Peavey 400 Series Bass Head - mid 70's

[kelcy]

I just bought a vintage Peavey 400 Series Bass Head and a Crate cabinet.

It has some issues. The pots crackle a lot, but I can fix that. My biggest issue is fuzz/distortion. It has a distortion knob, but there's still too much distortion when it's turned all the way down. Is this a problem, or is it just how the amp was intended to be? I can't fathom someone intentionally designing it to make that sound. How can I fix this? Also, it begins to squeal when the master is turned up over halfway.

Here's a pic:

http://www.elderly.com/vintage/items...8498_front.jpg

[Enzo]

When you turn off the extra junk the amp should sound very clean and loud. It could be a preamp issue or a power amp issue. Hard to say from here without more to go on.

Did you buy it from Elderly, or just using their photo?