. Built like a 50's Hotrod. Not only does it look great, it sounds great. Back when Gretsch made amazing stuff! They pop up on Reverb from time to time. Prices range for 800 upwards. Very impressed.
Thanks for another great video Brad! Thanks for shouting out Uncle Doug the other day, he definitely deserves more subs and donations to keep it ad free!
I think Doug should consider monetizing his channel. He deserves to reap the rewards of the great work he does, but yes, absolutely, it's my pleasure to promote him. I've gotten so much from his channel and wish I could give back even more.
Well, I finally discovered why I can never find any old radios worth picking up or any tube amps at all at the local antique and thrift stores. I talked to some old man running an antique store I don’t typically go to and apparently there is a man from Cincinnati that comes to town a couple times a year and buys up practically everything with tubes in it. I did find some of those really cool tube mechanic boxes that you have shown before, but they were empty and on the high side.
Another nice vid. Best channel on YT. You and Uncle Doug are the ones that made me take the leap from just low voltage stuff like pedals to fixing amps. Been scared of high voltage, and still are but I've learned so much from you guys so I finaly feel confident enough to do some higher voltage stuff.
Hi Brad. I just bought one of these Gretsch 6161. And I'm psyched. I need to go through it and clean it up and you had cleaned the control panel. I was wondering what you used to clean that with. Really appreciate the information that I have garnered from your channel! Thanks bud!
Picked up a Gretsch G5222 'Champomatic' a couple months back and learned a lot about The Valco connection with them and all the other Valco made amps. I'm pretty tempted to tear apart the Champomatic and put a point to point 1605 mod in it.
Love this work!! Just had a flashback to my Dad cleaning valve pins with an old electric spark plug cleaner that used abrasive beads. :) They sell for silly money on ebay if you can find them.
I love microphonic 17mm plate Sylvania 12AX7’s. They make amazing phase inverters and tremolo tubes. You really only need a good quiet tube for V1 in most amps, especially Fenders from tweed to Silverface and any derivative of the 5F6 circuit. Even tubes with a noisy half can find a spot in some amps. Don’t chuck a working tube!
This is also why you don't just pull old USA and European made tubes because they're reading low emission and throw them out. A low emission 12AX7 can still have great tone and can still function perfectly well in some positions. Might sub well for a 12AT7 PI, for instance. Just ripping out old American tubes and throwing them away willy nilly is a sin against the guitar gods.
Matt Fields i have a crate turbovalve 6210 i got it used the owner crossed 8 months ago. The amps been sittin so right off the bat problems. I have a question; its a 2 channel amp is the clean channel its own preamp tube? Theres 5 preamp tubes ones reverb.the main problem was original tubes. First I changed was the 6l6's for new matched 34's. Ok so now no loudness problem. Ive got 4 Nos rca 12au7a's A friend brought me three 12ax7 a jj hg 2 EH's i changed the first three jj in v1. Ok so my gain got smoother like I like it ( i dislike harsh clip Any unpleasant crap metal clip really) Should I start at v1 with the u7a's to the x7a's ? Or x7a's down to the u7a's. If I can get answers ill only have to pull tubes once.
12AU7's have very low gain and high transconductance. Not great at all for actual guitar preamp but good for phase inverter like a 12AT7. Try a 12AY7 or 5751 for lower preamp gain with similar 12AX7 tone. I would use 12AX7's in all positions, maybe a 12AU7 or 12AT7 in the phase inverter.
I have an old Fender black face Pro Reverb I’d love to breathe life back into. In its day this amp sounded glorious. Reverb doesn’t work but when it did it was as good as the stand-alone units. It’s a little frayed around the edges but I love it.
That was fantastic! A good thing to do is take the speakers off the baffle and clean the smoke/dust off the grill cloth. The plywood is pretty impervious to water. I wet the cloth and use an old shaving brush loaded with mild hippie soap. Lather it up & rinse. It will take those rings around the speakers away and shine the foil woven into the cloth. No, the baffle does not warp.
Dirty Leslie "Hippie Soap" is a mild, handmade plethora of earthly delights sans animal tallow. DO NOT USE PATCHOULI !!! An old shaving brush will not pull the threads and foil strands from the fabric.
We also dig those Gretch amps from the mid/late-1950's to mid/late-1960's, which are still great buys for players amps, with older versions having more collector's value. Back when I was buying amps like crazy off eBay 15-20 years ago, using excess "medicine" growing money (and they say money doesn't grow on trees?), I did some research on Gretch amps. One dude that I bought my 6163 from was a Gretch collector, and he schooled me too. I bought a 6163 "Executive" from ~1960, w/wraparound grill - a two channel amp with 15" speaker (sadly not the original Jensen), similar to a Thunderbolt - but better, with wicked crunchiness and tone. We also bought a mid-1960's "Playboy" amp w/12" Jensen C12R, from the same mid-1960's era as this amp. That one uses 6973 power tubes, sometimes also used in juke boxes and hi-fi amps, which possess a unique overdrive tone, although most of the Valco crunch is from the circuit, not the power tubes - the 6L6's in the 6163 have that Valco crunch too. Valco's best quality amps were made for Gretch and Supro, although many other Valco amps are cool too. I took a brief look at the Gretch used amp market just now, and there are many great buys currently available - if I had any extra money (money trees aren't ripe for picking yet) I'd buy us another Gretch amp, maybe a 2 x 10 like this one..? I also dig the 6159 dual bass amp, with 2 x 12" Jensen speakers, and larger transformers, providing more clean headroom, plus I could use it for bass too. As Brad says, those old Gretch amps can be great buys - relatively inexpensive, well made, and sound great. Thanks for another fun, interesting and informative video Guitologist man!
The Supro stuff was actually meant for the lower end mainly. National was the top of the heap and Gretsch stuff was supposed to be up there too. Supro and Airline labeled stuff from the 60s usually has lower end construction, but not by much. Plastic handles on those break easily. Airline coverings were barely better than paper, but cabinets made the same. Good coverings on Supros still. Airline grills were recessed, so their grill cloths fare better. Most collected ones are the Supros because of the Jimmy Page connection, but they are all similar lines with many of the exact same circuits across lines.
Oopsy! National, not Supro, was the other upscale Valco brand. I knew there was another one, along with Gretsch (I spelled it right this time!). Thanks for correcting me, and the additional info...
Yes. It has a lower mid-range "honk" to it, especially in the "BASS" input that really hits a nail in my head ... Been looking for that tone forever ...
Wow! And yes they are in the red boxes. Thanks for the information! I guess $2 isn’t too much of a waste on a factory seconds tube. Would these have been an economy type purchase in the old days as well? So much history to learn...
I have experienced counterfeit chips from China for my synthesizer hobby. Lesson learned there. My tubes test ok, but I have the most basic of testers, and nothing nice like what you’ve got.
I’ve got my 14 year old watching now Brad . He’s use to my filthy mouth so yer good lol. He wants to learn everything , how to play how to fix how to mix record / all of it. Thank you your are inspiring the next generation .
Hey Brad, look up the Riverstone Audio Pin Straighteners on Ebay. I just picked one up. It mimics the old CBS/Hytron straightener just like the one you have, it was affordable and it works like a charm. On another note: they may be a potential sponsor looking for an advertising opportunity.
I love 6973 tubes. I had a Univox U65 that had 6973s and it sounded great. especially since I had paid 125 bucks for the amp. those 2 old 6973s were probably worth more than what I had paid for the amp. great amps if you find a cheap one. had a nice Jensen 15" speaker too.
Great presentation! I have the Gretsch 6150 and i want to get an attenuator in between the amp and speaker. However i’m not sure about the cable leading to the speaker. It’s not clear which whether Green or Black is the positive/Negative. There’s no +/- marks on the cone either. Would you know this.?
Polarity on a single speaker amp is not critical. But if you want to know for sure, get a 9v battery and put the terminals on the speaker terminals. If cone goes forward, the + battery terminal is on +. If it goes inward, it’s backwards.
Brad I love uncle Doug,,,, but I think you should demo his amps. Your chord changes and style is very unique and pleasant to the ear, even when you're just noodling around!
Most of my tube sockets are vintage Cinch or Elco ones which I pulled out of defective test gear. I've heard Belton sockets are very good and they are quite similar to Cinch.
29:50 did that loose resistor get hooked back up? It looks like it didn't but it also looks like it might be on the leg of the new capacitor later. Hard to tell.
Have you ever seen an amplifier whose tubes were mounted horizontally? A friend of mine used to have a Philco floor-standing hi-fi turntable which had a vertical amplifier chassis and horizontally mounted tubes. I think it had 6V6 output tubes.
Funny, I have a 6973 in the tremolo socket (harmony 430). Oh have times changed. Experiment-“sacrilege “ -plugged my Harmony 430 reverb out/ in RCA leads through 65’ Reverberocket reverb tank and damn if it wast lush. Question.......? Did these old output transformers have an 8/16 ohm speaker leads you could run out so that you can hook up options for extension cabs, or like mine, only have the 4 ohm out for the 2 -10” Jensen C10R’s. Wish I had that flexibility......?
Love these amps. You earned your money on this one! Where is a good place to get ceramic caps. Please don't say mouser, because I can't seem to figure out there page to order things. You would think they would make it simple!!!. I don't ever see ceramics the two places I order from. I guess they were saving space, but you would think amp companies would make their chassis larger!!!
Don't give up on Mouser! It takes a little practice but soon you'll be pretty quick at finding what you need. You can also use Digikey.com and alliedelec.com
One for sale, local pickup only, within 100 miles of me...recently serviced and *very* well-priced, imo.... I came here to see about it, and now I'm just continually talking myself out of buying it over and over again! Ugh. 18 watts is just...like...17 too many for my guitar den. It's on Reverb if anyone wants to look! Listed as: "Gretsch 6161 1964-1968" (No link here because of YT rules.)
I know it's not easy to see where all the wires go on camera, but when you changed your power cord it looked like the neutral conductor went to the fuse, was I seeing things correctly? As always another great video, kinda missed the rant. I 'm sure I wont have to wait long for for another situation to trip the trigger.
What are you spraying those tube sockets with, please? And thanks so much for going through this amp and for playing through it. I wonder ... the end, were you in Treble or Bass input?
I have a late 50s version. I have the schematic you have but I would like to see a layout drawing. Have you found anything like that? The 50s version is less organised than the one you have in this video.
Hey Brad, I built one of these but did you notice ,in the schematic,the two letter “A’s” on the grid leaks on the 6973’s? Is that a typo or are they actually connected together? I was wondering if maybe it has something to do with helping crossover distortion or something. Do you have a 6161 you can check,at the moment? I’ll try connecting them just to see if it smooths out the overdrive but I’m thinking it’s a typo. Peace!
Another great job, Brad. I love watching you lavish attention on these old jewels, and I also, am a fan of the tone, but these vids make it easy to see why more contemporary builders have adopted something approaching the MO of older Hiwatts as far as bulletproof construction with all components easily accessible... BTW, is there any replacement grill cloth available for these (or mid '60s Gibsons) that closely approximates this look? If so, who has it?
I have an old Ampeg v5 100w tube amp that id like to use as a clean front end for pedals, but its never been serviced and it nearly caught fire the last time I plugged it in. What kind of repair backlog do you have?
um that amp has one future failure point. not sure if you noticed but in the shot of the last cap you pulled you also pulled out the lead of one resistor and so its currently barely soldered.
Great video as always, loved the jam on this one, and great info about the caps. Do you find the Gretsch/Valco amps to be extra loud for their speaker sizes? I have the 6152 Tremoverb with an 8" jensen, and it holds a steady 110db's on the meter compared to my 5F1 build with a similar vintage 8" Jensen hitting basically 99 db's. I figure it could be more to do with how used the old speakers are, but damn, 10 extra decibels make my ears extra ringy haha. I agree the Valco's in your videos, and the one I got bring something special with the tone
?You should move to Portland - you can walk around bare assed naked, and won't get arrested here in "Marxlandia". You could be a nude strolling minstrel..!
when I scream nekkid in the middle of the street for you Im gonna record the event on my cell phone and live srtream it for you Guitologist . it may be bloody tho , as I live in a small town in N. Carolina .
It doesn't really have much to do with the amp, but Brad, what do you think about everyone nowadays saying that you have to change your power tubes once a year and rebias everytime? Both of my amps are running quite old tubes, my roland bolt 30 has it's sovtek 7591s since it got a new speaker, recap and rebias 5 years ago and my hohner concertphon still has the ones it probably left the factory with, yet both of them seem to sound fine to my ears. Mainly the roland gets played all the time, although outside of gigs maybe once a month it's on bedroom volume. Is the current wisdom just something that exists because mesas, peaveys and other modern amps run the power tubes so close to their limits that they kill the tubes quickly, or are all the tubes in my amps dead and I'm just deaf?
Great condition for such a old amp, my dad used to have a very big National Short wave radio, was that the same company? He threw it out one day, i wish he didn't.
Any reasons why the new electrolytic capacitor companies don't use Epoxy to prevent moisture issues like what Mallory did. All the brand new electrolytic capacitors cause problems from moisture issues but Mallory Electrolytic capacitors used Epoxy to prevent moisture issues to last long. I'm trying to find a brand of electrolytic capacitors that use Epoxy or something to prevent moisture issues
Yes there is a missing pin. You can clearly see it at 17:36. I just missed it! Luckily, thats a G2 connection which isn't needed, but still odd. I guess I was too busy talking about cleaning pins and didn't notice. (EDIT) No, wait, that looks like PIN 9 that's missing. That's a plate. Is that possible? WTF? The amp must be functioning as a SE output right now then. That's no good. Need a set of power tubes. Thanks for the observant comment!
You'll find the handle, and amp's covering, to be 1960's vintage "Portable Singer Sewing Machine"; some of the older Singer dealers will have stocks of the handles and (limited) supplies of the reinforced Tolex-type covering. Try: brubakerssewing.com/ , for they've been around since 1934. 1960's GM "automobile trunk backseat shelf" material is similar in construction, but not color.
"Twasn't" my discovery :-( A gent with whom I worked, repaired AV equipment, and classroom projectors for schools- as a sideline. He was damn good at it, too! Anyway, one day he complained about having to repair a Califone "TeacherSpeaker" (may be a slang term for a classroom sized microphone and amp "for the teacher who needs to yell at someone in the last row, but doesn't want to strain their voice"), anyway, the case was busted to hell, and he knew that sewing machine dealers did their own repairs, and in-house, for the most part. I've never had the opportunity to use that tip, and I sincerely hope that you find it useful. BTW, I just discovered that there was a custom AMP builder about 4 miles from where my tail is parked; "Love Tree Amplifiers". Their claim to fame was that they reworked classic designs, with time tested technology, for more durability, and better sound. Darn shame that they're not around any more.
The ex-wife is a 'somewhat vindictive' nurse practitioner; and trust me, I'd much rather deal with her, while in "sees" mode, than "sews" mode. She once threatened me with "a $1.95 vasectomy", after giving birth to our 9LB 3OZ daughter; and added the fact that while a student nurse, during her O.R. 'rotation', she assisted a urologist in performing a "bilateral orchiectomy", the surgical removal of both testicles. That urologist, Dick Uhlman, instructed her to cut the spermatic cord, at several locations, while he tied each location off (the important aspect, to control bleeding, and minimize swelling). Then he helped her to "close"; at which time, he uttered "from this point, forward, should anyone give you any shit, tell 'em YOU'VE CUT A GUY'S BALLS OFF". I said "goodbye" to mine, somewhere between here and Thule, Greenland, when they each bailed out of the KC-135 I was co-piloting. Their "little parachutes" were just so damned cute! I'm fairly certain we were over northern Newfoundland, in December. I'm certain they froze their balls off, or stuck to my frozen concrete porch, which happened to my German Shepherd once. Having a German Shepherd lick my hands, while pouring hot water on his "*flagpole frozen junk",,, well, I just can't talk about it; needs to be repressed; just like the 'alien encounter' - in my friend's trailer park. His name was Bubba. *ua-cam.com/video/qeJXYhdfR6Q/v-deo.html
You will have excuse my ignorance but where is the power transformer? I am assuming the little guy is the output. All the old amps I have ever owned had much more iron in them.
Brad, I have a kluson gibson tuner I need to open and switch the pole position. I assume it's a left when it needs to be right. Any ideas on how to open it? Is has the lines to come open but I can't get it. Anyone that can answer this is considered a genius. No, its not in any forums. I see things on how to close them. HELP music friends.
Tried unscrewing the plastic head from the pin ? Edit: thats dumb because the pin is the screw it wouldn't slide out lol Edit 2: Maybe not so dumb because if the head was out maybe there would me a way to unscrew the pin and release the box What's in the little hole tho ?
Depends on the era the Kluson was made. The older ones have tabs you can pry up and take the backs off. But a machine that was geared backwards from the factory is highly unusual. If you have such a machine and it's newer, contact Kluson and tell them about it. I bet they send you a replacement.
The Guitologist if I had to guess 90. All the rest of them were correct. It came off a parts guitar so I'm clueless but going back to the factory isn't why we watch these videos hahaha! Thanks anyway Brother
The audio was because I was going from handheld onboard camera mic to stationary mic. And I think the stationary mic was turned down a bit low in some parts.
Not willing to view from a Consumer prospective explains why you get so many 'you're doing it wrong' or 'I would have done it this way' replies, they are about making money not saving the customer money. Same applies to the tools you use, unless its going to pay for itself its pointless spending money for a one-off job.
It aways amazes me how little you use a good tube tester I will say I worked on manly good hifi tube Amps Audio Research being my favorite 90 percent of the time power tubes were worn out power tubes have a set life of 1,000 hrs less if there bias was set too high if you don’t know this check you RCA tube guide is the emission type is quick test but a transcoding type is the best now a tube can be used way after it bad MI amps are very forgiving of bad power tubes because the They don’t need good frequency response they are for a MI amp so nothing above 8 k is needed also nothin below 100 Hz is needed so for high fi dead and the THD of the tube it’s self increases 100 fold so all those 6550 that the ARs used I saved and put in guitar amps ant the players were happy but players don’t want clean sound they way a nice distortion the work you do is make a nicely distorted amp different goal and very valid but a effect and hard to measure so you don’t I think you play great but how bought you show on some real test gear what your trying for ? Playing through a amp when your done with it shows little except your playing skill now I played from 15 practices a lot and got OK never great but competent so I turned to the tech work where I was really good so I guess what I am saying is can you give some good information please
I have two different tube pin straighteners on my bench. One of them is always a pita to find. I think they are trained to be hard to find. I own and restored a Gretsch 6151T. It's a nice little amp. It sounds great in spite of my horrific guitar playing skills. The 6161 you restored here is very nice.
I thought it had a great sound before you even repaired it. Built like a 50's Hotrod. Not only does it look great, it sounds great. Back when Gretsch made amazing stuff! They pop up on Reverb from time to time. Prices range for 800 upwards. Very impressed.
It's great that the history of these old beauties are being preserved with channels like this. Talking about the amps BTW.
Thanks, brother. Glad you enjoy the channel.
Thanks for another great video Brad! Thanks for shouting out Uncle Doug the other day, he definitely deserves more subs and donations to keep it ad free!
I think Doug should consider monetizing his channel. He deserves to reap the rewards of the great work he does, but yes, absolutely, it's my pleasure to promote him. I've gotten so much from his channel and wish I could give back even more.
Well, I finally discovered why I can never find any old radios worth picking up or any tube amps at all at the local antique and thrift stores. I talked to some old man running an antique store I don’t typically go to and apparently there is a man from Cincinnati that comes to town a couple times a year and buys up practically everything with tubes in it. I did find some of those really cool tube mechanic boxes that you have shown before, but they were empty and on the high side.
Another nice vid. Best channel on YT.
You and Uncle Doug are the ones that made me take the leap from just low voltage stuff like pedals to fixing amps. Been scared of high voltage, and still are but I've learned so much from you guys so I finaly feel confident enough to do some higher voltage stuff.
Hey man, don't blame me for this! :D
The amp sounded great to my ears even before you started working on it. That tweeter really gives this amp a sweet brightness.
I agree on the Valco's being some of the greatest amplifiers ever made. Their sound can't be touched.
I want my Shit Post Friday ! " Brad killed the UA-cam Star, Brad killed the UA-cam Star "
NO better way to start a monday than watching someone fix an old iconic amp! Happy Monday Brad :)
Hi Brad. I just bought one of these Gretsch 6161. And I'm psyched. I need to go through it and clean it up and you had cleaned the control panel. I was wondering what you used to clean that with. Really appreciate the information that I have garnered from your channel! Thanks bud!
Good for you! I was wondering the same thing.
Picked up a Gretsch G5222 'Champomatic' a couple months back and learned a lot about The Valco connection with them and all the other Valco made amps. I'm pretty tempted to tear apart the Champomatic and put a point to point 1605 mod in it.
Love this work!! Just had a flashback to my Dad cleaning valve pins with an old electric spark plug cleaner that used abrasive beads. :) They sell for silly money on ebay if you can find them.
Dr.Brad heals another one! Well done. Thanks for sharing.
That is a sweet, clean toned amp. Thanks, Brad.
We need more videos like this. I like SPF but I miss these too!
I love microphonic 17mm plate Sylvania 12AX7’s. They make amazing phase inverters and tremolo tubes.
You really only need a good quiet tube for V1 in most amps, especially Fenders from tweed to Silverface and any derivative of the 5F6 circuit.
Even tubes with a noisy half can find a spot in some amps.
Don’t chuck a working tube!
Good info!!
This is also why you don't just pull old USA and European made tubes because they're reading low emission and throw them out. A low emission 12AX7 can still have great tone and can still function perfectly well in some positions. Might sub well for a 12AT7 PI, for instance. Just ripping out old American tubes and throwing them away willy nilly is a sin against the guitar gods.
Matt Fields i have a crate turbovalve 6210 i got it used the owner crossed 8 months ago. The amps been sittin so right off the bat problems. I have a question; its a 2 channel amp is the clean channel its own preamp tube? Theres 5 preamp tubes ones reverb.the main problem was original tubes. First I changed was the 6l6's for new matched 34's. Ok so now no loudness problem. Ive got 4
Nos rca 12au7a's
A friend brought me three 12ax7 a jj hg
2 EH's i changed the first three jj in v1.
Ok so my gain got smoother like I like it
( i dislike harsh clip
Any unpleasant crap metal clip really)
Should I start at v1 with the u7a's to the x7a's ? Or x7a's down to the u7a's. If I can get answers ill only have to pull tubes once.
12AU7's have very low gain and high transconductance. Not great at all for actual guitar preamp but good for phase inverter like a 12AT7. Try a 12AY7 or 5751 for lower preamp gain with similar 12AX7 tone.
I would use 12AX7's in all positions, maybe a 12AU7 or 12AT7 in the phase inverter.
Matt Fields thanks man I still cant find schematics on this pc boardmount amp.
That tells alot right there not to mention heat rises
I have an old Fender black face Pro Reverb I’d love to breathe life back into. In its day this amp sounded glorious. Reverb doesn’t work but when it did it was as good as the stand-alone units. It’s a little frayed around the edges but I love it.
That was fantastic! A good thing to do is take the speakers off the baffle and clean the smoke/dust off the grill cloth. The plywood is pretty impervious to water. I wet the cloth and use an old shaving brush loaded with mild hippie soap. Lather it up & rinse. It will take those rings around the speakers away and shine the foil woven into the cloth. No, the baffle does not warp.
Dirty Leslie
"Hippie Soap" is a mild, handmade plethora of earthly delights sans animal tallow. DO NOT USE PATCHOULI !!! An old shaving brush will not pull the threads and foil strands from the fabric.
Great balanced tone on the old Valco`s.
We also dig those Gretch amps from the mid/late-1950's to mid/late-1960's, which are still great buys for players amps, with older versions having more collector's value. Back when I was buying amps like crazy off eBay 15-20 years ago, using excess "medicine" growing money (and they say money doesn't grow on trees?), I did some research on Gretch amps. One dude that I bought my 6163 from was a Gretch collector, and he schooled me too. I bought a 6163 "Executive" from ~1960, w/wraparound grill - a two channel amp with 15" speaker (sadly not the original Jensen), similar to a Thunderbolt - but better, with wicked crunchiness and tone. We also bought a mid-1960's "Playboy" amp w/12" Jensen C12R, from the same mid-1960's era as this amp. That one uses 6973 power tubes, sometimes also used in juke boxes and hi-fi amps, which possess a unique overdrive tone, although most of the Valco crunch is from the circuit, not the power tubes - the 6L6's in the 6163 have that Valco crunch too.
Valco's best quality amps were made for Gretch and Supro, although many other Valco amps are cool too. I took a brief look at the Gretch used amp market just now, and there are many great buys currently available - if I had any extra money (money trees aren't ripe for picking yet) I'd buy us another Gretch amp, maybe a 2 x 10 like this one..? I also dig the 6159 dual bass amp, with 2 x 12" Jensen speakers, and larger transformers, providing more clean headroom, plus I could use it for bass too. As Brad says, those old Gretch amps can be great buys - relatively inexpensive, well made, and sound great.
Thanks for another fun, interesting and informative video Guitologist man!
The Supro stuff was actually meant for the lower end mainly. National was the top of the heap and Gretsch stuff was supposed to be up there too. Supro and Airline labeled stuff from the 60s usually has lower end construction, but not by much. Plastic handles on those break easily. Airline coverings were barely better than paper, but cabinets made the same. Good coverings on Supros still. Airline grills were recessed, so their grill cloths fare better. Most collected ones are the Supros because of the Jimmy Page connection, but they are all similar lines with many of the exact same circuits across lines.
Oopsy! National, not Supro, was the other upscale Valco brand. I knew there was another one, along with Gretsch (I spelled it right this time!). Thanks for correcting me, and the additional info...
That is an amazing sound. What a great amp.
Yes. It has a lower mid-range "honk" to it, especially in the "BASS" input that really hits a nail in my head ... Been looking for that tone forever ...
Great timing, I had been looking for a Valco amp to clone using some NOS national 6973s I scored for $2 each
Is this the same as the Supro 1624t?
Wow! And yes they are in the red boxes. Thanks for the information! I guess $2 isn’t too much of a waste on a factory seconds tube. Would these have been an economy type purchase in the old days as well? So much history to learn...
I have experienced counterfeit chips from China for my synthesizer hobby. Lesson learned there. My tubes test ok, but I have the most basic of testers, and nothing nice like what you’ve got.
I’ve got my 14 year old watching now Brad . He’s use to my filthy mouth so yer good lol. He wants to learn everything , how to play how to fix how to mix record / all of it. Thank you your are inspiring the next generation .
Hey Brad, look up the Riverstone Audio Pin Straighteners on Ebay. I just picked one up. It mimics the old CBS/Hytron straightener just like the one you have, it was affordable and it works like a charm. On another note: they may be a potential sponsor looking for an advertising opportunity.
Thanks Phillip.
hey Phillip... THANKS for that suggestion ! I just got one on Ebay for $30 !
Glad I could pass it on. I use mine all the time. Invaluable!
I love 6973 tubes. I had a Univox U65 that had 6973s and it sounded great. especially since I had paid 125 bucks for the amp. those 2 old 6973s were probably worth more than what I had paid for the amp. great amps if you find a cheap one. had a nice Jensen 15" speaker too.
Great presentation! I have the Gretsch 6150 and i want to get an attenuator in between the amp and speaker. However i’m not sure about the cable leading to the speaker. It’s not clear which whether Green or Black is the positive/Negative. There’s no +/- marks on the cone either. Would you know this.?
Polarity on a single speaker amp is not critical. But if you want to know for sure, get a 9v battery and put the terminals on the speaker terminals. If cone goes forward, the + battery terminal is on +. If it goes inward, it’s backwards.
sounds like a cool little trick! Thank you so much for the reply!
Valco amps are awesome! Shame they got sold off and went under. Def still some great deals out there if you want to get one.
Brad I love uncle Doug,,,, but I think you should demo his amps. Your chord changes and style is very unique and pleasant to the ear, even when you're just noodling around!
Nice upgrades and playing Brad!you ROCK!!Cheers
Most of my tube sockets are vintage Cinch or Elco ones which I pulled out of defective test gear. I've heard Belton sockets are very good and they are quite similar to Cinch.
Cool. What a great sounding amp! Great job!
Well it had a great sound after your tinkering bro. Good to hear an old amp doing it's thing. ATB
Man , good sounding amp ... Good vid Brad ... Nice upgrade ...
29:50 did that loose resistor get hooked back up? It looks like it didn't but it also looks like it might be on the leg of the new capacitor later. Hard to tell.
Yes. I saw it. Good eye!
That is the advantage of the video, shame it takes so long to edit
nice advice on the tremolo tubes, Brad
Have you ever seen an amplifier whose tubes were mounted horizontally? A friend of mine used to have a Philco floor-standing hi-fi turntable which had a vertical amplifier chassis and horizontally mounted tubes. I think it had 6V6 output tubes.
Funny, I have a 6973 in the tremolo socket (harmony 430). Oh have times changed. Experiment-“sacrilege “ -plugged my Harmony 430 reverb out/ in RCA leads through 65’ Reverberocket reverb tank and damn if it wast lush. Question.......? Did these old output transformers have an 8/16 ohm speaker leads you could run out so that you can hook up options for extension cabs, or like mine, only have the 4 ohm out for the 2 -10” Jensen C10R’s. Wish I had that flexibility......?
Yay! Back to normal videos again lol
Nice tone from that beauty
Man that amp sounds awesome.
Thanks for a great review. Can you state the impedance of the two Jenseb C10R. are they 4 or 8 ohm speakers ?
Love these amps. You earned your money on this one! Where is a good place to get ceramic caps. Please don't say mouser, because I can't seem to figure out there page to order things. You would think they would make it simple!!!. I don't ever see ceramics the two places I order from. I guess they were saving space, but you would think amp companies would make their chassis larger!!!
Try these guys: www.jameco.com/shop/StoreCatalogDrillDownView?langId=-1&storeId=10001&catalogId=10001&freeText=ceramic&search_type=jamecoall
thanks.
Don't give up on Mouser! It takes a little practice but soon you'll be pretty quick at finding what you need. You can also use Digikey.com and alliedelec.com
thanks.
That thing sounds awesome! Thanks Brad!
Time well spent watching. Thanks.
First cheers brad ;-) oh you forgot to mention terry at D-lab. his channel is great also:-)
Yep, great channel. I've mentioned him before too. Lots of great repair and build videos over there.
Not forgetting Mr Carlson's Lab..excellent Engineer
Super nice soundin amp Brad another great Vid man have a great day Sir.
Another great vid - Always a relaxing informative half hour or so - Keep em coming - Cheers.
One for sale, local pickup only, within 100 miles of me...recently serviced and *very* well-priced, imo....
I came here to see about it, and now I'm just continually talking myself out of buying it over and over again! Ugh. 18 watts is just...like...17 too many for my guitar den.
It's on Reverb if anyone wants to look! Listed as:
"Gretsch 6161 1964-1968"
(No link here because of YT rules.)
Hi, great video, I was wondering how do you wire 3 speakers?
Parallel. The impedance probably isn't an exact match.
Hey Brad, Would love to know if you could do a video on biasing the tubes on a Fender 65 Deluxe Reverb re-issue.
Would if I had one.
I know it's not easy to see where all the wires go on camera, but when you changed your power cord it looked like the neutral conductor went to the fuse, was I seeing things correctly? As always another great video, kinda missed the rant. I 'm sure I wont have to wait long for for another situation to trip the trigger.
What are you spraying those tube sockets with, please? And thanks so much for going through this amp and for playing through it. I wonder ... the end, were you in Treble or Bass input?
Sounds magnificent
I love this channel
I have a late 50s version. I have the schematic you have but I would like to see a layout drawing. Have you found anything like that? The 50s version is less organised than the one you have in this video.
Me thinks I’m going to machine myself some tube straighteners. 🤔
Please machine me a couple as well ...
Good idea, dude
Are these 6161 amps self-biasing? I would love to get one. Trying to learn as much as I can.
Not self-biasing.
Prefer your guitar pieces to oscillator tests ;--)
Hey Brad, I built one of these but did you notice ,in the schematic,the two letter “A’s” on the grid leaks on the 6973’s? Is that a typo or are they actually connected together? I was wondering if maybe it has something to do with helping crossover distortion or something. Do you have a 6161 you can check,at the moment? I’ll try connecting them just to see if it smooths out the overdrive but I’m thinking it’s a typo. Peace!
Another great job, Brad. I love watching you lavish attention on these old jewels, and I also, am a fan of the tone, but these vids make it easy to see why more contemporary builders have adopted something approaching the MO of older Hiwatts as far as bulletproof construction with all components easily accessible...
BTW, is there any replacement grill cloth available for these (or mid '60s Gibsons) that closely approximates this look? If so, who has it?
I haven't found any. Best bet might be stuff from a fabric store meant for lawn furniture.
I have an old Ampeg v5 100w tube amp that id like to use as a clean front end for pedals, but its never been serviced and it nearly caught fire the last time I plugged it in. What kind of repair backlog do you have?
Sounds Great!
You put the input shield back on off cam?
Yes.
Always enjoy your videos Brad, just giving you a little kidding. I hope no one thought I was serious.
Nah, it's cool. Feel free. If I had forgotten it, it would have been good to have a reminder.
um that amp has one future failure point. not sure if you noticed but in the shot of the last cap you pulled you also pulled out the lead of one resistor and so its currently barely soldered.
You work like a good dentist Brad, My hands have gotten shaky over the years lol. :D
Do you only do local repairs? I have a silvertone solid state 100 that needs repaired
I believe Brad has had items shipped to him from afar
Great video as always, loved the jam on this one, and great info about the caps. Do you find the Gretsch/Valco amps to be extra loud for their speaker sizes? I have the 6152 Tremoverb with an 8" jensen, and it holds a steady 110db's on the meter compared to my 5F1 build with a similar vintage 8" Jensen hitting basically 99 db's. I figure it could be more to do with how used the old speakers are, but damn, 10 extra decibels make my ears extra ringy haha. I agree the Valco's in your videos, and the one I got bring something special with the tone
I'm writing this from jail after being arrested for indecent exposure.
I appreciate your support. Hope to read more about it in the paper.
?You should move to Portland - you can walk around bare assed naked, and won't get arrested here in "Marxlandia". You could be a nude strolling minstrel..!
That's one valid reason to visit Portland.
You too, huh?
The Guitologist They'll probably bury it in the Obituaries.
Nice repair Brad, thanks. And thanks for the tube tips. Do you ever throw-down to some Dimebag riffs?
Long time ago. I'd have to re-learn Pantera stuff.
when I scream nekkid in the middle of the street for you Im gonna record the event on my cell phone and live srtream it for you Guitologist . it may be bloody tho , as I live in a small town in N. Carolina .
Did Valco ever make any Tall Stacks? Like Bassman, Showman, Marshall, Vox etc...?
I wanna say they did. I think maybe I've seen one somewhere. Could be totally wrong though. Hopefully Brad sees this, he would know better than me.
Jimmy page used a small valco like this to record stairway to heaven solo. With a telecaster! Oh yes, page is a tone chaser
So your saying it's ok too stick metal in the tube socket without discharging capacitors
It doesn't really have much to do with the amp, but Brad, what do you think about everyone nowadays saying that you have to change your power tubes once a year and rebias everytime? Both of my amps are running quite old tubes, my roland bolt 30 has it's sovtek 7591s since it got a new speaker, recap and rebias 5 years ago and my hohner concertphon still has the ones it probably left the factory with, yet both of them seem to sound fine to my ears. Mainly the roland gets played all the time, although outside of gigs maybe once a month it's on bedroom volume. Is the current wisdom just something that exists because mesas, peaveys and other modern amps run the power tubes so close to their limits that they kill the tubes quickly, or are all the tubes in my amps dead and I'm just deaf?
Change yearly? Nonsense.
Valco bought Kay Musical Instruments in 68, if I remember what I read correctly...
I SEE A MIDRANGE SPEAKER IN THERE WITH I THINK A RESISTOR IN SERIES . IS THAT STOCK OR AN ADD ON ? EYE TROUBLE I USE CAPS
I SEE IT DOES LOOK ORIGINAL . WHAT OHM IS THE RESISTOR ?
It's stock wiring. Surprised me actually.
Great condition for such a old amp, my dad used to have a very big National Short wave radio, was that the same company? He threw it out one day, i wish he didn't.
No relation.
Any reasons why the new electrolytic capacitor companies don't use Epoxy to prevent moisture issues like what Mallory did. All the brand new electrolytic capacitors cause problems from moisture issues but Mallory Electrolytic capacitors used Epoxy to prevent moisture issues to last long. I'm trying to find a brand of electrolytic capacitors that use Epoxy or something to prevent moisture issues
20:08
missing Pin ?
Yes there is a missing pin. You can clearly see it at 17:36. I just missed it! Luckily, thats a G2 connection which isn't needed, but still odd. I guess I was too busy talking about cleaning pins and didn't notice.
(EDIT) No, wait, that looks like PIN 9 that's missing. That's a plate. Is that possible? WTF? The amp must be functioning as a SE output right now then. That's no good. Need a set of power tubes. Thanks for the observant comment!
You'll find the handle, and amp's covering, to be 1960's vintage "Portable Singer Sewing Machine"; some of the older Singer dealers will have stocks of the handles and (limited) supplies of the reinforced Tolex-type covering.
Try: brubakerssewing.com/ , for they've been around since 1934. 1960's GM "automobile trunk backseat shelf" material is similar in construction, but not color.
My wife sees and I didn't even know that.
"Twasn't" my discovery :-( A gent with whom I worked, repaired AV equipment, and classroom projectors for schools- as a sideline. He was damn good at it, too! Anyway, one day he complained about having to repair a Califone "TeacherSpeaker" (may be a slang term for a classroom sized microphone and amp "for the teacher who needs to yell at someone in the last row, but doesn't want to strain their voice"), anyway, the case was busted to hell, and he knew that sewing machine dealers did their own repairs, and in-house, for the most part.
I've never had the opportunity to use that tip, and I sincerely hope that you find it useful.
BTW, I just discovered that there was a custom AMP builder about 4 miles from where my tail is parked; "Love Tree Amplifiers". Their claim to fame was that they reworked classic designs, with time tested technology, for more durability, and better sound. Darn shame that they're not around any more.
Think you mean sews
The ex-wife is a 'somewhat vindictive' nurse practitioner; and trust me, I'd much rather deal with her, while in "sees" mode, than "sews" mode. She once threatened me with "a $1.95 vasectomy", after giving birth to our 9LB 3OZ daughter; and added the fact that while a student nurse, during her O.R. 'rotation', she assisted a urologist in performing a "bilateral orchiectomy", the surgical removal of both testicles.
That urologist, Dick Uhlman, instructed her to cut the spermatic cord, at several locations, while he tied each location off (the important aspect, to control bleeding, and minimize swelling). Then he helped her to "close"; at which time, he uttered "from this point, forward, should anyone give you any shit, tell 'em YOU'VE CUT A GUY'S BALLS OFF". I said "goodbye" to mine, somewhere between here and Thule, Greenland, when they each bailed out of the KC-135 I was co-piloting. Their "little parachutes" were just so damned cute! I'm fairly certain we were over northern Newfoundland, in December. I'm certain they froze their balls off, or stuck to my frozen concrete porch, which happened to my German Shepherd once.
Having a German Shepherd lick my hands, while pouring hot water on his "*flagpole frozen junk",,, well, I just can't talk about it; needs to be repressed; just like the 'alien encounter' - in my friend's trailer park. His name was Bubba.
*ua-cam.com/video/qeJXYhdfR6Q/v-deo.html
Wow too much information ~ I know Brads wife is a seamstress and thought it was a typo
Your playing feels smoother Brad. Is it the PRS or are you drifting away from the "chicken picking" style? Nice demo *thumbs up*
Dunno. Just playing to the amp, I guess.
You will have excuse my ignorance but where is the power transformer? I am assuming the little guy is the output. All the old amps I have ever owned had much more iron in them.
You'll see it at about 26:00 in.
Aha! I have been using my phone lately and things are kinda small.
Thanks Brad!
Hey Brad! What do you recommend for someone who wants to learn more about this stuff? You seem like the best teaching tool out there currently.
There is a book list in the description of my videos. I suggest those books, and watch a lot of Uncle Doug videos. That'll help too.
Sweet!
That chassis is seriously rickety
And another thing some tech's don't do is clean the dust off the back of speakers which will eventually eat into the cones
Is that a newer PRS? I usually see you playing an ole Vintage guitfiddle
Brad, I have a kluson gibson tuner I need to open and switch the pole position. I assume it's a left when it needs to be right. Any ideas on how to open it? Is has the lines to come open but I can't get it. Anyone that can answer this is considered a genius. No, its not in any forums. I see things on how to close them. HELP music friends.
Tried unscrewing the plastic head from the pin ?
Edit: thats dumb because the pin is the screw it wouldn't slide out lol
Edit 2: Maybe not so dumb because if the head was out maybe there would me a way to unscrew the pin and release the box
What's in the little hole tho ?
Foo bar the hole is for cleaning out and adding lube for the gear. I'd tell you what to use but someone would have a opinion
Nice, is there anything you can fiddle in it to open it ? :D
Depends on the era the Kluson was made. The older ones have tabs you can pry up and take the backs off. But a machine that was geared backwards from the factory is highly unusual. If you have such a machine and it's newer, contact Kluson and tell them about it. I bet they send you a replacement.
The Guitologist if I had to guess 90. All the rest of them were correct. It came off a parts guitar so I'm clueless but going back to the factory isn't why we watch these videos hahaha! Thanks anyway Brother
Did you you get another camera? The video looks really good in this one.
No, same one.
The audio was because I was going from handheld onboard camera mic to stationary mic. And I think the stationary mic was turned down a bit low in some parts.
Ok South of Brazil
Not willing to view from a Consumer prospective explains why you get so many 'you're doing it wrong' or 'I would have done it this way' replies, they are about making money not saving the customer money. Same applies to the tools you use, unless its going to pay for itself its pointless spending money for a one-off job.
Brad...FYI - Tons of pin straighteners on eBay!!
Thee ones I've seen were plastic.
Nope! Not these! In fact, they were just like yours! Check it out. (There were some plastic ones, too, but....)
The whole loose socket thing reminds me of my ex...
That can be re-tensioned too. :)
Lol he said reach around
God damn find me some RCAs that are still good man etc....better than blackburn even.
Ok
it's kind of like watching a brain surgeon without the blood and other gross stuff
It aways amazes me how little you use a good tube tester I will say I worked on manly good hifi tube Amps Audio Research being my favorite 90 percent of the time power tubes were worn out power tubes have a set life of 1,000 hrs less if there bias was set too high if you don’t know this check you RCA tube guide is the emission type is quick test but a transcoding type is the best now a tube can be used way after it bad MI amps are very forgiving of bad power tubes because the
They don’t need good frequency response they are for a MI amp so nothing above 8 k is needed also nothin below 100 Hz is needed so for high fi dead and the THD of the tube it’s self increases 100 fold so all those 6550 that the ARs used I saved and put in guitar amps ant the players were happy but players don’t want clean sound they way a nice distortion the work you do is make a nicely distorted amp different goal and very valid but a effect and hard to measure so you don’t I think you play great but how bought you show on some real test gear what your trying for ? Playing through a amp when your done with it shows little except your playing skill now I played from 15 practices a lot and got OK never great but competent so I turned to the tech work where I was really good so I guess what I am saying is can you give some good information please
A
Do you own or know of a socket adjuster tool for women???? LOL LOL
No. I've looked.