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My first impression was of a Kay 720 amp I had years ago same parts p-t-p + split chassis layout. Diablo you've got a way cool piece, thanks for sharing the pics!
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Cool amp...but don't get discouraged by the sound with those C12R's...IMHO they kind of suck!
No bass, no highs...just muted mids...and not very efficient. I tried them in several amps with the same result, just didn't work out well.Comment
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You're right they're not very efficient speakers, but there are two of them so the amp is plenty loud. The speakers actually sound very good with this amp because they have a very nice early breakup with smooth distortion. I tested a lot of speakers in comparison too, and I still like the C12Rs.Comment
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Good to hear. I recently built a new extension cab for a head I'm building, and I had a few choice C12R's at my disposal to try out in it. They were a letdown for me in that cab powered by a champ, and was really hoping for them to work out, since they were in such great shape too! I also recently used a C12R in a Marshall class 5 I modded. It was a bit better match for that amp, but still fell short of the mark.
I'm always looking for stuff on CL, you must have snagged that one before I saw it!Comment
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Yeah this was a local buy on Craigslist in Chicago. I keep reading these stories about folks buying vintage amps for $10 at a garage sale. I don't do garage sales.......yet, but maybe I should start.Comment
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I have two hifi amps that use 7591s, both Eico brand- and they're both excellent. One is class A cathode biased, the other is AB fixed bias. Difference is 20WPC vs 35WPC, and each sounds very different. 7591s are great tubes- but they're very expensive. NOS Westinghouse is the preferred replacement for them in the hifi world. If you happen to have a good testing set of closely matched Westinghouse tubes there- you might consider saving or selling them. JJ's and EH are more reasonably priced, and sound pretty good- should you find you need to replace them at some point. Some of the most revered hifi amps used the 7591, including the benchmark larger Fisher receivers- and they're coveted. Strange to see a guitar amp using them. I have an old Bogen CHB-100 that uses 7868s, which is a 7591 in a different bottle. It uses a quad of them for 100W (probably at about 80% distortion). It'll be interesting to see how it sounds. Nice score. If those are Westinghouse 7591s, you have already made your money back.Comment
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Two of the tubes are Westinghouse and two are Sylvania. I bought a quad of EH tubes and found they bias quite a bit hotter than the vintage tubes, and they break up a lot earlier. If I wanted to run the EH, I'd probably sub in new cathode bias resistors. Hopefully, they would have about the same headrooom then as the vintage tubes do now. I spent more on the quad of EH tubes ($80) than I did on the amp.Comment
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Some Ampegs use 7591s as well (eg, GU-12). I agree that they sound nice.Comment
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