Vintage VEGA 112 amp

[joejoecat]

I have a question about a VEGA 112 I just picked up. I believe its from the late 1940's. I plugged a 1965 Harmony Bobkat into it and it sounded great and then I plugged a 1966 Fender Mustang into it and it wouldn't play at all. Any ideas why ? Thanks

[rjb]

Trick question, right?

My guess:
Both of the Mustang's pickup selector slide switches were in the middle position- meaning both pickups were turned off.

Did I win?

[joejoecat]

Wish you were right !!

[JoeM]

You tried the Mustang on another amp?

[joejoecat]

Yep,works great .

[rjb]

Mustang works great with another amp?
Using the same cable, Mustang does not work at all with VEGA 112?
Using that same cable again, Bobcat still works fine with VEGA 112?

You've only got 3 major components- guitar, cable, amp... shouldn't be too hard to isolate the culprit....

[rjb]

Here's a half-baked speculation:

The Mustang has a wiring problem, and the pickups are "floating" in reference to ground.
Some how (don't ask me), the "good" amp provides a "sneak path" to ground.

Just out of curiosity, does the VEGA still have the original unpolarized plug?
What, if anything, happens if you flip the plug 180 degrees?

I know zilch about vintage amps- but you might want to search "death cap" on this forum for info on converting the amp for grounded 3-prong plug.