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Halp! Basic Restoration Guidance for 1962 Fender Bassman 6G6-A Blonde Amp/Cabinet

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  • Halp! Basic Restoration Guidance for 1962 Fender Bassman 6G6-A Blonde Amp/Cabinet

    Hello,

    I'm hoping someone can help guide me to some basic maintenance and repair of a family heirloom.

    My dad bought a Fender P bass and Bassman amp new in 1962 which he used in bands through about 1968/1969. I dusted it off and played punk rock out of it from 1991-1994 until I got a modern solid state bass amp. My dad, having saved up and bought the bass and amp with paper route money, took good care of it. I however treated it like a kid in a sometimes touring punk rock band who was given the equipment. That's not to say I didn't care for or respect the equipment but it was subjected to a hard life and it was turned way, way up all the time. (but I could have been more careful).

    It sounds absolutely amazing but I believe the pots need to be replaced, whenever I touch the volumes on either channel I hear that loud thunder crackle sound. Given how much it was used there has been some extensive repair from things wearing out including new tubes, new power cable and I remember blowing it out during our "CD Release Party" in 1994 and my dad saying the speakers need to be re-coned. When we first dug it out in the 90's he also said he thinks the capacitors dried out so maybe new caps.

    When I plugged it in, aside from the crackle of the volume knob, it was really beautiful sounding. Is that a repair a competent electrical engineer can do or should I see a specialist?
    Also I would love to clean it, it's really seen some craziness. Is there recommendation on what to use? I figure the fabric wear and stain is for good but the rest of the amp seems like it's a plastic linoleum type cleanable surface.

    Attached are some photos of when it was new, it's 90's punk days and what it looks like today plus the inner amp graphic with the tube configuration and all the model number and batch number. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
    Happy New Year!
    Jared
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  • #2
    Don't start throwing parts at it. get some Deoxit or similar control cleaner, and CLEAN those noisy controls. I bet few of them need replacement.

    For repair, see a technician, not an engineer. That may sound petty, but engineers design things, and many have little or no practical experience with the hardware. technicians are those who work in and on the products every day.

    Any competent amp repair shop can handle anything wrong with this or any maintenance. Cosmetics is up to you or find a cabinet guy. I like to think of cabinet wear as "patina".
    Education is what you're left with after you have forgotten what you have learned.

    Comment


    • #3
      +1.

      Those pots respond very well to Deoxit and I usually don't need to replace them and they give no further problems. I use water-based upholstery cleaner and a small nail brush type to clean the dirt off cabinets, and also to remove excessive dirt from speaker grilles. The technique I use for the grille cloth is to use the brush behind a damp cloth and some upholstery cleaner. A gentle circular motion gets into the fabric without excessively wetting it. Rinse out the cloth regularly and make sure not to concentrate on one specific area. Be careful not to use any solvent or ammonia based products. I use contact adhesive to stick down any flapping or torn Tolex covering. Steer clear of the tube chart if you clean the inside of the amp - these become very brittle and fall apart.

      I prefer older amps to be rat-rod rather than concours restorations.

      Comment


      • #4
        And beware of any so called or self aggrandized specialists in vintage amp repair unless they are VERY successful. There are a bunch shade tree "amp experts" out there that I wouldn't let wash my car. I think an actual repair shop, preferably an older one with history, though provenance isn't necessary. A place that DOES do amps, but also other stuff. The idea being that you want the guy (or girl) that will make sure the amp is in good working electronic order and NOT the one that specializes in NOS capacitors and "tone". I hope that's not too obscure.

        If the speakers aren't rattling at any volume and sound fine and loud they probably don't need re-coning. There are many things that old tubes, dirty contacts in pots, jacks and tube sockets, lose cabinet hardware and old filter caps will do that sound remarkably like a blown speaker. So unless the speakers are obviously blown or deemed such by a professional I would not take them straight out to be re-coned just yet.

        I would probably limit cosmetic work to cleaning and tacking down any frayed fabrics as Mick suggested. But that's up to you. With an amp of that caliber and collectability a full restoration WOULD have the same merit as, say, resoring an old '67 Ford Mustang. So there's no hard rule. It's all about what YOU want. Since you referred to it as an heirloom I don't suppose you have plans to sell it. Just so, I don't think a full cosmetic restoration would increase it's value over a good cleaning. It would just cost a lot more. And as Enzo said, it's patina is it's charm. How many people have an amp of that age and reverence where all the club wear was done by themselves? Neat-o.
        "Take two placebos, works twice as well." Enzo

        "Now get off my lawn with your silicooties and boom-chucka speakers and computers masquerading as amplifiers" Justin Thomas

        "If you're not interested in opinions and the experience of others, why even start a thread?
        You can't just expect consent." Helmholtz

        Comment


        • #5
          Nice amp & cab!

          That's a '61, t bone handle, rectifier tube.

          Deoxit the controls & wipe it off.

          Comment


          • #6
            Excellent advice Thanks

            Originally posted by Enzo View Post
            Don't start throwing parts at it. get some Deoxit or similar control cleaner, and CLEAN those noisy controls. I bet few of them need replacement.

            For repair, see a technician, not an engineer. That may sound petty, but engineers design things, and many have little or no practical experience with the hardware. technicians are those who work in and on the products every day.

            Any competent amp repair shop can handle anything wrong with this or any maintenance. Cosmetics is up to you or find a cabinet guy. I like to think of cabinet wear as "patina".
            Great advice! I really appreciate everyone taking the time to help. I recently brought my Marshall stack back from our rehearsal space to our living space to strum guitar on the clean channel and the buzz it makes just by turning it on drives my girlfriend nuts so this amp will continue to be used heard. Thanks again!

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by jaredstive View Post
              Great advice! I really appreciate everyone taking the time to help. I recently brought my Marshall stack back from our rehearsal space to our living space to strum guitar on the clean channel and the buzz it makes just by turning it on drives my girlfriend nuts so this amp will continue to be used heard. Thanks again!
              That Bassman is well known to be a VERY nice sounding GUITAR amp
              "Take two placebos, works twice as well." Enzo

              "Now get off my lawn with your silicooties and boom-chucka speakers and computers masquerading as amplifiers" Justin Thomas

              "If you're not interested in opinions and the experience of others, why even start a thread?
              You can't just expect consent." Helmholtz

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by Chuck H View Post
                That Bassman is well known to be a VERY nice sounding GUITAR amp
                Just ask Brian Setzer
                soldering stuff that's broken, breaking stuff that works, Yeah!

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by Mick Bailey View Post
                  +1.

                  Those pots respond very well to Deoxit and I usually don't need to replace them and they give no further problems. I use water-based upholstery cleaner and a small nail brush type to clean the dirt off cabinets, and also to remove excessive dirt from speaker grilles. The technique I use for the grille cloth is to use the brush behind a damp cloth and some upholstery cleaner. A gentle circular motion gets into the fabric without excessively wetting it. Rinse out the cloth regularly and make sure not to concentrate on one specific area. Be careful not to use any solvent or ammonia based products. I use contact adhesive to stick down any flapping or torn Tolex covering. Steer clear of the tube chart if you clean the inside of the amp - these become very brittle and fall apart.

                  I prefer older amps to be rat-rod rather than concours restorations.

                  Thanks Mick,

                  I think there might be a little mold or something I'd like to see if I can clean off grill cloth in the upper right third and a few 1/2 inch size torn and flapping Tolex to tack down. Excellent advice!

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Chuck H View Post
                    And beware of any so called or self aggrandized specialists in vintage amp repair unless they are VERY successful. There are a bunch shade tree "amp experts" out there that I wouldn't let wash my car. I think an actual repair shop, preferably an older one with history, though provenance isn't necessary. A place that DOES do amps, but also other stuff. The idea being that you want the guy (or girl) that will make sure the amp is in good working electronic order and NOT the one that specializes in NOS capacitors and "tone". I hope that's not too obscure.

                    If the speakers aren't rattling at any volume and sound fine and loud they probably don't need re-coning. There are many things that old tubes, dirty contacts in pots, jacks and tube sockets, lose cabinet hardware and old filter caps will do that sound remarkably like a blown speaker. So unless the speakers are obviously blown or deemed such by a professional I would not take them straight out to be re-coned just yet.

                    I would probably limit cosmetic work to cleaning and tacking down any frayed fabrics as Mick suggested. But that's up to you. With an amp of that caliber and collectability a full restoration WOULD have the same merit as, say, resoring an old '67 Ford Mustang. So there's no hard rule. It's all about what YOU want. Since you referred to it as an heirloom I don't suppose you have plans to sell it. Just so, I don't think a full cosmetic restoration would increase it's value over a good cleaning. It would just cost a lot more. And as Enzo said, it's patina is it's charm. How many people have an amp of that age and reverence where all the club wear was done by themselves? Neat-o.
                    Thanks Chuck,
                    Very helpful and I appreciate the analogy to restoring a vintage Mustang. Plan is to start with Deoxit on the volume knobs and if that takes care of the crackle I'm pretty much done with any other interior work.

                    There's definitely a 'patina' to the amp, plus a cigarette burn on the top, that speaks it's passage through time, generations, audiences, stages, and being loaded in and out of all manner of crappy vehicle. It's more of the smaller obvious stains like grime in an area where beer or some other god awful concoction was spilled more than once that attracted dust and dirt. I'm hoping to just get those back to a more even patina without going crazy and trying to make it look like it did in the photo of my dad playing it new. Also I want to tack down the tolex in 4 or 5 fingernail size tears around the edges of the speaker.

                    And then it's off to the next generation, attached is a photo of my 11 year old is playing guitar and 9 year old playing drums from a weeklong intro to rock band music camp they did last summer. Both are keen to learn more and love when I drop my strat into an open tuning (we call it kids tuning) and let them make noise. Also the 11 year old cut off her hair and dyed it purple so I'm pretty sure that amp has a few more stages yet.

                    All the best in 2018!
                    JaredClick image for larger version

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                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Update 1

                      Update 1

                      It Worked!!! I couldn't find Deoxit but I did find a generic electrical parts degreaser spray and according to some other research the main difference is Deoxit also has a lubricant good for the moving parts of potentiometer pots but either one would solve the problem I was having. I ordered the actual Deoxit online and plan to use it on the 'Normal' channel pots when it arrives next week but I went ahead and cleaned out the Bass channel potentiometer knobs. I'm also not touching the Presence knob until I get the good stuff.

                      I cleaned off the exterior knobs with a toothbrush and warm water with a touch of dish soap and plan on a light cleaning of some stains but the amp sounds so warm and bright and I loved the advice of letting an amp that's enjoying a well lived life LOOK like an amp that has enjoyed a well lived life. Nothing wrong with that

                      I added some photos of the guts in case this post is helpful as a reference for what the inside of mine looked like. Still a ton of original fender stuff like the big metal thing next to the vacuum tubes that reads 45548-123, stamped above that (not printed) is simply FENDER. Since the provenance of this one is pretty clear might help to authenticate and date other amps. Also would love to learn more about what these things do if anyone wants to point me to a good resource

                      Once again huge thanks to the community, now time to make some noise!
                      - jared

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                      Comment


                      • #12
                        The 45548 big metal thing is your output transformer.
                        Education is what you're left with after you have forgotten what you have learned.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Great. Here's hoping Enzo's sentiment is 100% and cleaning fixes everything. I would caution against using degreaser for pot cleaning though. The lubricant is important to prevent premature wear. I like to blow pots out with either my compressor (if it's handy) or a blast of keyboard duster (if it's handier) and THEN use a proper pot cleaner with lubricant. You're still good to do that since you didn't ADD lubricant with the degreaser. Blowing out any old dust you can just seems like a nice touch. Once, when I was somewhat younger and didn't have a compressor or keyboard duster I used a bicycle pump and a ball filler tip to blow out the pots on an amp before cleaning. Just to illustrate that there's more than one way to skin a catfish.

                          Since the amp is "working" it's likely that a good tech would suggest changing to a three prong, grounded AC mains cord, test voltages, look for any drifted components where suspect and advise on any old electrolytic caps in the amp, they go bad with age (you might notice some background noise/hum that you don't remember and maybe some ringing on notes in the upper registers). This would be the standard MO and it shouldn't be prohibitively expensive. What you get back is an amp that's safe, reliable and ready to take the next generation to the stage.
                          "Take two placebos, works twice as well." Enzo

                          "Now get off my lawn with your silicooties and boom-chucka speakers and computers masquerading as amplifiers" Justin Thomas

                          "If you're not interested in opinions and the experience of others, why even start a thread?
                          You can't just expect consent." Helmholtz

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Chuck H View Post
                            Great. Here's hoping Enzo's sentiment is 100% and cleaning fixes everything. I would caution against using degreaser for pot cleaning though. The lubricant is important to prevent premature wear. I like to blow pots out with either my compressor (if it's handy) or a blast of keyboard duster (if it's handier) and THEN use a proper pot cleaner with lubricant. You're still good to do that since you didn't ADD lubricant with the degreaser. Blowing out any old dust you can just seems like a nice touch. Once, when I was somewhat younger and didn't have a compressor or keyboard duster I used a bicycle pump and a ball filler tip to blow out the pots on an amp before cleaning. Just to illustrate that there's more than one way to skin a catfish.

                            Since the amp is "working" it's likely that a good tech would suggest changing to a three prong, grounded AC mains cord, test voltages, look for any drifted components where suspect and advise on any old electrolytic caps in the amp, they go bad with age (you might notice some background noise/hum that you don't remember and maybe some ringing on notes in the upper registers). This would be the standard MO and it shouldn't be prohibitively expensive. What you get back is an amp that's safe, reliable and ready to take the next generation to the stage.
                            Thanks Chuck and I was wishing I had a can of compressed air but I do have a bicycle pump and ball filler tip!

                            One more question, after I cleaned the bass pots I could totally feel the loss of lubrication when turning the dial. Since I also lost the problem crackle noise it seemed like a good deal. That said when I go back and use Deoxit on the Normal channel pots later this week would it be wise to hit the now cleaned up Bass channel pots with Deoxit as well to add lubrication?

                            Thanks!

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              one more question

                              Originally posted by Chuck H View Post
                              Great. Here's hoping Enzo's sentiment is 100% and cleaning fixes everything. I would caution against using degreaser for pot cleaning though. The lubricant is important to prevent premature wear. I like to blow pots out with either my compressor (if it's handy) or a blast of keyboard duster (if it's handier) and THEN use a proper pot cleaner with lubricant. You're still good to do that since you didn't ADD lubricant with the degreaser. Blowing out any old dust you can just seems like a nice touch. Once, when I was somewhat younger and didn't have a compressor or keyboard duster I used a bicycle pump and a ball filler tip to blow out the pots on an amp before cleaning. Just to illustrate that there's more than one way to skin a catfish.

                              Since the amp is "working" it's likely that a good tech would suggest changing to a three prong, grounded AC mains cord, test voltages, look for any drifted components where suspect and advise on any old electrolytic caps in the amp, they go bad with age (you might notice some background noise/hum that you don't remember and maybe some ringing on notes in the upper registers). This would be the standard MO and it shouldn't be prohibitively expensive. What you get back is an amp that's safe, reliable and ready to take the next generation to the stage.
                              Thanks Chuck and I was wishing I had a can of compressed air but I do have a bicycle pump and ball filler tip!

                              One more question, after I cleaned the bass pots I could totally feel the loss of lubrication when turning the dial. Since I also lost the problem crackle noise it seemed like a good deal. That said when I go back and use Deoxit on the Normal channel pots later this week would it be wise to hit the now cleaned up Bass channel pots with Deoxit as well to add lubrication?

                              Thanks!

                              Comment

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