Ever find one that needed nothing? - Time Capsule '65 Silvertone 1482

[Riffraff]

Okay, so the consensus is sell it to a collector and buy a player. I could get behind that. I was actually looking for a silver face Deluxe Reverb when I found this. Then I have to consider how to deal with the amp's one cosmetic issue. The shipping carton it sat is was lined with styrofoam. It sat in it for so long the styrofoam actually bonded to the amps tolex in a few spots. I picked off all I could but there are a few spots that need to be cleaned off to make it perfect. Neither I nor the original seller knew how to deal with it without damaging the tolex so it's still in that condition. The tolex is almost like a cloth wallpaper and seems like it would damage easy if you scrubbed it. It's mostly on the top right corner but there are a few small spots along the bottom. You can see the larger spot in a few of the video clips but here is a closer shot. I picked off all of the thicker white styrofoam you see in this picture (this is what it looked like when I bought it).



This is what it looks like now.



You can see some of the small spots along the bottom in this picture.



I'm thinking show some very good shots of it and let the collector figure out how to deal with it. Since that is ONLY issue it shouldn't be a big deal. It actually kind of shows this thing is legit and really did sit in it's box for the last 46 years. That chasis is made of a rather soft metal. If this thing had been played there would be scratches around the input jacks at the very least (especially true on an amp with the jacks in the back where you can't clearly see them). There isn't a mark on it.

[dai h.]

There's gotta be at least one person who will pay a premium for an amp in such immaculate cosmetic condition. Easy money(?). Very nice amp for sure though.

[Riffraff]

Here a few more sound clips:

Strat no boost pedals

Silvertone 1482 - Miranda Only Prettier.wmv - YouTube

Les Paul w/ SD1 OD, channels jumpered

Silvertone 1482 boosted & channels jumpered - Aerosmith.wmv - YouTube

[Chuck H]

If there's no seam on the top of that corner (and probably even if there is) you can try paint thinner. Mineral spirits has no effect on any tolex I've run across but if left to soak (a damp rag layed on it) it may melt the styrofoam. I KNOW gasoline will melt styrofoam, but I've never used gasoline on tolex. The seam aprehension is about not getting solvent into a glue seam. More research (what kind of glue for the tolex, others experiences, etc.) and lot's of care are in order here for sure.

[riz]

I would leave the cosmetic issue for the collector. Remember, that's ORIGINAL styrofoam packing... That's a pretty insanely clean amp--great score, thanks for sharing!

[Riffraff]

It's pretty cool with a fuzz pedal too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-uwTKVmsZI

Sears back in the old days, being all things to all people. I don't even recognize some of these brand names.

[cminor9]

wow! It sounds pretty good, too.

Are you a player or a collector? A player can use a clone, as long as it sounds good who cares, right? A collector doesn't care about your clone, but he'd urinate gold bricks at the prospect of owning that amp in that condition.

If I stumbled upon one of those and I didn't *love* it, I'd sell it to a collector and get a new tele or build an amp I did love.

If I stumbled upon one of those and I loved it, I'd keep it long enough to clone it. I'd use the original as a benchmark for voltages, tone, etc, and then sell it. It'd probably pay for its own clone AND a deluxe reverb build if you played your cards right.

For reference, here's what one is going for: In Store Used VINT 1960S SILVERTONE MOD 1482 GRY (ORIG BOX) and more Guitar Amplifiers at GuitarCenter.com. I doubt it's in as good of condition as yours, though.

Whatever you do with it, congratulations on an awesome find!

[Riffraff]

I know, I saw that GC listed one and it's condition isn't even close to this one. You can see dirt spots all over the grill cloth on that one. The spot you see on the grill cloth in my first picture is a shadow of the plug from the flash. It's perfect and sparkles with gold flecks from across the room when you look at it. It looks brand new because it's really never been out of it's box in 46 years. I'm sure I've used it more in the last two months than it's ever been used. Tonewise it's hard not to love, it's got it in spades but I'm a player and not a collector. I will be forever sweating something failing in the amp and ruining it's collector value. I think the smart play for me is to sell it if I can find a collector. I'm not sure what the best way to get it infront of one is, Ebay? I'm thinking about it. Meanwhile I have other stuff I can sell off to raise the cash for a Deluxe Reverb to fill the slot this was intended to. I've got a '78 Vibro Champ that I used to love until this thing landed in my lap. The 1482 eats it for for lunch. I've also got a few big boxes of Lionel trains that I've had packed away for 40+ years that I've grown tired of storing. That should more than cover a nice little player. I'm thinking about hitting Ebay with that stuff first. If that gets me where I need to be I might consider holding onto the 1482 for a little while.

[GregS]

I'm not a collector and I would have a very hard time selling that amp. Maybe that's just me though as I have a hard time selling anything. If you can't get huge bucks for it then maybe there isn't that much reason to sell it.

Very cool find!

Greg

[Chuck H]

I'm coming around to the same opinion. Three prong power cord, new electrolytics, replacement speaker, tubes, yada, yada... Work clean and save the box and original parts so it can be fully restored to like new original. That amp certainly won't get LESS collectible. If it ever becomes a very desireable collectible and the price goes silly high, you'll have a factory stock example with all original parts in the original box

[cminor9]

I will be forever sweating something failing in the amp and ruining it's collector value. I think the smart play for me is to sell it if I can find a collector. I'm not sure what the best way to get it infront of one is, Ebay?

Yeah, ebay would get you out there. I am sure collectors scour ebay, craigslist, etc. I was thinking your amp is a museum piece. I wonder if there are any museums that specialize in music equipment that would buy that? Just a thought.

Man, a mint condition silvertone AND boxes of Lionel trains? That stuff can only get ruined/destroyed/stolen/flooded in your basement if you aren't using it. I don't believe in saving good wine/liquor for some special occasion that may never come, and I don't believe in keeping valuable stuff I am not using. Either I use it or use it to get something I would use. That's my personal philosophy. Get while the gettins good, because you never know what tomorrow brings.

[Riffraff]

You know, I don't think I can part with it. It's got the it factor bigtime. I'm having too much fun with it and I will absolutely regret it down the road.

I made a few new clips today. Here's a little classic rock jam using something that surprised me.

Boosted 1482 ROCKS!!.AVI - YouTube

and a little fuzz clip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMmK3hBsuA0

[jayoldschool]

Beautiful! Sounds amazing, too. I can't wait to get my 1474 back together...

[Steve A.]

That amp brings back memories... the first amp I trashed with my damned electronic experiments in 1967! I hooked it up to the footpedal on my mother's Singer sewing machine which I used as a volume/distortion pedal- great sounds when you kicked that pedal back a little bit. And then I read about this circuit in Popular Electronics (or Science) where you connected a diode to the speaker output to get distortion. I scrounged some diodes from an old transistor radio (another experiment that went bad!) and also discovered that you could use two leads of a transistor as a diode. In any case I had about 4 or 5 diodes and transistors hooked up every which way- in series, crossline or both!- to get more distortion and while using the sewing machine footpedal I got my first whiff of burnt transformer and the amp stopped working. My brother brought it to the downstairs repair shop at Leo's Music in Oakland who said the transformer was bad and to just trade it in on another amp upstairs (not mentioning the little problem it had). So Leo gave me full credit ($50) towards a Fender Harvard 5E10 that he was selling for $100. A great little amp but a year later I decided that I had to have an amp with reverb so I went back to Leo's expecting to get full credit towards another amp. Damn- that guy must have had a memory like an elephant since he offered me only $50 in trade. But I digest... :lol:

My recommendation: Find out what collectors would pay that amp in that condition. Some of them pay outrageous prices just because they can. Depending on your circumstances you might be best off selling it for big bucks. If you decide to sell it I suggest that you take detailed pictures of everything just as a record for posterity. And if you decide to keep it you probably want to follow the suggestions here- replace the speaker, power supply caps, tubes and power cord (saving the originals in case you decide to sell it later). BTW I've had good luck replacing two wire power cords with IEC computer cables- the diameters usually match up (if you use a regular 3 wire power cord the diameter will usually be larger.) And you probably have a bunch of them around. But whatever you decide please don't plug it into the footpedal of a sewing machine, or wire in diodes and transistor on the speaker cable.

Steve Ahola