Kay 515(?) Tube Amp

[tigerzilly]

I just picked up this amp. It will be my first Kay amp. Usually the Kay tube amps I see are widow maker amps that I pass on. So when I saw the transformers and the description of the tube line up, I made an offer. It was described as 515. It does have a 15" speaker, but when I searched the 515, it's not quite the same. I found the exact amp on ebay but no model given. Only described as rare tremolux circuit. There are reminiscence of a schematic and parts list on the bottom. When I begin cleaning I'll see what I can find. Here are pics.

[mozz]

Going to say it looks like a Airline/ Montgomery Ward so probably made by Danelectro.

[glebert]

The Tremolux on Ebay says it is a 515. https://www.ebay.com/i/174275517544?...4aAud9EALw_wcB

[tigerzilly]

The Tremolux on Ebay says it is a 515. https://www.ebay.com/i/174275517544?...4aAud9EALw_wcB

Ok. Looked again and must have missed the full description. Thanks!

[tigerzilly]

Quam 15" speaker. Looks like 1961. One small tear in the cone.

[tigerzilly]

Chassis pics.

[The Dude]

Schematic:

https://el34world.com/charts/Schemat...ay/Kay_515.pdf

[tigerzilly]

Looky here. You can actually read a lot of this. It doesnt say 515 but schematic should match up. It does refer to it as a guitar amplifier. Nor sure why I see it refered to as a bass amp by some.

[g1]

Your schematic says 6L6, the 515 schem says 6V6, what is actually installed?

[tigerzilly]

Your schematic says 6L6, the 515 schem says 6V6, what is actually installed?

Its got 6v6s in it.

[tigerzilly]

I didn't expect replacing the grill cloth to be such a big deal. The speaker baffle isnt made for removal. It takes a bit of cabinet surgery.

[tigerzilly]

Your schematic says 6L6, the 515 schem says 6V6, what is actually installed?

I looked at the original schematic and V is hand written over the L.

[g1]

I looked at the original schematic and V is hand written over the L.

And 5U4 is crossed out with 5Y3 written over. Maybe there was another model with same schematic but different tubes. Or they just changed up on the fly and pencilled in the changes.

[tigerzilly]

And 5U4 is crossed out with 5Y3 written over. Maybe there was another model with same schematic but different tubes. Or they just changed up on the fly and pencilled in the changes.

The two schematics are identical except for those three tubes. But the tube lineup shown on the chassis diagram within the original schematic indicates 6V6s and 5Y3 without correction. So there are inconsistencies in the original. I guess the 6V6s and 5Y3 are what it's meant to be.

[tigerzilly]

So after replacing the caps and installing a grounded power cord, I was bringing up power and I could see signal passing when my power supply tripped as i was reaching 118v. Turned out my PT was shorting. It was running hot and drawing an amp with nothing connected. So installed new PT, ClassicTone 40-18060. It powers up and passes signal. Sounds loud, nice breakup....but....i hear a crackling noise, no trem, and volume goes full by 3. I swapped tubes and speaker, measured volume pots. It's gonna take some more sorting out.