lunch Report January 2, 2014

[y2kc]

[thumb=][/thumb]
[/thumb][/thumb]
[thumb=][/thumb]
[thumb=][/thumb]
[thumb=][/thumb]


Good morning G&L fans far and wide,

This report is a tad early because there is a world of snow removal to be done and I am just the guy to do it.I am happy that I have kept up with it because the deep freeze hits tonight and after that it is tough to remove when you are as old as me.
I took a picture out my front window this morning. I really don't like these Chicago winters anymore but there is something about the fresh feeling new snow brings. This is my 55th winter here.

I saw the lady next door shoveling when I was walking back from the coffee shop at about 6:30 this morning. She is a brute because she moved a ton of snow and was done by the time I got back out there. The plows just deposit a ton of snow at the end of the driveways and she had that completely clear. Remind me not to get her mad.

I got that amp out of my basement and unpacked it. This is a ebay win I got about 7 -9 years ago. It is a mint 1950's? RCA intercom. I have a feeling it was not used very long based on it's condition. Most likely quickly outdated and replaced with something more "modern". Before I bid on it I showed it to an amp guru here in the big city and he said it was a candidate. Paid $100 for the amp and paid Roger $300 for some cool parts and his work. The tubes are 2 6v6 type and the new power transformer is a Hammond I do believe. I am not an amp guy but I think that is what is in there. The amp is most likely 15 watts tops and as clear as a bell with clean headroom. I run it through a 2-12 bottom and ad a full-tone pedal for a little hair. This has been a wonderful amp for what I want. I have a bunch of other nice amps but this set up is perfect getting a great sound without shaking the glass in the windows too much. I only have a volume and a tone knob but thats what is on all the little amps I have .
If you are from the mid-west and/or as old as me then you are familiar with the red R.C.A. badge.Radio Corporation of America. Those guys made some sweet heavy duty products in the early days and this little amp is no exception.

The other picks are my 2001 Legacy with a #3 highly figured neck. More about that later, I must drive my wife to work!

y2kc

[Sprinter 92]

Nice amp! My first amp was a Heathkit home stereo that my dad had built in the mid 60's. The amp did OK, but the stereo speakers didn't like a guitar being run through them.

[y2kc]

Tim,

Yes the shot out the window is brutal and in real life it is no better. The plunging temps come tonight and California sounds really good right now.

I purchased that Legacy from a guy in Southern California. You may have run into him. Awesome guitar!

Please get a guitar sized box, fill it up with California sunshine and send it here,

y2kc

[sam]

Casey,

That used to be a familiar view out my window when living in northern Indiana, with a LONG driveway. The snowblower was sold with the house.

That Legacy is a real looker, blonde with maple neck always works.

Never had patience or competence to do the kits, but was always jealous of you guys who could put 'me together and they actually work properly.

[xg5a]

Nice amp! My first amp was a Heathkit home stereo that my dad had built in the mid 60's. The amp did OK, but the stereo speakers didn't like a guitar being run through them.

+1 on the heathkit amp. A few years ago I picked up a homebuilt Heathkit "combo" amp from an electrical engineer friend. It uses a heathkit WM-P2 preamp and WM-4A power amp, with 2 Celestion 10's, all in an open backed wood cab, painted bright blue. It even has the original Mullard tubes. A very strange amp, but it actually sounds pretty nice with a guitar, pretty fun to play around with although I wouldn't trust it with a band. Every so often it blows a fuse. In addition to bass and treble knobs, it has a "curve" control with settings like "RIAA 78", "LP", "Early 78s", etc. I'll have to post some photos later on. I just had to comment as I never hear of Heathkit.

[NickHorne]

Heathkit was a significant part of post-WW2 DIY man's home entertainment, and I was aware of it as a boy here in England (much the poor relation of the USA) in the 60s.
As for RIAA, try

Code: Select all

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RIAA_equalization

[link deemed unsafe by URLVoid, so Admin removed clickable link]
for some background on audio in that era.
Nice RCA!

[darwinohm]

Cool amp Casey as is the birdseye neck. We did not get snow last night but I heard that Chicago did and you can't argue with pictures! Back in the old days there were a lot of cool audio amps. Big transformers and such. I wonder how a McIntosh would have worked for a guitar amp. They were very heavy and were the ticket for audiophiles. That brings up some thought on 2014. I think that we are going to see some new technology with very small, lightweight amps. I am quite surprised how well my lightwieght 2-12 bass cabinet sounds although the cabinet is still large. Hang in there with the weather. It shall pass! Brutal cold is headed your way.-- Darwin

[suave eddie]

I wonder how a McIntosh would have worked for a guitar amp.

Funny you should mention this--

For years, Jerry Garcia played through a Fender Twin Reverb amp with preamp outputs going to a Mcintosh 2300 amp.
http://www.wald-electronics.com/images/ ... Manual.pdf

[darwinohm]

Funny you should mention this--

For years, Jerry Garcia played through a Fender Twin Reverb amp with preamp outputs going to a Mcintosh 2300 amp.

How bout that! Look at the weight on that baby-- Darwin

[Salmon]

When I acquired my first electric guitar I also used an old Heath Kit stereo amp that my father had built.

BTW, McIntosh products were used for PA systems in the 60's and 70's. If you were backstage you could watch a wall of tubes pulse and flare. According to Wikipedia, McIntosh amps were used at the Woodstock Music Festival in 1969.

That white Legacy hard tail is a gem.

I have never lived where it snows. I have braved storms in order to snow ski and so I have spent some time exposed on lifts with about 15 feet visibility. Dealing with frost is inconvenient enough, I would not want to have to shovel snow in order to get to work.

[Elwood]

BTW, McIntosh products were used for PA systems in the 60's and 70's. If you were backstage you could watch a wall of tubes pulse and flare. According to Wikipedia, McIntosh amps were used at the Woodstock Music Festival in 1969.

How bout that! Look at the weight on that baby-- Darwin

When shipping them, there are crates available ...built just for the 2300's .

For years, Jerry Garcia played through a Fender Twin Reverb amp with preamp outputs going to a Mcintosh 2300 amp.

Apparently he liked Macintosh's as well. I used to have one of those little SS Yamaha amps (G-20 IIRC)...good little amps .



Here's a couple shots of Dead gear I had at hand:

It is a mint 1950's? RCA intercom.

Nice , there are a few little tube amps around here that need to be re-purposed. Most are old film equipment from hollywood (optical readers,editing stations,etc.).
I need to get my little Maggie going...5-6 watts of organic goodness.



The first SUNN amps were basically repackaged Dynakits from Dynaco. The early ones have the preamp and power amp mounted separately ...pretty much how they came from Dynaco.

Stay warm,
elwood