Yes, they’re great with a pedal. I’ve played guitar through a DHA VT1 pedal into the Scala and the valve overdrive feeding into the valve combo is excellent. OK, here’s the link to the cork-sniffing on trying various EL84s in the Scala:
http://vintageamps.com/plexiboard/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=53867&p=506271&hilit=el84+shootout#p506271

I haven’t been on Plexi Palace for a while and its new front-end is quite impressive. I also did a comparison of ECC83s, the preamp valve that is currently Chinese in yours, and you may want a read:
http://vintageamps.com/plexiboard/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=54164&p=508924&hilit=ecc83+shootout#p508924

I do apol in advance for my wordiness but, if you can stomach the drivel, it does show that you can some really different characters out of the Scala. It’s so simple as a circuit that changing the glass can have a big effect.

I wouldn’t bother repairing the speaker because I have seen 8″, 3ohm Elacs on eBay and they don’t sell for much. Providing the impedance of 8ohm is OK (and it probably is, but it’d be better to adjust the output if poss) then the Celestion is a better speaker. Through a big cab better still, I bet, although I’ve never tried. The Scala’s littleness is what makes it so handy for me.

Edit: the trem is internal and is the bit of circuitry closest to the control panel, with the EF86 valve in it. You need a footswitch to turn it off/on and, IIRC, this is a normal jack so any on/off f/switch will do. HST, many valve amps have non-working tremeloes these days but it’s all fixable.

Well Marantz, you just ruined my week 🙂 . My £13 (+£11 p+p – I was quite hard-faced about not paying the £18 requested) for a 515 is beaten out by your £15 for a 519 with tremelo. Does the trem work and is it any good? Out of the two issues, I’d rather have your replacement Celestion (especially as the original flobbles noticeably when pushed) over my icky black paint that would take a lot of nail varnish remover to clean up.

Incidentally, you say yours is a 70s Dallas-Arbiter but these Scalas were made before the Arbiter deal and will be be pre-1965. Nobody bought an amp in green cloth in the 70s and, if you take a look at this music paper ad for our 515/519, the price is in guineas. We both paid less than the original price of 15gns and 19gns respectively, never mind taking inflation (multiply by six) into account 😀
http://www.vintagehofner.co.uk/britamps/restof/dall9.html

Looking at your pics, the EL84 is a post-1970 Blackburn Mullard in very good shape and this is, overall, my favourite EL84 for the amp but others can dramatically alter it. Your ECC83 looks to be the pill-getter Luzshiou Chinese and they’re OK but there is fun to be had trying others. I can’t make out the EF86 in the tremelo section but I’ve tried various types even in the preamp of a Bird Talisman and didn’t get a lot of difference.

I could bore you with a link to a thread on another forum on “How different valves sound in a Scala by a poncey, cork-sniffing valveknob” that I wrote if you wanted me to, but I’ll lay off for now in case you can hear my anorak rustling and feel like running away.

One small note of caution, though. Your Celestion is connected to exactly the same, middle, terminals as on my Scala BUT your Celestion is 8ohm and my original is, I’m fairly sure (a friend’s son has it at the mo) 3ohm. This will be putting a slight strain on your EL84 and, more expensively, the output transformer. It’s not as bad as some doom-mongerers make out but, if you have a sparky who can check for you, it might be that the speaker would be better connected into different screwholes to match the impedance of the speaker.

Hi Marantz, thanks for the pics. Apart from your lovely DR103 (Lee_UK also has one, lucky git) I also own a Dallas Scala 515 and, spookily, a burgundy leather suite.

The Scala is one of my best bargains (£13) thanks to a bad listing and having been repainted black. You can see it here on Steve Russel’s website:
http://www.vintagehofner.co.uk/vintage-hofner/amps/amp14.html

What I like about it is that the layout is so simple that swapping the ECC83 and EL84 (even the EZ80) for other brands is a cinch and makes such a huge difference to the sound. With a Mullard EL84 and ECC83 (a Tungsram is cheaper and similar) it can be quite hairy on full (which is only loud enough for my wife to complain slightly when she’s upstairs and I’m downstairs) yet a Brimar ECC83 and a GE 6BQ5 (the american EL84) makes it as docile and super-clean as you’d wish. Great combo, although that little (Elac?) speaker gets a bit wobbly when pushed.

Nice pic, Toco 🙂

All bands I hear outdoors sound pretty weird, so I don’t think it’s the amp. Those breezes must just swirl it around. I sold my dead Traynor and the guy who bought it is a valve whizz with decades of experience and he lives a coupla miles from me. I’ve handed him my CMI Marshall for surgery – could be my dearth of local tech problem is ended.

I haven’t tried the “Genalex” but there’s the usual bad reaction to New Sensor sticking yet another famous name on generic Saratov stuff. I did buy a bunch of GEC KT66s (at least 50% turned out duff) from a guy and he had Valve Arts now in his hifi amp. Very impressive, I thought of the Valve Arts. No wonder he offloaded his shagged GECs onto muggins me.

They’re not a KT66 (as the original Bluesbreaker had), nor a 6L6GC and they’re not even a 5881; they’re a former Soviet military design. That said, having been designed for MiGs, they are very tough and longer lasting than some. If you like the sound of them, then perhaps I’m being unfair but the Chinese KT66 is getting to be an acceptable replacement for the old GEC and worth trying as an experiment. I can’t resist swapping glass around; sometimes getting a big improvement but sometimes not.

Ah, a very nice combo indeed. If you haven’t seen it, you might find this site (although dauntingly tech-sounding) interesting reading:
http://www.raw-sewage.net/jtm45ri_mods.html

One of the contributors, LordValve, I know well and can vouch for his knowledge of both amps and valves. If all that talk of ditching speakers, replacing caps and inserting resistors seems unnecessary or expensive, do bear in mind the advice when you consider replacing the power valves. Sovtek 5881s are rubbish and really shouldn’t be in there. The Chinese-made Valve Arts or Golden Dragon KT66s (along with a rebias, any valve tech would do this anyway) should be a big improvement on just having another set of 5881s installed. Replacing power valves is routine maintenance after 2-4 years anyway, depending on how much and how loud you use it. Well, it is with Russian and Chinese valves. Genuine GEC (old British make) KT66s could last ten years and beyond. I’ve given up on GECs because unused ones really do sell for £150 each and used ones are the biggest sharkfest going. Approx 50% of used ones I’ve bought have turned out to be shagged, and I bet the seller knew it before listing them.

Looks nice, Neil. Tell us more about the combo, please (and welcome in 🙂 )

I meant to sell my Laney 60W PA, but was offered a straight swap for an Ampeg B25 from across the pond. How could I refuse? Unfortunately, the 7027As had been replaced with Svetlana 6550s (not a bad choice, mustard mitt) but I have some original, Tung Sol 6550s (not those incredibly crappy Russian reissues) to put in their place. I haven’t played it, but the kit is in my living room. A bass player with a (valve) Ampeg. Now, that’s called “smug”

I have picked up something to play with. Apols for a Fleeblink, but I haven’t found my photocard reader yet:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=250187953961&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=015

Looking at the wiring (all over the place, hardly a Dan Reeves Hiwatt), it looks like a cathode-biased 2xEL34. This is handy, as I’ll be able to swap power valves in and out without mucking about matching and biasing. OTOH, it has banana-style speaker outs so I’ll have to sort out cabling to a guitar cab.

As I suspected/hoped, the valves are very good. A Mullard GZ34 rectifier, two Mullard xf2 EL34s (sadly, one has “comb-over” flashing but the other one looks strong), three Mullard I61 ECC83s and a Brimar boxplate for the PI. Looks like the original user had very particular (and commendable) taste in glass.

Hang on Lee!

I’ve had another look at the reverse-angle pic of your DR103 innards. Only the last ECC83, to the right, is a Mazda. It looks like the two to the left are clearly labeled as Mullards. The looks of a Mazda/Brimar and the Mullard and Philips ECC83s are practically identical, so I wrongly assumed they were all Mazdas apart from the PI. There is no better ECC83 in a Hiwatt than the Mullard. V1, the most important socket for input gain and initial tone shaping, is the one aloof from the others and this already has a Mull. The PI is indeed the one marked “81” on your chassis. Some people put an ECC81 in there to tighten things up but, originally, an ECC83 would have been there and swapping this out might improve matters for you. The Mazda is in a position that has such a marginal effect on sound that I wouldn’t bother swapping it.

I think the New Sensor “Mullard” EL34s are cack. For modern EL34s, the Shugs and the Groove Tubes EL34M seem to slug it out (Shugs win on price, of course). As for ECC83s, you might find some with a bit more grunt interesting. Unlike EL34s, there’s no tiresome biasing involved and you can swap around and see what you prefer. I’ll put a little selection together and send them down to you, if you’d like.

By the looks, you have an ECC81 in the socket marked “81”. Again, I have a cracker for that. I’ll talk some more with you about it.

There’s only one kind of DR103 I don’t like, and that’s the kind that has been given to someone other than me 🙂 . It takes me back to the shop in ’81 where I bought my CMI. Stuff like Hiwatt and Orange sitting around with <£100 price tags; I wish I'd cleared the store out. JJ electrolytic caps a good choice (really annoys me when beardy vintage types sniff at "non-original" caps) and your 2nd man's made an effort to wire them in the Dan Reeves style. Interestingly (and I say "interestingly" in the way that makes my anorak rustle like an old volume pot), those Mazda/Brimar ECC83s are not East European but made by Thorn. In looks, they closely resemble Mullard/Philips '83s but sound very different; with a lot less gain and much more neutral frequency response. I'd be tempted to send you something different for V1, to see if you liked it. I'm not overkeen on the New Sensor "Svetlana" EL34s but, then, I'm a bass player. Without wanting to pay Mullard prices, I'd consider the original "Winged C" Svets or the very latest Shuguang EL34B, which are supposedly getting Mull-like. A nice amp, and always a pleasure to stare at in pics.

Good to see you back Shake, missed your input. I’d fancy one of those if it were being pushed out of a neighbour’s house, for sure. I still haven’t sorted myself a nice, US-sounding, 6L6 amp.

Is that the AOR, Lou?

Another couple of purchases. I got a Laney 60PA with a pair of “so what” PA cabs for £41. The cabs are no shakes but I was paying for the amp; I have some regrets about selling off that PA100 Super I owned.
http://i23.ebayimg.com/06/i/000/9a/24/22d0_1.JPG
Although it has BMT like the lead/bass variants of the time, the bass knob seems to have little effect. Presumably a capacitor (minor) problem, as 30Hz from a low B string is about as bassy as things get. No reverb effect at all, and I wonder if a tray is missing because there’s no springy noise when moved. Overall; typical 70s Laney EL34 amp; good, but not world-beating.

I had a go on this newly-acquired WEM FR30, solely with my 5-string active bass (I’ll try guitar later). I started with the low-Z input, seeing as the bass is active, but got a right old distortion. Not unpleasant, but more fuzz than blues OD although the normal “auxiliary” input changed all that. Cleaner, but lacking headroom compared with my 30W Dom MkIV.
http://i7.ebayimg.com/02/i/000/9b/d3/05f9_1_b.JPG
The reverb works but it’s not in Fender league. It’s the smallest tray I’ve ever seen, which may be something to do with it. The B+T cut and boost, and very effectively too. The channel gain and overall gain are useful for changing the grunt. I’ll have to give it a go on guitar where headroom isn’t an issue so much.

Earlier, I got another Fradan Echomatic 50; even better than my other one thanks to some really sci-fi tape echo FX when set a bit extreme, and I’ve got another Dominator MkIII. A non-worker but everything looks OK and it might be just the loose connection to the speaker. If that hasn’t fried the OPT, happy days.
http://i24.ebayimg.com/05/i/000/91/ce/c0cc_1.JPG

As for the Traynor, the “scorch” has actually gone right into cracking the turret board, and the resistors are now disconnected on one side. I’ve called in the ops of Plexi Palace peeps, and these resistors act as a choke on the amp. Could be a dead PT is involved, although those Hammonds are tough nuts. TBH, I’d rather face locating a suitable 50W EL34 mains tranny than do a root-and-branch replacement of everything. I’ll update but, as long-termers like Lee knows me, I’m a lot quicker to buy than I am to fix.

I’ve picked up the Dynacord Twen. In some ways, this is more puzzling. Very little info on the web; of the three H-C reviews, one says that it’s a 2x6L6 with an output of 18W. Struck me as odd, and there’s a German who reckons it’s a 2x6V6 combo. Sure enough, mine has a pair of (nasty, Russian looking) 6V6s. Now, this makes sense. A pair of 6V6s would put out about 18W and, even if someone plonks 6L6s in their place, the trannies etc look to be made for the smaller output glassware.

I’ve done an unscrew, and taken pics, but there’s no obvious damage. That white stuff on the speaker cloth is paint, not tearing. I’ve removed the dust (a lot of that) and checked the valves. The Mullard and Telefunken ECC83s (yay!) seem to be fine; as does the filter cap and wiring. Not a peep on switching on, though; not a single filament glowing. I’ve only had time to do the obvious; replace the plug fuse and plonk in a known-working EZ81 rectifier. No joy, but I’ve got my eye firmly on the oddball voltage selector. Seems a bit weird.

Best bit about this Dynacord is that it has a channel called “Vibrator”. Once I get it working, I’ll pull down my boxers and let you know if those crafty Germans have come up with the ultimate guitarist’s experience 😆

I’ve re-dug up this old thread with more amp news. I finally managed to get a Traynor YBA1. Looks like it’ll need a bit of TLC. No power valves, missing fuse socket and it looks like a bunch of burnt resistors over to the right:
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid224/p7a44ce13b439dc410e4e697cda02ec3c/eaab09db.jpg

and, in 12 hours time, I’ll be collecting a Dynacord Twen. Here’s an ebay pic or two:
http://i4.ebayimg.com/04/i/000/89/e0/2b70_1.JPG
http://i4.ebayimg.com/07/i/000/89/e0/2d3a_1.JPG

So, in a bid to cut down, I’m selling off the Impact 60 and a Bird Talisman combo. More details in the FS/WTB category.

And here are the internals:
http://vintage-hofner.mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/amps/amp14.html

I’m hoping to get the black paint off without affecting the original green-dot Tolex. Hmm, might be a chemistry job.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7417185900&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1

Another pickup, a Dallas Scala 515. Single EL84, with a single ECC83 handling the two channel’s gain and tone (must be on double-time pay) and an EZ80 rectifier. I’ll put up some internals if it interests anyone. A right screamer of a combo. Sounds like Boo Radleys above 3W. Great for studio guitar; not exactly an obvious bass amp. Good fun, though, and tiny.

Looks very neat, 4 Notes.

Remember my “Voice of Music” that got heavily converted by my chum into a “Voice of Kilgore”?
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid202/p51b7a1147475a166f435ad701a85d9c6/efe01e50.jpg

Well, I’ve finally sorted out a stepdown to run it on 240V mains. I even housed it in a cabinet of another amp I’ve recently bought:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7411098921&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1

The RSC chassis is interesting too, but back to the “VoK”.

Love it. Entirely intended as a 5F1 Fender Champ stylee, and that’s what it is. My guitarist raved about playing through it, but the funny thing is, how well it makes a practice bass amp. It growls a little without ever breaking up; quite unlike an EL84/6BQ5 amp. It is a bit too bassy but, rather than fiddling with the tone circuit, I’ve got a feeling that plonking in a RCA or Sylvania 12AX7 is all that it needs. Love this amp; ought to get rid of some of the others before they gather dust and burst their filter caps.

I haven’t tried H+K, but I know of plenty who have been happy with the performance for the price. Hoosier, I wish that YBA1A were still around. I’ve hankered for one for a long while, but the secret’s out. Just before this last fortnight’s holiday, one came up on FleebUK. Despite having more amps than credit in my current account, I put in a bid and did think I might just get it for £150 with seconds to go. Then all the snipers kicked in and it went for waaay more 2 secs later.

601, I know the saying “you can never have too much gear”, but that is a LOT of gear 😉 . I bet a few of us wouldn’t mind “Changing Rooms” with you. That’s a nice room to spend time in 🙂

Yes, I primarily bought the Selmer as a parts raid. I spotted the quad of Mullard xf2 EL34s (those pics are the actual Fleeb pics, mixed with my “chassis out” pics) and figured £70 and a trip to Leicester would be worthwhile. I reasoned that if the power valves were Mulls, then the hidden valves would be, too. Sure enough, all the ECC83s were Blackburn Mulls (the EF86 is a ‘foreign’ marked Brimar) but it was a bit of a failure from the parts-raid POV.

Steve’s site stated that the MkII had a pair of GZ34 rectifiers; these alone fetch £30+ each if Mulls in good nick. Steve even sent me a contemporaneous Selmer catalog scan stating that it was 2xGZ34 rectified. Opened her up and there was no sign of them ever having been there. Given that my MkII is the early, Sept ’68 version, he’s updated his site but that was too late for me. Also, those EL34s looked healthy but it’s all dust. After wiping them off, the silvery getter flashing only covered the very top part of the dome. I’m working (hoping) on a semi-sound theory that flash loss is inverse-exponential and I’m keeping them in because they sound phenomenal. The Mullard is my favourite EL34 by a thousand knots.

When I bought the CMI, I assume that it was Mull equipped. Another band borrowed and trashed it but a friend of a friend brought it to “as new” cond (wiping a fair bit of value off by replacing the mains jewel light and all the knobs but I don’t care about cosmetic originality) including Mull EL34s. I had it serviced in ~1990 by a “guy in a bow tie” in a local electronics shop who was so impressed with it (by now I knew it was a Marshall) that he got out a quad of xf4 Mulls he kept for amps that “deserved” it. In 2000 I had it serviced by some gits in Burton-on-Trent (a long round trip) who didn’t fix the problem but (IMO) stole the Mulls and replaced them with Svetlanas. Svets last (they’re still in there) but I hated them immediately. Given that all three pre-tubes are all Mulls (rebranded, otherwise I think they’d’ve been stolen too), it just shows the difference a good power valve makes.

The WEM came with, and still has, three Mull ’83s in the preamp and 2 Mull EL84s in the power section. The Fradan can’t be opened up ( 😯 ) but it has a pair of xf2 EL34s and I can see a Mull ’83 in the PI. I’ll bet all the preamp and tape echo valves are Mulls. The Laney came with Svet EL34s and a mix of 80s Chinese and 1990 Yugoslav Ei ECC83s. I’ve already done the Selmer, and the Impact power valves are a Mullard xf4 with a RFT (East German, supplier to Siemens, Telefunken, numerous British and American rebranders) EL34.

So, to answer your other Q, how do they sound, and which is my fave? Well, you have to remember that I’m a lousy guitarist and the proper guitarist only gives me 5 minutes max to tell me what they can really do. I’ve really discovered that a guitarist with great touch (ie, not me) can make these things sing.

The amp I’d never sell until I retired is the CMI. It is an ugly box, but it’s a P2P Superlead and, with Mulls, it is God’s Own Amp. Gorgeous on bass or guitar. Next, it would take a lot more than I paid to prise the Fradan Echomatic off me. With no FX, it has that classic Brit EL34 sound for guitar or bass and those Goodmans work well. I was knocked out by the seller’s playing on a RI Burns and even my stuff on a Sunn Mustang is passable. The first amp to make the bridge pup sound good. Put the echo on full and I can do “Apache” 🙂 The WEM Dominator III is now tricky to get under £150, but I’d still consider it a sleeping beauty. The mega-expensive Marshall 18W is well known to be a straight copy of the WEM’s normal channel (in turn, WEM’s channel 1 has a treble boost switch doubtless influenced by Vox, but I don’t use it). I think my Impact has the potential to be a Blackface Bassman with a few tweaks and I wouldn’t like to sell it, even though it’s not much more than practice volume for bass guitar. The Selmer is urrrglee but I’m keen on that “wall of warm clean” sound. If I had to fill my account up a bit, the first one to go would be the Laney. It’s very versatile, but I don’t need all the channels. HST, with a set of Roznov Tesla (not the JJs) E34Ls and a rebias, it could come climbing up the list.

Maybe I’ll keep them all and put Mrs Bass on the streets to earn some money 😆

All nice, Lee; I wouldn’t mind if they fell into my stocking. That Marshall would be around ’72-’76, when they stopped doing the coloured Tolex and I think it can be dated by serial number. My CMI is pretty much a superlead/superbass and CMI amps only seemed to have been made in ’76 and ’77. The difference is that your Superlead will have a PCB whereas Marshall carried on using the tagboards and P2P wiring for the CMI.

No-one’s really sure why Jim started yet another brandline when he had Park and Narb as alternatives, but I have a (wobbly) theory. Perhaps he had (or discovered in some shelving) a large stock of tagboards and other components intended for Mk1s? Rose-Morris (who still had exclusive marketing rights to Marshall amps) wouldn’t have wanted a heap of the old Superleads made, so Jim might’ve used the CMI name to package these up and sell them as a budgetish (the CMI has no standby, for instance) line?

That DR103 is well worth getting going again (I’ll take it if you’re not bothered 🙂 ) and you know I’m a fan of the BiValve. It might be a SS, but the Ampeg is an Ampeg so it’s gotta be good on bass.

Anyhoo, speaking of Hiwatt, I bought a Selmer TV100PA for £70. It was cheap because the owner found it in a house he bought and wasn’t sure it worked. It does work fine but the mains lead is well dodgy and the power valves are on their last legs. Also, the metal case was painted a hideous orange. Pics are here on Steve Russell’s Selmer amp site:
http://www.vintagehofner.co.uk/gallery/gallery3/gallery6/gallery7/gallery8/amp2.html

I’ve played it and, unlike the Laney PA which breaks up, this Selmer does a job a PA head should and stays powerful and clean to high volume. The tone stacks need jiggling for guitar and bass, but it could make a nice budget Hiwatt. Again it has an ECC83 for each of the four channels (all Mullards – yey!), an EF86 mixer and another Mull ECC83 for the PI. I’ll do my previous trick of substituting preamp valves to give me four different voices (probably Mullard ECC81 and 83, and Sylvania 12AT7 and 12AX7). I haven’t tried them , but Sylvs are pretty gainy and most US tubes seem brighter than the British so I’m hoping to get two attenuated (81 and AT7) and the other two as bright and middish channels. And some black paint.

Remember that Voice of Music up there? Well, I now call it “Voice of Kilgore” in honour of my Californian chum who took it in for me. I think only the original power transformer remains. He’s changed it to a 1x12AX7, 1x6V6 amp on a shiny chrome chassis:

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid202/p51b7a1147475a166f435ad701a85d9c6/efe01e50.jpg
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid202/p70778c9c4666f3c37e9d45daf04ab2be/efe01e30.jpg

White knob is vol, black is tone. He’s fitted a switch to convert the 2nd speaker out to DI for recording or driving my bigger amps. It’s voiced for that ’50s Champ/Princeton tweed sound, but goes holy overdrive when cranked up.

I tried out the Impact with the guitarist. He’s really annoying; got out his RCCB (I’d already checked it for safety) did 5 minutes and switched to his WEM ASAP even though he liked the Impact’s tone. Channel 1 is amazingly Fender twang, but the treble and bass pots are useless. Channel 2 is more bassy, but the eq is beautifully set up for guitar. So it shouldn’t take much effort to make perfect (although it doesn’t have headroom for bass purists). “Vintage” power valves (thankyou) but Chinese “PM” ECC83s. I changed V1 for an Amperex but that was too dark and lost the twang. An RCA restored it nicely and eliminated the Chinese tendency for brittleness.

I’m not anti-modern although, with the Mesa, I’d be like the Mother Superior at a Hefner party. I wouldn’t know what to do with all the knobs on offer.

Well, I made a right cod’s buttock of transferring the amp-specific posts over to this thread and made them disappear into the ether 😳 . Here’s one that still survives:

Most of my stuff is oddball that needs some explaining. Things like student money, mortgages, wife and now a sprog have always got in the way of really splashing out, so I’ve had to be inventive or an eBore specialist. Put the coffee on, or make extensive use of the scroll-down button. My first and still fave amp (not for sentimental reasons) is my CMI 100W Lead/Bass.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid147/p783df0433b39c3f3b85b5046bd7ecdf4/f635a808.jpg
I bought it in a smelly “Pulp Fiction” 2nd hand shop in 1981 for £65. I distinctly remember a HiWatt being there, a heap of Sound Cities and, I think, an Orange, that he couldn’t sell with a naked Deborah Harry prostrate over them. I got the CMI because it sounded the nicest. Two years later, I had an extensive loan of an Orange head + cab and I still liked the CMI more. It turned out that CMI was one of those rebadge jobs that Jim Marshall did and this is pretty much a hybrid of the early 70s Superlead/Superbass:
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid147/pf5877fe4c4dd6a4ea65a3d00ab41d4a1/f635a809.jpg
Yes, that filter capacitor needs replacing. So do the Svetlanas; not because they’re worn but they just don’t sound as good as the Mullards did. A quad of German RFTs are earmarked for it.

Coupla years ago, I wanted a combo for light work and fancied either the Fender Musicmaster Bass or Traynor YBA2 but the occasional ones here in Blighty went for too much so I switched to a WEM Dominator MkIII:
http://britamps.mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/watkins/dominator/dom2b.jpeg
(library pic, not my actual amp or lousy photo)

I was so excited to get one for under £100 I suddenly realized I’d arranged to collect on my wife’s birthday 😯 Flower shop on the way home 😳 . Mullard ECC83s and EL84s, much better than my guitarist’s amp with Sovteks. Cathode biased, so I’ve briefly plonked Amperex and RCA in there – very decent but I prefer the Mulls. This amp was plagiarized by Marshall to make their 18W combos which now collect fantasy money even in RI form. Gorgeous with the right glass.

Around my birthday 2004, couldn’t resist this ’69 Laney PA Super 100:
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid130/p6164c7a6ee772c56b7849d94bcdecbb2/f7bdf2a5.jpg

It slightly predates the Iommi Supergroup and the power section is identical, pretty much. What I like about the preamp is that each of the six channels has its own valve to handle the gain stage and eq before going on to the mixer and PI tubes:
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid130/p8a0839421dbd6a81a4e136cd0f34d0f6/f7bdf29d.jpg

Channels 5+6 are slightly modded to overdrive, and 1-4 alternate between British and US pre-tubes and increasing gain types to pick a tone I like. The EQ is a little bit out, but not so bad I urgently need to change pots/caps. I reckon the bias is too cold though. It’s too quiet for a 100W and the (early) distortion is not particularly pleasant. Oh, being a PA, it has an echo (FX) loop, which is nice on an amp this old.

My weirdest, and most outrageously lucky, pickup was a coupla months ago. Goes by the name of “Fradan Echomatic 50” it was made locally in 1964 and bought then by the guy who sold it to me:
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid195/p7350807ec502f82e10b68af7836b0d0c/f13021dd.jpg

The guy who ran an electronics/musical instruments shop started making his own version of the WEM Copicat. It’s a valve driven tape echo, but with a 2xEL34, 50W power amp built into it. It was meant as a “whole band” PA, and that’s how the seller’s band used it. There are three FX levels and rate and depth knobs. Blimmin’ loud as well. It came with a pair of 2×12″ cabs containing ’60s Goodmans Audioms that actually sound nice (I’m not big on vintage speakers usually). Why no-one bid more than £35 for it I don’t know. Still, the seller seemed happy enough that it was going to someone that’ll stroke it and pat it and love it…

I’ve yet to receive this American “Voice of Music” that I bought on impulse for about $30:
http://i20.ebayimg.com/01/i/05/aa/0f/5b_1.JPG

my LA chum has ditched the box, cloth, naff speakers etc. The 7-pin valves are going, to be replaced by 12AX7 and 6V6. The idea is for a 5W single-ended Champ-style head. Looking forward to that, as old Fenders are a bit thin on the ground over here:
http://i1.ebayimg.com/02/i/05/ab/1e/ca_1.JPG