What to do with basket case 75 Twin Reverb?

[glebert]

Worked out a deal with local shop to try to do something with this amp that has been sitting in their back room for 7 years. I've got nothing into it, and don't plan on putting much $$ into it at all. If I can get it to be sellable in any fashion we split proceeds, or maybe I will buy it from them if I fall in love with it.

Two other techs have tinkered with it and now it is really in bad shape with stuff disconnected and parts missing. I know the trem circuit was removed intentionally as someone removed the pots and put plugs there and the roach is gone. The bass pot on the normal channel also looks like it was removed and plugged for whatever reason.

OK, so assuming that the transformers check out, what would you do with this? It is a MV model which I guess would have had the push pull boost switch, that seems to be gone and I know that switch is tough to find and no one really likes it anyway. I could just put in a BF twin circuit, maybe with new eyelet board in case the old had conduction problems. Doing a straight up BF Twin Reverb still seems kind of lame, any other approaches? Convert the normal channel to be more bassman like? Put in tube rectifiers and make it into a tweed twin? I get that at that point I need to potentially do some transformer swapping, but I do have some hammond organ pull iron sitting around that I don't really have a need for. Then again making it low power yet still big and heavy might be a dumb combination.

At this point I'm just kind of in thinking mode.

[xtian]

"Twin" iron is great for D-style amps. Here's a nice board for you: https://luigiretro.com/HRD2ODS_retrofit_pcb

[glebert]

Interesting idea, hadn't thought of that. I think I'd have a few extra holes in the front panel to deal with, but those could be covered with a custom faceplate.

[Mick Bailey]

There's no address or location on the site and no terms and conditions - does anyone know where the company is based?

I recently worked on an ex- Michael Landau BF Twin Reverb and this was built with what was claimed to be a 'custom' Plexi channel + regular BF channel. It sounded pretty good and the owner is delighted with it.

[pdf64]

There's no address or location on the site and no terms and conditions - does anyone know where the company is based?
…

I believe he’s trustworthy, over in the US I think, active on the amp garage forum, I recall xtian collaborated with him with that Dumble pcb.
https://ampgarage.com/forum/viewtopi...395115#p395115

[xtian]

That's correct. Luigi Retro is the pseudonym for my buddy Lou R. I helped with circuit design and testing (combo of Overdrive Special #183 and Bluesmaster), and Lou did the heavy lifting of designing the PCB.

[Tom Phillips]

Please post photos of the current condition.
My first thought is to get it working as a stock Twin Reverb. It will be easier to sell that way vs. trying to make it a clone of something else.

[glebert]

pics

[Tom Phillips]

Thanks for posting the photos.
If the transformers are all good then rebuilding that amp will be fairly straight forward. You could configure it with the best of both black face and silver face construction. The current issue is that silver face Twin Reverb amps sell for fairly low prices compared to the classic small combos.

[glebert]

Thanks for posting the photos.
The current issue is that silver face Twin Reverb amps sell for fairly low prices compared to the classic small combos.

Hence the question of it would be "better" i.e. more marketable to make it into something unique. I even toyed with the idea of making it into the worlds biggest Deluxe Reverb since I have a set of (supposably) working PCBs from a '65 Reissue, but that seemed counterproductive.

[Tom Phillips]

Hence the question of it would be "better" i.e. more marketable to make it into something unique. I even toyed with the idea of making it into the worlds biggest Deluxe Reverb since I have a set of (supposably) working PCBs from a '65 Reissue, but that seemed counterproductive.

My feelings are:
1. Yes. It could be made better in the eyes of some players. However, if you were to rebuild it as something "better", then I think you should have a client locked in up front with a clear agreement to the idea and a suitable cash deposit. Otherwise, I'll stay with my recommendation to build it back as a Twin Reverb if the idea is to sell it for profit
2. I would not recommend the "biggest Deluxe Reverb" idea because...
a: Most people want a DR for the small size and lower weight as well as the lower power and different response characteristics of 6V6s vs. 6L6s.
b: That would require a different power transformer and output transformer to get the DR sound.
Note also that the Deluxe Reverb and the Twin Reverb use essentially the same eyelet parts board so there is no sense in swapping in your DR board. The DR board is probably more valuable as a stand alone assembly anyway.
Cheers,
Tom

[Chuck H]

FWIW I'm pretty certain the most marketable rebuild/repair for that amp would be to make it as close to a BF twin reverb as possible. Then it's just an old amp by the right manufacturer made into one of their coveted amps. It's kind of a no brainer. Sure it would be fun to make it into something spicy, but like Tom says, that's a narrow market.

Ad says basically "This was a late era Twin Reverb Now it's a coveted era Twin Reverb. Want it?" It's not going to fetch BF bids but a lot of people will be looking for the opportunity to get something special for less than several thousand dollars. A lot of people means a lot of up bids and competition. Translate, higher selling price.

[glebert]

Just a little context that might help explain the thoughts rattling around in my head. A few years ago I had a BF Vibroverb clone (that I bought, not built) that had been made from a SF Super Reverb chassis. It was executed really well and high end components and whatnot. I sold that for about 2x what the Super Reverb could have sold for. Now I don't expect that I could get a 2x increase, just wondering if there is a "better than" route that could be taken with this. Maybe a full-size Twin is best left as a Twin. I can get a BF faceplate easy enough that would cover the MV hole and give it a better look. Maybe try a couple little mods just for fun.

[Chuck H]

. A few years ago I had a BF Vibroverb clone (that I bought, not built) that had been made from a SF Super Reverb chassis. It was executed really well and high end components and whatnot. I sold that for about 2x what the Super Reverb could have sold for. Now I don't expect that I could get a 2x increase, just wondering if there is a "better than" route that could be taken with this...

Just not sure that's the market anymore. Once was a time when people had more disposable income and were looking for a better tone, boutique amps were burgeoning but still slim on the market and tubes were making a serious comeback. Today you're more likely to sell a respected digital amp than a tube collectible for a fair price. At least if it's a known classic "design" there will be takers. Just look at what used boutiques are selling for now compared to ten or fifteen years ago. Different market.

[Enzo]

It would seem to me if you plan to sell it locally, you can have it all hot rod or modded up, and some one may love it. But if you plan to sell it online, then it becomes a pig in a poke to potential buyers. A black face Twin they get, a Black face sorta Marshall channel with gain boost footswitch or whatever... who knows.