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Another Silvertone 1484... what they sound like..

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  • Another Silvertone 1484... what they sound like..

    I have had this 1484 laying around for a few years.. Finally got around to fixing it. It is completely unmolested despite being in a little rough cosmetic shape. Most of my problems were tube socket related. This is what it sounds like with NOTHING replaced, completely stock. I got both the Tremelo and Reverb working. Everyone always says that the reverb in these is horrible. I don’t think it’s that bad considering what it is. I don’t like the way it sounds at full saturation.. but it’s not that kind of amp and works well with a Rat. But it does the “slight crunch” thing very well. Here’s a clip of what it sounds like...

    https://www.facebook.com/87577292910...9539798064986/
    Attached Files
    Last edited by olddawg; 08-14-2018, 08:24 PM.

  • #2
    Originally posted by olddawg View Post
    Most of my problems were tube socket related.
    Just out of curiosity, did you have to replace one or both of the power tube sockets because of arcing over to the chassis?
    -tb

    "If you're the only person I irritate with my choice of words today I'll be surprised" Chuck H.

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    • #3
      reverb in these is horrible. I don’t think it’s that bad considering what it is.
      Well, that sure is damning by faint praise.

      Doesn't sound as bad as it looks like it should? Still sounds bad though. I think they have a less pleasant tone than a screen door spring. And I have heard enough of them. Of course that is all a matter of personal taste.
      Education is what you're left with after you have forgotten what you have learned.

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      • #4
        Originally posted by Enzo View Post
        Well, that sure is damning by faint praise.

        Doesn't sound as bad as it looks like it should? Still sounds bad though. I think they have a less pleasant tone than a screen door spring. And I have heard enough of them. Of course that is all a matter of personal taste.
        Lmao! Yeah it certainly isn’t lush... But I believe some of them sound better than others, probably just randomly as the physical components of the tank deteriorated. I was impressed that I got the reverb to work at all! The reason I posted the clip is I believe a lot of people have never heard one working correctly.
        Last edited by olddawg; 08-15-2018, 12:27 AM.

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        • #5
          Originally posted by tboy View Post
          Just out of curiosity, did you have to replace one or both of the power tube sockets because of arcing over to the chassis?
          No actually it was just cleaning and retensioning the pin recepticals. I’m still on the fence on whether I will have to replace on socket.. and the filter caps.. seems to be working fine at the moment. No arcing or evidence of it.

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          • #6
            Its funny with these amps...the Planet brand caps 'guaranteed for one year' and they often last 50 years. That said, I replaced them in the ones I've worked on. The can cap isn't available and needs discrete caps mounted nearby with the can disconnected, unless you put some other can in place of the 20-10-5 can. A doubler is good on the bias circuit too as it runs a bit hot bias on the power tubes these days with the higher wall voltages.

            I still think the reverb sounds like crap on these, but it is cheesy crap that can be used to good effect in certain situations. Let that give you visuals I've got an otherwise stock unmolested 1484 at home except for filter cap replacement. It still needs some work as it makes lots of funny noises, but I haven't gotten back to it yet. Thanks for sharing...1484's are cool as long as you don't have to work on them!

            On another note, thanks for all your efforts at keeping our favorite forum up and running all these years tboy!

            Greg

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            • #7
              Originally posted by soundmasterg View Post
              Its funny with these amps...the Planet brand caps 'guaranteed for one year' and they often last 50 years. That said, I replaced them in the ones I've worked on. The can cap isn't available and needs discrete caps mounted nearby with the can disconnected, unless you put some other can in place of the 20-10-5 can. A doubler is good on the bias circuit too as it runs a bit hot bias on the power tubes these days with the higher wall voltages.

              I still think the reverb sounds like crap on these, but it is cheesy crap that can be used to good effect in certain situations. Let that give you visuals I've got an otherwise stock unmolested 1484 at home except for filter cap replacement. It still needs some work as it makes lots of funny noises, but I haven't gotten back to it yet. Thanks for sharing...1484's are cool as long as you don't have to work on them!

              On another note, thanks for all your efforts at keeping our favorite forum up and running all these years tboy!

              Greg
              Might surprise you. Although this one is beat to sh@t I don't think it's been used much... just tossed from place to place forever. It even has the original RCA 6L6GC output tubes and Silvertone branded preamp tubes. I think maybe the "tube socket" problem made it unreliable. I'm very surprised the thing works fine without one component being replaced. Filter caps even seem ok. I didn't check the ripple because there is no hum at all!

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              • #8
                Did you clip out the death cap and install a grounded AC cord?
                "I took a photo of my ohm meter... It didn't help." Enzo 8/20/22

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by The Dude View Post
                  Did you clip out the death cap and install a grounded AC cord?
                  No.. it's bone stock. I'm going to sell it that way. I also have a Tremolux that's bone stock I'll sell it the same way. Some people want them "unmolested original". I know there are techs that are obsessed with the 3 wire conversion of everything at all times. I used these old amps with a ground reverse for decades. If I was going to keep it I probably would convert it... but I usually use a wireless anyway. I'll leave it up to the next guy.

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by olddawg View Post
                    No.. it's bone stock. I'm going to sell it that way. I also have a Tremolux that's bone stock I'll sell it the same way. Some people want them "unmolested original". I know there are techs that are obsessed with the 3 wire conversion of everything at all times. I used these old amps with a ground reverse for decades. If I was going to keep it I probably would convert it... but I usually use a wireless anyway. I'll leave it up to the next guy.
                    Obviously, using a RF connection isolates you and protects you when your not touching your amp.
                    But I would never plug my guitar into amp without a earth bonded AC chord. Ever. It's hands down the most important connection in the amplifier.
                    Your willing to literally bet your life or someone else's using your amp that nothing will go wrong?
                    If an amplifier comes into the shop with 2 wire, or other unsafe mains wiring, it gets removed and replaced as a condition of service. If the customer insists on keeping the original 2-wire chord and polarity switch, then I politely explain why this is done and it's importance. Any effect on the value of the amplifier is only grossly overstated by a very small percentage of buyers. (who quite frankly shouldn't be given a platform to be taken seriously by players, technicians, and collectors.) The only exception that the amp will be on exhibit in a museum environment is not going to be played.
                    If they decide to have the service done, all original parts get returned in case he wants to include all original parts in a future resale. If not, I shake their hand and hopefully we part as friends. I'm not angry with them, I'm a musician as well. A 3-wire chord install is a no-brainer, and I just want to make sure my customers and friends safe.
                    I got away with a lot of shit for years! But not because it was safe, it was because I was lucky.
                    If I have a 50% chance of guessing the right answer, I guess wrong 80% of the time.

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                    • #11
                      Just because your guitar isn't grounded to the chassis of the amp doesn't mean that the amp itself won't sit next to some other gear with a ground contention. You put one hand on your amp to lean on it, and your other hand on the bass amp next to it and PFFFT. Or you are holding a mic and walk back to your amp and adjust the knobs.

                      One night the guitarist in our band brought his guitar up to his microphone, and when it touched, a bright flash and his high E string burnt in two.
                      Education is what you're left with after you have forgotten what you have learned.

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                      • #12
                        All valid points. But people drive old cars with no seat belts or air bags all of the time. I've never seen a statistic on people injured by the old power supply configuration. I remember the "Stone the Crows" guy and "Mr Indestructible". It is better engineering practice with the modern configuration. Most of the clubs I play don't have a real ground anyway. Their wiring is older than the amp. Lol! I'm just selling the amps in original working condition. Whatever modifications the next owner does to them to make them "safer" or anything else is their own business. I spent years required to validate an AC leakage test on every unit I touched. Selling and old unit as an old unit is what it is..
                        Last edited by olddawg; 08-17-2018, 06:14 PM.

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                        • #13
                          Id never drive a car with no seat belt either. The year we got our licenses my friend was driving me home and it was raining. He was going about 55 miles and there was sharp 90 degree corner lines with jersey barriers at the end pf the road. I told him “slow dow, dude! You’re not going to make the corner going this fast and I don’t have my seatbelt on!”
                          So he yelled back “well put your seatbelt on then”, so i dug in, found my seatbelt, and put it on. 30 seconds later, my friend tried to stop to late, the car bucked for a split second, lifted, and hit the concrete lining a bridge head on. I don’t remember the sound but it was so loud that when I came to, my ears were ringing like crazy. If I hadn’t just put my seatbelt on, Id have gone into the dashboard or through the windshield. Either way, I’d be dead. The only thing I had any control of was wearing my seatbelt. Wearing your seatbelt is a no brainer as well.
                          If I have a 50% chance of guessing the right answer, I guess wrong 80% of the time.

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by olddawg View Post
                            Selling and old unit as an old unit is what it is..
                            Yeah, until someone sues you for giving them a shock.

                            There used to be a local surplus store that closed down because they sold a guy in New York some mercury vapor tubes and he found out that these tubes had mercury in them (apparently he couldn't tell by the name) and he sued them in the state of New York for selling known hazardous materials. In order to defend themselves they would have had to contest it in New York court, which was way too expensive for the guy who who owned the shop who was a sole proprietor, so he closed it up. The other local surplus store had an owner who was really old, and he died a couple years back and now there aren't any old surplus stores locally that have electronic parts related to vacuum tube amps.

                            Anyway the point is, someone could sue you in some court saying you sold them something that was known to be unsafe or potentially unsafe. I've heard of stranger things and so I try to be overly cautious as I don't want to give anyone any reason to come after me.

                            Greg

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                            • #15
                              For what it's worth I sold the amp for the first $500 cash on CL (probably could have gotten more, lol). The guy was a Silvertone "collector" and was delighted to have it "unmolested" with the convenience outlet working and the original power cord. Left my place working fine 50+ year old caps, original tubes, and all.

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