Goodsell tape recorder into guitar amp

ow-shouldnatouchedthat · 04-22-2009, 02:58 PM

Hi, I'm new! I just recently acquired a 1964 Goodsell tape recorder for nothing (being chucked out at work) and out of curiosity I plugged a guitar into it's mic input.....the sound was very good considering the tiny speaker (fabulous when plugged into a 12" external guitar cab) so I determined to build it into a small guitar combo. Unfortunately I don't have a schematic and the amp has far too much 'stuff' connected with it's former life as a tape recorder inside. The tubes are 2x ECC83 1x ECL86 1xEL84 and an EZ81 rectifier tube. Anyone familiar with this make of recorder/amp?
A pic of the outside of the amp is here:
http://theguitarweasel.blogspot.com/

petemoore · 04-23-2009, 06:51 AM

What could be better than a good buy on a Goodsell ?
Think I've seen one before.
I just did up a "Voice of Music" RTR.
The RTR would be a waste of more time so I pulled it and the bits out that I didn't think'd be needed.
This left a light aluminum chassis...
IEC went right in, green wire bolted by Xformer.
The preamp wasn't in good shape and the multiresistorpak, PCB and general looseness of the preamp circuit that also got pulled, was replaced with a Blackface Preamp.
The other tubes worked, and the 6v6 output sounded great, I put a grid stopper on it.
I saw some 4m7 resistors and it looked as though the 'other' tubes, which I also pulled [except the rectifier], the one I pulled was probably for tape head work, one was a cats eye meter display I should have left in.
I've done sockets, working with new is nice, often times the old sockets will be populated with values you can use, leaving them on sure beats un-tie-ing soldered in knots, or working with bits of wire that are left over [you learn that pin lugs can only be pulled on and wrinkled around so much before they just break], end results tend to be ugly and risky, it depends on how 'fingernail like' your soldering tip is and how twisted the wires are, your level of patience.
First look for ways to use what you have with little or no modification, or clean the slate and secure a new socket.
That RTR turned out to be a Blackfaced Preamp Beast.

ow-shouldnatouchedthat · 04-23-2009, 09:49 PM

Know what you mean by using what you've got......I'm planning for the moment just to tidy the wiring....chop out the useless tone stack and put the chassis in a small combo with simply a loud knob and a nice vintage 12"........live with it for a while before getting flash with it!

04-22-2009, 02:58 PM	#1
ow-shouldnatouchedthat Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: London Posts: 2	Goodsell tape recorder into guitar amp Hi, I'm new! I just recently acquired a 1964 Goodsell tape recorder for nothing (being chucked out at work) and out of curiosity I plugged a guitar into it's mic input.....the sound was very good considering the tiny speaker (fabulous when plugged into a 12" external guitar cab) so I determined to build it into a small guitar combo. Unfortunately I don't have a schematic and the amp has far too much 'stuff' connected with it's former life as a tape recorder inside. The tubes are 2x ECC83 1x ECL86 1xEL84 and an EZ81 rectifier tube. Anyone familiar with this make of recorder/amp? A pic of the outside of the amp is here: http://theguitarweasel.blogspot.com/

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04-23-2009, 06:51 AM	#2
petemoore Senior Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 189	What could be better than a good buy on a Goodsell ? Think I've seen one before. I just did up a "Voice of Music" RTR. The RTR would be a waste of more time so I pulled it and the bits out that I didn't think'd be needed. This left a light aluminum chassis... IEC went right in, green wire bolted by Xformer. The preamp wasn't in good shape and the multiresistorpak, PCB and general looseness of the preamp circuit that also got pulled, was replaced with a Blackface Preamp. The other tubes worked, and the 6v6 output sounded great, I put a grid stopper on it. I saw some 4m7 resistors and it looked as though the 'other' tubes, which I also pulled [except the rectifier], the one I pulled was probably for tape head work, one was a cats eye meter display I should have left in. I've done sockets, working with new is nice, often times the old sockets will be populated with values you can use, leaving them on sure beats un-tie-ing soldered in knots, or working with bits of wire that are left over [you learn that pin lugs can only be pulled on and wrinkled around so much before they just break], end results tend to be ugly and risky, it depends on how 'fingernail like' your soldering tip is and how twisted the wires are, your level of patience. First look for ways to use what you have with little or no modification, or clean the slate and secure a new socket. That RTR turned out to be a Blackfaced Preamp Beast.

04-23-2009, 09:49 PM	#3
ow-shouldnatouchedthat Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: London Posts: 2	Know what you mean by using what you've got......I'm planning for the moment just to tidy the wiring....chop out the useless tone stack and put the chassis in a small combo with simply a loud knob and a nice vintage 12"........live with it for a while before getting flash with it!

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