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Looking for source for Fender type on/off standby switches...

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  • #16
    I do work for a few people that want stuff as original as possible for sale to collectors, but I'd have to think places like Mojo etc. Have the correct replacement switches.

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    • #17
      Originally posted by drewl View Post
      I do work for a few people that want stuff as original as possible for sale to collectors, but I'd have to think places like Mojo etc. Have the correct replacement switches.
      I haven't yet found a place that sells both short and long bat Carling switches. In fact when I first ordered what I thought was the standard SPST from CE it turned out to be the long bat type. Woops, back to Magic for the ol' standard Fender short bat. Well at least I can get the knob end ones now from Nebraska. What a relief.
      This isn't the future I signed up for.

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      • #18
        Well, I can see both viewpoints. Older Fender amps bring premium bucks and I have an obligation to my customers to maintain the value of their item, just as I wouldn't put Telecaster knobs on a '57 Strat. In general, I don't debate with my customers but just carry out their wishes, within reason. I think this, in this case, is a reasonable request. Some of you would be surprised at the sophistication of some of the musician/collectors about small cosmetic details of amp collecting. With Fenders, this is at the high point of the triangle. If I were fixing one of my older Fender amps (like my 1958 5F6-A) and I had a choice to put in the correct length bat handle switch or a longer bat, I'd pick the shorter, correct stock length so it looks cosmetically correct even though both switches work electrically exactly the same. It's the difference between a collector's piece that's a 9.5 and a piece that's a 7.0 once you start using any part that works without taking restoration into account and that can mean several hundred dollars difference in value in the collector's world.

        A couple of other points:
        1) I never use scavenged or used parts on a customer's item unless there is no other choice and then, with his knowledge and permission.
        2) The bat handle in question is a few millimeters longer than the stock switch but noticeable to a non-technical musician. Sometimes, on my own gear, I like it if one switch (the on-off) is a little longer than the other (the standby) because it's easier to figure out which-is-which with a groping hand on a dark stage.
        3) Yes, North Hollywood is the world headquarters of great electronic parts stores because of all the aircraft, musical instrument amps and light industry manufacturing in that part of the world. When I make my movie, I'll be filming at Apex.

        I like to carry a wide assortment of parts, vintage and modern. Just like tubes, where I stock alot of NOS stuff (Mullard, Telefunken, RCA, GE) and well as currently made stuff to please all type of customers and characters. Some players don't care at all where others care desperately about these kinda things. I try not to make value judgements. If some guy thinks he plays better because he's got a Telefunken tube(s) in his amp, then he does. Musicians are almost always looking for an edge. That's why certain guys can sell guitar cables (for several hundred dollars) that are wound by hand by nude nubian slaves on the moon (and get away with it).

        Leo, that's great you can fix 707s. I'll have to work up to that one. My last big success beyond MI stuff was fixing the 40,000 watt electron microscope at Boston College, scientific division. That thing makes an SVT look like a Champ!

        Bob M.

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        • #19
          Originally posted by Leo_Gnardo View Post
          I haven't yet found a place that sells both short and long bat Carling switches. In fact when I first ordered what I thought was the standard SPST from CE it turned out to be the long bat type. Woops, back to Magic for the ol' standard Fender short bat. Well at least I can get the knob end ones now from Nebraska. What a relief.
          I think this one is correct. https://www.mojotone.com/amp-parts/S...r-Stand-Switch

          Click image for larger version

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          • #20
            Sadly, Apex out in Sun Valley closed it's doors years ago when Bill Slater, it's owner passed on. His son Steve Slater formed Apex Jr, and I used to run into him when the TRW Radio Amateur Technical Swap Meets were running the last Saturday of every month. That event, as well as the General Dynamics tech swap meet in Pomona also closed. C & H Sales in Pasadena also closed years ago. The only surplus store, that used to be Joe Factor sales in Burbank was purchased and moved a bit west, still open and still in Burbank. Hardware only, no metric...great source for fasteners, but little to none in Electronic gear...sometimes parts, just not their normal assets. Once ebay took off, all the former swap meet sellers that handled great gear and parts stopped showing up and began selling on ebay. Earls Supply, later known as Industrial Liquidators, closed up in Hawthorne, but had kept their operation open in San Diego.

            Pacific Radio used to be down the street from Yale Radio on Sunset Blvd, both being where you went when you were doing maintenance work in the Recording industry. Yale closed up, Pacific Radio moved west a bit, then opened another store in Burbank, now in walking distance from my shop at CenterStaging. Good for sourcing raw cable footage, heat shrink, connectors, rack hardware, tools, but no longer carry electronic parts.

            And, one by one, electronic stores like Electronic City in Burbank, Dow Radio in Culver City and Pasadena went bye bye, and you're left with the likes of Fry's where at best, you'll find an empty wall peg where what you're looking for had once been and salesmen have no clue what you're even asking about.

            So, gone are the days when you could walk into an electronic store with a shopping list and come away with 80% of what you need. At least in the LA/North Hollywood area. Welcome to on-line ordering and shipping costs, and get hit again when you suddenly find you need something else, and they've already closed the order....now a new shipping charge!
            Logic is an organized way of going wrong with confidence

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            • #21
              The Carling 110-63 SPST 2 position switch in post #19 is the exact switch used in Fender amps since the 50's. They're $3.44 before shipping if you have an account.

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              • #22
                Hoffman Amps has the Fender "Short Bat" style (I believe they are the ones your looking for), I was just about to order one for my little 5F2-A project. Here's the link,

                Dale

                https://hoffmanamps.com/MyStore/perl...R_ID=!ORDERID!

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                • #23
                  Originally posted by tubedood View Post
                  Hoffman Amps has the Fender "Short Bat" style (I believe they are the ones your looking for), I was just about to order one for my little 5F2-A project. Here's the link,

                  Dale

                  https://hoffmanamps.com/MyStore/perl...R_ID=!ORDERID!

                  Yep, same switch for $0.80 more than the one from Mojotone. Carling 110-63 SPST

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                  • #24
                    Originally posted by Tone Meister View Post
                    The Carling 110-63 SPST 2 position switch in post #19 is the exact switch used in Fender amps since the 50's. They're $3.44 before shipping if you have an account.
                    Hmmm.

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