Post by DrKev on Sept 26, 2021 2:42:02 GMT -5
Back in December I wondered about fixing or replacing my old amp and you all correctly said "get a new one"! I've been procrastinating since. Fender, Boogie, maybe a Marshall or PRS Sonzera?? When I got back to Paris after my summer months in Buffalo I was offered a gig (that I couldn't take) but that was my wake-up call. Time to do it!
Watching the local classifieds I narrowly missed a NOS Boogie F-30 for a great price. Darling wife said "Hey, you know the value of things better than anyone I've ever known. If you see the right deal, just go for it". Then I see an ad for an Express 5:25 1x12, which is 150€ below the minimum I would expect. Listed for six months. "I wonder what's wrong with it? Time for a visit!"
Two days later she was mine for just 700€!
2 x EL84s running "Dyna-Watt" 30 watts or 5 watts true class A from one tube. Serial and transformer codes say late 2009/early 2010 production. Everything works perfectly except the contour knobs (which I can fix at my leisure, or not). UK-made Vintage 30 and a US-made Accutronics reverb tank alone are worth a third of the asking price. The chassis is a little dusty but otherwise like-new and insides look great with no heat damage or repairs.
The down side - the tolex and grille were filthy and super stinky. 10 years gigged and used in a private rehearsal studio rented by a bunch of chain smokers. But three passes with household cleaner and a scrub brush and two nights out on the balcony and she's clean and the smell is gone. The grille cloth and corner protectors will be replaced. She won't look new but she will look really good!
She sounds fabulous! I mean, it's just bee-yoo-tee-full! And so nice to have tone controls that actually work! So far I'm living on channel 1 in crunch mode with the gain down, but everything sounds and feels great. Cranked at full power it'll get more than loud enough for most jobs. Running it in 5 watt mode it sounds great at apartment volume. You could drop the volume even more with 12AY7 in the PI and less efficient speaker at 8ohms run from the 4 ohm out.
Physically it's a bit larger than I imagined but somehow feels lighter than 45 lbs. If take the reverb out and swap the V30 for a Neo Creamback and then it would weight 38 lbs.
I'm a happy boy!
Watching the local classifieds I narrowly missed a NOS Boogie F-30 for a great price. Darling wife said "Hey, you know the value of things better than anyone I've ever known. If you see the right deal, just go for it". Then I see an ad for an Express 5:25 1x12, which is 150€ below the minimum I would expect. Listed for six months. "I wonder what's wrong with it? Time for a visit!"
Two days later she was mine for just 700€!
2 x EL84s running "Dyna-Watt" 30 watts or 5 watts true class A from one tube. Serial and transformer codes say late 2009/early 2010 production. Everything works perfectly except the contour knobs (which I can fix at my leisure, or not). UK-made Vintage 30 and a US-made Accutronics reverb tank alone are worth a third of the asking price. The chassis is a little dusty but otherwise like-new and insides look great with no heat damage or repairs.
The down side - the tolex and grille were filthy and super stinky. 10 years gigged and used in a private rehearsal studio rented by a bunch of chain smokers. But three passes with household cleaner and a scrub brush and two nights out on the balcony and she's clean and the smell is gone. The grille cloth and corner protectors will be replaced. She won't look new but she will look really good!
She sounds fabulous! I mean, it's just bee-yoo-tee-full! And so nice to have tone controls that actually work! So far I'm living on channel 1 in crunch mode with the gain down, but everything sounds and feels great. Cranked at full power it'll get more than loud enough for most jobs. Running it in 5 watt mode it sounds great at apartment volume. You could drop the volume even more with 12AY7 in the PI and less efficient speaker at 8ohms run from the 4 ohm out.
Physically it's a bit larger than I imagined but somehow feels lighter than 45 lbs. If take the reverb out and swap the V30 for a Neo Creamback and then it would weight 38 lbs.
I'm a happy boy!
