Webcor 2110-1 reel to reel

[wrathfuldeity]

I'm a complete tube noob, however love se guitar amps. So was at ye old thrift store yesterday and could not resist dragging home a Webcore 2110-1 reel to reel, that lit up when briefly plugged in at the store. Tubes: 12ax7, 12at7, 6x5, 2-6v6. Now having a wee bit of knowledge that these tubes have some potential...my imagination ran wild. So now that I got it home...any suggestions, e.g., returning it, parting it, scrapping and salvaging for parts to do a se 6v6, having a tech mod it. My preferences would be to minor mod it or have it modded for a pp 6v6 or scrap and salvage to attempt a first build simple 5F1 (?) type amp. Any suggestions or thoughts appreciated. Thanks

[Robert8192]

Hey WrathfulDeity,,

Do not return that baby... Look at the condition of those parts!!

You could try and convert it as is into a really soulful sounding
amp. I wish it were mine.....

I will keep in touch.

[olddawg]

Great conversion project. I would gut it down to the chassis, tube sockets and transformers, then build a new tag/turret board for it. Then a couple of pots and a jack and you're done. Use what ever small 6V6 pp amp template you like. If you want to add another stage and need more heater currentsans the rectifier tube and use an SS rectifier. There's a great layout for a plexish 6V6 18 watt Marshall Lite on the 18 watt.com site. Just don't hurt yourself if your're clueless. Tube amps can kill you!

[BiBi]

That's a great score! Usually the old reel to reel decks I find are single ended amps-- an ecl82 or el 84.
I do what the previous poster says and gut them, then fit a smallish usually 8" speaker in, and voila you have a great portable amp.
I'm more than a little jealous of yours though! Good luck you'll find lots of help here...

[olddawg]

2 X EL84s pp can be quite loud. I run mine through a 4X10 18 Marshall 1965A cab and it screams. Plenty loud for a club if you don't need serious cleans.

[eurekaiv]

You might not need to gut it and re-build to have a cool guitar amp. Does it have an input for a microphone and an out for an external speaker cab? I have a Webcor I use as a guitar amp straight up and it sounds cool. A bit dark through a limited range guitar speaker but it rips with a great tweedy tone through the "full range" extension unit that goes with it.

[unparalleled]

Should make a good amp.
You may or may not need another OP transformer if you want PP output.
It appears that one 6V6 is the tape recording bias oscillator, suggesting that it is a single ended output setup as it is.

[olddawg]

Should make a good amp.
You may or may not need another OP transformer if you want PP output.
It appears that one 6V6 is the tape recording bias oscillator, suggesting that it is a single ended output setup as it is.

If that is true you will probably need a different OT for a PP amp. You also might want to check the B+. You may havr to use an SS rectifier to get it up to what you need for guitar amp application.

[wrathfuldeity]

You might not need to gut it and re-build to have a cool guitar amp. Does it have an input for a microphone and an out for an external speaker cab? I have a Webcor I use as a guitar amp straight up and it sounds cool. A bit dark through a limited range guitar speaker but it rips with a great tweedy tone through the "full range" extension unit that goes with it.

Should make a good amp.
You may or may not need another OP transformer if you want PP output.
It appears that one 6V6 is the tape recording bias oscillator, suggesting that it is a single ended output setup as it is.

Everyone, thanks for the replys.

So according to eurekaiv's note...maybe try it like it is?

And according to unparalleled's note...perhaps its already a single ended amp...so how do I check this out?...the schmatic is glued in the bottom of the box. My first preference is for a se 6v6 5F1 type amp...so if it is already a se, so would the proper approach be to strip it and then build up a 5F1 circuit from the usable bits. Btw it appears to have a copper chassis, is there an advantage or disadvantage of trying to use it?

Thanks for the patience, I figure this will be a prolonged process of learning and putting it together.

[eurekaiv]

If you can plug right in why not? I'd certainly see how it sounded before I tore it all apart but YMMV. I just hate to gut vintage equipment unless it's un-repairable and/or worthless.

[Grieve]

Could you post a clear photo of the schematic diagram from the unit?
Then we could see exactly what you've got to work with

[wrathfuldeity]

Finally got time to get a picture of the schematic. Btw Merry Christmas

Picasa Web Albums - Tim

[wrathfuldeity]

So am I thinking right? The plan is to gut this as old dawg noted, salvage what I can, build up a tag/turret board and do a SE 6v6 with a 12ax7 preamp, perhaps change the rectifier to 5y3gt. Something like a 5F1 or 5F2a. So is this a reasonable thing to do with available parts and is it doable first build? What are the things to salvage, can I use the copper chassis? Here is the schematic…you can magnify it with the button on the upper right and then move it around… Picasa Web Albums - Tim

Also plan on seeing if a volunteer tech at the American Museum of Radio and Electricity American Museum of Radio & Electricity can give me some guidance.
Thanks

[BiBi]

You certainly have all the necessary parts there already. You'll want to keep all the transformers, the chassis and the case. You already have tag strips no need to buy more just unsolder the pieces off the ones you have and reorder them as you like. If you're going to follow a known schematic then it's really cut and paste. I personally like point to point wiring like what you have there already because it makes you more aware of placement of components.
About the only things you do need are probably a new 3 prong power cord, a loudspeaker and a baffle board with some cloth stretched over it. Don't make it too complicated on yourself!
Of course someone else will have their own opinion on it-- that's just how I do it with the old tape machines.

[gayler]

Is it copper, or plated? I also would like to know if there is an advantage because I have an old stereo with a copper chassis also that I would like to convert. It uses two 6F6g's an 6x5I think and a couple of 6sk7's I think.