Webcor 2110-1 reel to reel

[Robert8192]

Hi,
Mercy me, maybe the internet has a better scan of the schematic.

What I would do is find a supplier of a kit for the intended amp,
check if your power transformer and OP transformers will
work and ask that the kit not include those..
Maybe like 250$ for the parts kit and you would be rolling..

I have found that few of the vintage parts can be reused,
some will, but I would maybe test them..

Hope that helps.

[olddawg]

I would try to reuse the chassis. It will be full of holes and may seem ugly, but if you fabricate a new faceplate (out of plexiglass, sheet metal, whatever) to cover the front of it and mount it in a box, it will never be seen and no one will be the wiser. I would only use the transformers and the chassis. A Champ is a very simple single ended amp. I would get new ceramic tube sockets, pots, jacks and components. You don't want to be frustrated troubleshooting old tube sockets, etc. I would use an eyelet board or a turret board for the circuit, especially if you have never built an amp. It will not be a big expense. Reusing those tag strips can be a pain if you are a noob and unsoldering and cleaning everything just isn't worth it IMHO. Buy new stuff and start fresh. Look on some kit sites and see if you can find a layout diagram. Be aware that even though an amp like this is small and low output the B+ voltage in it can still kill you. Read up on safety proceedures and know how to discharge the filter caps. Check your PT voltages. If the secondary voltages are low compared to what the Champ requires, you might want to consider using an SS rectifier with a sag resistor. That will bring the B+ up a bit. Use a 3 wire power cord with a chassis ground. I usually pull an assemply out of a junk computer to save a few bucks. They're everywhere for nothing. They're also a good source for sheet metal for front and back panels. Or...... you can just go out and buy a Epiphone Valve Jr and have a similar amp for not much more money and no work.

[Kalamazoo]

My Webcor experience

1- Your schematic looks a lot like the 2719 I converted, so you appear to have a have single 6v6 power section. The other 6V6 is for the record bias circuit. To prove that take out the furthest 6v6 and see if it still plays just as loudly. To use both 6v6s in the audio circuit, you would need to rewire, and would need a different OT. Other forum posts also mention limitations of the 6x5. I measure 330V off mine.
2- To play guitar through the input, I locked the play/ record slider switch into record mode . If you decide to gut it, you can see visually which wires are "active" in record mode because they are engaged. I then fearlessly removed all of the other circuit parts that were switched off and/ or obviously connected to the reel to reel mechanism. Or you could just leave the switch lock in record mode and not gut it at all. The internal speaker is ratty on these, but it sounds nice through an efficient 12' Alnico extension cab. I will be installing a Weber 6X9, currently on order.
3- I installed a pilot light, fuse, and 3 prong cord. Moved the on/ off switch off the Volume control into an used jack hole.
4- I did not document my before/ after photos well, but here are 2 shots of mine, with just a few cosmetic touches left to finish.
Good luck!

[wrathfuldeity]

Today in that ski/snowboard season is almost over and with success of finding the newcomb phonograph that works great as an amp; decided to do as Eurekaiv suggested...try it...put the tubes in the chassis and fired it up. It works, no hum, no smoke, no sizzle and some "ok" geetar sound....however it was not very loud...is this due to the ratty 6" speaker? And thanks to Kalamazoo's reference of pulling the end 6v6 tube; was able to determine that it is a single ended 6v6.

So I assume that the basic of the gut and rebuild plan is good and the major bits are intact. Thus now I thinking use the major parts to do a se 6v6 and keep the 6x5 rectifier. So now a question about the output transformer, the ratty little speaker measured 3.2 ohms and I have a few good 8 ohm speakers (jensen 12", cts 8", and a weber 12")...so I assume to use an 8 ohm speaker I need to get a different output transformer with 8 ohm tap or get a good 4 ohm speaker? Also there is an external speaker jack...so I assume it is also for a 4 ohm speaker?

In the meanwhile, thinking about following Kalamazoo's lead and strip the un-necessary bits, add a 3 prong cord, try a better speaker and then when the filters and cap go bad, do the rebuild.

Thanks for the help.

[Kalamazoo]

Speaker choices

The ratty little speakers definitely do not work for guitar. Different OT is an option, but I would favor just just wiring 2 of your 8 ohm speakers in parallel , in a separate cab, for a 4 ohm load. I bought a Weber 4 ohm speaker (6x9") for mine and installed it in the cab so I have the option of playing without a separate cab. But separate cab is better when you crank since these cabs rattle.

[wrathfuldeity]

Just finished the "webcor stack" LOL. Sounds fairly muddy and overdriven...not a clean to be had with the parallel 2-12 inch stack. Any suggestions for getting it cleaner? Anyway its been fun little project and was happy to keep the "green eye" working.

[Kalamazoo]

Are you playing it "stock"?

Being "Champ" like, there is not too much clean headroom in these little guys. I am not familiar with your 2110, but I get decent headroom up to about 4 on my 210 and 2719 conversions that were left stock escept for the removal of extraneous parts. If there is a mic and a phono input, you might try both. Check voltages. Underbiased 6V6s will sound Brown at best and ratty at worst. Maybe you could change the input resistors and caps to those typical for a guitar amp input. Ultimately, you may be gutting this for a Harvard conversion as did "Platefire" on thre Telecaster forum. But you would lose the cool green eye, which I also kept on my 210 conversion.

Any thoughts for us from those who actually know this stuff? That's about the best I can do for you.

[rojoknox]

Greetings from FixitLand!

I'm a complete tube noob, however love se guitar amps. So was at ye old thrift store yesterday and could not resist dragging home a Webcore 2110-1 reel to reel, that lit up when briefly plugged in at the store. Tubes: 12ax7, 12at7, 6x5, 2-6v6. Now having a wee bit of knowledge that these tubes have some potential...my imagination ran wild. So now that I got it home...any suggestions, e.g., returning it, parting it, scrapping and salvaging for parts to do a se 6v6, having a tech mod it. My preferences would be to minor mod it or have it modded for a pp 6v6 or scrap and salvage to attempt a first build simple 5F1 (?) type amp. Any suggestions or thoughts appreciated. Thanks

I know this is a fairly old thread, but I happened across it and, as the owner of three Webcor tape recorders (one of them a 2110), I have to ask: Do you still happen to have the heads, motors or other mechanical parts from the tape recorder? I could make use of heads and motors particularly, if they aren't worn out.

When in Record mode, the amp is single-ended with one 6V6 while the other 6V6 runs as a bias oscillator. In Playback mode, the amp is switched into push-pull mode and has feedback from the output transformer applied to the cathodes. By now, you might well have rewired it, but that's how it was originally. Curious circuit.

Take care,
--
J. E. Knox 'The Victor Freak'

[Kalamazoo]

I gave all the extraneous Webcor and Voice of music parts to a friend who has your hobby. I hope folks are not just throwing the parts out. I have sold some components from old radios etc on eBay- for 99 cents plus exact shipping, so that they would be recycled to a good home. All I have now is the tape head/ motor mechanisms for a Magnavox portable Reel to reel that uses an ECL86 tube. That will be a cool conversion soon- a 3 Watt Marshall!. I will also be disasssembling an Akai Roberts deck in the future, and will try to find a home for the tape parts for that unit as well. Thanks for the clue on the cathode feedback. I noted Webcor did that on the 333 musicale phonograph as well.